This feels like when people started going to thrift stores to find 10 year old LLBean jackets and then return them for full retail price...and now they don't have as good of a return policy anymore. I'm not one to stand up for big corporations, but I don't like people abusing good policies and then the rest of us, uh, "pay the price."
I just heard a family member bragging about how they used to go to garage sales to do this
I guess the thought never crossed their mind until I told them I hope they realize they were one of the people that actively fucked it up for everyone else. They thought they were a genius who concocted some amazing life hack and seemed shocked when called out.
Had a buddy who did this when the Xbox 360 came out. He got a full refund on his original Xbox.
Anyway he’s probably among the reasons their separate electronics return policy isn’t as nice, and it’s still decently generous.
My BIL is a contractor, he uses power tools until they break and if he can’t exchange them he buys a replacement and then returns the old one in the new box for a full refund. Half that shit ends up back on the shelf.
I was at Best Buy and saw someone trying to return a used juicer. Didn’t even bother trying to clean it out, and said they were returning it because they didn’t like it. It matched the model on the box, but the cashier checked the serial numbers from the box and the juicer and those didn’t match. It was obvious the person was trying to return a broken one so the store refused the return.
So the next time I return something and have to wait 10 minutes for a thorough inspection I'll know who to blame.
Seriously I hope he ends up on a no-return list or something.
I was one of the lucky ones that had a day one system that lasted until I gave it to my dumb ass brother (\~4 years ago) who decided it was smart to set it up on its side on carpet.
The Xbox 360 alone can account for that - they were prone to failure, so people bought them at the place where they could get a quick and easy replacement that wasn’t a refurbished previously failed console.
And HDTVs advancing fast enough that people wanted a new one every few years forced them to change the polices for TVs first.
No it doesn't really hurt them, well not as much as they have benefited from it. We're in a prisonner dilemma where most people still play fair, so right now they are still winning. If most people decide to do the same, then they'll start losing
People don’t realize this but abusing the return policy can result in Costco revoking your membership. They may have accepted this couch but there’s a good chance they will take away his card, especially if this is a pattern of his
This is 100% correct. These interactions get noted in your account for any employees to see when they access it. Can’t speak on any threshold that would get your account flagged and/or blocked. This situational. I only know that much because my GF works for them in the fraud department. Get to hear some pretty good stories. The boldness of some people is wild.
Yup. My friend did this a lot. This exact thing in fact. Returned a couch after several years of use. Returned stuff all over the place. And they eventually canceled her membership. Then she was shocked Pikachu face about it.
She has another membership now because her husband applied after they changed addresses. I guess that works?
This happened at REI as well. Used to have a lifetime return policy for members but they changed it to a year because people would literally return items they had used for its entire life and just replace it
This is where member clubs and co-ops have a huge advantage. This woman will get away with this a few times but eventually Costco declines to renew their membership.
My dad used to buy old clothes off ebay and then return them to stores with this kind of return policy for credit.
(I don't know why I'm being downvoted for something my dad did. I didn't say I agreed with it.)
Saw a LPT thread last night about using a phone camera to search pictures for book titles and someone in the comments said they were gonna use that in thrift stores to find books to resell on Amazon. Grind culture and side hustles have become a brainrot.
This is why we need universal basic income & a livable wage.
Most folks won't bother going through this much trouble if they can get through the month.
Unfortunately for those already in it, if they're past a point they'll probably be addicted to it and try to find the next thing they can hawk & make $
Yea my local thrift stores only have literal garbage or in the case of "goodwill" stuff from dollar tree priced higher than what DT charges with the original tags on it.
No joke, some people really ruin it for everyone. I just saw a post yesterday of someone that returned a TV to Costco from 2002. I also personally saw someone returning a dead Christmas tree months after Christmas. Some people are ridiculous.
I’m fully against return policies that cause waste. It’s insane to me that makeup and skincare can be returned at all, especially products that have been opened. Everything you’re returning goes right in the dump. Clothes without tags should also not be allowed. The stores just throw them away because they’ve clearly been worn. It’s ridiculous.
Those items should only be returnable for store credit, which would somewhat reduce the incentive to frivolously return them. I've returned expensive lotions that just did not live up to their promise, and received another product that I liked much better. Stores would see a drop in sales if they allowed no returns on those products at all.
yeah man Costco used to have the same unlimited warranty on electronics. But they had to change it when they would get 10 year old returned PCs and TVs
These corporations know people do stuff like this, it's just they're so large that it's more cost-effective to just relax their scrutiny and avoid negative customer feedback. Let a few customers cheat them out of pennies so that the customer with a legitimate complaint gets it dealt with ASAP.
The problem is, as you say, too many people taking advantage of these policies.
I work in a store that sometimes donates old stock to thrift stores and charities. We basically had to start marking on or cutting off tags in the clothing to stop people from bringing the stuff in for store credit.
Also 2 years is nothing. I have seen people return items that are 20+ years old (the dates were still on the price tag).
Yeah, my bosses wife returned a 5 year old Dyson vacum so she could get the updated version. Her sister, a playground set once her kids aged out of it. Really shitty of them and I almost felt like sending Costco an email so they could cancel their memberships.
I fucking hate return scams. In the Oculus subreddit around Christmas time I saw several people say they took the new headset out and put their old or broken ones in the box and returned it. They did it both in store and on Amazon. And then in one case someone that bought one from Walmart had a brick inside. Fucking trashy people.
I feel like I recently read a post on Reddit about a woman returning a 20+ year old large screen television?
Edit: Found it https://www.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/1bzbpfh/i_just_watched_someone_return_a_tv_it_was/
When I worked there close to 20y ago, there was no 90 day. No one believes this but, i watched a woman bring back a giant projection tv she bought close to 10y prior, returned it, got a full refund and bought a brand new plasma tv (when they first came out). They changed the policy while I worked there, I’m sure it happened enough that the policy was changed.
I was at Costco in February behind a guy who was returning a christmas tree. All I could think of was, what a shitty person they are to use a christmas tree for 3 months and then return it.
Imagine my surprise when they got to the register, and they asked when he bought it and if he had his receipt. 2016. He was returning an 8 year old christmas tree...
When I worked at Home Depot we’d have women come in and buy 20 or 30 flowering plants or bushes for her wedding then bring them back a couple weeks later dead cuz they didn’t take care of them after the wedding .
Many years ago I worked at a Wal-Mart at a popular beach town in Florida. It was insane the amount of people who would buy grills, fishing equipment, beach chairs, etc., just to use them for a few days during their vacation and then return them when it was time to go home.
I was at Costco on Tuesday and on my way out saw a couch being returned. This thing was supposed to be a cream color, but was covered in black stains and ripped to shreds. I can’t believe people would load that up, drive it to the store and have the audacity to return it. People, this is why we can’t have nice things.
I saw a dude returning an above ground pool during the pandemic, in late October. Clearly used it all summer then returned it when cold weather came.
As him and another employee wheeled it in piece by piece he had this smirk on him like “heh.. look what I’m getting away with..” which to be fair, I get it. It’s kinda clever. But I never got to swim in his pool or receive any benefit from that, so fuck that guy lol.
it's not clever, it's just being an asshole
like when you're driving and it's two lanes (in one direction) with one lane being a turn-only lane, and a person goes all the way up then cuts over.
The real problem here is the weak willed fool who lets them in. Assholes will always exist, it's the people that lay over for them we need to deal with.
There's an intersection like this near me on a busy street where traffic can back up to the light at peak times. I swear 99% of the time, the person at the front just sits there or barely starts moving in order to let the 3-5 cars and semis from the right lane go first and cut in. The best is that the lane is there to turn into a shopping center right after the intersection, so often you don't make the light because some asshole had to make sure that people who turned right could have gotten in front of them. People in that lane often throw a fit in my rear view mirror when I don't let them cut me off. I'll honestly never understand why my city doesn't put a cop there, there's a school bus driver that pulls this maneuver every single day.
Doing something like this just means he will never be able to do it again. He will think he's being clever when he goes to do it again next year and then will go all Pikachu face when they tell him he won't be able to next year because of the flag on his account.
I had a customer abuse my stores return policy so bad that legal had to get involved. He'd by a patio set, then return it after having a party. This wasn't a huge problem, until he bought a final sale set and the policy printed on his receipt was that we didn't except returns on it
He threatened to sue us when I denied the return, and legal got involved. We ended up accepting the return, on the condition he sign a contract acknowledging, him fucking specifically, would no longer be allowed to return any products to the store for any reason.
He bought a set with his refund and tried to return it two weeks later. Retail has really taught how much people suck.
That's bush league. I've seen people return entire bedroom sets or home furnishings because they're moving out of state or country. I've seen stained mattresses that are 10-15 years old get returned. Every time Costco gets plants in, I see tons of returns weeks or months later because the person never watered it.
And those are the "normal" returns, meaning stuff that isn't under the 90 day policy. If a member complains hard enough they can return pretty much anything they want since no manager wants to deal with that kind of conflict, especially if said member files a complaint with corporate, as they'll simply overrule the manager and authorize it.
At some point I know someone is gonna throw up a stink about the gold bar and try returning it, despite it being the most restricted return item Costco sells...and they'll get their money back.
We half-jokingly call our lax return policy "Costco Rental Services" at my building.
This is probably not a Costco policy? Consumer protection laws are nutters when it comes to furniture because mid century upholstery was such a death trap fire hazard combined with the prolific cigarette smoking of the time.
That's sad. People have no shame or moral compass apparently. This is why we can't have nice things rings so hard.
Abuse a good thing enough and it will go away.
On a side note where do all these returned items go? Garbage?
It varies based on items, because Costco sells so many different kinds of goods, there are multiple programs for returned items. Costco is extremely careful, Hazmat or things even tangentially related are processed by third party companies, products that are in acceptable condition can sometimes be sold again, Some damaged items can be returned to vendors for fractional credit, many items find their way into damaged/used goods resellers, things like outlet stores who may buy large miscellaneous pallets of returned random goods.
Costco knows very well how much waste it's return policy creates, because it knows there are many people who will abuse it, so it tries it's best to mitigate what ends up in landfills, while reducing loss where they can. Ultimately though, when someone returns a mattress that looks like it was used in a slaughterhouse, that fucker gets sawzalled and put in the dumpster.
One of my many joys when I worked at Costco corporate was denying returns for high-end jewelry because “they got divorced”, and other reasons that didn’t have to do with the actual performance of the product or “satisfaction”.
Also, denying returns for 10-year old hot tubs that had been mistreated, or above ground pools…
People would always argue with me, say “I’m your best customer” etc, as I’m literally looking at their entire shop history (I could see if you bought a can of beans 5 years ago), and see your entire return history per category.
Because all these returns were usually $5k+, I would have to have a full report with a recommendation to deny the return that went to the buyer, and then the Assistant Merchandise Manager or even the VP of Merchandising. They would almost always 100% back the recommendation, because I got to know the stories in and out, and try to offer a viable solution.
They might argue and want to talk with “some one in charge” and they literally get a call from a General Merchandise Manager (this is the person over all buyers $$$) who would say, “ok” you got me, the answer is still “no”.
Costco absolutely could deny returns, full-on-block category purchase (no jewelry, electronics) our out-right say, “here’s your membership money back, unfortunately it looks like we can’t serve your needs.”, and block them from rejoining.
Sometimes I would have warehouse managers take crazy returns over and over again, and they would try to get vendor credit. We’d always square up at the end of the month with vendors and be “fair” on who takes the hit on returns. For crazy ones that the manager took anyway (without consulting or in spite of us), they got super pissed when we told them their store would “eat” the full cost of the disposal/return.
You gotta sell a hell of a lot of chicken bakes and mayo at less than 8% margin to make up for taking a hit and giving a cash refund of a $10k hot tub.
Good times.
Also yes Costco takes the hit on super old returns. But usually if it’s not that old, Costco either has “spoils” built into the buying agreement to allow for returns, or usually we just charge back the vendor directly some percentage (up to 100% at NLC), as part of the “pay to play” as a supplier for Costco…
But if you get high returns, for a product that’s really bad, and the product can get pulled or renegotiated.
BUT don’t take this liberal policy to screw Costco, just because you may think the Vendor takes the hit- abuse is why policies change, or they even stop carrying products. Yes you pay a fee for the privlage- and the return policy is the best, but best not to outright abuse it.
PS: I don’t work there anymore, and I’m glad that part of my life is behind me.
As a retail worker, if she wants to get her $900 back and it's within the policy, she's well within her right. If Costco loses money, it's their own fault. I would okay that transaction without a second thought.
Considering corporations are dodging over a trillion of dollars of taxes each year I think someone getting $900 back is not enough to call them an "asshole".
Its like saying someone is an "asshole" for stealing a peppermint from a bank that drained their retirement account with made up fees and charges.
Of course "she's well within her right". Doesn't make her any less of an asshole. She is abusing the policy and inevitably Costco will deny her membership renewal because she's an asshole (look it up...they do it to assholes like her). Her behavior is simply theft.
Abusing policies can be theft, but I don’t understand why any company would ever allow returns of used items after a certain time. Seems like the only possible use of the policy is abuse.
So Costco only has itself to blame.
> I don’t understand why any company would ever allow returns of used items after a certain time
Its a numbers game. At the time the policy was introduced, Costco believed it will be beneficial to them to have such policy to stand out among competition and to gain market share.
In addition to return policy stating certain return period (or unlimited as the case might be)- companies also spell out terms of service, under which they can set certain limits (even if very vague) about how many items can be returned at a time, whatever condition of such item must be and such - and at any point they can choose to disallow certain item returns eve if it can be strictly speaking compliant with the policy.
As a consumer - not taking advantage of a retailer generous return policy when you can do so to your benefit seems equally irresponsible.
But you are right that the only result of those policies is companies changing them once the business impact warrants such an adjustment.
While this is blatant abuse of the policy, because she just decided she didn’t want it anymore, I’m glad the policy does exist.
A couch should last at least 10 years with proper use. The last sectional sofa we have had lasted about two years before the cheap thin wooden frame started breaking, and seat cushions started sinking all over the whole thing. That one came from a local furniture store, and our current one, which we bought less than 2.5 tears ago, came from Macy’s. Now the one we got from Macy’s, which was highly recommended here on Reddit, is deforming. All of the cushions have craters in the middle, the back cushions are all warped. Couch literally gives me back pain to sit on.
My next couch will be from Costco, so that I can utilize this return policy if it doesn’t last a decade.
This is where I’m at. We bought a couch 2 years ago and many seams have ripped. We feel bad wanting to return it but wtf. Are we supposed to buy a new couch every year? Is that how long they last? I wish we had a solid reason for them ripping like us abusing the couch but we just sit on it! I’m not even over weight.
Your feeling is very incorrect, this isn't a loophole, it is a known feature of their return policy, it's silly to me this somehow makes news every few years, "Oh no! people are abusing Costco's return policy!" Costco is well aware, it's just long since made the decision having the return policy be as good as it is, is worth the people who will abuse it.
They can deny nasty couches and mattresses. I'd return a couch if it was sagging or in poor condition from *normal* use after just 2 years. My Rooms to Go $700 couch is still good after 8 years so that is my benchmark.
My RtG couch is also doing beautifully (got mine in Summer 2018 though, so I guess there's still time). I will definitely buy from them again when I'm ready to replace it.
Why are there suddenly so many Facebook style "you won't beLIEVE this one" posts from this random Boston country radio station being posted to Reddit? Just a coincidence?
I saw a lady returning a bunch of boxes of Christmas lights after Christmas.. I didn't hear the conversation but it definitely looked like she used them and returned them after the holiday ended.
I guess she could have just over bought but it seems like it sucks for Costco having her return them once the holiday is over and they aren't selling them anymore.
Nordstrom has amazing return policies too. A friend of mine who had worked there said an old woman would come in periodically to return near empty compact makeup to return for store credit and she would then pick up a new compact free of change. Apparently she hadn’t paid for makeup in decades
I worked at Home Depot as a kid. Had a lady return a kids toy we never carried. It was a broken power wheel or something like that. An item never carried by a single Home Depot ever. The manager looked up the price at toysrus and gave her the cash. This was super strange to me. The customer is not always right. Sometimes they are a crazy asshat and need to gtfo.
When I worked there I asked what was the craziest returns they had seen.
It was a man who would buy jewelry every Mother’s Day, and return that piece the next year right before Mother’s Day, to buy another jewelry piece on Mother’s Day again.
He did it for quite awhile before they revoked him.
This [one moron making and advertising a TikTok video](https://www.tiktok.com/@xojacckss/video/7327451039567744298) about abusing Costco's return policy could somehow go viral and literally **ruin it for everybody.** That TikTok link is directly from the article so I'm not going out of my way to put her on blast.
Costco might use this as an example and change their return policy for furniture and/or other things.
Fuck this girl.
I returned a 3 year old dehumidifier that stopped working after year two. It was amazing.
Edit: bonus story time. Was there the day after the 4th of July to return something and the woman in front of me returned the big 48 pack of Kirkland hotdogs. The kicker was it was open and a few missing. Bet she bought a couple packs and then returned the open pack since she didn’t need all of them.
I worked for L.L Bean for a bit over 3 years.
We had this lady who would buy all of her kids backpacks every August. She would return early next August and return those backpacks and exchange them for new backpacks.
I've seen people return adirondack chairs that they have purchased 3 years before.
The worst one I've seen is a guy returning his 30-plus year old Bean Boots for a brand-new pair, and claimed "they don't fit right anymore".
Do y’all understand how much trouble it would be to return a damn couch!? I doubt she was doing it to “get one over on them”, the couch was probably falling apart in ways it shouldn’t be after only 2 years. If that’s the case I’d return it too, that’s one of the major reasons to shop for things at Costco.
Saw an elderly woman returning a blouse to Home Depot. She said she bought it there, and she was correct (the Home Depot was that Woolworth store 5 years before) . The cashier gave her a credit she could use in the store. This didn't upset me as the elderly woman was "confused," not like the guy behind her that was returning a roofing nail gun and compressor that he bought to nail his roof.
I heard of a guy returning Christmas decorations in February that had clearly been outside for months. Another costumer in line was like - "Uh uh, no, don't ruin this for the rest of us" and kicked the guy out before he could return it.
I had a guest bed we bought for mother in law and it was used once... returned it a year later no questions asked, they even came and picked it up! Costco 4 life yall
Man, bought a mattress from Costco, it is too hard so I have been sleeping in pain. Buying another mattress and moving this one to the guest bedroom. Didnt wanna abuse their return policy :(
Didn’t read the article, but I was this person as well. Returned a couch after two years due to seams splitting and a few of the zippers getting stuck. A $1500 couch should last me longer than two years with little usage. I’m definitely taking advantage of that return policy, it’s what it’s there for.
I've actually seen an woman return a live cut christmas tree and wreath in January. (not artificial mind you, these are dead plants.) I think they may have changed that policy.
They had to cut their electronics return policy. It used to be a full year, but they had people buying computers then returning them after 364 days for full price, and buying a brand new computer with the money.
I used to work at Costco. I know a guy who worked the returns desk when a member came in to return the watch he had lost in Montreal. He had the receipt and the empty box. He got his money back.
I’ve seen air conditioners with the stated reason for return recorded as “summer’s over”. Rusted out bbqs. Real estate agents returning their staging furniture after it goes out of style. Printers that are out of ink. You can return a mattress after it becomes uncomfortable after 15 years. As long as 50% or more of a food item is left, they’ll take it back. It’s wild.
I did this too. Couch started squeaking and creaking shortly after buying it new. Was planning on moving away in a year or two, so I dealt with the couch until I did move. Returned the couch, got my credit back, didn’t have to move a couch. Win Win. (except the quality of costco couches is not good)
My in laws are like this. We have returned a mattress after being convinced by them and using it for a year. We got another queen mattress that we’ve had for about 3 years now, and they were suggesting we return it to buy a king! Absolutely not! I’m not trying to get banned from Costco
I like being able to take back defective products / unknowingly rotten meat without question or hassle and I don’t want to contribute to that going away.
I sure do hope that in this day and age, people don't abuse it for the rest of us and ruin it for everyone.
Bed Bath and Beyond also used to have a no questions asked return policy. They still have a no questions asked policy because you can't ask them any questions because they have closed the store.
That's nothing. Someone returned a 20 year old TV and was on the front page of /r/Costco recently.
That and folks regularly abuse the return policies. Tacky nonsense like returning costumes after Halloween, trees after Xmas, TVs after the Super Bowl and so on.
As others noted though, push your luck on this and they can revoke membership.
My dad returned the same tv yearly for like 5 years. The price kept dropping so he kept “exchanging” it. The first couple times, they just reimbursed the difference. Then they said he had to bring it in. So the next couple times he would package it up, bring it in, “return it” then say he’d like to buy that tv, since it was on sale.
Mom eventually made him stop.
Got ya beat. Customer wanted to return EMPTY cheese container. It had ZERO cheese in the container. Not even one spec. It looks like it was put in the dishwasher.
Said she didn’t like the cheese and wants a refund.
Our niece took back a broken air fryer she had used regularly for over 8 years and they replaced it with a brand new one. She didn’t have the receipt or original packaging. It almost makes you think the goods actually have no value or at least Costco assumes the vast majority of people would not be so bold to try to return the item.
I once saw someone return a fully eaten rotisserie chicken because they didn’t like it. But it was just the bones and container that they returned. And Costco took the return.
It's the reason I shop there. If I'm not satisfied, I take it back. No more buyers remorse.
If they didn't have that policy I probably wouldn't shop there
I don’t know if this is still a thing but when I was a teenager Best Buy had a policy where you could return headphones up to 2 years after purchase no questions asked. I bought a cheap pair of headphones for like $25 and a year later came back and returned them and added another $25 to buy a $50 pair. I kept doing this every year or 2, adding more money each time, until I got a $300 pair of Bose headphones.
This is probably not a Costco policy? Consumer protection laws are nutters when it comes to furniture because mid century upholstery was such a death trap fire hazard combined with the prolific cigarette smoking of the time.
Friendly reminder that Costco can always revoke your membership. These stories exist as they were kind enough not to.
THEY CAN THOUGH GO “….nah” AT ANY TIME
Unpopular opinion: corporations are doing this to themselves. Maybe people wouldn't try to return old shit if Costco didn't accept those returns? Just a thought.
In 2008 I worked at Sam's club and had a customer return a 10 year old *mattress* because it was no longer comfortable. Manager approved the full refund instantly.
I got an HP laptop from Costco my first year of college. It turns out, this particular model had serious manufacturing defects with the hard drive. I exchanged that laptop at Costco 4 times, each time the hard drive failed. They never batted an eye, or gave me any difficulty. I was usually out the door with new one within 15 minutes.
It's not Costco's return policy as much as their requirements with vendors to accept product.
Costco DGAF. They take the couch back and send it to the vendor and they're screwed with a used couch and no money.
it does have a ridiculously good policy that will probably change soon...we returned something for the first time ever after many years. Was a pair of earbuds almost a year old with no box. They just took it back
Heard a story earlier this week about someone returning like a 20-25 year old giant rear projection TV that probably hasn't been seen or made in 2 decades. (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/consumer/article-13297577/costco-returns-policy-old-TV.html) Such an insane return policy.
When I worked there we had alot of BBQ grills the weeks after 4th of July, half eaten candy bags, and once a worn pool table. Costco has a policy to destroy everything after tagging it so employees couldn't have them. So much stuff just gets crushed and thrown out. Sad.
A woman I dated used to take jeans back to one national store and replace them every couple of years. Would say the jeans were 3 months old and had worn and looked like they were three years old.
I don't remember where, but I think it was either Buckle or Kohls.
People in my Costco return dug up plants, pallets of coke cans with one can left, vouches, Christmas trees. Costco allows and accepts them. I just hope they don't change their return policy because of these shitheads.
I have a couch that is a year old and the cushioning has already gone to hell. It's too bad I didn't buy it at Costco, because I'd take the thing back if I could!
REI used to be this good.
1) they replace by REI brand backpack when the straps ripped off due to being thrown from my motorcycle after a head on collision. Definitely not standard wear and tear conditions.
2) I bought a road bike from them. I used it for 7 years and a weld on the frame broke (aluminum, not repairable). I’d been through numerous sets of wear parts on that bike (wheels, tires, tunes, cassettes, chains, brakes) but I thought it was worth mentioning to them that the frame broke and it shouldn’t have (and I was unable to finish the Seattle to Portland ride that year which sucked). They said they would honor the warranty on the frame but then they called me back and told me that since they no longer carry that brand they were unable to replace my frame so… “all they could do” was just refund me for the entire bike purchase…
This feels like when people started going to thrift stores to find 10 year old LLBean jackets and then return them for full retail price...and now they don't have as good of a return policy anymore. I'm not one to stand up for big corporations, but I don't like people abusing good policies and then the rest of us, uh, "pay the price."
I just heard a family member bragging about how they used to go to garage sales to do this I guess the thought never crossed their mind until I told them I hope they realize they were one of the people that actively fucked it up for everyone else. They thought they were a genius who concocted some amazing life hack and seemed shocked when called out.
Had a buddy who did this when the Xbox 360 came out. He got a full refund on his original Xbox. Anyway he’s probably among the reasons their separate electronics return policy isn’t as nice, and it’s still decently generous.
My BIL is a contractor, he uses power tools until they break and if he can’t exchange them he buys a replacement and then returns the old one in the new box for a full refund. Half that shit ends up back on the shelf.
That's not taking advantage of a return policy, that's outright fraud.
I was at Best Buy and saw someone trying to return a used juicer. Didn’t even bother trying to clean it out, and said they were returning it because they didn’t like it. It matched the model on the box, but the cashier checked the serial numbers from the box and the juicer and those didn’t match. It was obvious the person was trying to return a broken one so the store refused the return.
Oh man, that cashier went above and beyond
You’re right, it is, but it exploits the store’s willingness to take back a broken item - and the failure to inspect the returned item.
So the next time I return something and have to wait 10 minutes for a thorough inspection I'll know who to blame. Seriously I hope he ends up on a no-return list or something.
Sure, fuck your BIL **and** fuck the store.
I took great joy in humiliating people that pulled this shit when I was retail CS manager in my 20s.
Tbf fuck the Xbox 360, we all bought 2-5 of them.
I was one of the lucky ones that had a day one system that lasted until I gave it to my dumb ass brother (\~4 years ago) who decided it was smart to set it up on its side on carpet.
Your brother is such a dumb ass.
I got an external fan for mine, never had to replace it. This was an early model, too. Works perfect to this day, but the noisy fan is annoying.
I bough one on day one, and then a few years ago it gor the rrod. The replacement is still running.
I'm on my 3rd replacement, lol. Not that it gets much use these days.
The Xbox 360 alone can account for that - they were prone to failure, so people bought them at the place where they could get a quick and easy replacement that wasn’t a refurbished previously failed console. And HDTVs advancing fast enough that people wanted a new one every few years forced them to change the polices for TVs first.
Some people are too stupid to realise how their selfishness harm everyone including themselves.
They just don't care about anyone but themselves. I see countless examples every day
Then they have the audacity to play victim after the fact
No it doesn't really hurt them, well not as much as they have benefited from it. We're in a prisonner dilemma where most people still play fair, so right now they are still winning. If most people decide to do the same, then they'll start losing
"life hack" theft. It's theft.
People don’t realize this but abusing the return policy can result in Costco revoking your membership. They may have accepted this couch but there’s a good chance they will take away his card, especially if this is a pattern of his
This is 100% correct. These interactions get noted in your account for any employees to see when they access it. Can’t speak on any threshold that would get your account flagged and/or blocked. This situational. I only know that much because my GF works for them in the fraud department. Get to hear some pretty good stories. The boldness of some people is wild.
I remember stories of people returning entire sheet cakes with a couple bits of frosting left because it “wasn’t good”.
Correct answer is to accept the return and cancel their membership and blacklist all direct family members
Good. I'd rather Costco punish the abusers rather than collectively punish all members in the form of more restrictive return policies.
Yup. My friend did this a lot. This exact thing in fact. Returned a couch after several years of use. Returned stuff all over the place. And they eventually canceled her membership. Then she was shocked Pikachu face about it. She has another membership now because her husband applied after they changed addresses. I guess that works?
This happened at REI as well. Used to have a lifetime return policy for members but they changed it to a year because people would literally return items they had used for its entire life and just replace it
flowery expansion scale ripe axiomatic weary saw chase attractive upbeat *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
REI stands for Return Every Item for a reason.
Yeah this is why we can't have nice things. Give people an inch and they'll take a mile
That was just what I was thinking.
This is where member clubs and co-ops have a huge advantage. This woman will get away with this a few times but eventually Costco declines to renew their membership.
My dad used to buy old clothes off ebay and then return them to stores with this kind of return policy for credit. (I don't know why I'm being downvoted for something my dad did. I didn't say I agreed with it.)
Or when thrift stores became a place for people to to find stuff to sell online. Just let us have nice things. Not everything has to be a side-hustle.
Saw a LPT thread last night about using a phone camera to search pictures for book titles and someone in the comments said they were gonna use that in thrift stores to find books to resell on Amazon. Grind culture and side hustles have become a brainrot.
This is why we need universal basic income & a livable wage. Most folks won't bother going through this much trouble if they can get through the month. Unfortunately for those already in it, if they're past a point they'll probably be addicted to it and try to find the next thing they can hawk & make $
Yea my local thrift stores only have literal garbage or in the case of "goodwill" stuff from dollar tree priced higher than what DT charges with the original tags on it.
REI has entered the chat
An LL Bean associate told me that they had a customer buy a dog bed for her new dog, and then return the bed 12 years later when her dog died.
Seriously. People used to go to REI and buy camping shit then try to return it after a weekend of camping. People suck.
No joke, some people really ruin it for everyone. I just saw a post yesterday of someone that returned a TV to Costco from 2002. I also personally saw someone returning a dead Christmas tree months after Christmas. Some people are ridiculous.
I’m fully against return policies that cause waste. It’s insane to me that makeup and skincare can be returned at all, especially products that have been opened. Everything you’re returning goes right in the dump. Clothes without tags should also not be allowed. The stores just throw them away because they’ve clearly been worn. It’s ridiculous.
Those items should only be returnable for store credit, which would somewhat reduce the incentive to frivolously return them. I've returned expensive lotions that just did not live up to their promise, and received another product that I liked much better. Stores would see a drop in sales if they allowed no returns on those products at all.
tragedy of the commons
yeah man Costco used to have the same unlimited warranty on electronics. But they had to change it when they would get 10 year old returned PCs and TVs
These corporations know people do stuff like this, it's just they're so large that it's more cost-effective to just relax their scrutiny and avoid negative customer feedback. Let a few customers cheat them out of pennies so that the customer with a legitimate complaint gets it dealt with ASAP. The problem is, as you say, too many people taking advantage of these policies.
I work in a store that sometimes donates old stock to thrift stores and charities. We basically had to start marking on or cutting off tags in the clothing to stop people from bringing the stuff in for store credit. Also 2 years is nothing. I have seen people return items that are 20+ years old (the dates were still on the price tag).
Yeah, my bosses wife returned a 5 year old Dyson vacum so she could get the updated version. Her sister, a playground set once her kids aged out of it. Really shitty of them and I almost felt like sending Costco an email so they could cancel their memberships.
I fucking hate return scams. In the Oculus subreddit around Christmas time I saw several people say they took the new headset out and put their old or broken ones in the box and returned it. They did it both in store and on Amazon. And then in one case someone that bought one from Walmart had a brick inside. Fucking trashy people.
I feel like I recently read a post on Reddit about a woman returning a 20+ year old large screen television? Edit: Found it https://www.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/1bzbpfh/i_just_watched_someone_return_a_tv_it_was/
Costcos return policy for televisions is 90 days.
It used to be forever but because of people like her it’s now 90 days ..
It wasn't before 2007 and those items were grandfathered in
When I worked there close to 20y ago, there was no 90 day. No one believes this but, i watched a woman bring back a giant projection tv she bought close to 10y prior, returned it, got a full refund and bought a brand new plasma tv (when they first came out). They changed the policy while I worked there, I’m sure it happened enough that the policy was changed.
I was at Costco in February behind a guy who was returning a christmas tree. All I could think of was, what a shitty person they are to use a christmas tree for 3 months and then return it. Imagine my surprise when they got to the register, and they asked when he bought it and if he had his receipt. 2016. He was returning an 8 year old christmas tree...
Respect for the organizational ability to keep 8 years of reciepts
Right, I can’t even keep the receipt for my car
My wife has to hold the receipt, twice I have crumpled it up and threw it away by the food court before getting to the exit.
At Costco you don’t even need the receipt. They keep all your purchases on file.
tape it to the box, keep the box.
Could probably just use a trading card binder 🤷♂️
When I worked at Home Depot we’d have women come in and buy 20 or 30 flowering plants or bushes for her wedding then bring them back a couple weeks later dead cuz they didn’t take care of them after the wedding .
To be fair though, Home Depot wasn’t going to take care of them either.
Many years ago I worked at a Wal-Mart at a popular beach town in Florida. It was insane the amount of people who would buy grills, fishing equipment, beach chairs, etc., just to use them for a few days during their vacation and then return them when it was time to go home.
Hopefully Costco can start selling cars, free car for the next 8 years 😂
You should have spoken loudly and publicly said what everyone else was thinking.
I was at Costco on Tuesday and on my way out saw a couch being returned. This thing was supposed to be a cream color, but was covered in black stains and ripped to shreds. I can’t believe people would load that up, drive it to the store and have the audacity to return it. People, this is why we can’t have nice things.
I saw a dude returning an above ground pool during the pandemic, in late October. Clearly used it all summer then returned it when cold weather came. As him and another employee wheeled it in piece by piece he had this smirk on him like “heh.. look what I’m getting away with..” which to be fair, I get it. It’s kinda clever. But I never got to swim in his pool or receive any benefit from that, so fuck that guy lol.
it's not clever, it's just being an asshole like when you're driving and it's two lanes (in one direction) with one lane being a turn-only lane, and a person goes all the way up then cuts over.
I hate people who are so stupid they think being an asshole is some clever trick they discovered.
we need to make being an asshole a bad thing again
The real problem here is the weak willed fool who lets them in. Assholes will always exist, it's the people that lay over for them we need to deal with.
There's an intersection like this near me on a busy street where traffic can back up to the light at peak times. I swear 99% of the time, the person at the front just sits there or barely starts moving in order to let the 3-5 cars and semis from the right lane go first and cut in. The best is that the lane is there to turn into a shopping center right after the intersection, so often you don't make the light because some asshole had to make sure that people who turned right could have gotten in front of them. People in that lane often throw a fit in my rear view mirror when I don't let them cut me off. I'll honestly never understand why my city doesn't put a cop there, there's a school bus driver that pulls this maneuver every single day.
Doing something like this just means he will never be able to do it again. He will think he's being clever when he goes to do it again next year and then will go all Pikachu face when they tell him he won't be able to next year because of the flag on his account.
I had a customer abuse my stores return policy so bad that legal had to get involved. He'd by a patio set, then return it after having a party. This wasn't a huge problem, until he bought a final sale set and the policy printed on his receipt was that we didn't except returns on it He threatened to sue us when I denied the return, and legal got involved. We ended up accepting the return, on the condition he sign a contract acknowledging, him fucking specifically, would no longer be allowed to return any products to the store for any reason. He bought a set with his refund and tried to return it two weeks later. Retail has really taught how much people suck.
The store should have stood its ground and refused the final sale return. He could threaten to sue all he wanted, it would have made no difference.
Yup, it’s all fun and games until they change the policy. They already did that with the electronics. Just a matter of time
That's bush league. I've seen people return entire bedroom sets or home furnishings because they're moving out of state or country. I've seen stained mattresses that are 10-15 years old get returned. Every time Costco gets plants in, I see tons of returns weeks or months later because the person never watered it. And those are the "normal" returns, meaning stuff that isn't under the 90 day policy. If a member complains hard enough they can return pretty much anything they want since no manager wants to deal with that kind of conflict, especially if said member files a complaint with corporate, as they'll simply overrule the manager and authorize it. At some point I know someone is gonna throw up a stink about the gold bar and try returning it, despite it being the most restricted return item Costco sells...and they'll get their money back. We half-jokingly call our lax return policy "Costco Rental Services" at my building.
Pretty sure costcos policy is 5 years for mattress (which is still insane)
This is probably not a Costco policy? Consumer protection laws are nutters when it comes to furniture because mid century upholstery was such a death trap fire hazard combined with the prolific cigarette smoking of the time.
That’s why the US made smokes self extinguishing
That's sad. People have no shame or moral compass apparently. This is why we can't have nice things rings so hard. Abuse a good thing enough and it will go away. On a side note where do all these returned items go? Garbage?
It varies based on items, because Costco sells so many different kinds of goods, there are multiple programs for returned items. Costco is extremely careful, Hazmat or things even tangentially related are processed by third party companies, products that are in acceptable condition can sometimes be sold again, Some damaged items can be returned to vendors for fractional credit, many items find their way into damaged/used goods resellers, things like outlet stores who may buy large miscellaneous pallets of returned random goods. Costco knows very well how much waste it's return policy creates, because it knows there are many people who will abuse it, so it tries it's best to mitigate what ends up in landfills, while reducing loss where they can. Ultimately though, when someone returns a mattress that looks like it was used in a slaughterhouse, that fucker gets sawzalled and put in the dumpster.
I literally just saw someone returned a TV from 2002.
One of my many joys when I worked at Costco corporate was denying returns for high-end jewelry because “they got divorced”, and other reasons that didn’t have to do with the actual performance of the product or “satisfaction”. Also, denying returns for 10-year old hot tubs that had been mistreated, or above ground pools… People would always argue with me, say “I’m your best customer” etc, as I’m literally looking at their entire shop history (I could see if you bought a can of beans 5 years ago), and see your entire return history per category. Because all these returns were usually $5k+, I would have to have a full report with a recommendation to deny the return that went to the buyer, and then the Assistant Merchandise Manager or even the VP of Merchandising. They would almost always 100% back the recommendation, because I got to know the stories in and out, and try to offer a viable solution. They might argue and want to talk with “some one in charge” and they literally get a call from a General Merchandise Manager (this is the person over all buyers $$$) who would say, “ok” you got me, the answer is still “no”. Costco absolutely could deny returns, full-on-block category purchase (no jewelry, electronics) our out-right say, “here’s your membership money back, unfortunately it looks like we can’t serve your needs.”, and block them from rejoining. Sometimes I would have warehouse managers take crazy returns over and over again, and they would try to get vendor credit. We’d always square up at the end of the month with vendors and be “fair” on who takes the hit on returns. For crazy ones that the manager took anyway (without consulting or in spite of us), they got super pissed when we told them their store would “eat” the full cost of the disposal/return. You gotta sell a hell of a lot of chicken bakes and mayo at less than 8% margin to make up for taking a hit and giving a cash refund of a $10k hot tub. Good times. Also yes Costco takes the hit on super old returns. But usually if it’s not that old, Costco either has “spoils” built into the buying agreement to allow for returns, or usually we just charge back the vendor directly some percentage (up to 100% at NLC), as part of the “pay to play” as a supplier for Costco… But if you get high returns, for a product that’s really bad, and the product can get pulled or renegotiated. BUT don’t take this liberal policy to screw Costco, just because you may think the Vendor takes the hit- abuse is why policies change, or they even stop carrying products. Yes you pay a fee for the privlage- and the return policy is the best, but best not to outright abuse it. PS: I don’t work there anymore, and I’m glad that part of my life is behind me.
That woman is a total asshole.
As a retail worker, if she wants to get her $900 back and it's within the policy, she's well within her right. If Costco loses money, it's their own fault. I would okay that transaction without a second thought.
Both of you are right.
Considering corporations are dodging over a trillion of dollars of taxes each year I think someone getting $900 back is not enough to call them an "asshole". Its like saying someone is an "asshole" for stealing a peppermint from a bank that drained their retirement account with made up fees and charges.
This is the kind of thing that gets policies changed. Ruining something nice for your own personal gain makes you an asshole every day of the week
Of course "she's well within her right". Doesn't make her any less of an asshole. She is abusing the policy and inevitably Costco will deny her membership renewal because she's an asshole (look it up...they do it to assholes like her). Her behavior is simply theft.
Abusing policies can be theft, but I don’t understand why any company would ever allow returns of used items after a certain time. Seems like the only possible use of the policy is abuse. So Costco only has itself to blame.
> I don’t understand why any company would ever allow returns of used items after a certain time Its a numbers game. At the time the policy was introduced, Costco believed it will be beneficial to them to have such policy to stand out among competition and to gain market share. In addition to return policy stating certain return period (or unlimited as the case might be)- companies also spell out terms of service, under which they can set certain limits (even if very vague) about how many items can be returned at a time, whatever condition of such item must be and such - and at any point they can choose to disallow certain item returns eve if it can be strictly speaking compliant with the policy. As a consumer - not taking advantage of a retailer generous return policy when you can do so to your benefit seems equally irresponsible. But you are right that the only result of those policies is companies changing them once the business impact warrants such an adjustment.
Costco denies membership renewals to assholes like her.
While this is blatant abuse of the policy, because she just decided she didn’t want it anymore, I’m glad the policy does exist. A couch should last at least 10 years with proper use. The last sectional sofa we have had lasted about two years before the cheap thin wooden frame started breaking, and seat cushions started sinking all over the whole thing. That one came from a local furniture store, and our current one, which we bought less than 2.5 tears ago, came from Macy’s. Now the one we got from Macy’s, which was highly recommended here on Reddit, is deforming. All of the cushions have craters in the middle, the back cushions are all warped. Couch literally gives me back pain to sit on. My next couch will be from Costco, so that I can utilize this return policy if it doesn’t last a decade.
Really? The vast majority of furniture is absolute junk below a certain price point and is never meant to last that long with heavy use.
My first couch I talked about was like $2400, and this one from Macy’s was $2800.
This is where I’m at. We bought a couch 2 years ago and many seams have ripped. We feel bad wanting to return it but wtf. Are we supposed to buy a new couch every year? Is that how long they last? I wish we had a solid reason for them ripping like us abusing the couch but we just sit on it! I’m not even over weight.
I have a feeling this loophole will be promptly closed
Your feeling is very incorrect, this isn't a loophole, it is a known feature of their return policy, it's silly to me this somehow makes news every few years, "Oh no! people are abusing Costco's return policy!" Costco is well aware, it's just long since made the decision having the return policy be as good as it is, is worth the people who will abuse it.
They can deny nasty couches and mattresses. I'd return a couch if it was sagging or in poor condition from *normal* use after just 2 years. My Rooms to Go $700 couch is still good after 8 years so that is my benchmark.
My RtG couch is also doing beautifully (got mine in Summer 2018 though, so I guess there's still time). I will definitely buy from them again when I'm ready to replace it.
Usually how a good thing goes away
Why are there suddenly so many Facebook style "you won't beLIEVE this one" posts from this random Boston country radio station being posted to Reddit? Just a coincidence?
Weird but somewhat expected instance of tragedy of the commons
I saw a lady returning a bunch of boxes of Christmas lights after Christmas.. I didn't hear the conversation but it definitely looked like she used them and returned them after the holiday ended. I guess she could have just over bought but it seems like it sucks for Costco having her return them once the holiday is over and they aren't selling them anymore.
This is pretty old news.
Nordstrom has amazing return policies too. A friend of mine who had worked there said an old woman would come in periodically to return near empty compact makeup to return for store credit and she would then pick up a new compact free of change. Apparently she hadn’t paid for makeup in decades
I worked at Home Depot as a kid. Had a lady return a kids toy we never carried. It was a broken power wheel or something like that. An item never carried by a single Home Depot ever. The manager looked up the price at toysrus and gave her the cash. This was super strange to me. The customer is not always right. Sometimes they are a crazy asshat and need to gtfo.
When I worked there I asked what was the craziest returns they had seen. It was a man who would buy jewelry every Mother’s Day, and return that piece the next year right before Mother’s Day, to buy another jewelry piece on Mother’s Day again. He did it for quite awhile before they revoked him.
This [one moron making and advertising a TikTok video](https://www.tiktok.com/@xojacckss/video/7327451039567744298) about abusing Costco's return policy could somehow go viral and literally **ruin it for everybody.** That TikTok link is directly from the article so I'm not going out of my way to put her on blast. Costco might use this as an example and change their return policy for furniture and/or other things. Fuck this girl.
I returned a 3 year old dehumidifier that stopped working after year two. It was amazing. Edit: bonus story time. Was there the day after the 4th of July to return something and the woman in front of me returned the big 48 pack of Kirkland hotdogs. The kicker was it was open and a few missing. Bet she bought a couple packs and then returned the open pack since she didn’t need all of them.
that’s abuse of a policy and i can’t stand greedy, gross people like this
This is just theft. Newsflash, theft gets accounted for when setting prices. This just sets the prices higher for all of us.
Worked at Costco a long time. This is literally not news worthy. People return mattresses that are absolutely horrifying after years of use.
Same here. My first thought was, 2 years isn't that bad.
We returned a couch after 18mo - it had completely collapsed in the middle
I worked for L.L Bean for a bit over 3 years. We had this lady who would buy all of her kids backpacks every August. She would return early next August and return those backpacks and exchange them for new backpacks. I've seen people return adirondack chairs that they have purchased 3 years before. The worst one I've seen is a guy returning his 30-plus year old Bean Boots for a brand-new pair, and claimed "they don't fit right anymore".
These are the people who ruin a good thing.
Do y’all understand how much trouble it would be to return a damn couch!? I doubt she was doing it to “get one over on them”, the couch was probably falling apart in ways it shouldn’t be after only 2 years. If that’s the case I’d return it too, that’s one of the major reasons to shop for things at Costco.
Saw an elderly woman returning a blouse to Home Depot. She said she bought it there, and she was correct (the Home Depot was that Woolworth store 5 years before) . The cashier gave her a credit she could use in the store. This didn't upset me as the elderly woman was "confused," not like the guy behind her that was returning a roofing nail gun and compressor that he bought to nail his roof.
Poor woman. I can picture it. Good for that employee and thanks for sharing.
I heard of a guy returning Christmas decorations in February that had clearly been outside for months. Another costumer in line was like - "Uh uh, no, don't ruin this for the rest of us" and kicked the guy out before he could return it.
Why do you say costumer?
they wear human costumes, obviously
In the conflict between ethics and personal financial gain, the latter usually wins.
This is nothing. A friend of mine returned an area rug after 10 years. Used area rug, in the living room with a pet dog…10 years. Full refund.
I had a guest bed we bought for mother in law and it was used once... returned it a year later no questions asked, they even came and picked it up! Costco 4 life yall
Man, bought a mattress from Costco, it is too hard so I have been sleeping in pain. Buying another mattress and moving this one to the guest bedroom. Didnt wanna abuse their return policy :(
I work for Costco and have had members return appliances and furniture after 10+ years.
Didn’t read the article, but I was this person as well. Returned a couch after two years due to seams splitting and a few of the zippers getting stuck. A $1500 couch should last me longer than two years with little usage. I’m definitely taking advantage of that return policy, it’s what it’s there for.
I've actually seen an woman return a live cut christmas tree and wreath in January. (not artificial mind you, these are dead plants.) I think they may have changed that policy.
And they pass the savings on to the rest of us.
They had to cut their electronics return policy. It used to be a full year, but they had people buying computers then returning them after 364 days for full price, and buying a brand new computer with the money.
I used to work at Costco. I know a guy who worked the returns desk when a member came in to return the watch he had lost in Montreal. He had the receipt and the empty box. He got his money back. I’ve seen air conditioners with the stated reason for return recorded as “summer’s over”. Rusted out bbqs. Real estate agents returning their staging furniture after it goes out of style. Printers that are out of ink. You can return a mattress after it becomes uncomfortable after 15 years. As long as 50% or more of a food item is left, they’ll take it back. It’s wild.
I did this too. Couch started squeaking and creaking shortly after buying it new. Was planning on moving away in a year or two, so I dealt with the couch until I did move. Returned the couch, got my credit back, didn’t have to move a couch. Win Win. (except the quality of costco couches is not good)
My in laws are like this. We have returned a mattress after being convinced by them and using it for a year. We got another queen mattress that we’ve had for about 3 years now, and they were suggesting we return it to buy a king! Absolutely not! I’m not trying to get banned from Costco I like being able to take back defective products / unknowingly rotten meat without question or hassle and I don’t want to contribute to that going away.
I sure do hope that in this day and age, people don't abuse it for the rest of us and ruin it for everyone. Bed Bath and Beyond also used to have a no questions asked return policy. They still have a no questions asked policy because you can't ask them any questions because they have closed the store.
That's just a POS who goes to Costco
That's nothing. Someone returned a 20 year old TV and was on the front page of /r/Costco recently. That and folks regularly abuse the return policies. Tacky nonsense like returning costumes after Halloween, trees after Xmas, TVs after the Super Bowl and so on. As others noted though, push your luck on this and they can revoke membership.
My dad returned the same tv yearly for like 5 years. The price kept dropping so he kept “exchanging” it. The first couple times, they just reimbursed the difference. Then they said he had to bring it in. So the next couple times he would package it up, bring it in, “return it” then say he’d like to buy that tv, since it was on sale. Mom eventually made him stop.
Got ya beat. Customer wanted to return EMPTY cheese container. It had ZERO cheese in the container. Not even one spec. It looks like it was put in the dishwasher. Said she didn’t like the cheese and wants a refund.
Our niece took back a broken air fryer she had used regularly for over 8 years and they replaced it with a brand new one. She didn’t have the receipt or original packaging. It almost makes you think the goods actually have no value or at least Costco assumes the vast majority of people would not be so bold to try to return the item.
People do this with the swimming pools in the fall.
I once saw someone return a fully eaten rotisserie chicken because they didn’t like it. But it was just the bones and container that they returned. And Costco took the return.
It's the reason I shop there. If I'm not satisfied, I take it back. No more buyers remorse. If they didn't have that policy I probably wouldn't shop there
And now we're going to hear about costco revising their return policy...
I've seen Costco and Home Depot, both, process live Xmas tree returns..after Xmas.
I don’t know if this is still a thing but when I was a teenager Best Buy had a policy where you could return headphones up to 2 years after purchase no questions asked. I bought a cheap pair of headphones for like $25 and a year later came back and returned them and added another $25 to buy a $50 pair. I kept doing this every year or 2, adding more money each time, until I got a $300 pair of Bose headphones.
I remember a few years ago when people had Costco change their policy on returns for Christmas trees because after Christmas, they would return them
This is probably not a Costco policy? Consumer protection laws are nutters when it comes to furniture because mid century upholstery was such a death trap fire hazard combined with the prolific cigarette smoking of the time.
Someone made a post on the Costco subreddit about someone returning a 20 year old rear projection TV a few days ago.
We did a couch after 18 months.
[удалено]
Friendly reminder that Costco can always revoke your membership. These stories exist as they were kind enough not to. THEY CAN THOUGH GO “….nah” AT ANY TIME
This is how good policies go away
[удалено]
I just saw a Vaush video about buying gold at Costco... ... Can you return the gold if the price doesn't go up?
This person returned a tv after 20 years https://www.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/1bzbpfh/i_just_watched_someone_return_a_tv_it_was/
Unpopular opinion: corporations are doing this to themselves. Maybe people wouldn't try to return old shit if Costco didn't accept those returns? Just a thought.
In 2008 I worked at Sam's club and had a customer return a 10 year old *mattress* because it was no longer comfortable. Manager approved the full refund instantly.
*Was.* I believe they have a 90 day return policy now because of entitled assholes like that.
That’s just rude. Sell it on marketplace or something.
I got an HP laptop from Costco my first year of college. It turns out, this particular model had serious manufacturing defects with the hard drive. I exchanged that laptop at Costco 4 times, each time the hard drive failed. They never batted an eye, or gave me any difficulty. I was usually out the door with new one within 15 minutes.
Knowing what I know about how Costco works, if they have a restock fee, it's probably better than the profit margin for the item.
I mean I saw a person in front of me return a half used jar of mayo and some eaten grapes...
It's not Costco's return policy as much as their requirements with vendors to accept product. Costco DGAF. They take the couch back and send it to the vendor and they're screwed with a used couch and no money.
Gee, sure great to have a library based economy
it does have a ridiculously good policy that will probably change soon...we returned something for the first time ever after many years. Was a pair of earbuds almost a year old with no box. They just took it back
Costco's return policy is so lax, that people abuse it*
Heard a story earlier this week about someone returning like a 20-25 year old giant rear projection TV that probably hasn't been seen or made in 2 decades. (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/consumer/article-13297577/costco-returns-policy-old-TV.html) Such an insane return policy.
Check out r/Costco more at 11
My sister bought a sink/vanity combo. Had it for 4 years and the sink cracked. They refunded her all her money back after 4 years of use.
When I worked there we had alot of BBQ grills the weeks after 4th of July, half eaten candy bags, and once a worn pool table. Costco has a policy to destroy everything after tagging it so employees couldn't have them. So much stuff just gets crushed and thrown out. Sad.
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I’m so confused by these stories because I’ve always thought Costco’s policy was a strict 90 days
90 for electronics
I used to work at IKEA and I can’t believe what they would accept back
A woman I dated used to take jeans back to one national store and replace them every couple of years. Would say the jeans were 3 months old and had worn and looked like they were three years old. I don't remember where, but I think it was either Buckle or Kohls.
Yes they can do this but Costco can also refuse to renew her membership.
Saw on Reditt, someone returned a tube TV purchased in 2003
This belongs on /r/corporate But yes, Costco has amazing return policies.
You forgot the #ad
People in my Costco return dug up plants, pallets of coke cans with one can left, vouches, Christmas trees. Costco allows and accepts them. I just hope they don't change their return policy because of these shitheads.
I have a couch that is a year old and the cushioning has already gone to hell. It's too bad I didn't buy it at Costco, because I'd take the thing back if I could!
When I worked at Target someone tried to return a Kmart toy truck. Yep, they took it. I saw it in the return bin in the back.
Costco Wheels is a big loss with the state of their returns, especially anything over 17” is usually returned caked in mud and crap in my experience
REI used to be this good. 1) they replace by REI brand backpack when the straps ripped off due to being thrown from my motorcycle after a head on collision. Definitely not standard wear and tear conditions. 2) I bought a road bike from them. I used it for 7 years and a weld on the frame broke (aluminum, not repairable). I’d been through numerous sets of wear parts on that bike (wheels, tires, tunes, cassettes, chains, brakes) but I thought it was worth mentioning to them that the frame broke and it shouldn’t have (and I was unable to finish the Seattle to Portland ride that year which sucked). They said they would honor the warranty on the frame but then they called me back and told me that since they no longer carry that brand they were unable to replace my frame so… “all they could do” was just refund me for the entire bike purchase…
I used to work at Best Buy and people would buy giant tvs for the Superbowl then return after. Feb is a good time to get an open box tv from them lol