Odd and Funny Costco Item Returns
A lot of consumers choose to shop at Costco for the low prices, or the bulk availability of most items. Others choose Costco for another reason, the return policy. This is no surprise because Costco has one of the most liberal return policies of any big retailer. Costco offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee on the majority of items, except electronics and large appliances. With such a loose return policy, you can imagine some crazy things have happened. For that reason, we have compiled some of our favorite odd and funny Costco item returns
What is Costco’s Return Policy?
Costco’s return policy is awesome but you can’t actually return everything. Some items are exempt from the normal policy and have a short window in which you can return them. For example, electronics such as laptops, televisions, large appliances( large refrigerators, stoves, dishwashers, water heaters, etc.), and cameras.
Jewelry-related products with 1.00ct or larger diamonds can be returned but must be presented with the original authentication paperwork. After all the proper paperwork checks out, customers are given a jewelry credit memo and with 48 hours the product is sent to Costco gemologists to approve the authenticity. Other products with lifespans, such as batteries and automotive tires, are normally sold with independent warranties separate from the average store return policy.
The only items you can buy at Costco that can’t be returned at all are tobacco and alcohol products. This is due to the federal government’s prohibition on all returns of alcohol and tobacco items.
Odd and Funny Costco Item Returns
In the age of social media, everyone has a phone in their pocket and is able to document some of the world’s funniest interactions. Costco employees are no different and, because of this, we have some great stories to report.
In 2018, a video was posted to Reddit of a Costco employee processing a woman’s return of a Christmas tree in January. The employee said the tree was completely dead but, due to Costco’s return policy, she had to refund the woman the money. The most humorous part of the story is when the customer was asked why she wanted to return the tree she reportedly said, “Because it’s dead.”
Another odd and funny item that someone tried to return to Costco was an empty bottle of wine. A Costco employee posted on Reddit that a woman came up to customer service with an empty bottle of wine and demanded her money back. When asked why she was not satisfied with her purchase she stated that it gave her a headache.
There are dozens of other examples of crazy items people tried to turn to Costco including opened packages of underwear, dead plants but my personal favorite is the 13-year-old fish. According to a Reddit user, a woman bought a fish and forgot about it in her freezer for 13 years. She took the fish up to the customer service counter and tried to return it. According to the user, they didn’t want to take the decade-old seafood back but the woman threatened to call corporate and they ultimately gave her the money back.
All of this to say, if you really want to give a Costco employee a hard time (though I don’t necessarily condone it), you can return just about anything. What are some of the most bizarre Costco returns you’ve heard about? Let us know in the comments below.
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Drew Blankenship is a former Porsche technician and lifelong automotive enthusiast. Recently, he began writing for several websites and is enjoying the career change. He lives in North Carolina with his wife and their dog Enzo.