So what’s happening is all of these sections in stores like this Costco behind me are very valuable. So should they be filled with things people aren’t going to buy, or should they be filled with things that people are going to buy? Okay, so check this out. Book bargain hunters will be disappointed to learn that Costco plans to stop selling books at most of its US stores. At the beginning of the year in January, Costco removed the store’s popular book section from the majority of its 600 plus stores in the United States. And it will only return during the holiday season from September to December and at other intermittent times.

The discount store chain told publishers over the summer, according to the New York Times, Costco told executives the change was made because stocking books on tables is labor intensive and must be done by hand rather than by forklift like other items. But here’s what it really comes down to. It doesn’t pay for itself. Regardless of how the store is telling you the books get there on the shelves, they know that that space, that big space is way more valuable than selling something that people are going to need and buy like food and actual items they need around their home than books.

You know, I remember walking through a Costco with a manager, and he showed me something really interesting during the pandemic when they couldn’t get any items in. He brought me in and showed me all the bolts on the ground. He said, look, what we did, all we did was unbolt all of the racks and open up the lanes and made them wider. So it still appeared that the store was full and they actually got rid of complete rows of shelving because they couldn’t bring the items in. It’s really interesting when you think about things like that.

Now, let’s dive into the next story. Let’s see here. Where is it? Right here. Sorry about that. Okay. Goodbye. And this is going to be a really welcome thing for a lot of us. I can’t stand self-checkout lines, right? I don’t like that you have to be surveilled and doing all this stuff yourself. And it’s taking away a job from an American that can add to the economy, bring home money to their family, things like that, right? Well, check this out. Goodbye to self-checkout machines at Walmart and Costco. They’re thinking of changing everything for this reason.

It says the pushback against self-checkout and type one down below if you can’t stand self-checkout lines. The pushback against self-checkout technology is increasing, leading many stores to scale back after its rapid adoption in recent years. It says major retailers like Walmart and Costco and even Wigmans have adjusted their self-checkout strategies. Booth’s, a British supermarket chain, has also announced plans to remove self-checkout stations in all but two of its 28 locations. It says here, our customers have consistently told us that self-scan machines in our stores can be slow, unreliable, and frankly, impersonal. In personal, this booth’s managing director, Nigel Murray, shared recently with the press.

Customers at Booth’s also often struggle to correctly identify fruits and vegetables and all that stuff. I don’t want to sit there and type in the numbers for my vegetables. All right, let’s get back to Costco because that’s why we’re here. And hey, I got to say real quick, type two if you think this is absolutely beautiful. I love it when the ice just formulates on the trees and just sort of expands out. It’s so beautiful. Oh, it looks so sharp and razor-y, but it’s not. It’s not sharp at all. All right, let’s dive into the other story about Costco before we just go a little nutty.

Big egg recall right now. Costco eggs sold under the Kirkland brand are recalled due to salmonella risk. Some Costco eggs sold under the Kirkland Signature brand are being recalled due to the risk of salmonella, according to notice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The Kirkland Signature organic pasture-raised 24-count eggs were sold at 25 Costco locations across several states, according to notice. The recall covers 10,800 packages of eggs, which are from Handsome Brook Farm and were distributed to the Costco store starting on November 22nd. It says here, there haven’t been any reports of illnesses linked to the eggs, the FDA says.

Somebody’s pulling up right now. I wonder if they recognize a ninja. It’s always awkward when I’m filming and there’s somebody right there. The states where the eggs are sold at are Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The recalled eggs are packaged in plastic egg cartons labeled with Kirkland Signature on the top and with UPC 9661910680 printed on their containers. So go check yours if you got some. And good news, Costco’s going to return it. The FDA said the recall only applies to egg cartons with the Julian Code 327 and the You Spy date of January 5th, 2025, which is also printed on the side of the package.

So here’s the, oh, here, you may want to know this, just in closing on this one, what to do with the Costco recalled eggs. Customers who bought the eggs shouldn’t eat them and instead should return them to the local Costco store for a refund and throw out the eggs, the FDA said. Now, in case you want to relive green eggs in hand from Dr. Seuss, I suggest you just bring them back. So anyway, we’ll keep this video really short. I think it’s important to go check your eggs because, I mean, who needs that kind of digestion thing going on? I hope you guys have a great day.

The Economic Ninja is out. [tr:trw].

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