Costco Is Selling Gold Bars Now — and They're a Hot Item: 'Gone Within a Few Hours,' CFO Says

A 1 oz. 24-karat gold bar from South African company Rand Refinery or PAMP Suisse cost about $1,950 and $1,980, respectively

People can find deals at Costco on the latest appliances, grocery items, household products — and now even gold bars.

The retail giant has recently been selling 1 oz. bars of authentic 24-karat gold from South African mining company Rand Refinery and Swiss precious metal supplier PAMP Suisse on their website for $1,949.99 and  $1,979.99, respectively, according to Insider.

According to the product details on Costco’s page, Rand Refinery’s gold bars are individually stamped with a unique serial number and arrive in a sealed black assay card, while PAMP Suisse’s gold bars are individually “controlled, registered, and secured” within CertiPAMP™ packaging with an official Assay Certificate and a digital certificate accessed with a QR Code.

Both items are non-refundable, provide air shipping via UPS and currently have a 4.9 out of 5 average rating on the company’s website, with one member writing on Rand Refinery’s gold bar customer rating that it was a “beautiful piece of gold” and “brand new.”

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The gold pieces appear to be sold out and have been difficult for people to get their hands on, according to Costco CFO Richard Galanti, who told investors during a call on Tuesday that the gold bars are quick to sell out.

"I've gotten a couple of calls that people have seen online that we've been selling one-ounce gold bars," said Galanti, per Insider. "Yes, but when we load them on the site, they're typically gone within a few hours and we limit two per member."

Costco did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on the sale of the gold bars.

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The market price of an ounce of gold as of Thursday morning was sitting at just under $1,870, according to a CNBC market exchange page. The charts show that the price for an ounce of gold has steadily risen over the past 5 years from 2018 and 2019 when it averaged around $1,200 - $1,300.

Jonathan Rose, co-founder of Genesis Gold Group, told the outlet that it’s an effective way to market an item aimed at a certain type of Cotsco’s clientele that believe in being self-sufficient and owning their own currency.

“They’ve done their market research. I think it’s a very clever way to get their name in the news and have some great publicity,” Rose explained to CNBC. “There is definitely a crossover of people living off the land, being self-sufficient, believing in your own currency. That’s the appeal to gold as a safe haven as people lose faith in the U.S. dollar.”

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He said that in addition to high inflation rates, people feel anxious about the direction of banks and the commercial real-estate market in the future, which is also driving the increasing interest in precious metals.

“The outlook for stability in the market isn’t good and people want a [tangible] asset that’s going to be a safe haven,” he added. “That’s what gold and silver provide.”

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