One of the things everyone really likes about Costco is their very generous return policy: basically, we’ll take back anything from partially eaten food to a year old DVD that you aren’t satisfied with for any reason. And while they are less generous now on electronics items, just 90 days, that’s still far better (like probably 3x as long) than most retailers. In any case, I’m sure we’ve all taken advantage of their return policy by taking back things we tried and didn’t like or didn’t actually want when we got home, and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, I don’t think you should abuse the very nice Costco policies by taking back things in a totally ridiculous and unintended way. I have a story that will probably make you go ‘what? that can’t be right!’ because I know both my husband and I did that and we were standing right there witnessing it. We were taking advantage of the nice return policy at Costco this weekend to return the SDHC cards that I had purchased that were so overpriced, as well as a DVD that we had bought and never opened quite some time ago.
I felt bad about returning the DVD because even though it had never been opened and still had the Costco price tag on it, I think it was probably purchased 6 – 10 months ago. But you know, the Costco guy just took it back like it was no big deal. So, I felt a little less shame. However, the customer standing next to me returning his items should never get over the shame that I hope he felt; though honestly, it didn’t seem like he had an ounce of shame or guilt about him. (I know that is where I got mine) because they don’t usually have them in the stores. So far, so good. But then he said he had purchased it sometime in spring 2008; he didn’t have his receipt. That’s a long, long time ago, I was thinking, but maybe it had a problem or maybe he had never used it. But then the story got even more horrible. He wasn’t returning it because the violin was defective, had a serious issue, the case wasn’t even damaged, or even because his daughter (the violin recipient) had never played it.
Nope, he was returning this year and some months old violin because his daughter was no longer interested in playing the violin in school and wouldn’t be needing this one anymore. Seriously, I know you’re saying ‘What?’ right now because I am and I was there! So, let me just spell this out very plainly: the girl had been playing this violin for over a year, had decided she no longer wanted to play the violin, so this guy wanted Costco to take it back and give him a full refund on it. And he actually stood there acting like this was the most normal return in the world. To Costco’s credit, the service representative that was processing his return only asked him once if there was anything wrong with it and didn’t say anything snarky or even get too pushy about his reason for making the return after all this time. I was thinking, doesn’t he know that you can rent musical instruments. But hey, why rent and have to actually pay, when you can essentially put a deposit on an instrument with Costco and get a full refund back when your kid doesn’t want to play it anymore;
full use for over a year for free! So, in the end the guy got his full refund on the violin and one would assume, walked away a happy Costco customer. But isn’t this a really dreadful abuse of the Costco return policy? I just have to feel that this was never, ever the Costco intent when coming up with their total satisfaction guarantee. I mean, he was satisfied, or should have been since there was nothing wrong with the violin, the only problem was typical childhood apathy to being in band after a year. Should Costco have to pay for that? Personally, I would never take something back in that situation. I’d sell it, wouldn’t you? Or more likely, it would sit around my house gathering dust. But the last thing I would consider, is that Costco should take it back and give me a refund. I still feel all wound up about this and I’m not even Costco and it happened 3 days ago. But I can’t let it go. Luckily, I have this blog where I can rant about this kind of Costco stuff.
I just find this so appalling and I think it is because I worry that ridiculousness like this guy and his old violin, will ruin it for all of us. I’m sure we all feel that repeated things like this explain what happened with the electronics return policy, since it previously had no time period stipulation either. I don’t want everyone to get stuck with things that they aren’t satisfied with or bought two of by mistake (yes, I do it all the time with books and movies) because of someone totally taking advantage of the system; it’s not fair to the rest of us. And it certainly isn’t fair to Costco.Is Costco’s Lifetime Return Policy a Scam? DoughRoller receives compensation from some companies issuing financial products, like credit cards and bank accounts, that appear on this site. Unless a post is clearly marked "Sponsored", however, products mentioned in editorial articles and reviews are based on the author's subjective assessment of their value to readers, not compensation.
Compensation may impact how and where products appear on non-editorial pages (e.g., comparison or "marketplace" pages). That said, our standard is that we will never accept advertising from a product which we wouldn't use ourselves. This article is about my experience with Costco’s purported lifetime return policy. But first let’s review. Last week Michael published an article about how he stole $45 from Costco. He felt terrible about what he had done and wanted readers’ views on the situation. Most people felt he did the wrong thing, myself included. But what was particularly surprising to me was the venom in a few of the comments. Here are two examples:I am unsubscribing from your blog because I will not seek financial advice from someone of questionable character. That’s what this is about. Not whether or not Costco will miss the money. Not to whom you should donate the money to atone for your misdeed. Not how lucky you are for this “found” money. Knowing the truth, you intentionally deceived Costco in order to avoid paying for those goods.
That was the point that you crossed the line. You can still make things right, but you are choosing not to do so because you are embarrassed. Your principles are compromised. . . . May the dishonesty you’ve demonstrated be returned upon you 1,000 times. As a senior manager it is very depressing to see your lack of anonymity towards the cashier and member service employee you embarrassed. I can not immagine how they must feel. The sad part is you knowingly walked out with unpaid merchandise and failed to make it right. To make matters worse we know who you are Every time you shop your card will be flagged (beware of possible theft). At no point will you be approached. Yet, we will be watching you from this point forward no matter which Costco you shop. Thnak you for the heads up XXXXX So if a $45 error gets people this upset at Michael, then the story I’m about to tell will really upset them. Costco’s Lifetime Return Policy A little over two years ago we bought our son an electric piano from Costco.
It cost about $1,300. Earlier this year he told me he wanted a different piano, and he asked if he could return the piano to Costco and buy a new one. When I explained that it had been nearly two years since we bought the piano from Costco, he told me they have a lifetime return policy. To be honest, I didn’t believe him. So I called Costco. Sure enough, with some exceptions Costco has a lifetime return guarantee. At least that’s what the Costco representative told me on the phone. to check out the return policy, and here’s what it says: Merchandise: We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell with a full refund. The following must be returned within 90 days of purchase for a refund: televisions, projectors, computers, cameras, camcorders, iPOD / MP3 players and cellular phones. Sure enough, there is no time limit on returns except for a few electronics listed above. So the next day I called back to start the return process. The Costco representative pulled up my purchase, confirmed that it was eligible for return, and told me somebody would contact me in the next 7 to 10 days to schedule a pickup of the piano.
Later that day we ordered his new electric piano from Amazon. And then I received the following e-mail: Costco is dedicated to offering the best products at the best prices to our members. We recognize that in rare instances there are defects in products that we sell, or a member may decide that they purchased the wrong item for their needs. Our return policy is the most lenient in the marketplace to accommodate our members in these instances. Several conditions are evaluated when considering a return of purchase; reason for return, membership history, return history, date of purchase and price of purchase. Recently, you contacted us to request a return for the item listed above. We make every effort to accommodate the needs of our members, however based on your original purchase date and the reasons listed above, we will be unable to honor this request. I’ve left out the name of the Costco representative who signed the e-mail. The most interesting part of this e-mail is the following: “Several conditions are evaluated when considering a return of purchase;
reason for return, membership history, return history, date of purchase and price of purchase.” Compare that sentence to Costco’s return policy and you’ll see a stark difference. I guess they tell you one thing when you are buying stuff from them and another thing when you are returning stuff to them. Quite annoyingly, no phone number was included in the e-mail so I have no way of calling the person who sent the message. So instead I call back the number used for returns. The Costco representative tells me that returns older than 2 years are not accepted. I pointed out that (1) that’s not what I was told when I first called to inquire about Costco’s return policy, (2) that’s not what I was told when the representative processed my return, (3) that’s not what Costco’s return policy says, and (4) the piano was purchased less than two years ago (by just a few days). She had no response and told me my only recourse was to respond to the e-mail Costco had sent me. So I replied to the e-mail six days ago.