Holiday Pie Hoarders Are Becoming A Bit Of An Issue For Costco
Thanksgiving is almost here, and people are picking up last-minute essentials at Costco, like canned fried onions, canisters of whipped cream, or a very reasonable 30 to 50 pumpkin pies. Seriously: Social media is rife with photos of carts full of pie from the bulk retailer. And your local Costco might not be able to keep up with demand.
On Reddit, a self-identified Costco employee claimed their location sold 650 pumpkin pies in an hour. That's not hard to believe, based on the photos and videos shared by Costco shoppers around the country. At least one location seems to be taking measures to limit the pumpkin pie exodus. "They had a 1 item per membership limit," another Redditor wrote.
But at other locations, the bulk-buying is going strong. One shot snapped by a shopper shows a utility cart packed with dozens of pies. "He got 42 pies but why no whip cream?" the poster commented. In another image, one shopping cart's main, upper, and lower sections are packed with pies. "What do people do with so many pies?" the poster wondered. All great questions!
Why do some Costco shoppers buy so many pies?
Watching someone load a cart with more pies than they could eat in a year, let alone one day, you may be wondering what they're thinking. Well, stop judging: They might be thinking about the less fortunate. Churches and homeless shelters often host free Thanksgiving meals — with pumpkin pie for dessert.
On the other hand, they might just be a realtor. According to Redditors, pumpkin pie is a popular promotional gift from realtors to potential clients. "My realtor is my Costco pie dealer," one commenter said. "I haven't paid for [one] in years." That tracks — real estate agents from California to Washington have posted about Costco pie runs.
Whether a particular bulk buyer is picking up pies for charity or capitalism, it's no big mystery why they'd go to Costco. It's a well-known place to shop for a cheap, cheerful pie — or 100 of them.