I'd argue that the author's choice of volume as the metric to compare against is a poor one.
The costco hotdog contains 580 calories, approximately 110 of which is the bun. If the bun shrinks by 30%, the calories of the entire dog shrinks by 5.7%%. But also the $1.50 is for a combo that includes a drink of up to 270 calories, so the caloric content of the combo shrinks by 3.9% -- substantially less than the 37% claimed volume loss (which does not account for the drink).
EDIT - The drink also allows for a refill which would add another 270 calories bringing the total to 1120, and the caloric shrinkage down to 2.9%
When looking at protein the meal loses 1 gram out of 23, or 4% loss, which is less than inflation. Good for all the gym rats.
People want something to wash down the salty protein and fat. They've always had the choice of water, several sodas, and usually bad ice tea, bad lemonade and a diet soda or two.
Soda isn't my preference and personally I'd probably skip out, but it feels disingenuous to completely ignore something included in the price when discussing the value of an item.
That's why I have percentages for both the dog alone and the combo.
You're welcome to break this down however you wish. I don't think there's any perfect measurement or stat here as every consumer values the various components of the combo differently. If you are a consumer that values the drink highly, then a dog-only analysis is incomplete. If you only care about the dog then you want to leave the drink out. Neither of these calculations is inherently more or less accurate than the other, they're just relevant to different preferences.
My original point is that by changing what metric and how much of the combo you look at the calculated loss can vary significantly: over an order of magnitude difference between the dog-only volume loss and the refilled drink calorie loss.
There's no limit on how much ketchup you can add. Since total calories/$ is your metric, there's no reason why you couldn't make each visit deflationary!
And some people eat the dog dry and some add a bunch of relish and mustard and four other toppings. And some people don't eat the bun. And some people don't even finsh the dog. So what?
The option to get water is a meaningless observation that doesn't invalidate the assessment of what you get for the money.
The Costco hot dog is not a health food to most people, so I don’t think soda is a problem.
Also, it is not possible to buy the hot dog without a soda. So really, people are going for the soda when they get the hot dog, whether they want it or not.
A 20oz/medium coke/pepsi is $2 (McDonald's) to $3 (Wendy's, KFC, Burger King, etc). The majority of people buy one with an entree at all those places. Revealed preference vs you living in a bubble.
I just searched Google for "highest calorie tuber" to try and see what the best choice would be (cassava/tapioca/yucca) but Google was very insistent I see the search results for "highest calorie tube".
I got a Costco hot dog the other day, and it looked like the 2023 version. The 2026 one looks comical, like someone took an off the shelf bun and put the dog in it. Maybe that particular Costco ran out of the normal buns?
It definitely does. As I just learned today, Costco stores source buns from different local/regional bakeries, so the size and quality can vary widely. I also learned that people have been complaining about the Costco hot dog buns getting smaller for at least a couple of years now.
I've found the pizza varies a lot from location to location, within the same region. The good ones are some of the best pizza I've had, and others are less desirable than frozen pizza.
I'm skeptical that you can derive these conclusions from those assumptions. Here in Canada they are required to post the caloric content of the hot dogs, so even a 10% change in content will be obvious. A 37% cut means they would have changed the signs from 540 calories to 340, but nothing like that has happened.
Once, I watched a boomer in a red cap fill a soda cup with 50 pumps of mustard from the Costco condiment commons as a little take-home treat. I'm surprised that any condiments are still self-serve.
What’s funny is that up in Canada the buns look like the 2023 bun, and the price is still $1.50CAD.
Indexed to the USD, the price is actually dropping in the past few years in Canada, and we still have the option of a polish dog (and poutine, and smoked meat sandwiches).
The author seems to just assume the hot dog has stayed exactly the same size at 8"; I suppose it's unlikely it'd have gotten larger, but that seems a big assumption to base the entire analysis on.
Last time I got a costco hot dog the bun didn't look like that. Probably what happened is they ran out of hot dog buns and someone just grabbed some off the self and they weren't big enough.
The buns are different in different markets in my experience. I would be hesitant to make universal claims knowing this and knowing about other regional food court differences. Although, I think things are more standard since Covid.
The food court has always been accessible/usable without a membership. Just depends on how hard the store polices the people coming in through the exit.
It’s been policy that membership is required to eat at the food court, but some stores with outdoor food courts don’t enforce it. It’s absolutely false to say they’ve “always been accessible “.
I got a slice of pizza a couple of weeks ago and they wanted to see my card. I can't remember ever having to show my card for the food. (in southern California)
The Costco Pharmacy is accessible to anyone who is filling a prescription there. Because of state and federal regulations on this, you do not need to be a member if you are there to fill a valid prescription (not OTC.) You can enjoy Costco's ordinary low prices, but not the member-exclusive discounts. You can inform the person checking IDs and they will admit you to the store.
Now off to my PCP for a Polish Dog with Mustard and Onions Prescription...
Costco shoppers love shoving these wieners in their mouth. If they don't have one in their mouth, they're telling everyone in the vicinity about it. This is the one of the cringiest things about Americans.
I'd argue that the author's choice of volume as the metric to compare against is a poor one.
The costco hotdog contains 580 calories, approximately 110 of which is the bun. If the bun shrinks by 30%, the calories of the entire dog shrinks by 5.7%%. But also the $1.50 is for a combo that includes a drink of up to 270 calories, so the caloric content of the combo shrinks by 3.9% -- substantially less than the 37% claimed volume loss (which does not account for the drink).
EDIT - The drink also allows for a refill which would add another 270 calories bringing the total to 1120, and the caloric shrinkage down to 2.9%
When looking at protein the meal loses 1 gram out of 23, or 4% loss, which is less than inflation. Good for all the gym rats.
Edit 2 - fixed percentage calculations
yeah, sugar water is totally what people are going for when they get a costco hot dog.
People want something to wash down the salty protein and fat. They've always had the choice of water, several sodas, and usually bad ice tea, bad lemonade and a diet soda or two.
Soda isn't my preference and personally I'd probably skip out, but it feels disingenuous to completely ignore something included in the price when discussing the value of an item.
That's why I have percentages for both the dog alone and the combo.
The combo also includes water as an option instead of soda, water is 0 calories. The hot dog is what matters.
You're welcome to break this down however you wish. I don't think there's any perfect measurement or stat here as every consumer values the various components of the combo differently. If you are a consumer that values the drink highly, then a dog-only analysis is incomplete. If you only care about the dog then you want to leave the drink out. Neither of these calculations is inherently more or less accurate than the other, they're just relevant to different preferences.
My original point is that by changing what metric and how much of the combo you look at the calculated loss can vary significantly: over an order of magnitude difference between the dog-only volume loss and the refilled drink calorie loss.
lies, damned lies, and statistics.
There's no limit on how much ketchup you can add. Since total calories/$ is your metric, there's no reason why you couldn't make each visit deflationary!
And some people eat the dog dry and some add a bunch of relish and mustard and four other toppings. And some people don't eat the bun. And some people don't even finsh the dog. So what?
The option to get water is a meaningless observation that doesn't invalidate the assessment of what you get for the money.
The Costco hot dog is not a health food to most people, so I don’t think soda is a problem.
Also, it is not possible to buy the hot dog without a soda. So really, people are going for the soda when they get the hot dog, whether they want it or not.
I hope it's not a health food to anyone.
Also, I've bought the hot dog and forgone the soda.
A 20oz/medium coke/pepsi is $2 (McDonald's) to $3 (Wendy's, KFC, Burger King, etc). The majority of people buy one with an entree at all those places. Revealed preference vs you living in a bubble.
If you're going for calorie/$ then nothing beats potato chips
I think you mean cooked whole potatoes.
Potato chips are generally very low weight, and include other calorie containing products, such as oil.
Right, I was wrong. The best calorie/$ ratio is with a bottle of cooking oil. (7-9k calories/$)
But you cannot eat that, so potato chips are a distant second (at least from the products I checked)
And no, the calories in chips added by the oil offset the lesser amount of weight you buy per unit - at least in my locality.
If I just look at calories per dollar, potato chips seem the most cost effective - at least as long as you take the cheapest ones
Pure potatoes are somewhere around 200-500 calories per dollar, cheap potato chips are around 1000/dollar
Pure noodles or rice might be even better, I didn't check those admittedly.
I just searched Google for "highest calorie tuber" to try and see what the best choice would be (cassava/tapioca/yucca) but Google was very insistent I see the search results for "highest calorie tube".
I got a Costco hot dog the other day, and it looked like the 2023 version. The 2026 one looks comical, like someone took an off the shelf bun and put the dog in it. Maybe that particular Costco ran out of the normal buns?
Same here.
>The price has not changed since 1984.
$1.50 in 1984 money is $3.21 in today's money.
https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/
I'd love to see a photo from 1984 though! Seen old photos from fast food chains where the same food items used to be much larger.
These hotdogs are clearly the most efficient item in the economy over 40 years
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_leader
...and people joked that the 'is it a hot dog' photo analyzer was useless...
One of my favorite memes shows a kid having a conversation with his father in the car:
Kid: Dad, why is my sister named Rose?
Dad: Because your mother really like roses.
Kid: Oh, ok, thanks Dad!
Dad: No problem, Costco Hot-Dog!
When did this change supposedly occur because when I last got one the bun looked like it did in the 2023 photo, which was in the last two months.
bun size may depend on location
It definitely does. As I just learned today, Costco stores source buns from different local/regional bakeries, so the size and quality can vary widely. I also learned that people have been complaining about the Costco hot dog buns getting smaller for at least a couple of years now.
They use different bun purveyors. West coast has sesame seeds, northeast has weird wheat bits and Canada has a smaller bun with some sesame seeds.
IMO, Canada has the superior bun. They also have the smoked meat sandwich, but their pizza is ass.
I've found the pizza varies a lot from location to location, within the same region. The good ones are some of the best pizza I've had, and others are less desirable than frozen pizza.
I'm skeptical that you can derive these conclusions from those assumptions. Here in Canada they are required to post the caloric content of the hot dogs, so even a 10% change in content will be obvious. A 37% cut means they would have changed the signs from 540 calories to 340, but nothing like that has happened.
Exactly. The pizza has changed, the calories have gone down slightly especially on the cheese.
Sad, but not as shittifying as losing the infinite onion grinder to COVID. The hot dog was only just the delivery device.
You know they will give you as many onions as you want, yeah? You just have to ask at the counter.
for a while they didn't have that option either.
or the combo pizza
The combo was glorious. Probably the best shitty pizza I've ever had.
Once, I watched a boomer in a red cap fill a soda cup with 50 pumps of mustard from the Costco condiment commons as a little take-home treat. I'm surprised that any condiments are still self-serve.
What’s funny is that up in Canada the buns look like the 2023 bun, and the price is still $1.50CAD.
Indexed to the USD, the price is actually dropping in the past few years in Canada, and we still have the option of a polish dog (and poutine, and smoked meat sandwiches).
The author seems to just assume the hot dog has stayed exactly the same size at 8"; I suppose it's unlikely it'd have gotten larger, but that seems a big assumption to base the entire analysis on.
Last time I got a costco hot dog the bun didn't look like that. Probably what happened is they ran out of hot dog buns and someone just grabbed some off the self and they weren't big enough.
Clickbaity title. The price tag didn’t change and still sits at 1.50.
Shrinkflation is a thing and the bun has been its victim. They could slowly shrink the sausage now until it fits the bun again.
Wouldn’t it just be much simpler to weigh the hot dog and bun?
Without having done so in 2023, the comparison would not be complete
The buns are different in different markets in my experience. I would be hesitant to make universal claims knowing this and knowing about other regional food court differences. Although, I think things are more standard since Covid.
Frankly, I prefer the newer bun; better bite consistency and topping distribution.
The loss on the Costco hotdog is effectively Costco’s entire marketing budget. People make their own merch celebrating it.
Buns and bun suppliers aren't the same all over the country. They're usually sourced locally.
And can change over the years and even month to month. Their pizza dough has changed supplies a few times here. They helpfully leave the boxes out.
The materials cost between those buns is practically nothing. OP is reaching.
Thank for you putting this out, I love these deep dives into niche topics!
Should have used his hand ( visible in both pictures) as the metric.
These have been sold at a loss forever , still need a membership. So raising the price of the membership indirectly makes the hotdogs more expensive
The food court has always been accessible/usable without a membership. Just depends on how hard the store polices the people coming in through the exit.
It’s been policy that membership is required to eat at the food court, but some stores with outdoor food courts don’t enforce it. It’s absolutely false to say they’ve “always been accessible “.
Had* always been accessible.
Afaik, it's location dependent now with the default being no.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/27/the-reason-why-costco-is-ban...
yeah and my answer is still downvoted lol
There's no fact checker here that stops downvotes for correct comments.
I would say don't get hung up over it but judging by your karma I'm more surprised your commenting about it.
I got a slice of pizza a couple of weeks ago and they wanted to see my card. I can't remember ever having to show my card for the food. (in southern California)
Claude also agrees you increasingly need a membership. My answer was correct and still downvoted. Yeah go figure
The Costco Pharmacy is accessible to anyone who is filling a prescription there. Because of state and federal regulations on this, you do not need to be a member if you are there to fill a valid prescription (not OTC.) You can enjoy Costco's ordinary low prices, but not the member-exclusive discounts. You can inform the person checking IDs and they will admit you to the store.
Now off to my PCP for a Polish Dog with Mustard and Onions Prescription...
Not for the consumer it hasn't.
Cost, not price.
Mannnn this is dumb. The hot dog is what I am there for! Not the fucking bun! This is a product improvement!!
fiat money printer made it possible
tldr, price same, hot dog same size, bun much smaller
A reduction in carbs and corresponding increase in relative protein consumption is probably a superior move for your average Costco member.
lips and assholes
Costco shoppers love shoving these wieners in their mouth. If they don't have one in their mouth, they're telling everyone in the vicinity about it. This is the one of the cringiest things about Americans.
I'm an American Costco shopper. I'm in there at least every other week and haven't had a hot dog there in a couple of years.
What's the cringiest thing about people in your country?