- Content creator Joey Kinsley, known as Sir Yacht, ate nothing but Costco's $1.50 hot dog combo for a week.
- "I really didn't get sick of it," Kinsley said, praising the dog's size, taste, and price.
Content creator Joey Kinsley wanted to generate a buzz on social media without breaking the bank.
In the fall of 2023, he visited all 50 US state capitals in 30 days. So, to save money, he decided to set himself a much cheaper challenge: Living off Costco's $1.50 hot dog deal for a week.
Over the course of one week in January, Kinsley ate 29 hot dog combos, which came to a total of $43.50.
Other than drinking water, he didn't consume anything else, Kinsley told Business Insider. He always got the same condiments on his hot dog – ketchup, mustard, and relish – and would use the refillable soda included in the deal to have a cup or two of Pepsi or Mountain Dew with each dog, he said.
"I really didn't get sick of it the entire time," Kinsley, who goes by Sir Yacht on his social-media profiles, said. "It's a good hot dog. It's a big hot dog, too. You really get your bang for your buck."
And the dogs were "very consistent" between each visit, he said.
Kinsley estimated that the hot dogs added up to more than 16,000 calories, excluding condiments and soda.
"I definitely don't recommend anybody do it just because it is not very good for you. God knows what's in a hot dog," he said. "I would never do this if it wasn't for a social media project."
Kinsley said that he hadn't actually tried the hot dog deal before and got a membership at the retailer for the stunt.
The low price of Costco's hot dog deal is 'such an anomaly'
"Everything is so expensive now," Kinsley said. "You can barely get a gumball for $1.50 it seems like these days." Costco's hot dog deal is "such an anomaly," he said, noting that he would "definitely" have paid $5 or more to get a hot dog of that size and quality.
Kinsley said that the nearest Costco to him was about a half-hour drive away. "I definitely spent a lot more money on gas throughout the week than I did on food."
Costco has charged $1.50 for the combo since 1985. The big-box retailer has committed to maintaining this price point, even as inflation makes labor and ingredients more expensive, and despite putting up the prices of some other food-court staples.
The $1.50 hot dog combo is widely viewed as a loss leader. But it brings in incremental profits for the retailer. The lure of such cheap food helps pull customers through Costco's doors, where they're likely to be tempted to make other, more profitable purchases. It drives customer loyalty, too, by emphasizing Costco's commitment to low prices. In 2019, it sold 151 million hot-dog combos.
If the price of Costco's hot-dog combo rose at the rate of inflation, it would cost more than $4 now. Costco founder Jim Senegal once told CEO Craig Jelinek: "If you raise the effing hot dog, I will kill you," per Seattle publication 425 Business.
Kinsley's video of the challenge has blown up on TikTok, with more than 4 million views.
"I just didn't realize how much people love hot dogs in America," Kinsley said. "There's a cult following with hot dogs and then there's a cult following with Costco. So it's like a double whammy with the Costco hotdog meal. And people love a good bargain, especially in 2024."
"I don't regret it at all," Kinsley said. "The reaction on social media has been crazy."