Costco Members Spill Shocking Tales Of Wild Product Returns: Opened Food And Years-Old Furniture – Here's What They're Saying

While Costco members are known for hunting bargains on groceries and home furnishings thanks to bulk buying, but the company’s extremely lenient return policy has captured the attention of many consumers. A 2023 U.S. News & World Report ranked the wholesaler among the top six stores with the best return policies.

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“Costco has the most lenient among major big-box chains, even allowing returns years later,” said Nick Gausling, a retail consultant and managing director at Romy Group LLC. “Their membership model helps to balance out the losses from return processing while building strong relationships between the store and its consumers-a virtuous cycle.”

Meanwhile, Costco’s return policy, popularly known as the “Risk-Free 100% Satisfaction Guarantee,” has led to highly unusual returns that have left many social media users amused and perplexed. Stories of such outrageous returns have flooded TikTok and Facebook, among other platforms, where members share with glee the most unbelievable items successfully returned to Costco.

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One of the most infamous returns occurred in 2018, when a woman from California returned her desiccated Christmas tree on January 4th. The story went viral after another customer waiting in line posted a photo of the refund on Facebook, with the caption, “Woman in line at a Costco, totally nonchalant, to return her Christmas tree ‘because it is dead’ on January 4th.” 

This posting sparked a maelstrom of responses, including this from one viewer: “If I didn’t see it, I wouldn’t believe that somebody had so little moral values or lack of conscience.”

Costco's flexible return policy allows members to return items with minimal time constraints, even if those products have been extensively used. A couple took the internet by storm earlier this year on TikTok when they successfully returned a five-year-old queen mattress, claiming it had become “uncomfortable.” 

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They boldly captioned, “We decided to try the theory … can you return stuff that’s been more than a couple of years at Costco and without a receipt …” To their surprise, the return was approved, and they used the refund to invest in a new king mattress.

In another bizarre incident, a TikTok user recently shared her experience of witnessing a customer return an empty box at Costco. “I see she’s holding a box, like, a candy bar box, but [there’s] nothing in the box,” she recalled in her video. The customer told the return agent that she wasn’t satisfied with the bars she had bought and wanted to return them despite the fact there were no bars left inside the box. To the amazement of all, the return was agreed to.

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These unusual returns have sparked debates on the internet, as some customers praise the leniency while others criticize the lack of boundaries. However, Costco continues to comply with the return policy. “Buy your furniture from Costco, girl. You can return it when you don’t like it anymore,” one TikTok user suggested, voicing the feelings of many. 

Although the practice does stir up some controversy, many members fiercely defend the wholesaler over the ease of returns that come with their satisfaction policy. “My husband works for Costco and says the company is getting money from all the returned items. I am not ashamed to return my items,” said one user in a viral TikTok video.

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