Americans who bought a gold bar from Costco last year are now $400 in profit - as it emerges retailer sells $200 million of the bars EVERY MONTH

Costco is now estimated to be selling up to $200 million worth of gold a month - but have Americans who bought them made a profit?

Those who bought them last year or earlier this year before gold jumped in price will have made a profit, DailyMail.com research shows. Those who bought them more recently will have to wait and see.

The wholesale retailer started offering 1-ounce bars last summer and executives reported they were flying off of shelves.

In the months since, Costco embraced the trend by stocking an increasing range of bullion and coins and, according to Wells Fargo, is now selling between $100 million and $200 million worth of gold a month.

It comes as gold prices continue to beat record highs as inflation persistently batters the US economy. This year gold spot prices are up more than 13 percent.

Costco is now selling up to $200 million worth of gold a month, a Wells Fargo analyst has estimated

Costco's 1-ounce 24-karat bars were around $1,950 in September. This week they were around $2,400. Pictured is one of Costco's 1-ounce gold bars listed on its website in December

When Costco started selling 1-ounce 24-karat bars in September they cost around $1,949.99. This week, they were $2,369.99, although they were sold out on Wednesday.

It means the difference in cost between bars sold in September and now is $420.  Even since January, when they were priced at $2,069.99, the bars are $300 more.

This means owners who bought last year - or even earlier this year - would have returns of several hundred dollars if they sold them now.

While owners cannot simply sell them back to Costco for the current price they are being sold for, they would be able to get about 95 to 98 percent of the current market price if they were to take them to a precious metals dealer online or in a mall.

'Our work suggests there has been significant interest given Costco's aggressive pricing and high level of customer trust,' Wells Fargo equity analyst Edward Kelly said in a note to clients on Tuesday.

'The accelerating frequency of Reddit posts, quick online sell-outs of product, and Costco's robust monthly eComm sales suggests a sharp uptick in momentum since the launch.'

His predictions are significantly higher than sales as indicated by executives during an earnings call in December.

Costco's then-CFO Richard Galanti said the company had sold about $100 million worth of gold bars in its fiscal quarter that ended in late November 2023.

The company has however significantly increased its offering of gold products since then. In addition to the two gold bars it was selling last year, gold coins are also available.

Those include the 'American Eagle Gold Coin' and 'American Buffalo Gold Coin.' 

Pictured are two new gold products Costco is selling: the 'American Eagle Gold Coin' and 'American Buffalo Gold Coin'

The retailer has also increased sales limits to five per customer, up from two previously.

Nonetheless, the increased sales are not necessarily resulting in significant profits for Costco, according to Kelly.

That's because it's offering executive members 2 percent cash back and another 2 percent for those who use their Citigroup credit cards, said Kelly.

'Pricing at that level and shipping costs suggests it's a very low-profit business at best,' he wrote in the note.

Americans looking to invest in gold today have two very different options.

They can either buy physical gold, like Costco's gold bars, or an exchange-traded fund (ETF), which behaves like a stock that tracks the value of gold.

The 1-ounce gold bars were listed on Costco's website for $2,369.99 this week - marginally higher than the current spot price of $2,347, according to APMEX. 

That is because the retailer has to make a small profit, plus there is the cost of manufacturing and shipping the bars.