Photos of Costco Shoppers Hoarding Pies Causes Inventory Concern

If you're planning to bring one of Costco's beloved pumpkin pies to Thanksgiving dinner this year, you might want to have a backup plan. Shoppers have reportedly been buying up the warehouse's desserts in droves, potentially limiting the inventory days before the pie-heavy holiday.

Over the past couple of days, several photos have popped up on Reddit showing Costco shoppers with dozens of pumpkin pies in their shopping carts. These types of bulk purchases can severely limit the number of pies a Costco warehouse has available on a given day, so it's no surprise that the images became a point of concern for many shoppers.

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Commenting on the Reddit posts, some decried the members buying up all of the pies as "selfish" and others called for Costco to set purchase limits for the item.

"There really should be a limit on how many you can buy of one item without calling ahead," one Redditor wrote.

While those shoppers' reasons for buying so many pies remain a mystery, Redditors weren't afraid to speculate. Some wondered if they were planning to sell slices at restaurants or markets with a significant markup. This would make sense considering that the pies usually weigh in at around three-and-a-half pounds and only cost around $5.99 depending on the warehouse. That's a lot of pie for a very low price tag.

"People sell them in restaurants and the profit margins are great. The pumpkin pies are $6 and you can sell for $4 to $6 per slice," one Redditor wrote.

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Others wondered if the shoppers were stocking up on pies to give them away. Dozens of shoppers mentioned that their current or past realtors will buy hundreds of Costco pies to gift to clients during the holidays. Others noted that they could be planning to donate the pies to food banks or hand out to work colleagues.

"Some donate them, and some businesses give them as gifts to customers during the holidays," a shopper wrote.

Whatever their reasons, the biggest takeaway is that Costco shoppers in need of a pumpkin pie should snag one as soon as the opportunity presents itself. And if you find that your local warehouse is completely cleaned out of these popular desserts, these much-discussed photos may explain why.