Costco's Kirkland Golf Ball "Out Of Stock" Until December 20th

Thanks to reader Steve for Erik Matuszewski's Forbes follow-up on sales of Costco's knock-off ball zooming from shelves large crates for $29.99 per TWO dozen. A date of December 20th is listed as the earliest re-stocking of a ball that has tested well.

Even more remarkably, folks are trying to resell them at a premium price.

The balls, not surprisingly, have popped up on auction sites like eBay, with listings of $48.99 for a dozen, $90 for two dozen or $189.99 for 48 balls. Those aren't wholesale club prices there, folks. Costco has declined to say how many of the Kirkland balls have been sold since the launch or generally give any detailed information about the balls at all. It's actually not a bad approach; the company is letting (positive) word of mouth speak for the ball, the same as it has for, say, its high-quality wines.

It will be interesting to see how long this phenomenon continues until (or if) the lack of elite-player usage undermines some of the excitement.