Costco Refund Policy

TCM on 28/03/2011 - 23:44

I went into Brand Depot in Canberra where Costco had a shop setup for people to sign up to become members prior to their store opening in July. When I spoke with one of the girls there she mentioned that with everything they sell, you are able to return it at anytime during the life of the product and get a refund. I then asked her if I bought a TV and it had problems after the warranty period (say 8 years down the track) could I bring it back? She told me that there are no warranties and yes I would be able to bring it back at anytime and that I wouldn't even need a receipt because all my purchases are registered on my account.

Now this all sounded pretty unbelievable to me and I started to question her on how this was possible because there would be heaps of people bringing stuff back but she said that only about 5% of people abuse the system and the rest of them do the right thing. I didn't get into any argument with her about whether people would be "abusing" the system if it was openly available but I didn't believe she had her facts right.

When I went online I have found some bits and pieces about Costco having a 90 day return policy (so not lifetime). Does anyone know how this works and whether warranty still applies to TVs and whether they offer extended warranties?

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Comments

  • bendertiger on 29/03/2011 - 00:28
    +2

    Get a voice recorder, go back, record her talking again, store the mp3 somewhere safe and your done and dusted :)

    • issh on 29/03/2011 - 00:36

      ^ this, but get your friend/relative to do it for you because she might recognize your face

  • A Banana4scale on 29/03/2011 - 00:41

    ahh so they have started the sign up
    Not the best forum to post this on but what bus to Brand Depot ..might go there tomoz

  • tonester on 29/03/2011 - 10:59

    http://whrl.pl/RcBdDn may help :)

    • TCM on 29/03/2011 - 23:31

      That's exactly the problem though… evolve88 mentioned that he was told in early Jan or late Dec that someone in Costco (most likely the Melbourne store) had offered that lifetime warranty, but batjac then said this was incorrect and the policy was now 90 days (originally 3 years) and this has been around even before Costco came to Australia. I think there's an issue with the information being provided by the sales reps and what their store policy actually is.

      • tonester on 30/03/2011 - 01:52

        if you read the whirlpool posts carefully, evolve88 and qw12 refer to costco australia, whereas batjac seems to have confused the usa website/policies with the australian

        • TCM on 30/03/2011 - 10:25

          That's probably true but there doesn't seem to be any conclusive answer to this question. qw12 showed the policy (on the Aus website) where it stated:

          "We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell, and will refund your purchase price."

          But this doesn't mention any time frame so does that imply lifetime? I'm just still very skeptical on how any company can give a lifetime guarantee/warranty that involves a no questions asked refund.

  • Zoop on 29/03/2011 - 19:20

    I can attest to Costco's focus on customer service. It is certainly a selling point of theirs, but I would imagine this is how they keep membership retention rates high.

    At the checkout, buying a tray of buffalo chicken wings/drumlets, it managed to slip from my hands and 3/4 of the tray spilled out onto the floor and the counter.
    Immediately the store manager came around, got some people to clean it up, and sent a runner to get me a brand new tray of buffalo wings.

    Another time, i bought Peanut butter filled pretzels, thinking they'd be the bees knees. They weren't. I returned a 3/4 finished bag for a full refund, a week later. I don't even think they asked me the reason why i was returning it.

    btw, they have the best croissants!

  • Kkuba on 29/03/2011 - 21:14

    wow i am impressed with all these stories… considering actually getting a membership now

    I remember last time I came, i asked about the membership, and they said if you are not happy with your membership, you can get a full refund, so (and I clarified this) you can actually go in, purchase a membership, buy some stuff, and then get your money back for the membership, obviously that would be a bit dog, but that still shows amazing customer service.

    too bad I dont have anywhere to store mass amounts of purchases…. that's the one thing holding me back, and also that the store is located RIGHT outside the CBD, so parking is a little tight (1hr free, 5 dollars thereafter) that combined with travel….and actually being bothered to go there, when safeway is about 3 mins walk away….

    edit, oh yeh and how much is membership these days? i assume its a yearly fee not a one off?

    • Davo1111 on 30/03/2011 - 01:51

      $60/year AFAIK

    • Tal_Shiar on 30/03/2011 - 03:17
      +1

      costco is on the quiet side of the cbd, and the woolies nearby is a glorified milkbar

    • carlenet on 05/04/2011 - 11:36

      Parking is actually 2 hours for free in the Costco car park. If you park in the Harbour Town multi-storey it is $5 all day.

      I too have a return story. I purchased a Fisher Price doll set for my daughter for Christmas last year. Santa delivered it on the 25th December and by late January the doll was no longer in a condition that warranted a "Fisher Price" tag let alone a $60 price tag! I rang Fisher Price who basically fobbed me off saying they had no more stock of that particular doll and that it was manufactured by Tolly Tots anyway not them and that I'd best take it back to where I purchased it. Early February I returned the doll to Costco, no questions asked, where I was given a full refund and an apology regarding the quality of the product.

  • TCM on 04/04/2011 - 23:34
    +1

    So I went in again to the costco signup shop and this time I spoke with all three staff there (cos there was no one else there so they all joined in the conversation). And yes, they still have the lifetime no questions asked refund on all their items.

    I mentioned how the US had changed their policy on electrical items to 90 days and one of the guys (who looked like the manager) said yes, they recently changed it because there were too many people abusing the system as in they were actually getting a refund to upgrade their TVs rather than the TV having an actual fault. He said this wasn't currently a problem for Australia but if it does become a problem they may also implement a similar policy here. However, he also mentioned that although there is a 90 day refund policy in the US, they will still help the customer fix up the electrical item after the 90 day period. This is pretty good imho as it essentially provides a lifetime warranty on an electrical product.

    On other thing he did say was that if you do decide to refund something (say a TV) after you've used it for quite some time and it doesn't have any faults, they will still refund you but will also refund your membership. This is because they are led to believe you are not satisfied with the products that they offer even whilst the item is still functioning.

    • Toohey81 on 04/07/2012 - 23:39

      I second this. My uncle went and purchased a tv from Costco auburn (couple months back) and they too said if he has any problems with the tv to return to them for a refund / replacement. Just as long as u have an active membership account with them then the tv is under warranty. No break in membership that is.

  • bendertiger on 13/04/2011 - 19:34

    I would like to mention that anyone who abuses an offer such as this…criminal action can be taken by costco against consumers. Just a friendly warning.

  • TCM on 14/04/2011 - 09:27

    How is that possible? Yes people may abuse it BUT, it was Costco who was stupid enough to leave the door open for people to do so. They only need to state that refunds will only apply when there is a genuine fault with the product. When they go and give out no questions asked refunds it's just expected that some people will take advantage of that and return things that they've changed their minds about or decide they want to upgrade their TVs etc. Costco can easily rectify this by putting clauses in their refund policy to exclude these people but they've chosen not to do it. How then can they take action against consumers who take advantage of this loophole?

    • bendertiger on 14/04/2011 - 10:06

      A rep of the company can ask the police to investigate possible fraud charges against a customer. Just like they can when it comes to shoplifting.

      • tonester on 14/04/2011 - 10:28

        abuse? fraud? costco "guarantee your satisfaction" - why return something unless one is not satisfied with it?

        • bendertiger on 14/04/2011 - 10:37

          As previously stated some customers (US) have returned items due to purely wanting an upgrade.

        • tonester on 14/04/2011 - 12:21

          and no longer being satisfied with their purchases :)

      • TCM on 14/04/2011 - 17:09

        I don't think it is fraud when a company gives you the option of return an item with no questions asked. It'd be pretty hard for them to prove what your true intentions were as it would be your word against theirs. I would also be very surprised if the police would care given that there is a refund policy in place and the level of severity in this supposed crime is just too low. Plus, I'd very much doubt that costco would get the authorities involved in a refund case like this as it would create a bad name for them.

        • bendertiger on 14/04/2011 - 17:30

          It was just a warning, I do know the chances of it happening are practically zero though

  • greenlantern on 23/06/2012 - 20:26

    Sorry to revive an old thread but got a question, what happens if I purchase a rug and a week later they have those coupons with that same item discounted by 40% ? Does anyone know if there is a price guarantee? Or any problems on returning the rug and re-purchase the same item at a lower price?

    • k on 23/06/2012 - 21:30

      Take it back and say it doesn't suit your room or whatever. No questions asked.

    • carlenet on 25/06/2012 - 18:40
      +1

      They have a 30 day price guarantee. Similar thing happened to me when I bought a memory foam mattress and a week later it had dropped by $95. They refunded the difference without batting an eyelid! You don't need to lug the item back in with you, you just need the receipt and the member card that it was bought using.

      • greenlantern on 01/07/2012 - 00:08

        Cheers for your responses guys, didn't know about the 30 dpg :)

  • zillah on 04/08/2016 - 17:22

    Dear All

    I was fan of Coacto because I heard about it from a friend and relative in USA and I did membership the second month (Aug) when Costco opened at Sydney July 2011.

    The trick that most of you mightn’t be aware of it once you refund (it is doesn’t matter if it faulty product,or change of mind for a brand new item ) still it will be counted on your record.

    Means if your refunds 15% (not sure exactly what is the percentage) of your purchases they will tag your name and they will question you next time when you return an item.

    Yes If you buy mainly groceries and few appliances or furniture then no worries, but if it is other way around you need to think about it.

    Means for instance if you bought a laptop for $2000 and fridge $1500 and your groceries shop during the whole year of your membership is $9000.

    Your total purchases was $12,500 , your refund was 3500 divided by 12500 = 28% bad luck (don’t believe try it and see)

    And say your returned the fridge because it didn’t fit into your kitchen and your returned the laptop because There is a problem with it.

    Since Costco doesn’t have a replacement they need to refund both of them.

    In their system they don’t distinguish between returning a brand new item or returning a used item or a faulty item.

    A shit manager his name is Nathen at Costco Casula tagged my membership whenever I do a purchase system says : “Information needed”

    I am very disappointed, now I am buying most of my appliances from Goodguys, officeworks , Bunnings , Myer…..etc

    Regards

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