The Costco Hot Dog Hoax That Shocked Shoppers As Shares Tumbled This Week
Costco is famous for its various deals, but the most notorious bargain of all is the $1.50 hot dog and soda combo. It's evident that even after people spend hundreds of dollars at the warehouse club, they can't resist the allure of this deal, because Costco sells an average of 135 million hot dogs per year (via 425 Business). In the current state of the world with rampant inflation, the $1.50 hot dogs serve as a reminder of simpler times and a treat after a day of shopping. Whether or not it's practical to keep it at that price, however, is another story.
The company's current CEO Craig Jelinek once approached former CEO and co-founder Jim Sinegal about raising the price of the infamous combo and Sinegal replied: "If you raise the effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out," via 425 Business. In order to justify the low price, Costco started manufacturing its own hot dogs. It's clear from Sinegal's strong reaction that the hot dog price is nothing to be fooled around with, so when one Twitter user made a joke about the hot dog prices rising by $1, the results were serious.
A Twitter user made the false claim that the hot dog combo price was increasing by $1
The social media explosion that happened shortly after @JohnWRichKid tweeted that the Costco hot dog combo price was increasing by $1 shows how serious people are about this staple item. "When inflation impacts the price of wholesale Glizzys you know you are in a recession," replied one Twitter user. "I was told things were gona get worse but I never could have imagined it would get this bad," commented another.
As the old saying goes, don't believe everything you read on the internet, because this claim had no basis at all. In fact, the original author of the tweet announced that they were planning to stir up trouble the day before, telling people to turn on their notifications. Even the Republican Conference of the United States House of Representatives fell for the rouse, tweeting that "#Bidenflation comes for everything."
Simultaneously, news of Costco's plummeting stock price was circling the internet. According to InvestorPlace, Costco's stock dropped 11.9% on Wednesday afternoon due to investors' caution around the effects of inflation. The investors' concerns were intensified after Target and Walmart released their earnings reports since the stores are in the same market as the warehouse club (via InvestorPlace). So, while @JohnWRichKid's tweet gave false information about the rising price of hot dogs at the Costco food court, citing inflation as an issue for the retailer was accurate whether or not it was intentional.