‘And not the cheap crabs’: LA influencer defends his $63 Costco seafood boil as commenters call out the price

Costco has rolled out a new seafood boil kit priced at $11.99 a pound, promising to cut out the prep work and cleanup that usually comes with hosting a seafood dinner. The convenience angle has proven divisive online, with shoppers debating whether the price makes sense once the contents of the box are broken down. As detailed by BroBible, the discussion picked up steam after a Los Angeles food influencer weighed in on the kit himself.

Lavelle, who runs The Lavelle Show, put the kit to the test in a video that drew more than 1.2 million views. He picked up the boil, took it home, and shared his honest reaction with his audience, admitting he and a friend went back and forth on whether it was “a bang for our buck.” The story gained traction when reported by BroBible, which also noted the kit came with a seasoning packet, cooking instructions, an aluminum pan, and a lid.

As reported by Parade, the boil-ready bag is stocked with wild Dungeness crab sections, shrimp, mussels, and clams, alongside roasted red potatoes and corn, paired with a Cajun-style seasoning packet. Parade noted the kit is built to skip the usual shopping and prep, letting shoppers cook it directly on a stovetop or an outdoor grill burner. That convenience is exactly what set off the wider conversation over whether the price tag was worth it.

The math behind the price has fueled plenty of pushback

Once Lavelle’s $63 total made the rounds, viewers were quick to point out that a chunk of that cost was going toward potatoes and corn rather than seafood. One commenter summed up the reaction, joking, “I’ll call you back later friend, I love you bye,” after seeing the receipt total. The exchange came amid a string of other offbeat grocery store moments circulating online this month, including an Austin man’s carton-of-eggs surprise.

Critics leaned on the raw numbers to make their case. Wild Dungeness crab typically runs $15 to $20 a pound on its own, while shrimp, mussels, and clams generally fall between $4 and $12 a pound. That comparison led some Reddit users to call the kit a scam, arguing that buying the crab by itself would stretch further than paying the same per-pound rate for a mix padded out with cheaper vegetables.

Not every reaction to the boil was negative, though. The debate landed alongside other unrelated viral stories making the rounds this week, including a story about a robot wedding turning heads online. For the seafood boil itself, most reviewers agreed the appeal comes down to convenience rather than value. Lavelle said he enjoyed the sides, the seasoning, and the seafood, even warming up to the mussels and clams he wasn’t sure he would like going in.

Shoppers hoping to track down the kit can check availability through the Costco app using item number 17231, searching the Warehouse tab under Search Warehouse Inventory to see if it is currently in stock nearby.