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Weight-loss drugs • Musical instruments • Gold bars • Engagement rings • Hearing aids • Travel • Caskets
Toilet paper and cleaning products aren’t the only things you can buy at warehouse clubs. These days they hawk everything from vacations to gold. The warehouse clubs probably don’t make a ton of money selling these unusual items, but they do create a buzz that can drive more members to their stores.
That’s the case at Costco, which has been doing brisk business selling gold bars to its members. Demand is so strong the warehouse retailer limits it to two gold bars per member. Another reason warehouse club stores sell out-of-the-box items is to meet demand as they morph into one-stop-shopping meccas.
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“We rely on our wholesale clubs for our jugs of cooking oil, giant spices, flats of canned goods, and all the paper plates we’ll need all summer, but wholesale clubs often carry items that we don’t expect,” says Trae Bodge, a shopping expert at TrueTrae.com. “I think in the Amazon age, many retailers are trying to be all things to all people and this is evidence of that. I think for the senior customer, that one-stop-shop approach is a real draw and might help to retain that shopper even after all their kids have left the nest.”
With that in mind, here are seven surprising things you can find at warehouse retailers.
1. Weight-loss drugs
GLP-1 RA medicines are all the rage with countless people using Ozempic and Wegovy to lose weight. That hasn’t been lost on Costco, which last fall got into the health care market via a partnership with Sesame, a low-cost health care provider. Costco began by offering members online primary care visits starting at $29. In April it announced that members will get access to Seasme’s weight loss program, which includes Ozempic and Wegovy, for $179 for three months. Customers have to pay extra for the medicine. A prescription for Ozempic 1mg dose costs $962 in store at Costco and $964 for in-home delivery. Wegovy costs $1,340 in store and $1,342 for home delivery.
2. Musical instruments
A snare red chrome tin drum with wooden drumsticks.
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Want to channel your inner Jimi Hendrix with an electric guitar or your inner Louis Armstrong with a trumpet? The good news is you don’t have to scour the music stores or look online for your next musical instrument, you can purchase it at BJ’s or Costco. A Jean Paul TR-430 intermediate trumpet goes for $380 at BJ’s, while a Washburn Festival EA15ATB acoustic electric guitar at Costco costs $230.
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