Costco Lovers Outraged After Company Stops Selling Books in Stores

For years, many Costco customers enjoyed being able to buy books of all kinds at an affordable price. But it appears that the days of browsing the book section at the big-box store are numbered. 

According to The New York Times, Costco plans to end its regular book sales at stores across the country starting in January of next year. Instead, customers will only be able to buy books in stores during the holiday shopping period from September through December. 

Four publishing executives anonymously disclosed that some books could be sold occasionally at stores throughout the year, but regular stocking of books won’t be as consistent as it once was. The decision, they say, is largely because of the labor required to stock them; rather than the books be rolled out on pallets like many other products at the store, Costco workers have to set them out by hand.

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Costco had already ceased book sales in some markets like Alaska and Hawai’i. The news of this larger scaling back came as a disappointment to several shoppers on Reddit. 

“I remember going as a kid in the ’90s and the book section was right in the middle of the store and seemed to go on for miles. My parents would just leave me there to browse while they shopped. Glorious,” one person wrote. 

“That’s a shame,” another lamented. “The book section is always my first stop—yes, even before the vino. I’ve bought many a book there ’cause they seem to always have something that appealed to me.”

Others mourned the loss of the children’s book section, which allowed many parents to stock up on reads for their kids at a good price. “The biggest miss will be the kids’ books,” one person wrote. “I hope the children’s book section stays,” another said. “Now where am I supposed to buy all my kids books?” one person asked. “That stinks. I’ve bought plenty of books from them. My kid has a shelf full of the sets they sell,” another said.

With the holiday shopping season just three months away, customers might not have to wait too long to see the latest titles in stores once again.