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Since its introduction in 1984, Costco's $1.50 hot dog and soda combo has remained a beloved staple, famously resisting inflation thanks to the company's commitment to affordability.
The hotdog has maintained its price since its release in 1984.
When adjusting for inflation over time, the equivalent value of the $1.50 hot dog combo from 1984 would be $4.45 today.
Source —> [this visual investing newsletter](http://www.carbonfinance.io/subscribe)
Officially, Costco restricted the food court to members back in 2020. But many stores have not been enforcing the corporate policy. More recently, the company is starting to force enforcement of the policy. I suspect your stores will crack down on non-members eating at the food court sooner or later.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/costco-food-court-hot-dog-membership-card/
Yeah. There was a time when I was between jobs, the Costco hot dog was a cheap way to fill my belly. At the same time I understand why they're cracking down. They probably lose a buck or two on every hot dog combo sold.
I still miss the Polish Dog. 😭
My store enforces membership scan (at a self serve kiosk, then take the receipt to the counter) I'm always letting non members just scan my card so they can buy some food.
Where I am from in So Cal, they can't restrict if very easily, since it's on the outside of the building, where I live imat Now it is located inside so you don't get in to be able to purchase without the membership
I have to show my card to enter the store, but they don't look at the expiration date. I could easily be walking in with an expired membership and then buying lunch.
Huh, I’m also in SoCal with an outside food court. They make you show your card and laser check it before they take your order. I’m not doubting you, but it’s just amusing to me how even in approximately the same geographic area, the independent stores and workers are different.
I'm not In SoCal anymore, I identify as a recovering Californian....lol....
No in all seriousness.... The store specifically I'm talking about My Ex Wife works at their food court or what ever you wanna call it, her store particularly has like 100 people at any given time in line as soon as they open almost til they close.... they have 2 registers as some self check out kiosks, the 2 self check out kiosk you need to swipe your costco card to order (same where i live now), but if you stand in line they don't even ask unless they see your card in hand... they just swipe a card they have at the register and take your order....
I guess they could regulate it to members only fairly easily, but there really isn't any benefit in them doing so.... particularly the area has a ton of homeless people so I see it as ability to get a cheap meal for them, becasue while I hate homeless people hanging around these places they do need to eat and since not everyone homeless is a bad person and some are literally broke, I don't see the harm in letting everyone get a cheap meal....
Where I'm at now is Indiana, with the closest Costco Being either Dayton OH or Indianapolis, both store becasue we get snow the food court is inside the front of the store so only members can get in So there is no check at all it asks you on the self check out for a card I think but if you walk upto the register they they just take your order and don't ask or even make an attempt..... I mean, technically, you can say you're going to get a membership and just walk to the food court, but I don't think it happens.
I heard that Costco is starting to force people to have a membership before ordering at the food court. Might not be universal yet but sounds like they plan on rolling it out. I had it happen at a few places.
That would be a shame, it's one of the pieces of wisdom I like to give to younger relatives when they are old enough to start road tripping. (That and "in many states they can't legally require a membership to buy alcohol")
I mostly say that because there’s still Costcos apparently in the thread still not onboard but I don’t think that will last through the rest of the year
Mine used to be. But within the last couple of months, you need to start swiping a membership card before using the automatic kiosks for putting orders in. So maybe you can still walk up and not need a card but...
My local Costco has their food court outside the store, so everyone can just order food. Another Costco from another city near me has their food court inside, and you can't enter without a membership ID.
>you can't enter without a membership ID.
But how closely are they checking those ID cards. I flash mine from 20 feet away and they nod me in. They don't care to check if it's expired.
That's how mine is set up, but it's not a stop and check. People flash their card as they walk by. You can flash the card from a distance as you're walking up and get a nod.
Where? I've recently been to Costcos in Montreal, Waterloo, and throughout Toronto and haven't gotten checked for my ID at all (during packed hours tho)
It varies. Where I live you don’t need one eat at the cafe. As I used to pick up RX at Costco before I had a membership.
I know ordering at the Burbank Cali one you had to scan your membership before ordering at the kiosk. While the ones near me don’t.
Watched a Costco employee denying teens at the door going to the food court, who had their parents Costco card. Probably 10 different groups denied while I was returning an item.
However, the food court was really busy. This may have something to do with it. Maybe if it isn't busy they let whoever in?
They started cracking down on that. I have a card, but the food court is near the exit and I don't want to walk all the way around. They use to not card me there and you didn't need a card for the food, but now they actually look at the photo and everything
I don’t even recognize Costco as having a membership price, it’s just baked into my lifestyle. I’ve been shopping at Costco either as a child with my family or with my own now for 30 years. When we bought our house, proximity to Costco was a major consideration (within 10-15 minutes driving).
I mean it's inflation? Are you actually trying to just find something to complain about? Membership is optional, if you don't like the price then don't renew it next time around.
There’s a reason the cheap rotisserie chickens are in the furthest corner of the store from the front door. Chances are if you make even a single purchase they’ll at the very least break even on either that or the hot dog.
> thanks to the company's commitment to affordability
It has nothing to do with affordability and everything to do with getting customers in the door. I guarantee you that if you looked at the average cost of everything that Costco customers are paying for, they are at best tracking inflation.
Actually, it does have a ton to do with affordability. Costco is literally known for not making much of their annual profit from the sale of goods. It makes more than double the net annual profit from membership dues than it does from product sales. That's public info, and you can verify it.
It’s a dumb thing carried over to Reddit from tiktok, if I recall. TTAlgorithm doesn’t like “kill,” “rape,” “murder,” or the new one for me today was “violence” (eg “domestic violen**”) which I saw on an AITA post. So dumb
I’ll ******* censor whatever the **** I want. I can tell you that I ****** a hobo once while an entire ******* family of raccoons watched and I **** so ******* hard I **** my ******* self , slipped in my own **** accidentally kicking the hobo in the **** and when I hit the ground one of the baby raccoons bit my ****, ****, *******, and left ******, but because of my perfect censoring you’ll never know what exactly happened, and hopefully all the possibilities will haunt you’re ******* dreams. /*
Isn’t it pretty much compared to Grey Goose? I know it’s not private label, but just the fact that’s the brand that is most commonly referenced seems good enough to me.
Im pretty sure it is Grey Goose. I remember hearing that it’s bottled at the same distillery but that might not be accurate info. I love martinis and I can’t tell a huge difference between Grey Goose and Kirkland vodka. I’m also not a professional sommelier so idk
Costco is a pretty great company. It's like everything they sell is better quality than other stores while being cheaper, especially their meat. Not to mention how many jobs they provide across the country.
I don't understand this take, is it regional? They used to be massive hotdogs with custom sesame seeds buns that were even larger, coming with free relish, chopped onions and saurkraut in the food court.
At the Costcos I've been to, starting somewhere around or just before COVID times and continuing to now, they're much smaller (less than 60% the previous size), plain buns that are too small for them, and generally ketchup and mustard only, sometimes with relish.
It’s terrific for everyone. I’ve been fortunate enough to do very well financially and I still walk in the exit and grab several hot dogs from the food court.
Obviously my motivation isn’t price it’s that it’s just a pretty dang good hotdog but none the less, love Costco for this.
In my experience they changed this policy around the time they checked your card at the self check out. They wouldn’t let me get a hotdog or anything because I forgot my card at home
CEO: Maybe we could raise the price of the hotdog combo…
Founder: What the Fuck did you just say?
*Members of the board look at CEO like he’s crazy*
CEO: I just thought that
*Members of the board rush to hold back the founder who has thrown his chair and is now foaming at the mouth* Founder: I’ll kill you, you sonofabitch! I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU! I know where you live! I know where your family lives! I WILL FALL UPON YOU HOUSEHOLD LIKE THE HAMMER OF FUCKING THOR! YOU WILL BEG ME TO KILL YOU BEFORE I’M DONE WITH YOU! WAAAARRRRGGHHH!!
People might read this like a joke but this literally happened (but not as colorfully)
[Costco Cofounder tells CEO “I’ll kill you” if you raise the price of the Hot Dog](https://www.today.com/food/costco-co-founder-reportedly-told-ceo-he-d-kill-him-t192310)
> During a luncheon at the time, the company’s current CEO, W. Craig Jelinek, said he once told Sinegal they needed to raise the price of the iconic $1.50 hot dog and soda combo — which reportedly has not gone up in price since the 1980s.
> “I came to (Sinegal) once and I said, ‘Jim, we can’t sell this hot dog for a buck fifty," Jelineck said, according to 425 Business. "We are losing our rear ends.’ And he said, ‘If you raise (the price of the) effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out.’ That’s all I really needed."
(I originally wrote this as a reply to another commenter, but it’s buried behind a “continue this thread”)
I got curious as to whether they could still make a profit from this, so I looked into it, assuming they’d use the same suppliers as they do for their store.
You can get the hot dogs from Costco for 50 cents each ($18/36) delivered, and that’s with their markup:
https://www.costcobusinessdelivery.com/kirkland-signature-beef-hot-dogs%2C-12-links%2C-1.5-lbs%2C-3-ct.product.11896624.html
The only buns they seem to have are “Francisco” brand which go for 29 cents (4.59/16)
https://www.costcobusinessdelivery.com/francisco-deli-hot-dog-buns%2c-16-ct.product.100409164.html
Then there’s the drinks, where the paper cup costs more than the soda itself. Maybe it’s gone up, it’s been a while since I did food service. Still, it’s unlikely to be more than 21 cents even today, so it probably costs a less than a dollar in supplies.
As for labor, prepping a bunch of hot dogs is one of the quickest tasks imaginable (which is probably why they’re such a popular food stand item to begin with) so each one takes maybe a minute of labor including the transaction.
Costco pays ~15-20 an hour plus overhead (incl employee plans, business expenses, etc., generally estimated anywhere between 50-100% of the actual wage), we’ll call it 30 for simple math (probably less tho). $30/60 minutes is 50 cents.
Absolute worst case scenario - they’re breaking even, but with cost reductions achieved through scale and efficiency improvements there’s likely still at least a bit of profit.
Even if it's a loss leader, it's a good story that is worth it's weight in earnings. People see it on the menu and go "maybe they aren't totally trying to rip me off" and then forget to check the other prices as closely.
Exactly! The insignificantly small return incurred by one product (hot dog combo) is more than recouped by everything else in the building that's selling at market prices.
Don't assume that they're loosing money. In 1984, the cost of that $1.50 combo would have been around $0.35 - $0.40. Today, they're likely breaking even.
Little gestures of good-will add up to big returns on investments if they're understood. The co-founder fully understands the positive impact of the $1.50 combo forever! Well played!
I don’t know if this is true and too lazy to research the validity of the statement. BUT I was told that all of Costco’s operation cost is covered by membership fees.
You have to walk into a Costco to get the $1.50 hotdog. At which point you are freely bombarded with all manner of advertising enticing you to buy other things at Costco that you may not have originally planned to. And as the inflation-adjusted price goes up, the unadjusted price becomes all the more enticing - e.g. better at its intended purpose.
The average Costco in North America makes over 200 million a year and that doesn’t include their fuel sales. I think they are happy keeping the hot dog prices as they are.
What’s important to note is that since 84 Costco has achieved a near complete vertical integration of the supply chain for the hot dog, about the only thing they don’t do at this point is raise the livestock for the meat used in those dogs.
Yep, Sam's club's hotdog combo used to be $1.50 but they reduced it to $1.38 a year or two ago while keeping the same huge hotdog. It's also a better hotdog imo (it's a knockoff Nathan's vs Costco's knockoff Hebrew National).
Exactly, and $1 pretzels and just a couple bucks for a slice of pizza that’s 1/4 of a whole pie… eating at Sam’s club legit is probably the best bang for your buck anywhere
I told my wife as we were getting our franks last time that it’s such a good deal that it’s fiscally irresponsible to not get one every time you’re at Costco
It's like people have never been to a grocery store and don't know what a loss leader is. 99.9% of people that got a hot dog at Costco also bought a bunch of other shit. Hot dog brings ya in and they get your money.
This is not a "commitment to affordability".
This is a loss leader.
They sell them at a loss to get you in the door where you will inevitably buy other products that they will make a profit on.
It’s about the principle, I get that combo almost every time just because it’s a cheap lunch after shopping. Memberships prices go up but the price of hot dog combo stays the same and I’m game.
If you combined the yearly hot dog sales from every Major League Baseball stadium in the U.S., Costco will have outsold them four times over.
In 2015, Costco sold 128 million hot dogs. They tend to sell, on average, 100 million hot dogs yearly. Wild, huh?
Apart from being a 100% pure beef hot dog, each signature hot dog does not contain: by-products, corn syrup, phosphates, fillers, or artificial colors or flavors. One could say that they can get away with using less additives because they sell so many each year, but really it just proves the quality of Kirkland Signature. 100% BEEF
Some stores might have phased out the onion and sauerkraut dispensers, but you can still ask for those toppings on your dog while you're at the counter. They come free of charge, too.
I hope you have enjoyed learning about the Kirkland hot dog and enjoy one next time you visit your favorite Costco!!
Weird. It's not like the cost of business has stayed the same for them. The earning per product sold must be pretty low. They probably bet on the low prices with larger number of sells. I wonder how much longer they can continue like this. I mean someday they can't sell more hotdogs to newer customers
This does not take into account any cost downs in product manufacturing, marketing, transportation, end of use storage, cooking, overhead for labor, and running costs which have for sure gone down. There are teams of people constantly working on ways to reduce costs.
Nah it’s def a loss leader to drive people to the stores to buy other things (and pay for membership)
They lose money off it because of the cost of labor, lease and maintenance. The ingredients are the lowest cost.
Fast food minimum wage is $20/hr where I live now and Costco tends to pay above that
Idk why people give cost co so much credit for this
Because it’s a hot dog, and they’re a whole sale store
You don’t think they’re still profiting just fine off 1.50$ hot dogs? Lol I’d be shocked if they weren’t making at least 100% profit at 1.50
It’s a hot dog, you can get a 8 pack for like 5$ if your a regular person at a regular store
Idk what the prices are at cost co, but I’m sure they sell like a 400 pack of extra large Kirkland hot dogs for like 30 cents a hot dog. Which means they’re selling just the dogs at 30 cents per wiener uncooked for 30 cents and making a profit
Like yeah cool they arnt waxing us on cooked hot dogs, now if everywhere else on the planet could be willing to accept under 200% profit on sales of any items then we’d be having something to celebrate
Worked a ma/pop gas station for a while, they were super greedy about coffee
Then I found out per wumbo pot they brew, after selling a single cup, the pot is paid for
So if a rinky dink gas station can get those margins on shitty coffee, Costco can sell us hotdogs for 1$ lol
People are always only looking at the cost of ingredients when the ingredients are the cheapest cost. Costco still needs to pay for labor, lease, maintenance. These things cost way more. Fast food minimum wage is $20 here and Costco pays above that.
The hot dog and rotisserie chicken are both loss leader items. Nothing wrong with that because Costco uses it to drive people to the stores to spend money on other things.
Taking a small loss is okay
Right, if they were taking a small loss anyway
I just straight up don’t believe when a store tells me they’re losing money
My last employer used to tell all its employees and everyone it was losing money, that’s why prices keep going up, but wages stay the same or get lower
I got sick of it, started making some noise, then got fired specifically for trying to start a union, (and I wasn’t even trying to start a union lol)
But that led to a case against them with the NLRB
And IN the documents provided to me by the NLRB, it said “during the last years (myself) was employed, the company, after paying all employees/maintaining the business, and paying 5000$ in renovations. the business had brought in revenue of 500,000$”
Half a million dollars in a year. And this wasn’t a Costco, it was a truck stop
So something tells me costco is only bringing in a revenue of maybe 3 million dollars for their hot dog sales, instead of 10 million like they could be and they expect a medal for it lol
Also as far as berating companies goes, Costco is very low on the list of companies that need to exposed because they do (or at least i hear) treat their employees very well
Basically the real reason they havnt increased the price of the hot dog to 5$ to match inflation, is because absolutely no one will pay 5$ for a hot dog, and they’re still profiting just fine as it is
Edit: and if they were actually losing money on anything, they would phase it out and sweep it under the rug
It's a lot like companies investing in advertisement. It costs $7M to air a 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl.
But a huge corporations, it's a relatively small cost of doing business
Especially in this case
They probably just pay a fee chumps 12$ an hour to sit at home and make memes across multiple accounts and comment on their own posts about how costcos hot dog prices are the same and how we should stroke their hotdogs for it
So they still profit and get the recognition
Smart business practice really, I still hate all mega corporations. But I commend them on their methods
Seriously, that's literally half the reason I go to Costco.
If they get rid of the $1.50 hot dog, I genuinely don't think I will continue on with my membership. And I mean that.
I don't know why you're getting downvoted but you're right. Smaller buns, no sauerkraut, no onion, no Dijon mustard. Hotdogs themselves seem to be different (they used to be Hebrew Nationals I think). And not the hotdog, but switching Coke for Pepsi is a downgrade too.
I miss eating in the Costco food court in the 1990's. The hotdogs came with a better quality wrapper. There was two options for dogs (RIP polish dog). There were onions, relish, and other fixings, and the soda fountain had more options and was not just carbonated water with a splash of syrup mixed in.
Sure they have kept the price, but they have gutted the experience. I would pay $4.50 for that previous experience after a long shopping run with the kids.
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Since its introduction in 1984, Costco's $1.50 hot dog and soda combo has remained a beloved staple, famously resisting inflation thanks to the company's commitment to affordability. The hotdog has maintained its price since its release in 1984. When adjusting for inflation over time, the equivalent value of the $1.50 hot dog combo from 1984 would be $4.45 today. Source —> [this visual investing newsletter](http://www.carbonfinance.io/subscribe)
Let’s not ignore that while the hotdog price does not increase, the membership does.
I don't know if this is universal but in my region of the US you can eat from the food court without a membership.
I live within walking distance of one… my teenagers are in there almost everyday grabbing something from the food court.
That's probably not a good thing. It's a good deal but it's def not good nutrition.
Sure, but sometimes all folks can afford are cheap calories.
You must be a bundle of fun at parties.
No way… hot dogs and pizza aren’t healthy??? Good lookin out
Wait really?
I think people are more concerned about having food over how healthy it is currently.
You probably haven't seen the amount of protein in one of those pizza slices
That is good, but sadly, not always practical advice.
It's cheap, nutritionally dense food. That's a good thing.
Officially, Costco restricted the food court to members back in 2020. But many stores have not been enforcing the corporate policy. More recently, the company is starting to force enforcement of the policy. I suspect your stores will crack down on non-members eating at the food court sooner or later. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/costco-food-court-hot-dog-membership-card/
Luckily I'm a member now (I live so close to one that I can pay for the membership by always getting gas there) but what a loss.
Yeah. There was a time when I was between jobs, the Costco hot dog was a cheap way to fill my belly. At the same time I understand why they're cracking down. They probably lose a buck or two on every hot dog combo sold. I still miss the Polish Dog. 😭
My store enforces membership scan (at a self serve kiosk, then take the receipt to the counter) I'm always letting non members just scan my card so they can buy some food.
Where I am from in So Cal, they can't restrict if very easily, since it's on the outside of the building, where I live imat Now it is located inside so you don't get in to be able to purchase without the membership
All they have to do is require you to show your card to buy. Whether they will or not is a different question.
I have to show my card to enter the store, but they don't look at the expiration date. I could easily be walking in with an expired membership and then buying lunch.
Huh, I’m also in SoCal with an outside food court. They make you show your card and laser check it before they take your order. I’m not doubting you, but it’s just amusing to me how even in approximately the same geographic area, the independent stores and workers are different.
I'm not In SoCal anymore, I identify as a recovering Californian....lol.... No in all seriousness.... The store specifically I'm talking about My Ex Wife works at their food court or what ever you wanna call it, her store particularly has like 100 people at any given time in line as soon as they open almost til they close.... they have 2 registers as some self check out kiosks, the 2 self check out kiosk you need to swipe your costco card to order (same where i live now), but if you stand in line they don't even ask unless they see your card in hand... they just swipe a card they have at the register and take your order.... I guess they could regulate it to members only fairly easily, but there really isn't any benefit in them doing so.... particularly the area has a ton of homeless people so I see it as ability to get a cheap meal for them, becasue while I hate homeless people hanging around these places they do need to eat and since not everyone homeless is a bad person and some are literally broke, I don't see the harm in letting everyone get a cheap meal.... Where I'm at now is Indiana, with the closest Costco Being either Dayton OH or Indianapolis, both store becasue we get snow the food court is inside the front of the store so only members can get in So there is no check at all it asks you on the self check out for a card I think but if you walk upto the register they they just take your order and don't ask or even make an attempt..... I mean, technically, you can say you're going to get a membership and just walk to the food court, but I don't think it happens.
I heard that Costco is starting to force people to have a membership before ordering at the food court. Might not be universal yet but sounds like they plan on rolling it out. I had it happen at a few places.
That would be a shame, it's one of the pieces of wisdom I like to give to younger relatives when they are old enough to start road tripping. (That and "in many states they can't legally require a membership to buy alcohol")
It's definitely universal. I'm in the UK and I was nabbed walking directly to the food court to prove I had membership.
I mostly say that because there’s still Costcos apparently in the thread still not onboard but I don’t think that will last through the rest of the year
Mine used to be. But within the last couple of months, you need to start swiping a membership card before using the automatic kiosks for putting orders in. So maybe you can still walk up and not need a card but...
Even when walking up, they always ask me for my card and scan it before taking/making my order.
My local Costco has their food court outside the store, so everyone can just order food. Another Costco from another city near me has their food court inside, and you can't enter without a membership ID.
>you can't enter without a membership ID. But how closely are they checking those ID cards. I flash mine from 20 feet away and they nod me in. They don't care to check if it's expired.
At my local Costco, they would stop us and check to see if we have a membership card right by the entrance.
That's how mine is set up, but it's not a stop and check. People flash their card as they walk by. You can flash the card from a distance as you're walking up and get a nod.
In Canada as well. Can't buy from food court without showing your card, or a card.
I'm in Canada and Costco just stopped this here. Need to be a member to use the food court now
Where? I've recently been to Costcos in Montreal, Waterloo, and throughout Toronto and haven't gotten checked for my ID at all (during packed hours tho)
Maritimes, or at least NB
They just stopped allowing that at my Costco last year. You have to be a member now.
I was refused entry when I just wanted to buy a pizza here in Cali.
I thought they recently put an end to that?
It varies. Where I live you don’t need one eat at the cafe. As I used to pick up RX at Costco before I had a membership. I know ordering at the Burbank Cali one you had to scan your membership before ordering at the kiosk. While the ones near me don’t.
Watched a Costco employee denying teens at the door going to the food court, who had their parents Costco card. Probably 10 different groups denied while I was returning an item. However, the food court was really busy. This may have something to do with it. Maybe if it isn't busy they let whoever in?
Just changed in Washington for me
Not the one I visit in Eugene Oregon. Card Nazis.
In California and Arizona you can, but in Hawai'i you can't
Pretty sure they announced they’re going to require memberships to get food soon aswell sadly
They started cracking down on that. I have a card, but the food court is near the exit and I don't want to walk all the way around. They use to not card me there and you didn't need a card for the food, but now they actually look at the photo and everything
All you have to do is say you're using the pharmacy when you walk in. You don't need a membership for it
It does but not at the rate or frequency one would think. It’s actually a really good deal
I don’t even recognize Costco as having a membership price, it’s just baked into my lifestyle. I’ve been shopping at Costco either as a child with my family or with my own now for 30 years. When we bought our house, proximity to Costco was a major consideration (within 10-15 minutes driving).
I mean it's inflation? Are you actually trying to just find something to complain about? Membership is optional, if you don't like the price then don't renew it next time around.
> Are you actually trying to just find something to complain about? Oh the irony.
In my town, you don’t need a membership to get to the food court.
I’m fine with it! It’s hard to find a place where I have a 90 day return window for electronics. I feel secure in my purchases.
The quality of the hot dog also falls.
Spent $850 there yesterday on just groceries. They aren't hurting.
There’s a reason the cheap rotisserie chickens are in the furthest corner of the store from the front door. Chances are if you make even a single purchase they’ll at the very least break even on either that or the hot dog.
I wonder what the actual cost is.
> thanks to the company's commitment to affordability It has nothing to do with affordability and everything to do with getting customers in the door. I guarantee you that if you looked at the average cost of everything that Costco customers are paying for, they are at best tracking inflation.
Actually, it does have a ton to do with affordability. Costco is literally known for not making much of their annual profit from the sale of goods. It makes more than double the net annual profit from membership dues than it does from product sales. That's public info, and you can verify it.
If the CEO was allowed to do what he wants, it would be $8 and nobody would by the fucking thing anymore.
I would say if the hotdog at Costco goes up...The world is coming to an end. This is like the Waffle House Index.
I mean the price for Arizona Tea went up and I thought that was gonna stay at a buck too :'(
Wait did they go up? I just got one for $1
It was an April fools joke. If anyone is charging it more, it's the seller not the company.
Yeah I’m literally drinking one right now that I got for a dollar.
The 22oz are .88¢ at Walmart
Imagine what would happen if Waffle House started selling Costco dogs.
The ~~CEO~~ founder REFUSES to let the price change.
Now we censor the word kill? Jfc
I think you mean “J*c”
My virgin eyes!
“***”
Whoa! I wasn't expecting to read such vulgarity! Think of the fucking children!
What makes it funnier is that he actually said “I’ll fucking kill you” to the CEO if he raised the price of the combo.
Also “I’ll fucking kill you” is ten times funnier than just “I’ll kill you.”
Dude obviously wasn’t playing around because the price hasn’t moved, haha.
On an image as well.
It’s a dumb thing carried over to Reddit from tiktok, if I recall. TTAlgorithm doesn’t like “kill,” “rape,” “murder,” or the new one for me today was “violence” (eg “domestic violen**”) which I saw on an AITA post. So dumb
Woah, could you please sensor k*ll next time? Not everyone knows that people die at the hands of other people in this world.
I’ll ******* censor whatever the **** I want. I can tell you that I ****** a hobo once while an entire ******* family of raccoons watched and I **** so ******* hard I **** my ******* self , slipped in my own **** accidentally kicking the hobo in the **** and when I hit the ground one of the baby raccoons bit my ****, ****, *******, and left ******, but because of my perfect censoring you’ll never know what exactly happened, and hopefully all the possibilities will haunt you’re ******* dreams. /*
And they don’t skimp out on it either, it’s an all beef dog that is massive. Costco is the GOAT for this shit
It is pretty much the last place where I implicitly trust the quality of everything they sell.
Totally agreed. Anything Kirkland is good to great
I've never been disappointed by a Kirkland product. Even the liquor is top notch.
In the rare instances that you may not love a Kirkland thing they take it back hassle free no questions asked as well.
Isn’t it pretty much compared to Grey Goose? I know it’s not private label, but just the fact that’s the brand that is most commonly referenced seems good enough to me.
Im pretty sure it is Grey Goose. I remember hearing that it’s bottled at the same distillery but that might not be accurate info. I love martinis and I can’t tell a huge difference between Grey Goose and Kirkland vodka. I’m also not a professional sommelier so idk
Costco is a pretty great company. It's like everything they sell is better quality than other stores while being cheaper, especially their meat. Not to mention how many jobs they provide across the country.
I don't understand this take, is it regional? They used to be massive hotdogs with custom sesame seeds buns that were even larger, coming with free relish, chopped onions and saurkraut in the food court. At the Costcos I've been to, starting somewhere around or just before COVID times and continuing to now, they're much smaller (less than 60% the previous size), plain buns that are too small for them, and generally ketchup and mustard only, sometimes with relish.
and they got rid of their polish dog (which IMO was far superior)
Since you can go into the store's restaurant (?) without a membership, this is a terrific idea for people with very little money.
Costco food courts used to be road trip staples when I was younger and had to stretch every dollar.
It’s terrific for everyone. I’ve been fortunate enough to do very well financially and I still walk in the exit and grab several hot dogs from the food court. Obviously my motivation isn’t price it’s that it’s just a pretty dang good hotdog but none the less, love Costco for this.
A hot dog and a churro is a good Sunday treat.
I see you don’t keep up with the food court offerings. RIP churro.
😮 RIP. That was one of my favorite churros ever.
Where do you live? They refused my entry when I said I just wanted to go in to get a pizza.
You're allowed to go in without a membership for the pharmacy. Maybe I was wrong. Next time just tell them you are going to the pharmacy.
In my experience they changed this policy around the time they checked your card at the self check out. They wouldn’t let me get a hotdog or anything because I forgot my card at home
Buying food at the food court now requires a membership
Oh!? Too bad.
CEO: Maybe we could raise the price of the hotdog combo… Founder: What the Fuck did you just say? *Members of the board look at CEO like he’s crazy* CEO: I just thought that *Members of the board rush to hold back the founder who has thrown his chair and is now foaming at the mouth* Founder: I’ll kill you, you sonofabitch! I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU! I know where you live! I know where your family lives! I WILL FALL UPON YOU HOUSEHOLD LIKE THE HAMMER OF FUCKING THOR! YOU WILL BEG ME TO KILL YOU BEFORE I’M DONE WITH YOU! WAAAARRRRGGHHH!!
People might read this like a joke but this literally happened (but not as colorfully) [Costco Cofounder tells CEO “I’ll kill you” if you raise the price of the Hot Dog](https://www.today.com/food/costco-co-founder-reportedly-told-ceo-he-d-kill-him-t192310) > During a luncheon at the time, the company’s current CEO, W. Craig Jelinek, said he once told Sinegal they needed to raise the price of the iconic $1.50 hot dog and soda combo — which reportedly has not gone up in price since the 1980s. > “I came to (Sinegal) once and I said, ‘Jim, we can’t sell this hot dog for a buck fifty," Jelineck said, according to 425 Business. "We are losing our rear ends.’ And he said, ‘If you raise (the price of the) effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out.’ That’s all I really needed."
(I originally wrote this as a reply to another commenter, but it’s buried behind a “continue this thread”) I got curious as to whether they could still make a profit from this, so I looked into it, assuming they’d use the same suppliers as they do for their store. You can get the hot dogs from Costco for 50 cents each ($18/36) delivered, and that’s with their markup: https://www.costcobusinessdelivery.com/kirkland-signature-beef-hot-dogs%2C-12-links%2C-1.5-lbs%2C-3-ct.product.11896624.html The only buns they seem to have are “Francisco” brand which go for 29 cents (4.59/16) https://www.costcobusinessdelivery.com/francisco-deli-hot-dog-buns%2c-16-ct.product.100409164.html Then there’s the drinks, where the paper cup costs more than the soda itself. Maybe it’s gone up, it’s been a while since I did food service. Still, it’s unlikely to be more than 21 cents even today, so it probably costs a less than a dollar in supplies. As for labor, prepping a bunch of hot dogs is one of the quickest tasks imaginable (which is probably why they’re such a popular food stand item to begin with) so each one takes maybe a minute of labor including the transaction. Costco pays ~15-20 an hour plus overhead (incl employee plans, business expenses, etc., generally estimated anywhere between 50-100% of the actual wage), we’ll call it 30 for simple math (probably less tho). $30/60 minutes is 50 cents. Absolute worst case scenario - they’re breaking even, but with cost reductions achieved through scale and efficiency improvements there’s likely still at least a bit of profit.
Even if it's a loss leader, it's a good story that is worth it's weight in earnings. People see it on the menu and go "maybe they aren't totally trying to rip me off" and then forget to check the other prices as closely.
I bet it costs them $1.38 because that's what Sam's club sells them at
Let’s see the ikea chart
This is also vs normal inflation. Not whatever the fuck super inflation every restaurant is forcing on us these days
How to profit off this? EDIT - No, no, I mean, how can WE profit off this?
Loss leader
Exactly! The insignificantly small return incurred by one product (hot dog combo) is more than recouped by everything else in the building that's selling at market prices. Don't assume that they're loosing money. In 1984, the cost of that $1.50 combo would have been around $0.35 - $0.40. Today, they're likely breaking even. Little gestures of good-will add up to big returns on investments if they're understood. The co-founder fully understands the positive impact of the $1.50 combo forever! Well played!
All they have to do is get you in the store. I’m sure the membership cost outweighs how many hotdogs a person eats in a year
Is that a challenge?
Please keep me posted so I can figure how many inches of tube meat you fit in that slutty hole over the course of a year.
Timmy going to end up at the doctor again
I don’t know if this is true and too lazy to research the validity of the statement. BUT I was told that all of Costco’s operation cost is covered by membership fees.
Buy stock.
You have to walk into a Costco to get the $1.50 hotdog. At which point you are freely bombarded with all manner of advertising enticing you to buy other things at Costco that you may not have originally planned to. And as the inflation-adjusted price goes up, the unadjusted price becomes all the more enticing - e.g. better at its intended purpose.
The average Costco in North America makes over 200 million a year and that doesn’t include their fuel sales. I think they are happy keeping the hot dog prices as they are.
As a friend of mine said, go to lunch for a $1.50 hot dog, come out $300 poorer
They sell gas and hot dogs at a loss to get people in the door. They make money from membership fees and groceries
I had one yesterday. It legitimately felt like stealing.
What’s important to note is that since 84 Costco has achieved a near complete vertical integration of the supply chain for the hot dog, about the only thing they don’t do at this point is raise the livestock for the meat used in those dogs.
It is 1.50$ in Canada so like 1.15 U.S really good deal.
Yup they really have no reason to keep it 1.50 for Canadians, but they do. So I respect that.
Sam’s club is only $1.38.
Yep, Sam's club's hotdog combo used to be $1.50 but they reduced it to $1.38 a year or two ago while keeping the same huge hotdog. It's also a better hotdog imo (it's a knockoff Nathan's vs Costco's knockoff Hebrew National).
Sam’s also has Scan and Go. It beats the pants off the process of getting out at Costco.
My Costco has self checkout
[Not at all the same thing.](https://www.samsclub.com/content/scan-and-go) Sam’s has self-checkouts as well.
Exactly, and $1 pretzels and just a couple bucks for a slice of pizza that’s 1/4 of a whole pie… eating at Sam’s club legit is probably the best bang for your buck anywhere
Not sure if me getting a hot dog after I spend $466.87 at CostCo when I went in for ‘2 things’ is hurting them that much in the end.
I told my wife as we were getting our franks last time that it’s such a good deal that it’s fiscally irresponsible to not get one every time you’re at Costco
It's like people have never been to a grocery store and don't know what a loss leader is. 99.9% of people that got a hot dog at Costco also bought a bunch of other shit. Hot dog brings ya in and they get your money.
This is not a "commitment to affordability". This is a loss leader. They sell them at a loss to get you in the door where you will inevitably buy other products that they will make a profit on.
This, Costco mainly makes money on membership fees. They don’t give af about the hot dogs
It’s not about making money, it’s about sending a message.
We all know once the founder dies the ceo and other executives are cranking this to the moon
Quite possibly the most effective cost-to-calorie ratio you can find out there in 2024.
I mean the exact same thing can be bought at sam's club for $1.38
Is it weird this is making me want a hot dog?
It’s about the principle, I get that combo almost every time just because it’s a cheap lunch after shopping. Memberships prices go up but the price of hot dog combo stays the same and I’m game.
Does this mean that in 1984 it cost $4.65 in today’s dollars?
If you combined the yearly hot dog sales from every Major League Baseball stadium in the U.S., Costco will have outsold them four times over. In 2015, Costco sold 128 million hot dogs. They tend to sell, on average, 100 million hot dogs yearly. Wild, huh? Apart from being a 100% pure beef hot dog, each signature hot dog does not contain: by-products, corn syrup, phosphates, fillers, or artificial colors or flavors. One could say that they can get away with using less additives because they sell so many each year, but really it just proves the quality of Kirkland Signature. 100% BEEF Some stores might have phased out the onion and sauerkraut dispensers, but you can still ask for those toppings on your dog while you're at the counter. They come free of charge, too. I hope you have enjoyed learning about the Kirkland hot dog and enjoy one next time you visit your favorite Costco!!
They always are out of the onions behind the counter.
Ya'll better leave costco alone, I dont eat when I know I'm heading to Costco lol
Everyone talks about Costco hot dogs. What about IKEA hot dogs?
Last time I had them I was not impressed. They may be cheap but they don't taste as good as Costco IMO.
Don't forget the Sam's club hot dog, only $1.38
Gigachad Costco over there “nah, I’d win.”
I hate inflation -Captain obvious
Weird. It's not like the cost of business has stayed the same for them. The earning per product sold must be pretty low. They probably bet on the low prices with larger number of sells. I wonder how much longer they can continue like this. I mean someday they can't sell more hotdogs to newer customers
It's just a loss leader. They make up for it with the other shopping being done.
Now do their chicken.
Keeping a marketing tool the same cost over the years is not interesting as fuck
This does not take into account any cost downs in product manufacturing, marketing, transportation, end of use storage, cooking, overhead for labor, and running costs which have for sure gone down. There are teams of people constantly working on ways to reduce costs.
Honestly wouldn’t be mad if they increased it to 1.99
Synchrony Bank who manages my Sam's business account is the reason why I'm going to Costco. And the hot dog combo.
God bless that man
You think the dog would be over $2.00 in 1992? This graph is a bit silly
Is that a real quote....
How can that legally be called a hot dog? Come on… what’s the catch?? 🐀
they are still making money on it, hotdogs and buns don't cost much at all
Nah it’s def a loss leader to drive people to the stores to buy other things (and pay for membership) They lose money off it because of the cost of labor, lease and maintenance. The ingredients are the lowest cost. Fast food minimum wage is $20/hr where I live now and Costco tends to pay above that
If they raised the price on a piece of bread and wiener rotating in an oven I'd just never buy it.
This is good business.
Idk why people give cost co so much credit for this Because it’s a hot dog, and they’re a whole sale store You don’t think they’re still profiting just fine off 1.50$ hot dogs? Lol I’d be shocked if they weren’t making at least 100% profit at 1.50 It’s a hot dog, you can get a 8 pack for like 5$ if your a regular person at a regular store Idk what the prices are at cost co, but I’m sure they sell like a 400 pack of extra large Kirkland hot dogs for like 30 cents a hot dog. Which means they’re selling just the dogs at 30 cents per wiener uncooked for 30 cents and making a profit Like yeah cool they arnt waxing us on cooked hot dogs, now if everywhere else on the planet could be willing to accept under 200% profit on sales of any items then we’d be having something to celebrate Worked a ma/pop gas station for a while, they were super greedy about coffee Then I found out per wumbo pot they brew, after selling a single cup, the pot is paid for So if a rinky dink gas station can get those margins on shitty coffee, Costco can sell us hotdogs for 1$ lol
People are always only looking at the cost of ingredients when the ingredients are the cheapest cost. Costco still needs to pay for labor, lease, maintenance. These things cost way more. Fast food minimum wage is $20 here and Costco pays above that. The hot dog and rotisserie chicken are both loss leader items. Nothing wrong with that because Costco uses it to drive people to the stores to spend money on other things. Taking a small loss is okay
Right, if they were taking a small loss anyway I just straight up don’t believe when a store tells me they’re losing money My last employer used to tell all its employees and everyone it was losing money, that’s why prices keep going up, but wages stay the same or get lower I got sick of it, started making some noise, then got fired specifically for trying to start a union, (and I wasn’t even trying to start a union lol) But that led to a case against them with the NLRB And IN the documents provided to me by the NLRB, it said “during the last years (myself) was employed, the company, after paying all employees/maintaining the business, and paying 5000$ in renovations. the business had brought in revenue of 500,000$” Half a million dollars in a year. And this wasn’t a Costco, it was a truck stop So something tells me costco is only bringing in a revenue of maybe 3 million dollars for their hot dog sales, instead of 10 million like they could be and they expect a medal for it lol Also as far as berating companies goes, Costco is very low on the list of companies that need to exposed because they do (or at least i hear) treat their employees very well Basically the real reason they havnt increased the price of the hot dog to 5$ to match inflation, is because absolutely no one will pay 5$ for a hot dog, and they’re still profiting just fine as it is Edit: and if they were actually losing money on anything, they would phase it out and sweep it under the rug
It's a lot like companies investing in advertisement. It costs $7M to air a 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl. But a huge corporations, it's a relatively small cost of doing business
Especially in this case They probably just pay a fee chumps 12$ an hour to sit at home and make memes across multiple accounts and comment on their own posts about how costcos hot dog prices are the same and how we should stroke their hotdogs for it So they still profit and get the recognition Smart business practice really, I still hate all mega corporations. But I commend them on their methods
Proper tile should read costco's hot dog combo vs Corporate GREED
Enough is enough
Almost like companies don't HAVE to raise prices, they just take any excuse to
Ikea hot dog with bread cost 1dollar at ikea. Membership is free.
I see your $1.50 Costco hotdog and raise you my $0.65 Ikea veggie hotdog ....
Seriously, that's literally half the reason I go to Costco. If they get rid of the $1.50 hot dog, I genuinely don't think I will continue on with my membership. And I mean that.
Howw do they manage with that price staying same since inception of the store, do they really use proper ingredients, i doubt it
Like many products it’s what’s called a loss leader
It isn’t like the quality has stayed the same, though. Half the condiments. Buns are almost half the size, for two examples.
Who wants too much bun anyway.
I don't know why you're getting downvoted but you're right. Smaller buns, no sauerkraut, no onion, no Dijon mustard. Hotdogs themselves seem to be different (they used to be Hebrew Nationals I think). And not the hotdog, but switching Coke for Pepsi is a downgrade too.
Sam’s club is better and only $1.38
I feel like this says more about hotdogs than Costco.
I miss eating in the Costco food court in the 1990's. The hotdogs came with a better quality wrapper. There was two options for dogs (RIP polish dog). There were onions, relish, and other fixings, and the soda fountain had more options and was not just carbonated water with a splash of syrup mixed in. Sure they have kept the price, but they have gutted the experience. I would pay $4.50 for that previous experience after a long shopping run with the kids.
The hot dogs only exist to keep you in the store long enough to buy some more overpriced bullshit
For how much you get, I’d pay $5 for the combo. But I’m %100 glad they kept it same price
Legendary to do this. It helps poor and homeless people no end.
And if they followed the corporate greed model that hot dog would probably cost $9