comments
Costco’s Incredible Return Policy
Email
 Print
|
I know a lot of folks love Costco, I’m one of them. Did you know that their return policy permits you to return ANYTHING (except computers) with or without the receipt whenever you want as long as you still have the same membership. If you bought a pair of pants, as I did, and found that you didn’t really like them but tossed the receipt already… no fear, just go back and they have it all on record. Yes, I bought these pants two months ago and had been meaning to return them for two months. You can also use this as a (semi-free) extended warranty – buy a TV or DVD player and if/when it stops working after four or five years, just return it! The only exception to this rule is a computer purchase and that return period expires after six months.
Update: Costco recently amended their return policy. Televisions, projectors, computers, cameras, camcorders, iPOD / MP3 players and cellular phones can only be returned within 90 days of purchase.
Don’t believe me? My friend David bought a mattress from Costco and emailed them to find out their return policy on mattresses. In short, he could return at any time, at no cost, to a store or arrange with customer service for pickup if you can’t get it to the store because of size and weight. Pretty sweet.
{ 697 comments, please add your thoughts now! }
Related Posts
 By Jim |
 Stumble It! Bookmark reddit.comTags: Costco, Saving Money Sep 15, 2005 | Read more in Shopping |
Like this article? Get all the latest articles sent to your email for free every day. Enter your email address and click "Subscribe." Your email will only be used for this daily subscription and you can unsubscribe anytime.
it’s not incredible anymore. now it sucks just like those ones of all other stores. you, people, have now only 90 days for Televisions, computers, cameras, camcorders, iPOD / MP3 players and cellular phones. here’s the official information http://www.costco.com/Service/FeaturePageLeftNav.aspx?ProductNo=11204333
I have been a DEVOTED customer for the last 10 years, buying Exclusively from Costco in that time. The ONLY reason I have dumped so much money in their less than perfect/non-competitive merchandise?????? THE 100% UNCONDITIONAL SATISFACTION GUARANTEE!!!! THAT IS IT!!! I have a TV that is broke that I bought 2 years ago and was refused returning it. I told them that when I purchased this TV, they promised me a 100% UNCONDITIONAL money back guarantee, and all I got was, sorry, our policy has changed and you will have to call the 800# for repair. All I can say is that I smell class action lawsuit!!!!!! When someone (millions) purposely buy specifically from Costco for the sole guarantee, and Costco doesn’t want to honor that, that is baiting and switching! Costco has used their return policy as a gimmic to lure awstruck consumers into making an impulse purchase (hence their sales people hanging around telling customers about a 30 year return policy that doesn’t exist). They know that if they hang the cheese in front of us, we’ll fall into the trap….once we are in, THEY call the shots!!! I think people should be uniting AGAINST COSTCO and their Indian Giving ways! Who knows a good lawyer?
I bought 20+ months ago a Panasonic EDTV for just above 3000$ (with tax) for only one reason, and that reason was that I can return it if is not working properly. At the same time, on the http://www.newegg.com (better model) Panasonic EDTV was 2049$ (no tax needed + S/H), but still I paid $800 more just because of the Costco’s return policy and now I can not return if it doesn’t work?
That policy is new and doesn’t effect old purchases.
I think the new policy is B.S. I too am one of those that has made large purchases from Costco just because I always had that reassurance that if thing broke or if I was dissatisfied with it I could always bring it back.
Out of the tens of thousands of dollars I’ve spent there I only returned an Ipod that died out after only 3 weeks. I never abused the policy even though I bought the Vizio 50″ plazzie back in 2005 when it was on coupon for $2999 – $300 and now it is being given away for only $1500. My TV has lost sound, I get ghosted picture using the HDMI input, the fan sounds as loud as a jet engine and the thing doesn’t turn off sometimes requiring me to physically unplug it and now I’m stuck with a POS TV that I overpaid for by almost 200% and they’re not going to even attempt to help me out.
I am going to cancel my Executive Membership and go back to Sam’s. At least at Sam’s they tell you up-front that their policy’s suck and they don’t try and pull the old bait-and-switch move on loyal customers!
The new policy DOES NOT, I repeat DOES NOT apply to purchases made prior to the change that began as of 2/26/2007. I have read the official Costco memorandum that went out to all warehouse managers and it SPECIFICALLY states that purchases made prior to the policy change are NOT subject to the new policy. Some managers may try and give you a hard time because of their own ignorance. I suggest you call Costco corporate offices and complain. You are entitled to a full refund based on the terms you purchased under.
Hey Costco Employee, I realize that the memo you’re referring to is an internal memo and probably confidential. But is that memo published somewhere (Costco website maybe) where the public has access to? Or, would a customer have some way to refer to that memo once in a store? Can a customer have the manager or returns manager or whoever refer to memo #XXX or the returns policy memo dated XX-XX-XXXX?
The memo is dated Feb 8, 2007. tell he manager you know it excludes prior purchases and that you would like him/her to produce the memo in your presence so that you can point out the discrepency. They probably will give you some BS stating memos are internal documents and cannot be displayed to the public. In this case, ask him/her to simply go back and re-read it on their own while you wait.
I read with interest all the replies as it started with a pair of jeans and worked its way to an ethical debate about peoples honesty and the abuse (or non-abuse by some) of a return policy. Those on the “ethical” side mentioned that if this abuse continued, the policy would be tightened or cancelled completely. As I’ve seen throughout my 40 years of life, those 10% of people who take advantage of the system to get what they think life owes them, ruins it for the 90% of those who abide by societies expected rules. Being raised (and now a 17 year career) in the military, we live by a code of Integrity. Simply put, it’s doing the right thing when no one is looking. That means, even if you know you won’t get caught or pay for your actions, you still do what is right. Though I’m saddened by Costco’s new return policy (my wife should own stock in it), I am not suprised they changed it reading replies by some of the people in this thread. It’s also interesting how after the policy has changed, there has been deathly silence on the part of the “returnee’s” to what has happened. I’d be interested in some of the comments and replies to what the change really means to them. Unfortunately, many will just answer back at how bad and greedy the company is and do so angrily because this injustice has been served on them, instead of what it really is….making them accountable for the abuse that they have been doing to the company. By the way, it would be nice if some of the posters who would argue their position not use so much base language. (That would be fowl language) You can get your point across and make your position more believable if you use intelligence instead of emotions in your arguments. Thank you for your time in reading this post.
After learning that Costco has changed their return policy for their electronics item, I decided to return my 37” Vizio HDTV I bought 6 months ago which has had this noticible “bright” pixel the size of the end of a tip of a pen. It wasn’t big or anything but it has always bugged me and since the price of the same Vizio is now $200 less than what I paid for I thought this would be the perfect time to return it and that I would be within justifiable reason of doing so. But let me share my experience with you returning this item…it wasn’t pleasant.
I stood in line to the returns line as normal and the Costco employee processed my return as normal and I informed him of the problem. I was afraid that he was gonna begin citing that the new return policy was now 90 days for my HDTV and that they would not accept my return. This was not the case and he quietly processed my transaction. I noticed that it took a little longer than usual and that the Costco employee had also made some printouts. Fifteen minutes probably now has passed when the Costco supervisor arrives and after glancing at the printout approaches me and the conversation goes something like this:
(Dick=Costo Supervisor)
************************************************************************
Dick: I’m sorry Mr Customer but based on your past history of purchases and returns to Department 24, we are gonna need to get the store manager involved and review whether or not to revoke your membership.
Me: Excuse me. What are you talking about?
Dick: You’ve made a total purchase of $5000 and have returned a total of $5000 in the Department 24. And basically, we’re not making any money keeping you as a customer.
Me: So what? Do you know how much money I spend a year here at Costco?
Dick: It doesn’t matter how much money you spend here. What I’m trying to tell you is that we’re not making any money from you as a customer.
Me: What does that have to do with anything with this LCD HDTV which has a bad pixel?
Dick: Well Sir, since it’s obvious that you have not been satisfied with the purchases you’ve made here, it’s probably best that you take your business elsewhere and we can gladly return your membership cost.
//At this point, I was pretty much furious. I still wasn’t sure whether he was gonna take my return back. Most of my previous returns involved some sort of failures (two digital SLR cameras and dell computer which had a dvd writer go bad) and only one which I returned because I was dissatisfied (a plasma TV which didn’t have a tuner). You tell me…was this an abuse of their return policy?
Me: Ok Dick, go ahead and get your manager here and let’s get this settled once in for all. I think this is ridiculous and for you to be implying that I’ve been doing something wrong all these years as a member…well, I won’t stand for it.
Dick: Well Sir, the manager is not here now but I will authorize this return. But I just want to let you know that because of your history, you will no longer be able to return anything in Department 24. You will not even get the 90 days that’s on our new revised policy.
Me: Thanks for nothing, Dick! You don’t have to worry about me returning anything in your so-called Departmen 24 because along with this return I’d like to get a refund on my Executive membership.
Dick: We’re sorry to hear that. Have a nice day.
****************************************************************************
A word of advice to people who would like to return electronics item bought prior to the new 90-day policy. If you’ve been flagged as someone who may fit the profile of someone abusing the return policy, just be firm and automatically ask to speak for the Manager. Especially if the supervisor is hesitating on processing your return. Unlike the past, you’ll also notice that Costco employees acting like Dicks and feel like they have the authority to treat you like sh*t because they think they will be saving corporate money by getting rid of you.
I’ve had it with Costco. I wish all members unites on a particular day and return an old item just to prove a point. I don’t know how many members Costco has but let’s say there were 100,000 members. If everyone return something worth $10 on the same day, then that would be a $1 million loss. I’m pretty sure that would get their attention.
Good luck all.
I was just in a local Costco in MA to pick a TV and I went up to the service desk and spoke with 2 different employees that both stated that their revised return policy didn’t start until March 20 something. They both assured me that if I purchased a TV before then that I would be “grandfathered” in with the old policy for lifetime.
I’ve read on this post that the policy changed in February. I’m confused now that if I purchase a TV this weekend that 3 years down the line the TV breaks and I try to return it that they are going to look at the date and tell me that I purchased it 2 weeks late and that I’m screwed…even though everyone at the return desk tells me otherwise now.
Any thoughts out there?
Bill,
The Costco internal Memo which details the specifics of the new policy states: “The rollout schedule for the 90-DAY refund policy and Costco Concierge program is as follows:
*All California warehouses 2/26/07 *Remaining West Coast warehouses (NW,LA,SD) 3/12/07 *NW and TX warehouses 3/19/07 *NE warehouses 3/26/07 *SE & PR warehouses 4/2/07.”. Hope thats clear enough, I couldn’t get that to format properly. That memo also states: “The 90-day refund policy is effective for purchases made on or after the regional rollout date. All previous purchases are NOT subject to the new 90-day policy.”.
Thanks! That is very helpful and completely in line with what the guys at the warehouse told me. Now it’s just a matter of believing that if I purchase under the old policy and my TV breaks in 3 years that I am going to be able to bring it back and get a new one.
There seems to be a lot of mixed reviews on that data throughout this thread.
How can I know that there won’t be some A..hole manager in 3 years that tells me I’m out of luck?
To those of you who are upset with Costco’s electronics return policy change: See ya!!! Cancel your memberships—who needs you? No retailer wants people like you. To the “unsatisfied Costco ex member”…$5000.00 of electronics purchased and returned??? The electronics are not the problem…YOU ARE!!! So are the rest of you who are upset at Costco. They have been more than fair with their returns policy if you have a legitimate reason….YOU’VE RUINED IT FOR THOSE WITH REAL REASONS FOR RETURNING/EXCHANGING A BAD PRODUCT. THANKS A LOT YOU CHEAPSKATES! GET A LIFE!
To Gary:
“YOU’VE RUINED IT FOR THOSE WITH REAL REASONS FOR RETURNING/EXCHANGING A BAD PRODUCT”
May I ask exactly what exactly is your opinion of a “legitimate reason” and timeframe for “RETURNING/EXCHANGING A BAD PRODUCT”?
Please be specific.
Thank you for clarifying the effective date of the new policy. I am glad that I have not purchased anything in the electronics dept. since that date so all of my stuff at home is still covered should I become dissatisfied at any point from now till eternity.
Wrong! What many of you don’t know is that Costco has a return policy clearly posted. 30 days in the package, with a receipt. However, the reason Costco excepts your purchases outside of that limit, is because it also has a 100% satisfaction guarantee. That does not include computers (6 months). Also, if you have abused the product, (rick…the hammer through the tv) Costco many times will not take it back. I have seen many mistreated items refused, including but not limited to a computer purchased a couple weeks prior to return attempt. The member had shut the laptop with something hard in it and cracked the screen. Costco did NOT return it.
Oh yea, and with so many people abusing the policy, they finally have limited all electronics to 90 days. Thank God! I dont know how people have the balls to return 3-5 year old tv’s and crap. Obviousely your desperate for money if thats the case…get a job…Costco pays employees well…lol
{{unsatisfied ex-Costco member}}
The policy does vary slightly from warehouse to warehouse; managers & supervisors are allowed to okay problematic returns at their discretion. Some warehouses put up with a whole lot more then others. At mine we had a woman who returned a small amount of party leftovers from several party platters, bakery items, and big bags of throw away plates. Reason: Because they didn’t eat it all.
It was for an office party, another employee and I had to wonder if she was not only screwing over Costco but also her employer who may have reimbursed her for the original purchase and I added that she would probably still write it off on her taxes as a business expense thus screwing over the IRS as well.
Some warehouses have accepted returns for used underwear. Another member successfully returned the remainder of a box of condoms and a used pregnancy test. Reason? He and his girlfriend/wife were dissatisfied because she was pregnant. The only 100% way to not get pregnant or get someone pregnant would be celibacy.
Another thing we do not accept are diabetes blood tests and anything else possibly infected with blood, which is why we shouldn’t accept back used underwear…it’s not only been possibly exposed to blood but other equally unsanitary things.
If ever a member wants to know why the membership fees have gone up then they should look no further then the returns line.
Managers can cancel people’s memberships at their discretion. Too many returns to department 24 is one of them. It is not a so-called department that is the actual department number, also known as Major Sales, also known as the electronics department to members. Believe me when I say that not nearly as many members have had their membership canceled by the warehouse as should have been.
Today was a perfect example of what it is in this world that makes me a misanthrope. We were freakishly busy for a Sunday, why, because it was the last day the return policy could be abused at our location. Many members do not abuse the policy, but the many that have are making everyone else pay for their abuse of the system.
Oh and you can also get your membership cancelled for cussing at employees, but depending on the warehouse a member can and have done much worse to an employee without any repercussion.
{{Mikey Gee}}
I also find it wonderful that someone has such tough life decisions to agonize over as whether or not to OMG go without a TV for a bit of time because Costco doesn’t have the biggest fanciest latest and greatest TV that they can return their current one for. While other people in the world agonize over such trivial things as which brand of canned cat food to buy because they have to eat that because their f*cking prescriptions cost so much. Let’s just hope it’s not one of the dozen or so that have now been recalled due to causing liver failure in cats. I hope you don’t think that I’m actually kidding about that.
Or how I wonder whether or not I will finish college at a 4-year because the only university I might possibly be able to afford to go to in my state for my particular major requires me to transfer to another Costco which is notorious for being hard to transfer to and has already rejected my first attempt and I can’t quit Costco for various reasons and if I don’t finish college then I’ll probably stay at freaking Costco forever until I die and am buried in a casket purchased at Costco.com which thankfully cannot be returned to our warehouses which all Costco employees are eternally grateful for. Yes, I’m bitter, the misanthropic mention should have tipped people off, retail hell makes you bitter.
It was nice thinking that what if I purchased a DVD player here and it suddenly stopped working at 93 days (90 days is the max for most stores) that I could return it and get one that is not defective. I have a VCR that once belonged to my parents and has been in storage for a few years it is probably pushing being 13 years old; I bet if I took it out it would still work. It just keeps on trucking, why, who knows. While a DVD player I was fortunate enough to receive as a gift f*cked up within 4 months. Hence the reason I no longer want brand new technology. A big problem is that consumers want the latest and greatest and put little forethought into it and whether or not they are purchasing a product that will last, if it will go down in price soon if they wait, or might have bugs because it is new. If you purchase something that is fairly new technology and it goes down several hundred dollars soon after then you only have yourself to blame, why should Costco have to pay for you shamelessly upgrading and getting money back to boot?
Such as the member who came in with a 3+ year old TV, there wasn’t anything actually wrong with it, he just obviously wanted something shinier, bigger, and less expensive then the original and he had the nerve to bitch at the major sales guy because he Only got back $2,400 as opposed to the $2,500 he originally paid. I thought that he should consider it to be a very generous rental fee.
BTW Costco employees are very excited about the new policy.
{{F from Toronto}}
I think it depends on whether or not we still sell that same model, if we do and it is in the virtually brand new condition you stated then I don’t see a problem with it particularly since GPS navigators are not included in the new stricter policy. In that case we could resell the item, though you could even ask if the store can resell it or not. Otherwise you could eBay it. Even if something was in brand new condition I don’t think I could ever return something to any store because I ended up not needing it, if I new they couldn’t resell it meaning they are taking a direct loss because I waited around too long. The longer you wait the more likely they are to no longer be carrying it.
{{1pissedcustomer}}
LOL thanks for making me laugh it’s been a long day. Things purchased prior to the policy change are supposed to be grandfathered in, but as I previously stated some things are left up to the manager or supervisors discretion. If you feel you have a legitimate complaint then why not call our corporate office, it’s free, lawyers aren’t.
Personally I am unlikely to buy electronics at my store if I were in the market, because the majority of the time our prices on electronics are not as good as some other stores, though that’s not always the case and I rarely return things to any store period. The prices on many other items are extremely competitive and tend to be the ones I do purchase. How many stores can you buy 400 sheets of wrapping tissue for $6.00 or 40 wooden hangers for $20.00?
If you are seeking a class action lawsuit you may have to wait in line as Costco is already currently involved in one with its employees for gender discrimination. I actually do know a good lawyer in Washington, but I’m afraid she’s far too busy to help you at the moment.
What people seem to be forgetting here is that our policy is only being tightened on a handful of items in our store, the most severely abused ones. We have a great number of products in the store that still have the lifetime guarantee, believe me I counted many of them during inventory. If you don’t like it then we do still have a 100% refund for your membership if you no longer want it.
An alert!
The gravy days are over, waranties are now limited on ALL electronic devices, for 90 days. Also with this launch, we have some kind of new toll-free tech support for any device you could concivably buy at costco.
I work here, and I think it sucks. True, most of our returns are from people who cant figure out how to turn on, sync, or use most of the devices we sell, but still, I don’t like the idea.
Cmon, pros and cons, guys!
Go Drift!
EdCrab!
Any engineer who is successful knows about “Planned Obsolescence”. See, nowadays, part of engineering is making the things break on purpose.
This keeps consumers spending and the economy happy right?
Well, only if you are not taking into account the monumental waste of material, time and labor (time and labor both of the consumer and the manufacturer) that goes along with it.
Even if you don’t care about all the waste, please don’t delude yourself into thinking that all of this is actually going to be good for the economy. You are not an economist, and even if you were, you would be biased.
You would also need to believe that it is a good thing that the rate of failure of most electronic devices is rising faster than their rate of “improvement”. Example: Old, slow laptops with tiny screens may not be as cool as a Vaio, but they don’t over heat because their fan fails after a two years–that is why the military uses them.
All this talk about “abusing” Costco is misplaced. Costco helps manufacturers sell FAULTY PRODUCTS.
And YES, it is FAULTY if it fails after 5 years. Just because you can’t remember a time when electronics were worth repairing, does not mean it never existed. Companies used to stand behind their products.
Wake up. Steal a TV from a store. Steal 7 laptops from Fry’s. The house always wins anyways.
So I might as well share my positive experience with Costco’s concierge service. I posted on 2/20 of this year that I was having problems with a tv purchased @ Costco 3 1/2 years ago. First thing I did was call Costco’s concierge service to see if they would do anything about it. I wasn’t expecting them to, but thought I’d give a try and find out what this new service is all about.
I called them, they called Akai to find a local service center. Costco then called the service center to schedule service. They came, picked up my tv, diagnosed the problem, repaired it and Costco picked up the bill – all $409.33 of it.
Now, of course I have over simplified it, and the whole process took just about a month. It was fairly lengthy because the funding request for the initial diagnosis had to be approved by Costco corporate. Then I had to make an appointment for the tv to be picked up – that took a week. Then when it was diagnosed, the service center had to contact Costco with the repair costs, and that again had to be approved by corporate.
Whole process took five weeks from beginning to end, but saved over $400. Might be worth a try for others having issues with electronics purchased @ Costco.
I wanted to share my (mostly) positive experience with Costco as well. We purchased a Vizio TV in July 2006 (under the old return/satisfaction guarantee). In October 2008 while watching a movie we heard a loud “pop” and the display went dark. Turning the TV off and on didn’t help – the unit would power on, but there was no sound or picture.
My husband went to Costco to ask about our options. The employees there explained that since it was outside the two year warranty we should contact the manufacturer. At that time no one mentioned to him that we were granfathered into the old policy and to be honest, we didn’t even think to question it.
The manufacturer (Vizio) would not help since the warranty had expired, and recommended contacting a local repair shop. We were told that the repairs would cost $300-$500. Since we didn’t have cash on hand we waited, and ended up finally taking it in to be diagnosed at the end of November.
Yesterday they called me back and told me that the repairs would cost $425. I asked around to others what they thought we should do – and also posted my quandary on Twitter. Someone asked when and where we purchased the TV and I told them – and they pointed out the discrepancy in the return policy and recommended we check into that before spending money on repairs.
With this information at hand, my husband called his brother (who happens to have a close relationship with a Costco employee). We didn’t want to haul a big, heavy TV into the warehouse and then get laughed at when we tried to return it. The employee actually recommended we call Costco Concierge and get a case number from them before going to the warehouse. After a long conversation with the Concierge representative, it now appears that Costco is going to pick up the tab for the repairs on our TV.
This is a satisfying resolution to our problem. It is nice to see that Costco is holding up their end of the bargain for customers who purchased their TV’s with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. I also want to point out that we wouldn’t even think about pursuing this if there wasn’t an actual technical problem with our TV. We were really upset that we had spent so much money on a TV that failed after only 26 months!
Based on their new return policy I will continue to comparison shop at other electronics stores when making a large purchase. But I will definitely continue to be a loyal Costco member.
Here is my recent experience with returning a VIZIO 50″ Plasma:
Scenario – Originally purchased VIZIO 50″ HD Plasma in August, 2005. After a few price adjustments and re-buy/returns, the receipt I last had was dated April 2, 2006.
Walked into store on Sunday, March 25th, 2007. Had the TV on a cart with a small box containing the manual, remote and all cords. There was only one person in line ahead of me and when I got to the front I was greeted by a customer service woman. I started to go into explaining my story of how I had contacted the Concierge service and they couldn’t do anything for me and I called Costco’s corporate office and asked about their new return policy but she cut me off as soon as she glanced at my receipt and told me, “you bought this before the policy was changed so you’re okay.”
To that I let out a big sigh of relief and she quickly called someone over from electronics to check the contents and then proceeded to give me my entire refund. She never called a manager or asked any questions other than if there was something wrong with it, to which I replied, “the HDMI inputs stopped working.”
30 minutes later I was walking out of the store with my new VIZIO 60″ MAXIMVS Plasma and a 36-pack of Caffeine-free Diet Coke!
She did mention to me that if I were going to be purchasing a new TV set that I would now be restricted to the new policy to which I replied, “yes, I know too well.”
I was contacted by my local manager with referance to my high number of returs. The problem here is that 90% of my returns are for original sealed product and the system does not know the difference. Furthermore you cannot have a high number of returns without spending a lot of money!
it seems unfair to punish or harass customers about a policy that has been pushed by the sales people at Cosco for the last 10 years?
OH WELL, AT LEAST I STILL HAVE A BUNCH OF STUFF GRANDFATHER BY THE OLD POLICY. IF THEY DECIDE NOT TO TAKE THEM BACK, THEN FUCK THEM, IM GOING TO COURT. PLUS I NO LONGER BY ANY ELECTRONICS FROM COSTCO. THEY SUCK, THE ONLY THING GOOD WAS THE POLICY, YOU BUY THE SHAREHOLDERS MADE THEIR MONEY, YOU RETURN, COSTCO GETS THERE MONEY FROM MANUFACTURE. BYE BYE COSTCO, HELLO SAMS CLUB
When you file to take Costco to court, are you going to write it all in caps?
i purchased my xbox360 before the policy and returned it last week (because of noisy drive)… no questions asked!
fyi. computer consoles are not included in the policy
… now waiting for the xbox360 elite
What’s this about a new policy?
Last time I bought a digital camera and for some reasons I went back to return it (the one on Chino Hills, CA) the lady looked at me in the eye (not to friendly) and ask- “what’s reason for you to return it”. I said– “because I don’t like it” and she said” xxxxx” (I couldn’t hear it but I could tell she is not quite happy with that answer)…and she kept checking it (by the way this is my first time to return an item after being a member for 10 years with Costco) there I miss a warranty form came with the box and she refuse to take my camera back…
I mean obviously, it seems you guys have no problem to return your stuff but then why they are making it so hard to me….?? Instead of saying “I don’t like it”. Could I ask you guys, what is the proper way to answer that??
It was simple really.
They used the “policy” to get you to join.
“yes you can freely return the TV ANYTIME you become dissatisfied. Without the receipt or box.
Anytime? No hassles?
“Yes sir ANYTIME for any reason.
“Ok Where do I sign”
2 years later.
“I have become unsatisfied with my $4000 TV”
“Im sorry sir here are a few hundred hoops you need to jump through” “You certainly cannot expect to return a TV you used for years becasue you became unsatisfied” “I’ll have to check with corporate”
can someone buy a playstation 2 and games and return it 2 yrs later still?
Costco was more then generous with their previous return policy. Because of the many that felt that the deserved to exercise their right to return a product years after purchase because the price went down or a newer model came out .. YOU RUNIED IT FOR THE REST OF US. Sure Sams club sells extended warranties , but you just cant bring it back to the store and pick up another one, you have to call the 800 number on the service contract and find a service center to repair you product . If you think BestBuy or Circuit city will treat you better and take back your years old used items because you aren’t satisfied , it wont happen . You can always buy third party extended warranties from http://www.tvwarranties.com/ or others . if that is important to you . Don’t like the new policy don’t buy at Costco , go “ RENT “ you products from another company , Im sure they would love your business
.
Surprised to see a link posted in another website by vandit9. Yes, that is the “memo” posted at http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.php?catid=24&threadid=679223&start=360
here’s a scanned image of the memo:
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s133/vandit_photo/costco.jpg
With Costco’s policy, can someone return an item purchased from another store and get credit? As in, pruct A purchased from Best Buy gets returned to Costco and gets $xxx in Costco store credit. There’s no receipt and no record of the prchase under the member’s info.
I really have to chime in on this one…I HAD THE BEST EXPERIENCE!
I’ve been dealing with Costco maybe 5 years, never really had to use the no receipt policy, however…I bought a Plasma years ago-because their price was the lowest…Well, 3 years later, it just stopped turning on. I called the manufacturer and they said there would be a fee. When I called Costco, he made it clear that it would be a chance I would be taking-but they would look for the receipt (all I had was my credit card receipt). Of course, I got his name and when I got there I asked for him and was adament about the return, along with my prayers. My $3000+ was returned CASH. It took about 20 minutes but that was nothing! The really good part was I used the money to buy a ticket for my daughter and I to go to my cousins memorial-Although I really do think COSTCO is great…GOD is greater!!
Have you ever wondered were the return itemed from Costco go. There is an amazing business called PRICEMATERS.CA . They buy all the good store returns from Costco and resell them for 30% less then Costco what Costco Sold them for. They include 3 year Warranties on most items
So see it at Costco then goto one of the nine Price Matters Stores and purchase it for 30% less with no membership
I bought a $1200 HP laptop from Costco. I had it for roughly 60 days when the video card went bad. HP asked me to ship it back to them for repair. They sent FedEx to pick it up, I put the laptop in the box they sent. Other than the video card it was in PERFECT condition.
Three weeks later they call me with some BS about a severely dented cover and how they cant ship me back the computer unless I agree to pay to have the cover fixed. I kick and scream and they send the laptop back as is.
There is a HUGE dent in the side, as if someone has taken it and literally thrown it onto the corner of a table. HP refuses to give me any satisifaction so I returned it to Costco, no questions asked. Fvkc HP and thank god for Costco.
I just got my Executive Membership 2% rebate, $500. I like to shop at Costco.
Reading the above comments on their return policy has been very informative. One question.Who keeps packaging for years? Do you have to return the merchandise in it’s original packaging?
Hi thanks for all the posts. I am a little conflicted about this. I bought a 27 inch TV in August of 2006. I didn’t have a TV at all before that. It was a big purchase for me. The Costco representative told me I could return the TV at any time in the future. The return policy, I feel, was used as a sales technique. Now I know Costco employees do not get commissions, but I definitely chose Costco because of the “unlimited” return policy. Now I want to return the TV, because it is not adequate for my needs and I am feeling guilty about even considering to do so. Hmmmmmm, this is a tough one. I understand the moral hazard issue here, but if Costco had an official policy that allowed people to bring back TVs for any reason, then why in the name of God should I feel guilty about taking them up on it? I am more than happy to abide by the new return policy…it is definitely fair, but why should I be held responsible for an unfair policy, unfair to Costco that is, that was in place at the time of my original purchase?
So, here’s one non rhetorical question? Can I, or can I not return the TV I purchased in Aug of 2006? I get that people have opinions about if I should or not, I am conflicted about it myself, clearly, or I wouldn’t be posting here. Is this moral dilemma a complete waste of time, practically speaking?
I recently lost the center diamond in my wedding ring which was purchased at Costco 5 years ago and am being told they cannot help me. Eight months after the ring was purchased I had it sent back to be repaired due to a broken prong (does this carry any weight?) – am I entitled to a refund or at least the same ring? I have been a longtime customer and am not looking for anything more than for them to make this right.
Costco sucks now.. they wont accept anything. my Vizio TV completely fied after 11 months, and the Costco in Honolulu told me “NO” I would have to spend $300 to ship it to the manufacturer to have it fixed!!!
I spent $1500 on the damn tv.
I will never shop at Costco again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
im sorry to hear about the people that needed to return something because it malfunctioned after like a year or so and now cant, but blame it all on the people that abused the policy, returning shit from 3 or 4 years even if it malfunctions its bull, because COSTCO never made the products , so if they malfunction, after a year or so, why the hell should it be their problem? they didnt make the product, they just sold it to you. And some people get upset because they dont take them anymore and say screw costo and bla bla bla , i wanna see those people tryng to return a TV at walmart or anything there, after a year? you wish. costco was tryng to get costumer satisfaction by helping people out who really needed the policy, not because now they need money, or because something broke after 4 years, you bought a PLASMA TV from whatever company and it breaks after 2 years, not their problem, contact whatever company you bought it from and try to mess with them, dont like that they wont do nothing for you and charge you to fix the tv you bought from them?, well dont buy from that brand anymore, and costco would probably stop selling it. sorry about my rant here, i just hate that people abuse everything they see, when there is really people in need of it now that cant get it , because somebody else abused something for their own selfish purposes, it basically reflects on everything and why the world is so messed up, cant be nice to nobody because then somebody tries to take advantage of it. well thats all i had to say, BTW i dont work on COSTCO or have anything to do with it, before somebody accuses me of being a employyee there or something
@ Rick, regarding your post of “April 12th, 2006 at 3:32 am”: shame on you. EOM
@ Jim (OP): sure you can flaunt your right to free speech (that comes from US citizenship) but why not caution against abusing the system in your original post, itself? And perhaps link to Hank’s informative post on Costco’s policies?
Costco’s return policy is now a joke. It’s a bad company with bad service. There electronics’s (computers especially) are offended outdated and sold as being state of the art. The Costco I go to had mulptible roofs leaks and one leak burned out a LCD TV on display. I wondered if they tried to fixed it and sell it (beware of only one left display model sales). Its an awlful company.
could u return something that u already returned before
I work for Costco, so I feel the need to clarify a little here. First off, Costco’s return policy is 90 days from the date of purchase on televisions, computers, cameras/camcorders, and ipod/mp3 players. To offset the change, we have extended manufacturers warranty’s on tv’s and computers to 2 years. I believe the only company not to partner in the 2 year warranty was Dell (Don’t quote me on that). We also have free technical support. This is all summed up in the Costco Consierge Warranty, and inside of the envelope you received when you purchased an item that is under that warranty. If you were fortunate enough to purchase with Amex, they added an additional year on the warranty. Feel free to check around, but Costco’s return policy is very good if not the best in the business. I could go on, but I have other things to do, perhaps I will pop back in here one day and address more.
I have read most of the comments and wanted to post mine… Costco’s rock!!! I love the policy. I will return whatever they accept as a return. It is the reason why I spend 7K+ a year (we (family of 4) do everything at Costco). It is pretty much the only store that I shop. This is what Costco is after!!! Your money!! They are not doing this to win some consumer humanitarian award (JD somebody)… I think if you find it convenient to spend 90% of your discretionary funds in one store alone you deserve to return what you want as long as they accept it… And for the comments regarding ethics…. ethics requirements do not exist in any policy because it is a position rely mostly on someone’s opinion. What you consider ethical may differ when it comes to your parents, children, friends, supporters, etc… therefore it is not a viable inclusion to a legal return policy. I read a comment about a pereson recently that said “He was a perfect American, unless you were not an American” Let Costco decide what is an acceptable return not what you believe is ethical…
just returned a 2 yr old tv last night and got a full refund in cash. we then grabbed a shopping cart and bought food and alcohol. Spent nearly all $300 of the return.
I was contemplating purchasing a Scooba {floor cleaning robot} @ Costco because of their excellent return policy. To me, it’s an expensive gadget with only a 60 or 90 day manufacturer’s policy – and I don’t like the odds. I don’t want to be able to return the thing after 5 years, I just want to know it will work for at least a year or two — I’ve been very disappointed in expensive gadgets in the past that broke as soon as the very short warranty period ended.
But I don’t have a membership, and I just learned from this thread that I would have to maintain the membership for 2 or 3 years (at a cost of $150+) – it’s probably not worth the effort to purchase it at Costco when I can get it on Amazon or elsewhere for cheaper.
Sadly, if manufacturer’s would just stop making crappy electronics, we wouldn’t even be having this discussion about return policies….
Returned a broken ladder. No hassles. I suspect that I would have been out of luck at another store. I will keep continue to shop at Costco because of this.
I am addicted to CostCo. It seems that every time I end up buying something from another store, it bites me in the butt. About 6 months ago I bought an HP ethernet printer from Walmart and it died after very little use. After I bought it I saw the same one at CostCo for about the same price, and I am still kicking myself for not getting it there. I know that the have reduced their warranties on some electronics, but as one CostCo employee here mentioned, the managers seem to have a lot of freedom to do what they feel is fair. I think a lot has to do with how much you buy there and how often you return stuff. Also, as I recently discovered, the store has some items that have been returned a lot because they have obviously not been manufactured well. I bought two electronic garbage cans with automatic opening lips. One worked for a few days and the other one failed to work out of the box. So I returned them both and got two more. Both of the new ones didn’t work out of the box. When I went back to return them I saw that they had all been removed from the shelf. I could tell from the attitude of the girl accepting returns that she knew of the problem and still gave me my money back with a smile after returning 4 cans. I am getting to the point where I don’t buy much of anything until I check to see if it is available at CostCo. When they see that I buy over 10 grand worth of stuff there per year, they don’t question anything I return. But to be fair I don’t return many things, because they usually have good quality merchandise, and even if they raised the price, I would still go there. They also seem to have a lot of pull with their suppliers, which explains the extended warrantees offered on products sold at CostCo. I had am experience recently where I had bought a couple deluxe office chairs few years ago, and the mechanism stopped working. I went to CostCo only to ask where I could get it repaired. They didn’t carry it anymore, so they put me in touch with the manufacturer who shipped me a new mechanism totally for free. The bottom line is that the only objection I have is that I am going to need a larger home. Seems whatever they have in stock today will not be there tomorrow. So if I like something, I have to buy at least two of them, and store one. So far two bedrooms in my 6 bedroom home have isles with shelves, similar to a department store where I store the spares
Some people on here seem to think that the new return policy is for everything in the store. Some have stated it’s only for certain electronics such as TV’s computers, ipods and such.
I am a Costco employee and can assure you that IF you purchased your tv before the new return policy was implemented, you can return it even if you bought it 5 years ago.
Now it’s 90 days for certain electronics mentioned above. Why is it 90 days you might ask? The reason is because extensive studies were done … and a majority of returns of these devices were WITHIN 90 days anyway. Costco feels that this is adequate time for a customer to either realize they don’t want it, don’t need it, or it’s just a lemon. However … Costco extends the manufacturer’s warranty for free (it costs money at places such as futureshop) and provides free 24 hr help from a tech support line.
Note: This tech support is not “Bob” in India that you’re calling (unless you’re in india … are there costco’s in india?). It will be north american tech support and they will be trained to deal with your exact product.
So, what if you buy a chair tomorrow and in 3 years it falls apart. What can you do under Costco’s new return policy, call tech support? No, you can’t. YOU CAN STILL RETURN IT!
Hell, people still return 3/4 eaten fruit. I deal with returns at the end of the day (not at the membership counter, but everything that is returned goes through me) … and I still see completely empty buckets of Feta cheese returned with the expiry date not for 5 months away!
This policy is still way better than any other return policy out there. If you bought your membership because of the policy (like someone stated above) … then I’m sorry, that’s not why you buy the membership and you are saying you bought the membership to cheat the company out of money … people buy a membership because of the prices and quality products sold at Costco.
I’ll tell you a few other interesting facts about Costco …
the maximum markup on a product is about 15% (it might be 1 or 2% on either side of that, I forget) … but very very rarely will you find a product marked up that high. I think (note, I don’t know this for a fact) that produce is usually marked up high …. but, again I only think.
some warehouses ONLY make money or break even because of their memberships. This is how the company can afford to keep this markup so low for all products.
Costco will sometimes get “free” merchandise. I say “free” because it’s not really free. What happens is, say Costco is going to sell some leather sofas. The sofa company may give Costco a few thousand extra dollars in case there are faulty products or shipping accidents (which most often is the case) … however, sometimes the warehouse will get all the product safe and sound and sell it all … guess what, Costco gets to keep that money. So … if you see the last of a product on the floor and it’s only the display … you might even be able to talk a manager down to a loss (and often they want to lose the product because it’s taking up valuable space).
The CEO of Costco earns a paltry 350k/yr. (NOTE: he owns 15 million in costco stock … but that’s only paper).
Costco is an excellent company, a great corporate citizen with a big social conscience. They pay their employees well, offer excellent benefits (even for parttime employees) with excellent retirement plans. I’m considering staying on after I graduate (with a very good degree I might add) as a part timer simply because of the excellent benefits offered.
Here’s an interesting story that shows you how far Costco will go … As anyone knows, an employee of Costco is an embassador for Costco … but even more a manager should be the embodyment of what Costco’s values are and how they look upon their customers.
Several months back, a customer walking around the store in his new (white) shoes … he scuffed them on a pallet, complained to the manager. You know what the manager did? No, he didn’t buy him new shoes … he got on one knee and buffed the scuff out. I mean, afterwards, we all talked about how the member was a bit of a jerk and it really shouldn’t have come to that … but the manager stated “well, he may have been a jerk, but he is a member, and that membership pays all of our salaries. It’s our duty to make sure the customer leaves the store happy” …
Some people gripe that Costco should sell some things in smaller quantities … however, that’s how Costco often gets deals out of other companies … they agree to sell a certain packaging (usually it’s more) … if a ketchup plant can package 1 gallon of ketchup in a 1 gallon tub, rather than several bottles … in the long run, they can save a lot of money … so it is advantageous.
Last thing, I promise … to those of you that “graze” in the produce section (tasting grapes, strawberries and whatnot) … don’t try to hide it … everyone knows and nobody that works there cares (I get people telling me everyday ‘sorry’ … no you’re not, don’t treat us like idiots). In fact, it’s not Costco’s policy, but it’s a kind of general policy … but if a customer needs to test out a grape to see if they’re sweet … they are more likely to buy a box of grapes … and then come back to buy more. Everytime someone apologizes to me for testing out a strawberry or something, I just laugh at them and say “well, try all you want, but I wouldn’t eat anything wtihout washing it first, you know what you’re putting in your system?” haha
Honestly … before I applied for the job at Costco, I had never even set foot inside of a costco. I assumed they were just like a walmart or sams club … for anyone who thinks that … you are mistaken. It’s a great place to work … this is evident from the fact that they have the lowest turnover rate in the industry (well .. if not the lowest, it’s near the lowest) … however, it’s an even better place to shop.
alright … that’s good enough for now …