This article originally appeared on Business Insider.
It’s not just $2,000 gold bars you can buy from Costco — customers can now snap up $625 packs of silver coins, too, as the retailer expands its precious metals business.
The discount retailer recently started selling the coins for the first time, CFO Richard Galanti told CNN.
On Costco’s website, you can snap up a 25-count pack of 2024 Canada Maple Leaf silver coins. Each coin weighs one troy ounce and is made of 99.99% pure silver, Costco says.
The coins, from the Royal Canadian Mint, have an image of King Charles III on one side and a maple leaf on the other. They have a face value of 5 Canadian dollars each.
The coins have an image of King Charles III on one side and a maple leaf on the other. Costco via Business Insider
Galanti told analysts on Thursday that Costco’s e-commerce sales growth in the quarter was “led by sales of gold and very recently silver.” Comparable e-commerce sales in the quarter to February 18 were up 18.4% compared to the same period the prior year.
Galanti had previously said at Costco’s earnings call in September that the 24-karat gold bars, priced at about $2,000 each, had been selling out in just a “few hours.” He later revealed that customers had spent $100 million on the bars in the quarter to November 26.
Gold prices hit an all-time high this week.
Some shoppers say their coins from Costco were scratched when they arrived
The Royal Canadian Mint says that the silver coins feature “enhanced” security features, including anti-counterfeiting technology, and protection to reduce the likelihood of them developing white discoloration spots.
The coins can’t be returned or refunded and are limited to five cases per membership, all of which must be bought in one order. The price includes insured, signed-for air shipping via UPS. Customers can’t get them delivered to Puerto Rico, Alaska, or Hawaii.
But compared to the gold bars, which have 4.8-star ratings on Costco’s website, the packs of silver coins have a rating of just 3.4 stars, based on 42 reviews. Many of the reviewers referred to the packaging and shipping of the coins, saying that the cases were unsealed when they arrived and the coins had spilled out. Multiple reviewers said that the coins were scratched as a result.
Business Insider has contacted Costco for comment on the reviews.
Costco sells an eclectic range of merchandise. Alongside massive multipacks, the retailer sells various unexpected items to create a treasure hunt experience. It stocks some higher-end items, too, like expensive jewelry and luxury seafood.
And if you want to convince your friends that you really do love Costco as much as you say you do, you can get your hands on a range of Costco-branded apparel and even a Monopoly set.
https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/costco-selling-silver-coins-gold-bars-led-to-e-comm-growth/470888