retail theft is increasing, so it’s not surprising to witness a rise in such incidents. However, a recently uncovered strategy by Costco raises concerns, despite its rationale.
According to PC Mag, Costco has taken out high-priced PC components from pre-built systems showcased on their shelves to discourage theft. Specifically, the RAM and GPUs have been eliminated, although those display units remain operational. Removing the RAM modules is logical since they can easily be extracted from a PC setup. Conversely, GPUs would be harder to hide due to their large size in modern graphics cards.
While it may seem a bit odd to encounter pre-built PCs lacking these parts, Costco’s approach is reasonable given the rising costs of RAM and storage. Items ranging from laptops and desktops to smartphones and TVs are experiencing significant price variations. Could it be that Costco will soon also eliminate hard drives and SSDs?