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Nearly a year after Costco warned that they'd have to hike membership fees (and didn't), CFO Richard Galanti told investors "It's a question of when, not if," noting that the last time the company raised its membership fee was in June of 2017.

"You know, it’s a little longer this time around since June of ’17, so we’re six years into it," Galanti said, accordsing to a transcript of last week's earnings call. "But you’ll see it happen at some point. We can’t really tell you if it’s in our plans or not."

Costco has historically raised membership fees every six years or so, however Galanti says it's not quite time to do so again.

"You'll see it happen at some point," he said, adding "We'll let you know when we know. We can’t really tell you if it’s in our plans or not"

The big box store's Gold Star membership has cost $60 since 2017, after a $5 increase that occurred that year from $55. "Executive memberships" cost $120.

"Traffic continues to do very well … and our renewal rates continue to be very strong," said Galanti.

Gold rush!

Last week the Organic Prepper Blog noted that Costco is selling out of gold bars.

And it certainly makes sense to buy gold (or silver) because the banking system is so volatile it really cannot be trusted. I don’t believe for a second that our system as it is right now will last much longer. Sure, there’ll be a new system to replace it, but you can darn well bet that WE will not be the ones who benefit from it. In fact, I strongly suspect that the new system will be CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies) and all the surveillance and control those entail.