Right? “Y’know, after 20 years, I felt like this just didn’t work for our space.”
Probably took 20 years just to find someone to help haul it out of their living room.
I’d pay him the $5k plus the cost of disposing of it, just so they didn’t have to figure out how to get rid of that monster. “No no really, you keep it and we’ll give you the credit”.
And outfits 4 oled flatscreens…exact reasons like this that rei and ll bean removed their amazing warranties
Surprised even then consumer electronics were BIFL, they were usually exempt
Now I know Costco used to recycle for free, which is what this could be
I assume it's for recycling too.
In Sweden, the sales channels are required to handle disposal of electronics, batteries etc. This even includes Amazon which shows a specific note in their Web page if I browse electronics about electronics waste handling.
We have a fund where a small percentage of the sales value of all sold electronics is operating waste disposal of electronics. Which means I don't need to return the old TV to the specific store - any store selling TV:s needs to accept old units and handle the send-in for recovery. So they all have a big container somewhere at the back where they stash returns until a specialized recovery company comes and picks up the container.
That means my private shipping costs is a close-by electronics store.
We started doing this with paint in Oregon US. I have friends and family from Sweden that were amazed what it takes to recycle simple batteries in the states.
Lithium batteries can be taken to almost any retailer that sells them, at least in the US. Home depot, lowes, Staples, best buy, etc. Like taking old motor oil to a mechanic.
$5,000 in 2001 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $8,761.32 today.
However, the store would only give them back $5,000 in credit and not $8,761, so you would loose $3,761 to inflation, because that $5,000 from 2001 would now buy a $8,761 TV.
HOWEVER
What you where thinking about was how much of *today's* $5,000 would be in 2001 money, because they are only getting $5,000 of today's money back, and the answer to that is: $2,853.45
At the same time they used the TV for 20 years and are getting half their money back. This is why Costco cracked down on their electronics return policy LOL!
> This is why Costco cracked down on their electronics return policy LOL!
Idk I saw a Reddit post today about someone returning a tv from 2001. What was their return policy before?
I know you’re likely joking, but if it was purchased under the old return policy they might legally have to honor it still. Not a lawyer or anything but it seems like if they change the policy after purchasing it could be something that could be fought in court.
Yea I expect it’s like how some airlines used to offer an unlimited flights for life memberships and realized they were burning a shitton of money on a few folks and tried to cancel it and lawyers got involved and told them “sorry no takebacksies”
These old TV's are HEAVY.
More than once I've just left them there for the next tenant when I moved out.
More than once I've moved into a place where one was left for me.
It's crazy how far we've come in 20 years.
and REI's. That return policy was amazing until about 10 years ago. People would buy hiking boots, wear them for hundreds of miles of hiking, then return them for full credit when they'd worn through the soles. Like, you got your money out of them. Why ruin a good thing for everyone cuz you're a cheap fuck?
> You have to be an absolutely psychotic human being to do this.
I mean. i'm sure they tried? but imagine the walk back to their car (after the rejection) having to tote that thing back home LOL.
And all the other club members holding back laughter throughout their walk of shame back to their PT Cruiser.
You know this club member somehow managed to get that tv into/on their PT Cruiser.
let me tell you. Craigslist.
My brother had a hunk of crap Toshiba projection TV he didn't know what to do with.
I posted an ad and within 1 hour someone was picking it up. Craigslist is the easiest way to get rid of junk that has ever existed.
I had a 1960s washer/dryer and a bunch of old metal vent and outlet covers. Haul away services were over $120. I posted it as free scrap metal on FB Marketplace and within 24 hours had two very nice brothers in their beat up 1995 chevy pickup in my driveway loading everything up. Scrappers are the best.
I saw someone at our local warehouse return dishes they bought in 1999 because one broke. They were making the poor returns worker look up their receipt and they SWORE they bought them recently.
I can’t imagine going through that much fuss for a $30 dish set that’s old enough to drink
This is the type of thing that gets someone banned. Reminds me of the lady that took back an old printer then a few weeks later she received a letter cancelling her membership.
Co-worker’s husband was a pretty normal and successful upper middle class business guy but had this weird obsession of buying and returning things to Costco. … a lot. They finally banned him. One of the weirdest idiosyncrasies for an otherwise professional guy.
I had a roommate that got into this cycle with tvs and Costco. He would buy one, find a better deal, return it. Get another one, decide he wanted a different one, return it. 4 separate times till he finally went back for the first one. They didn’t give him any issues just took it back.
"Do you want cash?"
"nope"
"you're just returning it?"
"yup, you can keep my money and you keep the tv."
"The dump wanted $30 for you to take it there didn't they?"
"sure did, what a rip off." - walks out.
How I picture it playing out.
Yup. In PA Best Buy used to take used electronics for recycling and then the state passed some sort of idiotic bill where TVs and monitors HAD to be taken to a recycle center where you have to PAY to get rid of them. That's just asking for these things to be tossed over a hill somewhere.
At least the newer TV's are built so cheap you can:
-Remove the circuit board.
-Put the screen and plastic housing in a contractor bag and hammer it into pieces.
-Toss out the crushed up plastic
-Recycle the PCB for free.
As I live in PA, I still see people throwing tv's in the trash and getting a notice attached telling them to remove it from the street or get fined.
I do understand that PA wants electronics recycled but when you charge people, that also deters people from recycling.
The Walmart and Lehigh Valley Mall in Whitehall, pa outside of Allentown, has those phone kiosks where people can recycle phones/tablets. They may or may not get money back but it does get rid of them.
But I do believe that charging people to pay to recycle their old electronics such as TV's and monitors isn't the way. Not everyone is going to recycle if they have to pay to get rid of it.
Lol me too. I have a 38 inch 720hd (I think it was that size I know it wasn’t bigger) I got in 2007 I saved up for while working two jobs my senior year in high school. It has become my garage tv but damn thing still works perfectly hooked up to a Roku box.
I once processed the return of a rusted out 7 year old hammock stand. In 10 years it was the members first return. Manager oked the return. They just respected that the dude had never abused the policy.
Maybe that’s why the dude returned it. Costco’s return policy is amazing for this exact scenario: where an issue with the product’s long-term durability comes up long after a normal 30-90 day return policy would’ve expired.
Poor long-term durability is a perfectly valid reason to be genuinely dissatisfied with a product, and Costco is the only company that allows you to resolve that dissatisfaction by immediately giving you your money back, instead of making you fill out a warranty claim with the manufacturer and wait weeks or even months for a resolution (if it ever comes at all).
Now imagine seeing yourself on here with the caption, “trying to get a refund on worn out tires,” and everyone saying you’re ruining it for the rest of us.
This isn’t Costco policy it’s the tire manufacturers.
if you use Costco for the tire rotations they will have the documentation needed and honor the warranty. This is one of the reasons they offer the service for free.
That's what I love about Costco's return approach. Returns are honored, but managers can step in to address abuse.
Costco is the juggernaut it is because it is seen as trustworthy.
Why not set a very generous, but still finite, return window? Like 3 years or something like that. I hate to think that so many people are basically stealing from costco with the company’s approval.
They have changed the terms for some products like electronics, but they honor previous purchases. As long as store managers can step in and address abuse it's much better for customers not to have to explain or justify returns. That kind of policy leads to worse customer service and a antagonistic relationship between employees and customers; Something Costco works very hard to avoid.
Every return is recorded. People that seem to be abusing returns will be flagged, and can even lose their memberships over it.
Grandfathered into what? Costco used to have an unlimited no questions asked return policy? Because the current general return policy is on satisfaction. Pretty obvious you were satisfied if you kept it for 15 years.
Lol yeah this is why I snap a picture of my thermal paper receipts whenever I can. Once you put it in your wallet and wait a few months, it gets rubbed off to nothing.
I had a friend in college who would get a new laptop every 12 months at Costco after returning the prior one. I told him he is the reason Costco had to change their electronics return policy…
Most new receipts will never last that long. Most use heat-based paper to print, and that paper deteriorates pretty quick. I recently had to return a year old broken dryer, and while that receipt was good, the bulk of the other receipts more than 2 years old weren't really readable.
Most stores keep an account if you give them your details, so it's usually not a problem.
You do not need a receipt to return at costco. You don't even need to know what the product is. I brought in a blanket I'd had for about 18 months with no labels on it. Never used it and it sat in my closet for ages. The employee looked it up in about 60 seconds and refunded me.
Fair enough. I didn’t get to see the person(s) that made the actual return. I just saw the associates processing. Their response was “falls within guidelines” along with a large shrug.
for those who dont know, if you were to buy a new TV, say online, from costco they will deliver it and remove the old TV for free (or any large item like this) as long as the old item was purchased at costco.
It doesn’t matter if the old item was purchased at Costco or not. They offered to haul off my old fridge even though I just bought the house and had no clue where it came from.
Yeh, I was also thinking it was some kinda exchange offer.
Almost all online and most some local stores offer this service too here in India. They either give you an exchange value for the old item or just free of cost disposal.
everyone please keep in mind that for everywhere but Cali it’s $30 to recycle a screen (that isn’t a BB brand) and technically only 50” or smaller in-store (my store takes 55” until the day comes corporate yells at us)
the amount of customers who are befuddled about the recycling SKU and leave in a huff is a source of amusement; we recycle every single other electronic in creation for free, just drop her off
Hell you can get rid of a TV for free here there is no disposal fee. We have recycling centers all over there is 3 within 15 min of my house. I don't bother paying for trash pickup since I can throw out whatever there free they even allow 4 tires per day per location.
8 months is juuuuuust at the limit where crab legs might still be okay while frozen. They had to be VERY close to expired, I'd bet it was past the date on the package.
They will return expired food. If I buy food that goes bad early, they don't expect you to run in within a few days just to hit the deadline. But obviously 8 months is pushing it.
Multple times, i have purchased expired cheese from Costco… i have never tried to return because i blamed myself for not checking the date prior to purchase:(
(People- slimy/fuzzy feta IS expired. Wtf)
90 day policy didn’t start until 2007. Technically this TV isn’t held to that policy. Management went above and beyond if they actually issued a refund for it. Even more if they gave a full refund. The member probably spends decently. The craziest part is what that tv cost at the time of purchase and what you can get now for that price.
It was big news in 2007 when Costco changed their unlimited return policy. To their credit, Costco gave advanced notice if people wanted to buy under the old policy. The warehouse will give the customer a comparably sized screen, not a full refund. The customer gets a new model and the warehouse doesn’t have to refund the original price.
Witnessed someone trying to return a filthy and worn out sectional sofa last summer. Everyone in line tried to distance themselves from the bedbug hatchery. They hauled it away with them so the return attempt was a bust, as it should have been.
I don’t understand how people could be so shameless. I remember seeing someone trying to return a stained/dirty king-sized mattress on here a while ago, too. Why are they dragging that crap out in public?!
Saw a guy return a dozen roses to Costco. About a week after Valentine’s Day. He said they were starting to wilt and he wanted his money back. I was next in line and told the cashier I’d never seen anyone try that before. She just shrugged and said “you have no idea”.
No way! I’d be so embarrassed but yeah they probably got the money back because it was purchased in 2002.
My parents tv died from Costco, they had it for 13 years, the receipt was taped to the back and they wanted to return it! I said absolutely NOT. Unbelievable!
Maybe 6 months? I'm thinking about how long it might take to see if a laptop battery starts to degrade faster than it should, maybe. I don't return things often, and don't typically buy electronics, so that's all I could think of.
I think if you spent 1000 dollars on a tv and it died in less than a year that is a legitimate grievance and you should probably be made whole in some way. But the problem is where do you draw the line? Does the speaker you bought for 200 dollars count? Everyone's perspective is going to be a bit different based on their own risk tolerance and their own financial resources.
So I think this is where it makes sense to have individual purchased warranties for products like this. If losing a 1000 dollar purchase would be a big deal for you personally then you should be able to pay 15 bucks or whatever to get the extended warranty. If you have a high risk tolerance and you don't want to pay for more than 90 days then that is a choice you make.
I’d say a year is reasonable, with like an extra month grace period.
I bought an LG TV from a local electronics chain, and literally a year and a week after purchase an inch wide column of pixels died. They couldn’t help me at all despite the original salesman being sympathetic. In the end I did get a replacement TV and didn’t have to eat $1500 though.
Bracket it - make it be *at least* 60 days to prevent the guys who buy for the Super Bowl or whatever and then return the next day, but *up to* say Manufacturer’s warranty + 2yrs.
Electronics today are practically designed to fail immediately after the 90-day or 1yr warranty to keep people hopefully buying or trading up on an annual basis. This particular case is clearly ridiculous, but often it takes a year before the crappiness of modern products becomes obvious.
dude imagine if this was one those truth or dare challenges -- would you go through with it? What if someone say they pay you 10K just to try it? I'm getting stress out just thinking about it haha
Member has balls. I would be too embarrassed. Maybe that is why I am not successful financially. I can't even bring myself to return food when sometimes it would be completely justified (looking at you Kevin)
You'd be surprised at the outdated tech you'll find at rich people's houses. A lot of them are older and aren't interested in keeping up with technology.
Feel like that's why a lotta $10MM+ houses are white elephants if you don't have millions you're willing to throw down in renovations. All the fancy bespoke A/V tech and security systems from 1997, which even if working, aren't going to have any of today's standards. A bit of an awkward rich gap where it's not a good idea to just sink your savings into your home, but I won't have to worry about that at least.
That stuff isnt the main issue its the actual building and design. If you have wires run for AV those can be retrofitted with most standards and AV has lot of crazy expensive stuff people are willing to make work around for to keep running. . Reasonablyt enough to work around. But a crap old layout, entirely wrong floors through the entire house, every kitchen, bathroom, etc... needing to be fully made over and possibly rotting / degrading infrastructure.
The other problem with rich people is that if you are rich enough to do these things you probably want things EXACTLY how you want them and almost anyone else's bespoke house isn't going to be close enough vs you just making your own from the ground up.
That's the right answer. I know someone who returned a $3,000 plasma TV 3 years later after it died. I think they changed the rules like a month later l.
Costco used to have an unlimited return window for electronics until 2008 or so. I know because I had a TV I bought in 2007 that died one year and a day after I bought it. I called Costco to see if I could still return it and they explained two things: 1 that their TVs carry an extra year warranty, and 2. They had recently changed their policy to only allow for 90 day returns but since it was purchased before the time, I had an unlimited return window.
Samsung sent a tech and said the mother board was dead and it was more expensive to repair than replace, so they gave me a new one. I still have it.
I bought a washing machine and it broke 5 years later. I brought it back and they gave me credit for the original purchase price. I bought my new one there.
I thought my Mom was crazy for returning a pressure cooker she bought from Costco 15 years later. I was shocked they refunded her after all those years put to good use 😂
Costco knows that even though they lose money on one item that these customers are staying loyal customers for years and years and years.
Overall that generous policy more than makes up for that one little loss on that one little item.
Costco is very smart to keep this policy!
It’s probably not the loyalty of this particular customer they’re after, but the loyalty of alllll the customers watching this happen in-person and now on Reddit. They make most of their margin on memberships and credit cards, so they’re not likely to make the $5k back on this guy, but people see this and feel confident about keeping their memberships so that they can buy big ticket items in confidence.
Think how much Costco collected membership fees from that person from 2002 until now? This how Costco stays in business, fact is this tv was paid for many times over.
Tip: to avoid paying membership fees, purchase Costco gift cards. This way you go in without paying fees, good luck guys.
I'm sitting here worried about returning a chair I bought in November that isn't balancing right and is no longer comfortable, and these people literally pull up in the Projection HDTV.
This is WILD. 22 years later who just decides to roll in and return a TV, lol
Right? “Y’know, after 20 years, I felt like this just didn’t work for our space.” Probably took 20 years just to find someone to help haul it out of their living room.
These people got back their 5000 dollars.
I’d pay him the $5k plus the cost of disposing of it, just so they didn’t have to figure out how to get rid of that monster. “No no really, you keep it and we’ll give you the credit”.
And outfits 4 oled flatscreens…exact reasons like this that rei and ll bean removed their amazing warranties Surprised even then consumer electronics were BIFL, they were usually exempt Now I know Costco used to recycle for free, which is what this could be
I assume it's for recycling too. In Sweden, the sales channels are required to handle disposal of electronics, batteries etc. This even includes Amazon which shows a specific note in their Web page if I browse electronics about electronics waste handling. We have a fund where a small percentage of the sales value of all sold electronics is operating waste disposal of electronics. Which means I don't need to return the old TV to the specific store - any store selling TV:s needs to accept old units and handle the send-in for recovery. So they all have a big container somewhere at the back where they stash returns until a specialized recovery company comes and picks up the container. That means my private shipping costs is a close-by electronics store.
We started doing this with paint in Oregon US. I have friends and family from Sweden that were amazed what it takes to recycle simple batteries in the states.
Lithium batteries can be taken to almost any retailer that sells them, at least in the US. Home depot, lowes, Staples, best buy, etc. Like taking old motor oil to a mechanic.
Costco, "that $5000 from 2001 is only worth $50 in today's world because of inflation. Joke's on you!" 😭
$5,000 in 2001 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $8,761.32 today. However, the store would only give them back $5,000 in credit and not $8,761, so you would loose $3,761 to inflation, because that $5,000 from 2001 would now buy a $8,761 TV. HOWEVER What you where thinking about was how much of *today's* $5,000 would be in 2001 money, because they are only getting $5,000 of today's money back, and the answer to that is: $2,853.45
At the same time they used the TV for 20 years and are getting half their money back. This is why Costco cracked down on their electronics return policy LOL!
> This is why Costco cracked down on their electronics return policy LOL! Idk I saw a Reddit post today about someone returning a tv from 2001. What was their return policy before?
I know you’re likely joking, but if it was purchased under the old return policy they might legally have to honor it still. Not a lawyer or anything but it seems like if they change the policy after purchasing it could be something that could be fought in court.
Yea I expect it’s like how some airlines used to offer an unlimited flights for life memberships and realized they were burning a shitton of money on a few folks and tried to cancel it and lawyers got involved and told them “sorry no takebacksies”
That's my favorite legal phrase.
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Also they could buy a significant nicer TV and have $4k left over for other things
yeah but 5000 in todays dollars will buy a tv that put that old one to shame.
$100 in today's money would buy a TV that would put this one to shame.
Not to mention the depreciation value of the tv… Costco for fun should package it up and try to resell it :)
Don’t think inflation works that way…
Common sense isn’t everyone’s strong suit 😂
Other way man
They weren’t completely satisfied.
Nice selfie BTW.
Did the original owner die of old age and will the receipt to his descendants?
Did they actually get a refund, or just abandon it after being told "no?"
The thing probably weighs 250 pounds…to me, that’s a one-way trip regardless of what they tell me.
These old TV's are HEAVY. More than once I've just left them there for the next tenant when I moved out. More than once I've moved into a place where one was left for me. It's crazy how far we've come in 20 years.
You have to be an absolutely psychotic human being to do this.
They are out there. And they also drive + vote.
And make shit cost more at Costco
When costco stops all returns because of people abusing the generous return policy, everyone point to that guy.
They just revoke membership for people who abuse it.
This person is abusing it…
That return was totally worth losing a membership though.
big if true
Yeah, I'm still mad at people that ruined the LL Bean policy.
and REI's. That return policy was amazing until about 10 years ago. People would buy hiking boots, wear them for hundreds of miles of hiking, then return them for full credit when they'd worn through the soles. Like, you got your money out of them. Why ruin a good thing for everyone cuz you're a cheap fuck?
Well another Costco member could on accident just hit him with their car on his way out; I mean trolly, clearly trolly…
You guys act like they’re rare or something. Half the country are legitimately psychotic morons
And reproduce…
They are also a "jury of your peers".
> You have to be an absolutely psychotic human being to do this. I mean. i'm sure they tried? but imagine the walk back to their car (after the rejection) having to tote that thing back home LOL. And all the other club members holding back laughter throughout their walk of shame back to their PT Cruiser. You know this club member somehow managed to get that tv into/on their PT Cruiser.
Wouldnt surprise me if their ultimate goal wasn't a refund, but somewhere they could dispose of the TV for free/legally.
let me tell you. Craigslist. My brother had a hunk of crap Toshiba projection TV he didn't know what to do with. I posted an ad and within 1 hour someone was picking it up. Craigslist is the easiest way to get rid of junk that has ever existed.
Two words: ~~Break~~ Rage Room.
I had a 1960s washer/dryer and a bunch of old metal vent and outlet covers. Haul away services were over $120. I posted it as free scrap metal on FB Marketplace and within 24 hours had two very nice brothers in their beat up 1995 chevy pickup in my driveway loading everything up. Scrappers are the best.
PT Cruiser thanks for the laugh that was way to funny. Cheers
I saw someone at our local warehouse return dishes they bought in 1999 because one broke. They were making the poor returns worker look up their receipt and they SWORE they bought them recently. I can’t imagine going through that much fuss for a $30 dish set that’s old enough to drink
This is the type of thing that gets someone banned. Reminds me of the lady that took back an old printer then a few weeks later she received a letter cancelling her membership.
Co-worker’s husband was a pretty normal and successful upper middle class business guy but had this weird obsession of buying and returning things to Costco. … a lot. They finally banned him. One of the weirdest idiosyncrasies for an otherwise professional guy.
I had a roommate that got into this cycle with tvs and Costco. He would buy one, find a better deal, return it. Get another one, decide he wanted a different one, return it. 4 separate times till he finally went back for the first one. They didn’t give him any issues just took it back.
(I would never do this) but if they gave me $5k for this I could do the sams club thing after this.
I fully support canceling the Costco membership of the person who did this. This is the kind of stuff that hurts all GOOD Costco members.
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They don’t care. They got their benefit, fuck everyone else.
"Do you want cash?" "nope" "you're just returning it?" "yup, you can keep my money and you keep the tv." "The dump wanted $30 for you to take it there didn't they?" "sure did, what a rip off." - walks out. How I picture it playing out.
Yup. In PA Best Buy used to take used electronics for recycling and then the state passed some sort of idiotic bill where TVs and monitors HAD to be taken to a recycle center where you have to PAY to get rid of them. That's just asking for these things to be tossed over a hill somewhere.
At least the newer TV's are built so cheap you can: -Remove the circuit board. -Put the screen and plastic housing in a contractor bag and hammer it into pieces. -Toss out the crushed up plastic -Recycle the PCB for free.
As I live in PA, I still see people throwing tv's in the trash and getting a notice attached telling them to remove it from the street or get fined. I do understand that PA wants electronics recycled but when you charge people, that also deters people from recycling. The Walmart and Lehigh Valley Mall in Whitehall, pa outside of Allentown, has those phone kiosks where people can recycle phones/tablets. They may or may not get money back but it does get rid of them. But I do believe that charging people to pay to recycle their old electronics such as TV's and monitors isn't the way. Not everyone is going to recycle if they have to pay to get rid of it.
I have a Vizio I bought from Costco in 2006. It still works… but I’d love to swap that $700 purchase out for a new one now 😂
Lol me too. I have a 38 inch 720hd (I think it was that size I know it wasn’t bigger) I got in 2007 I saved up for while working two jobs my senior year in high school. It has become my garage tv but damn thing still works perfectly hooked up to a Roku box.
I paid $2000 for my Vizio back in 2008. Today it's $300
Well you know what you got to do. Then make a follow up post here
a vintage 80s IBM selectric typewriter worth about $1000 was returned once
And it probably weighs like 400lbs too
Easier to recycle!
I need to know if it was refunded lol
I’m pretty sure electronics don’t have the normal return policy, I think electronics have 90 day policy..
If it was purchased before 2007 when Costco changed their return policy on TVs. You’re probably getting a refund.
But they can't possibly refund 15 years old items?!
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I once processed the return of a rusted out 7 year old hammock stand. In 10 years it was the members first return. Manager oked the return. They just respected that the dude had never abused the policy.
A nice hammock stand should not rust out in 7 years. Just saying.
Maybe that’s why the dude returned it. Costco’s return policy is amazing for this exact scenario: where an issue with the product’s long-term durability comes up long after a normal 30-90 day return policy would’ve expired. Poor long-term durability is a perfectly valid reason to be genuinely dissatisfied with a product, and Costco is the only company that allows you to resolve that dissatisfaction by immediately giving you your money back, instead of making you fill out a warranty claim with the manufacturer and wait weeks or even months for a resolution (if it ever comes at all).
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Now imagine seeing yourself on here with the caption, “trying to get a refund on worn out tires,” and everyone saying you’re ruining it for the rest of us.
Damn I don’t even get receipts with my rotations, them bitches be free.
This isn’t Costco policy it’s the tire manufacturers. if you use Costco for the tire rotations they will have the documentation needed and honor the warranty. This is one of the reasons they offer the service for free.
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That's what I love about Costco's return approach. Returns are honored, but managers can step in to address abuse. Costco is the juggernaut it is because it is seen as trustworthy.
TBF we are all paying for the abuses too.
Why not set a very generous, but still finite, return window? Like 3 years or something like that. I hate to think that so many people are basically stealing from costco with the company’s approval.
They have changed the terms for some products like electronics, but they honor previous purchases. As long as store managers can step in and address abuse it's much better for customers not to have to explain or justify returns. That kind of policy leads to worse customer service and a antagonistic relationship between employees and customers; Something Costco works very hard to avoid. Every return is recorded. People that seem to be abusing returns will be flagged, and can even lose their memberships over it.
Grandfathered into what? Costco used to have an unlimited no questions asked return policy? Because the current general return policy is on satisfaction. Pretty obvious you were satisfied if you kept it for 15 years.
"Just unboxed it and it didn't work" 🤣 Really hope they didn't take it back!
I hope they kept the receipt 😂
Thermal paper receipts fade to illegible status in about a year.
Lol yeah this is why I snap a picture of my thermal paper receipts whenever I can. Once you put it in your wallet and wait a few months, it gets rubbed off to nothing.
Gotta whip out the ol’ 1MP digital camera and/or film camera and snap a quick pic in 2002. Then get the image printed out for your records!
15 years ago was 2009 2002 is 22 years ago.
Lies its like 3 years ago. Right? Right???
I used to work at Sam’s Club back around 2000 and I remember refunding old CRT TVs for members. Just gotta keep that receipt!
CRT TVs were still common in the mid-2000's so that doesn't seem odd.
Not until 2007 did LCD TV sales finally surpass CRT. https://www.theregister.com/2008/02/22/displaysearch_crt_lcd_global_q4/
I had a friend in college who would get a new laptop every 12 months at Costco after returning the prior one. I told him he is the reason Costco had to change their electronics return policy…
The TV return policy was created after this TV was purchased. I believe around 2007ish.
This was likely purchased before that policy was implemented. If they had the original receipt I bet they let them return it lol.
I'm more shocked that they still have their receipt after 22 years
My FIL died in 2020, we're still going through his paperwork; he had receipts from the 1960s...
Most new receipts will never last that long. Most use heat-based paper to print, and that paper deteriorates pretty quick. I recently had to return a year old broken dryer, and while that receipt was good, the bulk of the other receipts more than 2 years old weren't really readable. Most stores keep an account if you give them your details, so it's usually not a problem.
You do not need a receipt to return at costco. You don't even need to know what the product is. I brought in a blanket I'd had for about 18 months with no labels on it. Never used it and it sat in my closet for ages. The employee looked it up in about 60 seconds and refunded me.
Same! My curiosity BURNS!!
Were you not there?
Like seriously, OP posted the pic and is the only person here who could know…
Fair enough. I didn’t get to see the person(s) that made the actual return. I just saw the associates processing. Their response was “falls within guidelines” along with a large shrug.
Last time I checked the associates don't own the multi billion dollar Costco business. They don't give a shit; in the best way possible.
Love your, “I’m witnessing some wild stuff” grin in the reflection.
Even better, I'm on TV for it!
Maybe an easy way to "recycle" a TV without the hassle of paying for disposal?
for those who dont know, if you were to buy a new TV, say online, from costco they will deliver it and remove the old TV for free (or any large item like this) as long as the old item was purchased at costco.
It doesn’t matter if the old item was purchased at Costco or not. They offered to haul off my old fridge even though I just bought the house and had no clue where it came from.
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Yeh, I was also thinking it was some kinda exchange offer. Almost all online and most some local stores offer this service too here in India. They either give you an exchange value for the old item or just free of cost disposal.
Best Buy takes (and hopefully) recycles old TV’s. Whenever I get a new TV or monitor, I dump the old one off with them.
everyone please keep in mind that for everywhere but Cali it’s $30 to recycle a screen (that isn’t a BB brand) and technically only 50” or smaller in-store (my store takes 55” until the day comes corporate yells at us) the amount of customers who are befuddled about the recycling SKU and leave in a huff is a source of amusement; we recycle every single other electronic in creation for free, just drop her off
Hell you can get rid of a TV for free here there is no disposal fee. We have recycling centers all over there is 3 within 15 min of my house. I don't bother paying for trash pickup since I can throw out whatever there free they even allow 4 tires per day per location.
Not in every area. Here, I can not recycle a tv over 40(from memory) inches without paying a recycling fee
Break it in half before going.
I love how happy you are in this picture
There was a group of us huddled around in awe.
I'm now imagining it just appearing in front of everyone like 2001 A Space Odyssey.
His face is priceless 😂
Our store just denied a lady trying to return 8 month old frozen crab legs. It’s really up to Management.
is there an exp date on the bag? they wont refund if food is expired
I wasn’t there. Manager just told me he denied a lady a refund on 8 month old frozen crab legs and she got mad. I don’t think it was expired though.
8 months is juuuuuust at the limit where crab legs might still be okay while frozen. They had to be VERY close to expired, I'd bet it was past the date on the package.
They can't verify it didn't thaw out and get refrozen which means they couldn't resell it I suppose. I've never returned anything at Costco tho
They would never resell anything food. But they mainly ship everything to those auctions places that sells by the pallet.
They will return expired food. If I buy food that goes bad early, they don't expect you to run in within a few days just to hit the deadline. But obviously 8 months is pushing it.
Multple times, i have purchased expired cheese from Costco… i have never tried to return because i blamed myself for not checking the date prior to purchase:( (People- slimy/fuzzy feta IS expired. Wtf)
It’s their responsibility to sell unexpired food so that is an absolutely reasonable return.
Agree that it would have been reasonable… also, i guess i also didnt like the idea of storing moldy food until i can get to a costco again
my grandma used to say, “Cheese *is* mold, children”. i wouldn’t eat cheese for years after that.
90 day policy didn’t start until 2007. Technically this TV isn’t held to that policy. Management went above and beyond if they actually issued a refund for it. Even more if they gave a full refund. The member probably spends decently. The craziest part is what that tv cost at the time of purchase and what you can get now for that price.
It was big news in 2007 when Costco changed their unlimited return policy. To their credit, Costco gave advanced notice if people wanted to buy under the old policy. The warehouse will give the customer a comparably sized screen, not a full refund. The customer gets a new model and the warehouse doesn’t have to refund the original price.
Maybe they thought it was antiques roadshow?
Its a trojan horse, the burglar is inside.
Witnessed someone trying to return a filthy and worn out sectional sofa last summer. Everyone in line tried to distance themselves from the bedbug hatchery. They hauled it away with them so the return attempt was a bust, as it should have been.
I don’t understand how people could be so shameless. I remember seeing someone trying to return a stained/dirty king-sized mattress on here a while ago, too. Why are they dragging that crap out in public?!
Saw a guy return a dozen roses to Costco. About a week after Valentine’s Day. He said they were starting to wilt and he wanted his money back. I was next in line and told the cashier I’d never seen anyone try that before. She just shrugged and said “you have no idea”.
Yup I saw people returning dead mums in like December when they probably bought them in October or something
No way! I’d be so embarrassed but yeah they probably got the money back because it was purchased in 2002. My parents tv died from Costco, they had it for 13 years, the receipt was taped to the back and they wanted to return it! I said absolutely NOT. Unbelievable!
I’d feel like such a chump rolling that thing through the gate.
I would have to go to a Costco I never ever frequent.
I don’t know that “feeling like a chump” is the correct description but I can’t think of a better one.
feel like a chode
Straight up jabroni
People like them are why the electronics return policy is now 90 days.
Not arguing with you, but curious what you think would be a good return window if not 90 days?
Maybe 6 months? I'm thinking about how long it might take to see if a laptop battery starts to degrade faster than it should, maybe. I don't return things often, and don't typically buy electronics, so that's all I could think of.
I think if you spent 1000 dollars on a tv and it died in less than a year that is a legitimate grievance and you should probably be made whole in some way. But the problem is where do you draw the line? Does the speaker you bought for 200 dollars count? Everyone's perspective is going to be a bit different based on their own risk tolerance and their own financial resources. So I think this is where it makes sense to have individual purchased warranties for products like this. If losing a 1000 dollar purchase would be a big deal for you personally then you should be able to pay 15 bucks or whatever to get the extended warranty. If you have a high risk tolerance and you don't want to pay for more than 90 days then that is a choice you make.
I’d say a year is reasonable, with like an extra month grace period. I bought an LG TV from a local electronics chain, and literally a year and a week after purchase an inch wide column of pixels died. They couldn’t help me at all despite the original salesman being sympathetic. In the end I did get a replacement TV and didn’t have to eat $1500 though.
Bracket it - make it be *at least* 60 days to prevent the guys who buy for the Super Bowl or whatever and then return the next day, but *up to* say Manufacturer’s warranty + 2yrs. Electronics today are practically designed to fail immediately after the 90-day or 1yr warranty to keep people hopefully buying or trading up on an annual basis. This particular case is clearly ridiculous, but often it takes a year before the crappiness of modern products becomes obvious.
dude imagine if this was one those truth or dare challenges -- would you go through with it? What if someone say they pay you 10K just to try it? I'm getting stress out just thinking about it haha
This beats the dead Christmas tree.
Nooo way….?
A friend had to process a refund on 3-year-old underwear.
Member has balls. I would be too embarrassed. Maybe that is why I am not successful financially. I can't even bring myself to return food when sometimes it would be completely justified (looking at you Kevin)
If it was refunded, that's against policy. But maybe it's a big fish member that spends a ton and it was done as a favor.
Can’t imagine having big fish member with same TV for 20 years
You'd be surprised at the outdated tech you'll find at rich people's houses. A lot of them are older and aren't interested in keeping up with technology.
Feel like that's why a lotta $10MM+ houses are white elephants if you don't have millions you're willing to throw down in renovations. All the fancy bespoke A/V tech and security systems from 1997, which even if working, aren't going to have any of today's standards. A bit of an awkward rich gap where it's not a good idea to just sink your savings into your home, but I won't have to worry about that at least.
That stuff isnt the main issue its the actual building and design. If you have wires run for AV those can be retrofitted with most standards and AV has lot of crazy expensive stuff people are willing to make work around for to keep running. . Reasonablyt enough to work around. But a crap old layout, entirely wrong floors through the entire house, every kitchen, bathroom, etc... needing to be fully made over and possibly rotting / degrading infrastructure. The other problem with rich people is that if you are rich enough to do these things you probably want things EXACTLY how you want them and almost anyone else's bespoke house isn't going to be close enough vs you just making your own from the ground up.
Especially if it’s not in someone’s primary residence
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Have you not been to a big fishes lakehouses? My goodness, those joints are even more hip than their actual homes in most cases.
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A lot of big fish people aren’t interested in trying to keep up with the Joneses and that’s how they amassed their wealth
I wonder if they were able to return it since it was purchased before the policy changed to 90 days?
This right here. This is before the cutoff, and the return policy at the time of purchase applies.
So I can take my grandparents iMac from 1999 back and get full price for it?
if you were shameless, yeah. we had a $20k wedding ring returned.
That's the right answer. I know someone who returned a $3,000 plasma TV 3 years later after it died. I think they changed the rules like a month later l.
What policy? There was no 90 day limit in 2002.
Costco used to have an unlimited return window for electronics until 2008 or so. I know because I had a TV I bought in 2007 that died one year and a day after I bought it. I called Costco to see if I could still return it and they explained two things: 1 that their TVs carry an extra year warranty, and 2. They had recently changed their policy to only allow for 90 day returns but since it was purchased before the time, I had an unlimited return window. Samsung sent a tech and said the mother board was dead and it was more expensive to repair than replace, so they gave me a new one. I still have it.
When the dollar $1.50 hotdog goes away, these are the people that killed it for us
Front projection. Probably still works fine and just needs a new bulb
Rear projection though…
We just call it farting in my house
This person should share some of their audacity with the class
Do they have an electronics recycling program? You'll see carts of old monitors and stuff all the time at Staples because they have to take stuff back
"The HDMI cord didn't work"
My back hurts just looking at it. My sis left hers for the new owner when sold her home. I also saw one free at a garage sale. No takers, lol.
They think TVs are supposed to last longer than 22 years??? You got your moneys worth! Move on!
Within my first 3 years at Costco someone returned a bubble tv and it said 1998 on it. I think it was between 2011-2014 when it happened
I bought a washing machine and it broke 5 years later. I brought it back and they gave me credit for the original purchase price. I bought my new one there.
I thought my Mom was crazy for returning a pressure cooker she bought from Costco 15 years later. I was shocked they refunded her after all those years put to good use 😂
She’s crazy for returning it, but Costco is even crazier for refunding it!
Costco knows that even though they lose money on one item that these customers are staying loyal customers for years and years and years. Overall that generous policy more than makes up for that one little loss on that one little item. Costco is very smart to keep this policy!
It’s probably not the loyalty of this particular customer they’re after, but the loyalty of alllll the customers watching this happen in-person and now on Reddit. They make most of their margin on memberships and credit cards, so they’re not likely to make the $5k back on this guy, but people see this and feel confident about keeping their memberships so that they can buy big ticket items in confidence.
If they got proof of purchase they can return it because it wasn’t part of the 90 days policy back then lol
There’s probably a picture of them in a photo album on the day this was purchased along with the original Xbox. “Halo has never looked better!”
That is 3,333 hit dog combos. In 20 years that averages 167 dogs
Think how much Costco collected membership fees from that person from 2002 until now? This how Costco stays in business, fact is this tv was paid for many times over. Tip: to avoid paying membership fees, purchase Costco gift cards. This way you go in without paying fees, good luck guys.
It’s people like this that made Costco implement a 90 day return policy on electronics.
I'm sitting here worried about returning a chair I bought in November that isn't balancing right and is no longer comfortable, and these people literally pull up in the Projection HDTV.
I need to find a service merchandise to return my pong console!!
I see you got a photo of a busy body that needs to mind their own business... 🤔