“Costco Should Have Rules against This” — Customers Slammed for Hoarding Thanksgiving Pies

Bulk retailers embrace the philosophy that bigger is always better. Purchasing larger amounts of an item or product almost always results in more savings for the consumer, and Costco is one mega-store franchise that wholly embraces this concept.

It's not uncommon to see folks who run a convenience store buying large boxes of gum and variety pack chocolate bars, which they then place on a car or even flatbed trolley that's already filled with numerous 24-pack plastic-wrapped cartons of soda cans.

Or maybe just families who know which products they like and are willing to buy more of them all at once: a two pack box containing very large bags filled to the brim with Frosted Mini Wheats anyone?

However, at what point does bulk-shopping at a retailer go from shopping smart to being an inconsiderate hoarder. That's a question that Redditor @mumarco posed with a jarring photo she snapped of a man pushing around 42 pumpkin pies towards what looks like a checkout register in a busy store.

One commenter expressed their displeasure at seeing a patron pile up so many pies at once, effectively destroying the chance for other shoppers to bring one of the desserts home: "Costco should have rules against this kind of s--- it ruins it for everyone," they wrote.

Someone else joked that the shopper must've admired the people referenced in critical thinking mathematics problems, "I remember this guy from my math textbooks"

The big question, which is probably the first one on everyone's mind who sees this picture, is why in the world is this individual purchasing 42 Costco Pumpkin Pies in one go?

One Redditor had a theory: "It's a realtor. Why they chose Costco pies as the gift for the holidays, don't know. Realtors will buy a pie for their clients during the holidays."

Someone else argued that the chain should open up more Business Center variants of its stores where massive quantities of items can be purchased in one go, easing the burden on customers who don't purchase enough pies to fuel an entire season's run of The Three Stooges.

"I get its wholesale and every member can buy what and how much of what they want.. but I think Costco should invest in more of the business centers.. the nearest one to me if in north Jersey about an hour and a half or so away. I’m basically in between nyc and Philly. Having more of these locations would make it easier for food service businesses to get their goods at even better bulk prices. I’m sure some areas can’t support having them competing with regular costcos but I think some areas it wouldn’t eat away too much from regular stores."

Speaking from personal experience her as a longtime North Jersey resident and Costco shopper, I can confidently agree with the Redditor's final point about Business Centers not cannibalizing sales of other stores. There are in Northern NJ.

One of them, the Business Center, which was an OG Costco store that was converted to a primarily bulk order operation after the Teterboro Landing location opened.

In fact, the Business Center is roughly 2.1-2.7 miles away from the new store, and all three of the locations are fully operational and have their fair share of customers. The primary reason for this could be that the store's offerings are diversified enough to give different customer demographics different impetuses for visiting each location.

The Clifton one has a gas station that almost always offers comparatively lower-priced gasoline when stacked against other stations in the area, and the Teterboro Landing location is new, shiny, and massive. The Business Center handles mass quantity orders and also has different offerings, but not as variegated of a selection as the other stores. All of them fulfill a particular need.

While 42 pies at once is excessive, it's not difficult to understand why folks go gaga over Costco's Pumpkin Pie: not only do throngs of people find the offering delicious, it's also absolutely massive and only costs $5.99. Which is a heck of a lot of seasonal dessert for such little money.

And @Mumarco isn't the only Redditor to capture a Pumpkin Pie enthusiast hoarding all of the desserts for themselves, either. Another person on the platform, @david4adverts, snapped a photograph of another shopper pushing a shopping cart filled to the brim with the beloved desserts.

In fact, even the bottom of the cart had three pies just chilling there. And if you wanted to get an idea of how fast these bad boys move, just take a gander at this timelapse video below.

What's your favorite Thanksgiving dessert? Are you team pumpkin? Or do you like to grab some apple/peach cobbler? Or maybe a pecan pie? Great, now I'm hungry. Good think I've got three Costcos all within a 12 minute drive of where I live.