Costco Plans to Stop Selling Books Year-Round

Costco to stop selling books year-round from January 2025, impacting publishers as books will only be available during the holiday season.

on Jun 07, 2024

Costco Plans to Stop Selling Books Year-Round | Frontlist

The ruling, set to take effect in January 2025, might have a huge impact for publishers.

Costco is to discontinue the sale of books at its locations across the United States, according to four publishing executives who were notified of the warehouse retailer's plans on Wednesday.

Beginning in January 2025, the company will stop carrying books on a regular basis and will only sell them during the holiday shopping season, which runs from September to December. During the rest of the year, some books may be offered at Costco locations on occasion, but not consistently, according to the executives, who spoke anonymously to discuss a secret business subject that has not yet been made public.

Costco's turn away from books was largely due to the effort necessary to stock them, according to the executives. Copies must be spread out by hand rather than rolled out on a pallet, as is common at Costco.

The regular turnover of books — new ones are released every Tuesday, and those that have not sold must be returned – produced more work.

A Costco spokesperson did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Wednesday.

The decision might be a big setback for publishers, coming at a time when the sector is experiencing stagnating print sales and publishing firms are struggling to reach clients who have shifted online.