A Popular Costco Item Will Disappear From Stores In January
Despite the many new and exciting items Costco shoppers have to look forward to in 2025, one popular section of the store will be noticeably absent.
Starting in January, the big-box retailer will stop selling books year-round at many of its locations. The news first came to light in June when The New York Times reported that the chain plans on making its book offerings seasonal, available only from September through December. The reason behind the decision? Books are a lot of work for Costco. Unlike the chain's other products, they require stocking by hand, which means more labor for the stores' staff. Additionally, the turnaround is frequent, with new books being released every Tuesday and the unsold stock having to be swapped out for those books, again, by hand.
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As of June, Costco already ceased book sales in select markets like Alaska and Hawaii.
Since the news first broke, there has been a new development regarding the warehouse club's book sales. In November, Publisher's Weekly reported that sources say Costco will continue selling books year-round in 100 of its locations. Meanwhile, the retailer's remaining stores will switch to only selling books during the holiday shopping season, which is from September through December. Additionally, publishers will be able to sell promotional pallets in stores, according to the trade publication.
Publishing executives previously told The New York Times that the chain will only use the holiday bookselling model, while the warehouse club may also offer some books occasionally throughout the year.
Costco has not yet confirmed that 100 of its stores will still sell books year-round, nor has it shared which locations will sell them.
Additionally, Publisher's Weekly reported that if book sales "remain strong and a more user-friendly model is created," Costco stores could reverse the decision to narrow its book offerings. However, the publication noted that if sales drop, the retailer could move all of its stores to the holiday bookselling model.
In addition to this change being of notable concern to publishers, many Costco shoppers expressed disappointment on Reddit when the news initially broke in June.
"That's stinks. I've bought plenty of books from them. My kid has a shelf full of the sets they sell," one Reddit user wrote.
"I'm really sad about that. I've been getting some really good titles recently from there, especially since they totally beat Barnes and Noble and Target on pricing. That's just a damn shame," another one added.
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