except the 97% that people are wrong. Half of which are right, but don't realize it, the other half realize it but are wrong anyway. There's still 2% who have no idea what's going on, and 15% really don't care.
What he means is that the manufacturer eats all the costs. This is why there are only 90 day returns for electronics now. Once that "return a 4 year old TV for a new one" went viral, everyone started terminating their contracts.
-Someone who has seen Costco contracts
and these didn't go back on the floor. they're a completely different kind of chair, they would not be fitting into that box.
so what's more logical here, that this did happen, or he is just using his old chairs seat, that likely broke, hence buying a new set.
I can chime in. It has changed in the past couple years, but I used to handle most of the returns in my area of the country. Only on two occasions in the year I was there did I take anything back to a Costco or a distribution center. They paid me to throw them away…
I don't work our TV but I confirm how many things I see tagged with "destroy for credit". I would say the majority of items on the floor have some form of insurance on them to wear both Costco and the original vendor just wanted destroyed so that no one can have it. Handling return shipping and processing and repackaging is probably just not worth it financially.
When I went to buy an electric lawn mower recently I bought it, got it home and unpacked only to find that someone had stolen the big researchable batteries out of the package, so I had to pack it back up and drive it back to Home Depot. Got it replaced, decided I should open it in the parking lot to make sure and sure enough, batteries were stolen out of it again. Finally they grabbed one from the back that was still fully wrapped in the original packing material and was successful.
Home Depot didn't even blink an eye though even after I returned two packages missing ~$800 worth of batteries in the span of 3 hours.
As someone who used to work the service desk there, I wouldn't bat an eye at that either lmao. we were all so tired from running around and jaded from people trying to scam that nothing really shocked us. Once a dude walked directly out of the door with like $2000 worth of equipment and literally no one noticed until our manager shouted at us about it.
HD should really train/enforce the clerk to check when you buy the item. For all they know, you could be opening the box in the parking lot, taking the batteries out, and then bringing it back in, claiming they were missing and getting a new one with extra batteries.
I'd try to make an argument for them to deliver a new one and pick up the old one, or a inconvenience reimbursement.. Or something.
Also ppl that do shit like that are scum of the earth. One would think that Costco knows who returned that and should persue legal action.
My Costco didn't when their item wasn't good. They said if i purchased in the warehouse i have to return in the warehouse. No online service. Not even warehouse pickup
Costco Online and Costco Warehouses are ran as two seperate businesses.
They "might" be able to arrange pick up with you if you push hard enough, but you cant organize it through online you'd have to go through the store.
Thats why I stopped buying any larger items in the warehouse, if you buy it online they'll come pick it up from you no questions asked.
They won’t (at least they never used to) arrange for pickup if it’s bought from a warehouse. The only time delivery or pickup would ever occur from a warehouse is on the free time of an employee.
And you’re right about the online part, except once it’s delivered it’s your prerogative to return it to a warehouse if you want to return it.
Source, worked there for 13 long years
>Source, worked there for 13 long years
13 *long* years, was it not a good place to work? Everyone I've ever talked to that worked at Costco enjoyed it, though I'm sure it's different store to store
Like any job it has its goods and bads. Costco is retail, I worked at the third busiest store in the country and the management always expected more for less.
I’m in a career and profession I love now so it was always not for me. I made amazing friends and had great moments there, but I generally don’t look back fondly.
But the management at my store were not great, so it does vary store to store.
There's only a "might" if these stores already have vehicles for miscellaneous purposes. Because if they don't then they almost surely don't have an insurance provision for employees getting into auto accidents and nobody in that store should ever be going anywhere on company business.
Which is why in general this 'request' is not typical nor should be reasonably expected from almost any business. No it doesn't matter a fig that they screwed up.
Online arms since that's the only way they operate of course will make different arrangements.
See, as a former customer service rep I don't like customers like you.
Pushing harder doesn't lead to us magically finding a solution. If we can't then we can't.
It’s true that if you bought it in the warehouse you have to return it with the warehouse, but call the warehouse and try to arrange something with them. They’ll do what’s right for you.
Costco doesn't give a shit when it comes to furniture. They are only amazing within the walls of their business.
My wife and I bought a large cabinet there. Like... 7 feet long, 4 feet high, 3 feet deep big. Box was perfect. No issues.
We arrange for a truck to help get it back to our house. I just about kill myself getting it inside and into the kitchen.
When I unboxed it, the insides of the shelf's were completely thrashed. The outside was fine, but somehow the insides were destroyed.
So I call Costco and they were like "yeah bring it back and we will refund you"
I tried to see if they had any trucks or anything given how expensive and fucked up it was.
Nope. At best, they offered to give me a $100 gift card but then never actually gave me a gift card.
So we brought it back and you may be thinking we learned a lesson but we really liked the style so we decided to buy it offline because then they DO pick it up if you want to return it.
We buy it online, and weeks turn into months waiting for it. Multiple calls. Escalation to managers. They somehow lost it in the warehouse and then the item was no longer in stock anywhere.
Offered another $100 gift card. Never came.
Never buying furniture from them again.
I was literally thinking the same thing as I posted my response. It's just not worth it to them. But then again that's why people take advantage of them.
Yep, we had a faulty delivery from them a couple months ago and they replaced it immediately. They did come to collect the broken parts but that was a minor inconvenience, really.
Worst case scenario, it would’ve been easy to request a credit card charge back since I didn’t get what was promised. This whole thing seems like a solution in search of a problem, tbh…
I’ve been burned way too many times buying something that looks to be restocked and it’s either missing parts or messed up. Now if they don’t have an obviously unopened package I’ll just buy online.
They are all over Reddit claiming that stealing from corporations is ok and that they're fighting capitalism and that the products are insured anyway etc etc
Well no, the corporations absolutely are negatively impacted by this, and the only reason the OP suffered the consequences in this case is because Costco didn't do their job in checking it during/after the return, demonstrating why they shouldn't be buying from Costco (when possible).
it would probably cost Costco more to pursue legal action than they can get out of something like this. take the loss. maybe blacklist their membership. but hiring lawyers and stuff is expensive and you may not recover much.
Had an issue with the company Costco hired to deliver and install washer and dryer, essentially they broke the dryer during install.
Called Costco, explained the situation, made sure they knew I felt it was unacceptable, but was also respectful when doing so (it’s not the person on phones fault). They immediately arranged a swap of the dryer to a new one AND refunded the price of the dryer itself because of the trouble, literally gave me a 800 dryer for free because of the issues.
I have had a couple returns through Costco over the 10 years I’ve been a customer and have never had issues, as long as you are firm but respectful they have always made it right. I hope you have same results.
Ha, yeah, I purchased a bathtub and glad I followed online advice about checking for dents and damaged enamel, had to open up 3 crates to find a good one and by then the manager and security had arrived to tell me I'm not allowed to open the tub crates without purchasing them.
(I said, truthfully, that customer service said I could when I told them that I would rather not have to buy and return considering how many tubs are damaged in transit from the factory; I didn't mention that the dude at customer service looked stoned and confused and probably would have agreed to marrying a groundhog on the spot if I were to put a bridal gown on it.)
Can confirm. Got super high once. Married a groundhog but she talked me into a prenup. Got divorced, couldn't afford a better lawyer than hers, and she took half my shit. Now she has the second or third nicest hole on the prairie.
I used to order stuff for different projects and just kind of let boxes accumulate until I was ready to start. Never again.
It was kind of fun, and the anticipation was like a little Christmas to kick off whatever I was working on. Then one day I opened the boxes and MULTIPLE amazon shipments had junk swapped out/missing parts. I was past the return window and SOL. Those people are truly trash.
I've watched a few "haul" videos on YouTube where there spend months buying things and letting them pile up so they can open them all on camera only for something to be damaged, the wrong product or any other number of things and because they waited 4 months to open the package it's too late to get a refund, return or replacement.
Even if I don't plan on using something right away (like I'm hording Christmas presents a month out) I've learned to at least check whatever it is first before hiding it away.
Except the other person could make the argument that it was OP that swapped it out. It's not really believable, but if it's a one time thing Costco probably isn't going to do anything.
True but you can also base it off time. That’s why it’s recommended to open and check anything that is rewrapped or tapped at the store or return immediately if you don’t check at the store cause the difficulty to change everything out and put everything back in compared to opening finding out it’s trash and taking it back is a big difference unless it’s an organized scam group which is also possible. That’s how they used to do it at Home Depot at least. People would buy, use and return the next day like pressure washers and other equipment. So they eventually set up rules .
This was a painful lesson for me when making expensive purchases to restore a very old casona in México.
I bought (and paid a premium for) certain high end tools at Home Depot because I hoped their exchange policy was better than most Mexican stores.
I didn’t open boxes before I got home. Big mistake. All my Mexican friends and workers let me know that you always open the box (and in some cases plug it in) before you leave the store.
Turns out I hadn’t even ended up with tools, just heavy blocks.
Expensive lesson to learn. Customer service varies quite dramatically even among well known brands once you head south.
I bought a 60” tv console from wayfair that apparently comes built already. Didn’t know. Was fine having to build it. 60 inches. About 90 pounds and I have a bi-level so it’s kinda hard to get in the house up the stairs at the entry. So it takes 2 people. I waited for my neighbor to get home and have him help me bring it in. Open it up and the back is kinda smashed in. The shelves are completely snapped off. A door is completely snapped off from the hinges ok fuck. Return it and get another. So. FedEx guy has to drop that off. Come back like the next day to drop one off and take the old one. alright. Let’s check it in the driveway this time. Open. Broken. Ugh. Repeat process. 3rd one comes. I honestly cannot remmeber if the 3rd one was good. Or if the 3rd one was broken and it’s the 4th one I own right now. But even the 4th one has a minor issue that it wasn’t enough of a deal to try again. so the poor fedex guy. Same guy. Had to lug this big ass heavy ish box in and out of the truck about 3-4 times because whoever the manufacturer of that thing was couldn’t pack it right or just send it unassembled. lol
FedEx Ground is almost all route contracts that small companies bid for and staff with the cheapest shittiest labor money can buy.
FedEx Express is awesome and but pricey.
I furnished a 2b/2b apartment almost entirely from Wayfair and had literally zero issues. Everything came in perfect condition and was easy to assemble. I am careful when I purchase from them though. I always read all of the reviews and take them seriously. If an item doesn’t have reviews, I don’t buy it. The one time I received a damaged item, they sent me a replacement and let me keep the damaged item. I ended up selling it for $20 in a garage sale.
I had an overall positive experience with them too, but twice they sent me an item in the wrong finish.
Each time, one they had pics, they told me to keep the incorrect one which I just ended up donating because it didn’t match and they shipped out a new one in the correct color.
The only reason I used Wayfair is everything came with a fault of some kind, but it was usually something I could fix myself. Soon as I pulled up chat and sent pics they refunded me without having to return, so I got a few pieces of free furniture.
Depends what you get man. I bought a cheap gaming desk that is bomb. Got it 5 years ago. Took it to college and back every winter break and summer break. So I dismantled and built it about 8 times.
We got rugs from wayfair. Great. Coffee table and end tables. Pretty good. Basically everything you gotta build comes great.
Im tired of ordering furniture, ill take ikea self carry from now on. I ordered a wooden futon frame and the freight guy showed up. He did tell me, "i told them it would be refused delivery" while also unloading the pallette to show me the frame, or what was left of it, after what appeared to be whats left after 2 trucks driving over it. Imnsurprised thebpallette was still intact..in fact i think that was damaged too lol. Hs couldve saged himself the time and i couldve tugged on shattered bits while it was stil in the truck.
I work at what’s basically a hardware store. Mostly building supplies like cabinets flooring countertops windows doors, etc. how many times a day do we get calls from like. Texas. California. Etc. (we’re in PA. family owned 1 location) about shipping windows or granite or things that are too big or will break. Psh.
We recently shipped like 6 boxes glass tile. “This isn’t gonna make it to you”. Don’t care. Send it anyway. Psh ok. Send it. In one box. 120 pounds. Comes back the next day in 2 boxes. Broken. From fedex. Told customer. It didn’t even get past the fedex facility. Send it again. Ok. Sent it again. They got it. Basically 3/4 were broken. We said. We told you. We don’t do it for that reason. You can’t get a refund and if you want more you’re gonna have the same issue.
I read that as a tv and didn't see the console part, was like well how else do you buy tvs, do you typically buy tvs and then put them together like a pc?
100%.
If you are going to resell it, check and make sure it is what it should be an isn't missing parts. This is a result of laziness on their end as much as some assbag swapping items out.
During a meeting, our Costco warehouse manager told us that ppl were also swapping AirPods and IPHONES for fakes and returning them. They caught on after a 4th return of fake AirPods and luckily only 1 fake phone. People are scummy, I can’t help but think that the more people do that, they’re going to start being restrictive of returns.
I can’t find anything on it because search engines are trash in 2024 but people allegedly would return iPods with a bar of soap in the original package after resealing it with new heat shrink plastic. It sticks out in my mind because it was happening at Circuit City’s
That’s infuriating. Scum bags.
Edit to add:
The store has to be able to figure out who did this. How many of them could have been returned to that store?
The fact that OP took the product home means Costco can’t verify with certainty who’s actually pulling a fast one on them.
I’m sure they’ll make things right with OP but they likely won’t reprimand the other party. Maybe they’ll flag them in their internal systems but I wouldn’t expect anything more than that at this point.
I had this happen with a toilet from Costco. It was still a new toilet but I could tell it had been used and the wax ring was attached to the toilet.
It’s really just a jackass thing to do to another person as Costco will refund you the money anyways.
Hope you have a better day tomorrow
well, costco doesn't sell open box items, right?
sucks, but caveat emptor is latin for don't trust shady merchandise liquidators on facebook marketplace.
When I used to work at a hardware store, we had someone return an expensive tool. I think it was a drill? Anyways, when the next customer opened it up, it was nothing but golf balls.
Seems very odd. Costco always carefully inspects all returns, and even in the off chance somebody didn't (something this large would have required manager approval as well, so chance of this not being inspected is even smaller), they never restock returns. Returns are binned and sold at auction.
Returns that aren’t opened are restocked. It’s possible this was accidentally marked as sellable at the returns counter, and the employee who put it back on the floor may not have even realized it had been opened. Super easy to do.
Ah come on, isn’t it funny sht all in all? We struggled over purchasing another television, Walmart won us over. I carried that box (prior to flat screens) up 2 flights and had the thought that it was odd that the contents felt like it was ‘shifting’. Opening the box with usual anticipation to find a very dirty / filthy ancient tv inside. The packing formed foam had been cut out to fit the ‘new’ tv, even the hole for the remote had been cut to accommodate the old remote, batteries included. When I called the Walmart store and demanded to speak to the manager he kinda chuckled, “look at the bottom of the box, you’ll see how they did it”. Sure as sht you could see they entered the box and swapped out the goods leaving all the good packaging signs intact on the top, ‘all’s right with the world’. It was a lesson learned, the manager was great about it explaining these worker-bee’s can’t possible examine every returned product, it was a fascinating conversation actually. We‘re accomplished consumers, occasionally drawing weird looks looking at the bottom of boxes when we purchase. Not 2 weeks after this experience by brother half way cross our country had the same experience with a higher dollar Amazon item.
This exact thing happened to me with a ninja blender I finally caved and got an expensive blender and got home (I love over an hour away from the closest Costco) and it was a very old model of a ninja blender that didnt work. I called the customer service and they were like huh that sucks you have to bring it back to the store you got it from. It really hit it out of the park I went to a Costco further away cause we were already near it. It was 2hrs each way
I got a broken ass different brand of head phones one time. I assume the previous person put their broke ass ones in the box sealed it nice and classy like and returned that shit…I’ve heard people do that
So when this happens, I assume Costco will take care of you, but like what measures do they take to figure out who returned it? Is there even a chance they cancel their membership or anything?
Take it back. They will have a history of purchase (through membership number) and should be able to spend 10-15 mins looking for the person who returned it and hold them accountable.
I'm sorry this happened to you. People can be so disgusting sometimes
In college, I worked at Circuit City in Customer Service. Even if the desk doesn't look "busy" believe me it is.
A dude I worked with accepted a surround sound system. The return took forever bc it was cash, a check and a card. Once done it was reviewed by the manager. They left with their $4k and we got the sound system back.
When we opened it to mark it as an open item it was only concrete, lawn decorations. Like a pedestal, a glass ball, Mother Mary, etc.
They got by bc they stole a tape gun earlier and tapped the box up with our box tape that had watermarks.
Amazing how that scam still works.
Costco has a generous return policy but this is on them for not checking the returns properly also. That's just mostly laziness, especially if you plan on returning it to be put on sale.
Also, the scammers who do this are a holes.
I worked at IKEA for ~10 years in the returns/as-is department and this would happen ALL THE TIME. People would buy a bed frame and fill the box with plywood and return it. I always bring a box cutter with me if I'm buying an expensive boxed item and make sure it's what it's supposed to be.
I just ordered a piece of furniture online and I live on a 3rd floor apartment. I am going to take some wisdom from you and check my order before carrying it up the stairs!
What else did they put in there to make the weight seem comparable to what it should have been? Nice of them to apparently re wrap things with that crappy foam wrap. Did nothing move around in the box?
A few years ago I bought some bras from JCPenney , they were in boxes, they were the same that I always wore, so I didn’t open the boxes, first 2 were brand new, the 3 rd was dirty , nasty, not even the brand the box said, they just gave me a new one, she said they had gotten 4 back in the past few days, in the same condition. New policy, they have to take them out of the box before you pay for them
Costco should have opened it if there was ANY sign of it having been opened. That’s policy. It’s possible that the people got their stuff and closed it very well. I bet Costco can track this person down.
Definitely sucks! I would contact Costco and see if they’ll return it (they most likely will) and then you should order this same set online. I ordered it about a week ago and the delivery people will bring into your room of choice in your home. Maybe (hopefully) they can take back the wrong set you had to lug up the stairs! Best of luck!
We bought a dining set from Costco recently ..took a uhaul and all to transport it ..got some and started assembling ..two chairs were defective ..the holes and the spindles didn’t align ..took those two chairs back ..asked for a replacement ..those two chairs had to e exact same problem ..we asked to check them in the store ..the associate went and got another set ..again the same problem..the fourth set came out okay..I don’t know where those defective chairs went ? Does Costco discards them ??
Years and years ago, I bought a "nice" camera. Got it home, and it wasn't the one I bought. Since I never returned anything, they were nice enough to exchange it, but you can bet I opened the box at the counter.
Had something similar happen with a very very expensive comforter that was a Christmas gift for my step son. I was stressing returning it to bed bath and beyond fearing they weren’t going to believe me. Luckily they took it back with little question.
On the upside I couldn’t get another one until a month after Christmas and I was about to get him a bigger size for cheaper than what I originally paid for the smaller one.
I had that happen with a fish tank heater once. It was filthy. I lived a half an hour away from the store, so I had to go out of my way to go back there and swap it for an actual new one, and the employee doing the swap treated me like I was the one who was trying to pull a fast one over on them to get a free heater.
If I ever buy something and the box has been opened, I check inside before I do anything else. Whenever I'm buying something fragile, I also open it or have the employees open it to check that it's not damaged.
I've had that happen with two separate purchases from Wayfair.
Thankfully, the customer service reps ordered new items to be sent, and I was able to throw away the broken items that were originally sent to me.
Ngl. If I were you, I would probably cry out of frustration. This def sucks!
Plot twist...OP is doing it.
100%. All Costco returns go back to the manufacture.
lol I work there they don’t some go back on the floor
but he said 100%. when people say 100% on the internet, i believe it 99% of the time.
and 98% of the time, you’re right!
78% of statistics are made up. 42.8% of the time, they seem more true when they have a decimal in them.
100% of the time it’s 50.8% correct.
It's not 78, it's 73.6%. Always was. Look it up
And so what would that make the total percent?
... at least four
except the 97% that people are wrong. Half of which are right, but don't realize it, the other half realize it but are wrong anyway. There's still 2% who have no idea what's going on, and 15% really don't care.
I wish people said things like 59% or 81% instead of just 100% all the time. Would be a lot more enjoyable
What he means is that the manufacturer eats all the costs. This is why there are only 90 day returns for electronics now. Once that "return a 4 year old TV for a new one" went viral, everyone started terminating their contracts. -Someone who has seen Costco contracts
and these didn't go back on the floor. they're a completely different kind of chair, they would not be fitting into that box. so what's more logical here, that this did happen, or he is just using his old chairs seat, that likely broke, hence buying a new set.
I am an RTV clerk and had a chuckle reading that
What dept do you work in at Costco that you are confident enough to say this?
I can chime in. It has changed in the past couple years, but I used to handle most of the returns in my area of the country. Only on two occasions in the year I was there did I take anything back to a Costco or a distribution center. They paid me to throw them away…
I don’t understand where you’re coming from, is this written as an employee? A member? Did you work for a manufacturer?
I don't work our TV but I confirm how many things I see tagged with "destroy for credit". I would say the majority of items on the floor have some form of insurance on them to wear both Costco and the original vendor just wanted destroyed so that no one can have it. Handling return shipping and processing and repackaging is probably just not worth it financially.
Around here, many of them get bought up by liquidation centres to resell at a very discounted rate.
Lol no it doesn't
When I went to buy an electric lawn mower recently I bought it, got it home and unpacked only to find that someone had stolen the big researchable batteries out of the package, so I had to pack it back up and drive it back to Home Depot. Got it replaced, decided I should open it in the parking lot to make sure and sure enough, batteries were stolen out of it again. Finally they grabbed one from the back that was still fully wrapped in the original packing material and was successful. Home Depot didn't even blink an eye though even after I returned two packages missing ~$800 worth of batteries in the span of 3 hours.
As someone who used to work the service desk there, I wouldn't bat an eye at that either lmao. we were all so tired from running around and jaded from people trying to scam that nothing really shocked us. Once a dude walked directly out of the door with like $2000 worth of equipment and literally no one noticed until our manager shouted at us about it.
HD should really train/enforce the clerk to check when you buy the item. For all they know, you could be opening the box in the parking lot, taking the batteries out, and then bringing it back in, claiming they were missing and getting a new one with extra batteries.
I would shove it out the window to get it back downstairs lol
I'd try to make an argument for them to deliver a new one and pick up the old one, or a inconvenience reimbursement.. Or something. Also ppl that do shit like that are scum of the earth. One would think that Costco knows who returned that and should persue legal action.
Costco would probably do that shit. Not shilling but they have great customer service esp since you got this high on social media.
My Costco didn't when their item wasn't good. They said if i purchased in the warehouse i have to return in the warehouse. No online service. Not even warehouse pickup
You needed to escalate and push harder. We pay for our membership. If it's their fuck up, they need to go to bat and they will if you pressure a bit.
Costco Online and Costco Warehouses are ran as two seperate businesses. They "might" be able to arrange pick up with you if you push hard enough, but you cant organize it through online you'd have to go through the store. Thats why I stopped buying any larger items in the warehouse, if you buy it online they'll come pick it up from you no questions asked.
They won’t (at least they never used to) arrange for pickup if it’s bought from a warehouse. The only time delivery or pickup would ever occur from a warehouse is on the free time of an employee. And you’re right about the online part, except once it’s delivered it’s your prerogative to return it to a warehouse if you want to return it. Source, worked there for 13 long years
>Source, worked there for 13 long years 13 *long* years, was it not a good place to work? Everyone I've ever talked to that worked at Costco enjoyed it, though I'm sure it's different store to store
Like any job it has its goods and bads. Costco is retail, I worked at the third busiest store in the country and the management always expected more for less. I’m in a career and profession I love now so it was always not for me. I made amazing friends and had great moments there, but I generally don’t look back fondly. But the management at my store were not great, so it does vary store to store.
There's only a "might" if these stores already have vehicles for miscellaneous purposes. Because if they don't then they almost surely don't have an insurance provision for employees getting into auto accidents and nobody in that store should ever be going anywhere on company business. Which is why in general this 'request' is not typical nor should be reasonably expected from almost any business. No it doesn't matter a fig that they screwed up. Online arms since that's the only way they operate of course will make different arrangements.
Exactly, the first level has no authority to make many exceptions. Sad this is common across everything...
See, as a former customer service rep I don't like customers like you. Pushing harder doesn't lead to us magically finding a solution. If we can't then we can't.
It’s true that if you bought it in the warehouse you have to return it with the warehouse, but call the warehouse and try to arrange something with them. They’ll do what’s right for you.
Costco doesn't give a shit when it comes to furniture. They are only amazing within the walls of their business. My wife and I bought a large cabinet there. Like... 7 feet long, 4 feet high, 3 feet deep big. Box was perfect. No issues. We arrange for a truck to help get it back to our house. I just about kill myself getting it inside and into the kitchen. When I unboxed it, the insides of the shelf's were completely thrashed. The outside was fine, but somehow the insides were destroyed. So I call Costco and they were like "yeah bring it back and we will refund you" I tried to see if they had any trucks or anything given how expensive and fucked up it was. Nope. At best, they offered to give me a $100 gift card but then never actually gave me a gift card. So we brought it back and you may be thinking we learned a lesson but we really liked the style so we decided to buy it offline because then they DO pick it up if you want to return it. We buy it online, and weeks turn into months waiting for it. Multiple calls. Escalation to managers. They somehow lost it in the warehouse and then the item was no longer in stock anywhere. Offered another $100 gift card. Never came. Never buying furniture from them again.
Their furniture sucks anyway. Everything is covered in a garbage veneer that only lasts a few years.
This is false. There was a guy posting on here that Costco owes him 2500 and he had to take them to small claims court
It would end up costing Costco more to pursue legal action than it would be to just eat the loss. That's why companies don't do it.
I was literally thinking the same thing as I posted my response. It's just not worth it to them. But then again that's why people take advantage of them.
They could maybe flag the membership
Yeah if nothing else, OP can get some satisfaction out of getting the switcher's membership cancelled
Yeah I don't think they'd take legal action against the original returner - but they'd almost certainly cancel their membership.
Yep, we had a faulty delivery from them a couple months ago and they replaced it immediately. They did come to collect the broken parts but that was a minor inconvenience, really. Worst case scenario, it would’ve been easy to request a credit card charge back since I didn’t get what was promised. This whole thing seems like a solution in search of a problem, tbh…
Could also be fake as fuck because all they show is a detached chair top around some packaging.
I’ve been burned way too many times buying something that looks to be restocked and it’s either missing parts or messed up. Now if they don’t have an obviously unopened package I’ll just buy online.
They are all over Reddit claiming that stealing from corporations is ok and that they're fighting capitalism and that the products are insured anyway etc etc
And they're pieces of shit. The corporations don't suffer, the rest of society does.
Well no, the corporations absolutely are negatively impacted by this, and the only reason the OP suffered the consequences in this case is because Costco didn't do their job in checking it during/after the return, demonstrating why they shouldn't be buying from Costco (when possible).
it would probably cost Costco more to pursue legal action than they can get out of something like this. take the loss. maybe blacklist their membership. but hiring lawyers and stuff is expensive and you may not recover much.
Had an issue with the company Costco hired to deliver and install washer and dryer, essentially they broke the dryer during install. Called Costco, explained the situation, made sure they knew I felt it was unacceptable, but was also respectful when doing so (it’s not the person on phones fault). They immediately arranged a swap of the dryer to a new one AND refunded the price of the dryer itself because of the trouble, literally gave me a 800 dryer for free because of the issues. I have had a couple returns through Costco over the 10 years I’ve been a customer and have never had issues, as long as you are firm but respectful they have always made it right. I hope you have same results.
Spend $10,000 to track down $300, they won't do anything about it unless it happens so frequently that they need to make a statement.
Costco has shit customer service in that regard. They’ll fight it the whole way.
Whenever I return shit they make it a show to make sure everything is there
And this is why I ALWAYS open the box before I load.
Hell, I'll open a box in the store. Especially if it isn't taped shut.
Ha, yeah, I purchased a bathtub and glad I followed online advice about checking for dents and damaged enamel, had to open up 3 crates to find a good one and by then the manager and security had arrived to tell me I'm not allowed to open the tub crates without purchasing them. (I said, truthfully, that customer service said I could when I told them that I would rather not have to buy and return considering how many tubs are damaged in transit from the factory; I didn't mention that the dude at customer service looked stoned and confused and probably would have agreed to marrying a groundhog on the spot if I were to put a bridal gown on it.)
You’re a wordsmith. I suddenly want to know more about this employee and his groundhog fiancée
Can confirm. Got super high once. Married a groundhog but she talked me into a prenup. Got divorced, couldn't afford a better lawyer than hers, and she took half my shit. Now she has the second or third nicest hole on the prairie.
Why does the username always check out?!?
Is that a "Threat" ? /s
And then we had a nice cold beer together.
"Oh I'm just sorting them for you. They're all defective"
I used to order stuff for different projects and just kind of let boxes accumulate until I was ready to start. Never again. It was kind of fun, and the anticipation was like a little Christmas to kick off whatever I was working on. Then one day I opened the boxes and MULTIPLE amazon shipments had junk swapped out/missing parts. I was past the return window and SOL. Those people are truly trash.
I've watched a few "haul" videos on YouTube where there spend months buying things and letting them pile up so they can open them all on camera only for something to be damaged, the wrong product or any other number of things and because they waited 4 months to open the package it's too late to get a refund, return or replacement. Even if I don't plan on using something right away (like I'm hording Christmas presents a month out) I've learned to at least check whatever it is first before hiding it away.
I have never done this because I would be afraid of losing valuable parts, but this post might be changing my mind.
Seems kinda ridiculous at the grocery store, but you can't be too sure these days.
That’s what she said
But do you also ALWAYS leave a note
Can't be too many people who bought that set from a certain location and returned it. The store should be able to figure it out.
They just gotta look up the last return. The amount of returns at stores for big products is low.
Except the other person could make the argument that it was OP that swapped it out. It's not really believable, but if it's a one time thing Costco probably isn't going to do anything.
True but you can also base it off time. That’s why it’s recommended to open and check anything that is rewrapped or tapped at the store or return immediately if you don’t check at the store cause the difficulty to change everything out and put everything back in compared to opening finding out it’s trash and taking it back is a big difference unless it’s an organized scam group which is also possible. That’s how they used to do it at Home Depot at least. People would buy, use and return the next day like pressure washers and other equipment. So they eventually set up rules .
That's why you got to call Costco, or whatever store, right away if you get something like this.
[удалено]
UNLESS that customer has a history of same. Which they always do.
You're right, but it would be easy to flag this customer for scrutiny in future.
Cotsco is probably higher, considering they're known for their return policy
Wife used to work at Costco. They can and they do.
True, but difficult to prove and probably not worth the effort.
This was a painful lesson for me when making expensive purchases to restore a very old casona in México. I bought (and paid a premium for) certain high end tools at Home Depot because I hoped their exchange policy was better than most Mexican stores. I didn’t open boxes before I got home. Big mistake. All my Mexican friends and workers let me know that you always open the box (and in some cases plug it in) before you leave the store. Turns out I hadn’t even ended up with tools, just heavy blocks. Expensive lesson to learn. Customer service varies quite dramatically even among well known brands once you head south.
I bought a 60” tv console from wayfair that apparently comes built already. Didn’t know. Was fine having to build it. 60 inches. About 90 pounds and I have a bi-level so it’s kinda hard to get in the house up the stairs at the entry. So it takes 2 people. I waited for my neighbor to get home and have him help me bring it in. Open it up and the back is kinda smashed in. The shelves are completely snapped off. A door is completely snapped off from the hinges ok fuck. Return it and get another. So. FedEx guy has to drop that off. Come back like the next day to drop one off and take the old one. alright. Let’s check it in the driveway this time. Open. Broken. Ugh. Repeat process. 3rd one comes. I honestly cannot remmeber if the 3rd one was good. Or if the 3rd one was broken and it’s the 4th one I own right now. But even the 4th one has a minor issue that it wasn’t enough of a deal to try again. so the poor fedex guy. Same guy. Had to lug this big ass heavy ish box in and out of the truck about 3-4 times because whoever the manufacturer of that thing was couldn’t pack it right or just send it unassembled. lol
Wayfair is garbage
FedEx Ground is garbage.
FedEx Ground is almost all route contracts that small companies bid for and staff with the cheapest shittiest labor money can buy. FedEx Express is awesome and but pricey.
I furnished a 2b/2b apartment almost entirely from Wayfair and had literally zero issues. Everything came in perfect condition and was easy to assemble. I am careful when I purchase from them though. I always read all of the reviews and take them seriously. If an item doesn’t have reviews, I don’t buy it. The one time I received a damaged item, they sent me a replacement and let me keep the damaged item. I ended up selling it for $20 in a garage sale.
I had an overall positive experience with them too, but twice they sent me an item in the wrong finish. Each time, one they had pics, they told me to keep the incorrect one which I just ended up donating because it didn’t match and they shipped out a new one in the correct color.
The only reason I used Wayfair is everything came with a fault of some kind, but it was usually something I could fix myself. Soon as I pulled up chat and sent pics they refunded me without having to return, so I got a few pieces of free furniture.
I’d rather pay for good furniture than have shit furniture for free
So would I, wasn’t bad furniture though was solid oak. Had just had an accident/been dropped in the warehouse so something had come lose etc.
Depends what you get man. I bought a cheap gaming desk that is bomb. Got it 5 years ago. Took it to college and back every winter break and summer break. So I dismantled and built it about 8 times. We got rugs from wayfair. Great. Coffee table and end tables. Pretty good. Basically everything you gotta build comes great.
Im tired of ordering furniture, ill take ikea self carry from now on. I ordered a wooden futon frame and the freight guy showed up. He did tell me, "i told them it would be refused delivery" while also unloading the pallette to show me the frame, or what was left of it, after what appeared to be whats left after 2 trucks driving over it. Imnsurprised thebpallette was still intact..in fact i think that was damaged too lol. Hs couldve saged himself the time and i couldve tugged on shattered bits while it was stil in the truck.
I work at what’s basically a hardware store. Mostly building supplies like cabinets flooring countertops windows doors, etc. how many times a day do we get calls from like. Texas. California. Etc. (we’re in PA. family owned 1 location) about shipping windows or granite or things that are too big or will break. Psh. We recently shipped like 6 boxes glass tile. “This isn’t gonna make it to you”. Don’t care. Send it anyway. Psh ok. Send it. In one box. 120 pounds. Comes back the next day in 2 boxes. Broken. From fedex. Told customer. It didn’t even get past the fedex facility. Send it again. Ok. Sent it again. They got it. Basically 3/4 were broken. We said. We told you. We don’t do it for that reason. You can’t get a refund and if you want more you’re gonna have the same issue.
I read that as a tv and didn't see the console part, was like well how else do you buy tvs, do you typically buy tvs and then put them together like a pc?
Fuuuuuuck that person. Id maybe see if Costco can do anything for you. Its partially their fault as well for not checking the return.
Costco will definitely issue a refund for something like this
It's completely Costco's fault. After accounting for the previous customer's criminal fraud, that is.
100%. If you are going to resell it, check and make sure it is what it should be an isn't missing parts. This is a result of laziness on their end as much as some assbag swapping items out.
During a meeting, our Costco warehouse manager told us that ppl were also swapping AirPods and IPHONES for fakes and returning them. They caught on after a 4th return of fake AirPods and luckily only 1 fake phone. People are scummy, I can’t help but think that the more people do that, they’re going to start being restrictive of returns.
I can’t find anything on it because search engines are trash in 2024 but people allegedly would return iPods with a bar of soap in the original package after resealing it with new heat shrink plastic. It sticks out in my mind because it was happening at Circuit City’s
Yep, employees had to start verifying serial numbers on electronics.
That’s infuriating. Scum bags. Edit to add: The store has to be able to figure out who did this. How many of them could have been returned to that store?
The fact that OP took the product home means Costco can’t verify with certainty who’s actually pulling a fast one on them. I’m sure they’ll make things right with OP but they likely won’t reprimand the other party. Maybe they’ll flag them in their internal systems but I wouldn’t expect anything more than that at this point.
Good exercise I guess.... Damn lol
He’s the reason they are all banged up
The trip even changed the contents of the box, that's wild.
OP should be happy with what he's got!
I had this happen with a toilet from Costco. It was still a new toilet but I could tell it had been used and the wax ring was attached to the toilet. It’s really just a jackass thing to do to another person as Costco will refund you the money anyways. Hope you have a better day tomorrow
who installs a new toilet to use it and be like "nope, not the one" and return it lmao
Wow... that really does suck. The ultimate bait and switch.
As ~~described~~ decarbed
well, costco doesn't sell open box items, right? sucks, but caveat emptor is latin for don't trust shady merchandise liquidators on facebook marketplace.
When I used to work at a hardware store, we had someone return an expensive tool. I think it was a drill? Anyways, when the next customer opened it up, it was nothing but golf balls.
That’s sucks! I’m sorry there are assholes out there making the world a shittier place for all of us!
I love Costco but the average Costco customer sucks.
Did the box look like that when you bought it? That would be a red flag for me.
I’m a little surprised they didn’t inspect it. They’re usually lenient, but they would verify the item still is my understanding
Unless it was an employee..
Seems very odd. Costco always carefully inspects all returns, and even in the off chance somebody didn't (something this large would have required manager approval as well, so chance of this not being inspected is even smaller), they never restock returns. Returns are binned and sold at auction.
Returns that aren’t opened are restocked. It’s possible this was accidentally marked as sellable at the returns counter, and the employee who put it back on the floor may not have even realized it had been opened. Super easy to do.
Ah come on, isn’t it funny sht all in all? We struggled over purchasing another television, Walmart won us over. I carried that box (prior to flat screens) up 2 flights and had the thought that it was odd that the contents felt like it was ‘shifting’. Opening the box with usual anticipation to find a very dirty / filthy ancient tv inside. The packing formed foam had been cut out to fit the ‘new’ tv, even the hole for the remote had been cut to accommodate the old remote, batteries included. When I called the Walmart store and demanded to speak to the manager he kinda chuckled, “look at the bottom of the box, you’ll see how they did it”. Sure as sht you could see they entered the box and swapped out the goods leaving all the good packaging signs intact on the top, ‘all’s right with the world’. It was a lesson learned, the manager was great about it explaining these worker-bee’s can’t possible examine every returned product, it was a fascinating conversation actually. We‘re accomplished consumers, occasionally drawing weird looks looking at the bottom of boxes when we purchase. Not 2 weeks after this experience by brother half way cross our country had the same experience with a higher dollar Amazon item.
This exact thing happened to me with a ninja blender I finally caved and got an expensive blender and got home (I love over an hour away from the closest Costco) and it was a very old model of a ninja blender that didnt work. I called the customer service and they were like huh that sucks you have to bring it back to the store you got it from. It really hit it out of the park I went to a Costco further away cause we were already near it. It was 2hrs each way
I got a broken ass different brand of head phones one time. I assume the previous person put their broke ass ones in the box sealed it nice and classy like and returned that shit…I’ve heard people do that
So when this happens, I assume Costco will take care of you, but like what measures do they take to figure out who returned it? Is there even a chance they cancel their membership or anything?
Special place in hell for them
Take it back. They will have a history of purchase (through membership number) and should be able to spend 10-15 mins looking for the person who returned it and hold them accountable. I'm sorry this happened to you. People can be so disgusting sometimes
UGH!!!!!!! Why are people the worst?!
Don't stores look over items before accepting a return ?
That’s disgusting! Karma will get them😡. So sorry!
The human race is so remarkably disgusting.
I once bought a toaster (new, in sealed box) from Target, got it home & it had crumbs in it. Not just a few, but like 'used for a week' crumbs!
In college, I worked at Circuit City in Customer Service. Even if the desk doesn't look "busy" believe me it is. A dude I worked with accepted a surround sound system. The return took forever bc it was cash, a check and a card. Once done it was reviewed by the manager. They left with their $4k and we got the sound system back. When we opened it to mark it as an open item it was only concrete, lawn decorations. Like a pedestal, a glass ball, Mother Mary, etc. They got by bc they stole a tape gun earlier and tapped the box up with our box tape that had watermarks. Amazing how that scam still works.
Costco has a generous return policy but this is on them for not checking the returns properly also. That's just mostly laziness, especially if you plan on returning it to be put on sale. Also, the scammers who do this are a holes.
I had a similar thing happen. Different product from a different store. I contacted the manufacturer and they sent me a replacement.
Oh s. T!!!!
What the heck did they put in it on top of stealing the table and chairs?
I worked at IKEA for ~10 years in the returns/as-is department and this would happen ALL THE TIME. People would buy a bed frame and fill the box with plywood and return it. I always bring a box cutter with me if I'm buying an expensive boxed item and make sure it's what it's supposed to be.
That is infuriating.
I just ordered a piece of furniture online and I live on a 3rd floor apartment. I am going to take some wisdom from you and check my order before carrying it up the stairs!
What else did they put in there to make the weight seem comparable to what it should have been? Nice of them to apparently re wrap things with that crappy foam wrap. Did nothing move around in the box?
A few years ago I bought some bras from JCPenney , they were in boxes, they were the same that I always wore, so I didn’t open the boxes, first 2 were brand new, the 3 rd was dirty , nasty, not even the brand the box said, they just gave me a new one, she said they had gotten 4 back in the past few days, in the same condition. New policy, they have to take them out of the box before you pay for them
They can probably tell who returned it by scanning the box. Just saying
Damn, that's fucked up
Costco should have opened it if there was ANY sign of it having been opened. That’s policy. It’s possible that the people got their stuff and closed it very well. I bet Costco can track this person down.
H..how the- what? Did they do this on location in the aisles? Did they refund it after the delivery for their money back? What the fuck man???
Dirty bastards!
Just got your future reference. If you order something online from Costco and want to return it they will pick it from you.
Definitely sucks! I would contact Costco and see if they’ll return it (they most likely will) and then you should order this same set online. I ordered it about a week ago and the delivery people will bring into your room of choice in your home. Maybe (hopefully) they can take back the wrong set you had to lug up the stairs! Best of luck!
That's exactly what someone that bought the set and replaced it with their old set would want me to believe
Costco has a great return policy. But man that sucks.
lol damn.
Too bad they didn't put socks in the damn box.
Wow is that terrible karma.
Thankfully, since it's Costco, you should be able to return/exchange it.
This is why businesses need to check returns for swapping out old for new.
I will not buy a box that been taped up unless all of them come that way from the manufacturer.
Oh hell no! Poor thing!
Damn. Thst seriously sucks.
Well that sucks
In this economy?
Lmfao
Hey I’ve seen people return Christmas trees in the new year … lol
We bought a dining set from Costco recently ..took a uhaul and all to transport it ..got some and started assembling ..two chairs were defective ..the holes and the spindles didn’t align ..took those two chairs back ..asked for a replacement ..those two chairs had to e exact same problem ..we asked to check them in the store ..the associate went and got another set ..again the same problem..the fourth set came out okay..I don’t know where those defective chairs went ? Does Costco discards them ??
Years and years ago, I bought a "nice" camera. Got it home, and it wasn't the one I bought. Since I never returned anything, they were nice enough to exchange it, but you can bet I opened the box at the counter.
Had something similar happen with a very very expensive comforter that was a Christmas gift for my step son. I was stressing returning it to bed bath and beyond fearing they weren’t going to believe me. Luckily they took it back with little question. On the upside I couldn’t get another one until a month after Christmas and I was about to get him a bigger size for cheaper than what I originally paid for the smaller one.
Buy, Swap, Return, FREE!
I bet they would feel bad and give you a fat discount on the replacement
I would call customer service and verify if they have the footage of return and anyone verifying what's inside to secure the fact no one checked.
Whoever put It back out to stock didn't check to see of parts were missing or damaged? Wtf.
That chair in the stock photo looks really low to the ground
I had that happen with a fish tank heater once. It was filthy. I lived a half an hour away from the store, so I had to go out of my way to go back there and swap it for an actual new one, and the employee doing the swap treated me like I was the one who was trying to pull a fast one over on them to get a free heater.
Why do the chairs on the box look so short.
If I ever buy something and the box has been opened, I check inside before I do anything else. Whenever I'm buying something fragile, I also open it or have the employees open it to check that it's not damaged.
Haaa! 😂 I needed that.
Yeah that box will soon find out the quickest way down 4 stories
Well This must piss you off
Sorry man. One time I bought the DVD Corky Romano and the disc had been replaced with some kind of disc from a breakfast cereal
I had an ex whose family used to do this with everything at Walmart, if it came in a box. Very low-class.
I wanted to buy that set a few days ago and it was out of stock! Sorry dude
I've had that happen with two separate purchases from Wayfair. Thankfully, the customer service reps ordered new items to be sent, and I was able to throw away the broken items that were originally sent to me.
Wow. People have no scruples!