Some places, destinations and cities are simply made certain points in time.
If you've ever taken a walk through Rome, for example, you can probably agree that it's easy to imagine what it would have been like to stroll through the markets as an ancient Roman in 85 AD.
Related: Costco members should know this about a popular (and convenient) item
Perhaps you're a historian of more recent events and have visited Plymouth Rock. Its fame is still palpable, but we can probably all agree that that jagged outcropping had its heyday in 1620.
New York seems to glitter a little brighter at Christmastime, Augusta, Ga., is made for February, and there's no place like a Buffalo, N.Y., parking lot just before kickoff in the fall.
The seasonality of places is what gives them meaning. It electrifies an atmosphere and makes a destination come alive. Nowhere is this more true than Costco (COST) -), the great American warehouse, about one week before Thanksgiving.
And if you're one of the nearly 128 million cardholders in the U.S., you probably agree.
That's because Costco is more of an experience than a department store or grocer. It sells kayaks, jeans, diamonds, liquor, books, wagyu beef, and 7.2 pound-chocolate cakes.
As you meander through the aisles, the glazed concrete floors ahead seem to open up before you as you ponder things like "do I really need a roll with 380 sheets of toilet paper?" and "if I pay $16 for five dozen eggs, how much does that come out to per omelette?"
But naturally, such deals can attract a frenzy around the holidays. And the wholesaler may have a hard time keeping one popular item on the shelves this 2023 holiday season.
One top item is selling fast
In 2019, when many families gathered for the last time before a pandemic-enforced hiatus, Costco reportedly sold about 6.3 million pumpkin pies. The retailer claimed that fully a third of those pies were sold in the three days leading up to Thanksgiving —that's Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of that holiday week.
Now, it's 2023 and Costco is claiming that it's already selling a zillion of the same beloved item, ostensibly as more folks gear up for the holidays and scramble to bring home a pie ahead of the shopping rush.
While the holiday treat normally begins selling in August, many people wait to bring home a large perishable good. And this year the price is unbeatable. At $5.99 per pie, it's larger than your average supermarket pie — it weighs about three pounds (1.37kg) — so it serves more family members per unit.
Thanksgiving week has only just begun, but given the online frenzy about this bakery mainstay, the pies are almost guaranteed to fly off the shelves.
Another reason it might be selling fast: Its price has held steady at $5.99 for the second year in a row. As food prices nationwide continue to rise, it's nice to know that we can rely on at least one thing to stay steady. That, and the Costco hot dog.
