Costco shoppers are finding it's harder to sell gold than to buy it (2024)

Gold bars are one of the few items that Costco does not allow returns, refunds, or price adjustments on, so the only way to get your money back is to find someone else who will buy it from you — and that's more complicated than some expected.

"It's not like trading stocks," Lark Mason, an appraiser from New York, told the Journal. "There's a friction between what you pay and what you actually get."

One buyer, Adam Xi, encountered those frictions. He was hoping to use the $2,000 gold purchase to boost his credit-card points but was only able to find a buyer for $1,960, the Journal reported. Another person the outlet spoke to managed to turn a $850 profit — after holding the bar for nine years.

Though gold has been used as a medium of exchange for thousands of years, it's not really considered currency in the modern sense.

Unlike cash or even gift cards, Costco classifies gold bars as collectibles, which may or may not retain their value over time.

The Internal Revenue Service considers gold bars collectibles, too, and can tax up to 28% of any profits on gold held for more than one year.

The bars themselves might be fun to hold and look at, but between the possible interest, taxes, shipping, and other expenses — not to mention the hassle of finding a buyer — trading gold may not be worth the trouble, even at Costco prices.