Why Costco May Be Locking Up Its Crab

When Costco members set out to treat themselves to a new electronic appliance or a high-priced piece of jewelry, there is a certain process set in place meant to protect these expensive items from theft. A photo of the product is printed on a piece of cardboard or a paper display, along with a barcode and the price of the item. The customer can then bring this stand-in up to the cashier, where it can be scanned and paid for. Only then can the customer retrieve the actual product they purchased. This method has been tried and tested in the warehouse for pricier merchandise, but not for everyday items like groceries, where this process might get a little tedious. This is why members of a Pennsylvania Costco warehouse were shocked to find a container of jumbo crab displayed in the same way as a pair of diamond earrings.

A Reddit user shared a photo of this discovery, holding up a piece of cardboard printed with the image of the nearly $39 crab product and instructions to present the stand-in to the cashier to retrieve the seafood item. While Costco has not made any official claims about changes to their crab-selling habits, some members have noticed a significant change in how the store presents this particular product. Commenters on the Reddit thread suggested possible reasons for this change, along with concerns about how this could vastly change Costco's shopping experience.

Costco is no stranger to selling luxury foods like caviar and truffles, but it's not typical that grocery items priced under a few hundred dollars are so closely monitored. Users on Reddit theorized that Costco may be cracking down on grocery theft. One incident was reported by Fox back in September 2022, when a man stole $1,100 worth of king crab legs from a Costco in Michigan. Per the National Retail Federation, research has shown that meat and seafood are among the most shoplifted items. Costco employees also confirmed on the Reddit thread that high-end seafood is often among the most stolen merchandise.

Other Reddit users hypothesized that Costco may be attempting to prevent customers from leaving merchandise in other areas where the seafood could easily spoil. Many of us have done it — shoppers tend to have a habit of rethinking the items in their carts and leaving merchandise in incorrect aisles around stores. When expensive crab is taken out of the refrigerated section, only to be left near the paper goods or clothing, the product can quickly go bad. Using a cardboard stand-in would help prevent spoilage of this prized seafood item.