Avid golfers are desperate to get their hands on a new golf ball sold for just $1.25 at Costco (COST).
The ball, marketed under Costco’s Kirkland Signature brand, has been out of stock for much of the past two months, the Wall Street Journal reports. It’s uncertain if and when the balls will be back on shelves. As a result, buyers willing to pay far more than the product’s retail price are scouring secondary markets like eBay.
Despite its low retail price, the ball reportedly performs as well as its more expensive rivals, according to consumer website MyGolfSpy. The site claims that the Costco ball tests favorably against products including Titleist Pro V1, golf’s best-selling ball.
“This is just a perception killer,” Adam Beach, owner of MyGolfSpy, told the Journal. “This will change the entire industry.”
The popularity of Costco’s ball has indeed surprised the lucrative golfing industry, which operates on the assumption that price level is heavily linked to quality, the Journal reports. Costco has now removed the product’s listing from its website.