Change in Costco Return Policy

[Nocturnal]

Originally posted by: Greenman

Originally posted by: DLeRium
Please rate my cheapness on a scale of 1-10:

- Winter vacation I bought a Canon Rebel XT and returned it afterwards. I had something like 2.5 GB of sexy photos. I don't really like my Powershot G3 anymore.

- Rush event for our fraternity we bought Christmas lights from Costco and returned them

- Camping we bought propane stoves at Target and returned them. Hey, we paid for the propane at least.

Now I would honestly never buy a TV and return it. You're just whacked if you do that. Same goes for idiots and their laptop + return stuff. I'm not reformatting every 90 days just to get a free laptop.

Your not cheap at all, you're a thief.

Motion for ban.

 

[Atrail]

Originally posted by: AlucardX
wonder if this effects Xbox 360

It won't effect anything purchased before the implementation, which is good since my HDTV and XBOX360 came from costco...

 

[nealh]

Originally posted by: ebaycj

Originally posted by: Atrail
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.costco.com/Service/FeaturePageLeftNav.aspx?ProductNo=11133932#returna nitem">http://www.costco.com/Service/FeaturePa...x?ProductNo=11133932#retur
a nitem</a>

We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell, with a full refund. Exceptions: Televisions, computers, cameras, camcorders, iPOD/MP3 players and cellular phones must be returned within 90 days of purchase for a refund.

Bolded and Italicized for great justice.

(Meaning you probably won't get your money back in your pocket, but you probably will get either an exchange or store credit.)

costco on returns almost always gives cash..unless you ask for store credit

 

[secretanchitman]

its true...its up on the front page of AT/dailytech.

well, luckily, my samsung a900 (sprint) that i bought from costco is still under the lifetime warranty...

 

[PingSpike]

Just caught this in the closed hotdeals thread.

I was disappointed at first, because its of course less...but its still more then other places. When I bought my LCD, the only place I planned to shop for it was costco because of the return policy. It cost more there, but it was worth it for the peace of mind.

The new policy sounds fair, and I understand that with all the abusers there was no way they could keep doing this. I think the 6 month PC policy came into effect the same way, with people getting "free PC upgrades" after a year.

The article linked in the other thread, costco received a letter from a woman saying she was disappointed that they would be ending their "free TV upgrade policy". She should drink some gasoline and die in a hole.

 

[dwcal]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: ScottFern
How exactly does the 2 year manufacturer extension warranty work? Can you just return it to Costco for another 2 years, or do you have to contact the manufacturer's 1-800 number and arrange something? I am not even sure how that would work?

the memo says costco is extending the manufacturer's warranty. but as costco is likely doing this unilaterally it's probably a warranty through costco. total warranty length will be 2 years. the extending language makes me think it won't be concurrent with the manufacturer's warranty (that is, if you've got a 1 year from the maker then that is who you go to in that year, then costco for the 2nd year).



as for xbox360, the memo does not mention game consoles, so it should be unaffected.

Usually the extended warranty kicks in after the manufacturer warranty expires. I haven't seen any details about it, but I'm guessing it's handled through that new concierge/tech support service. The 2 yr warranty isn't as hot as it might sound. I usually pay there with my Costco branded American Express card which already has an extra year of extended warranty on purchases.

I haven't bought that many electronics from Costco, and I rarely return things, but the one time I needed, they were great. I bought a cheap $90 vacuum. The belt burned out the first month. I exchanged it for the same model, and that one had something misaligned and made a terrible noise when it was running. So I returned that one and got a better vacuum.

 

[theGlove]

Originally posted by: FoBoT

Originally posted by: waggy
guess i won't be getting a TV from Costco

so, where would you buy a TV? what is the policy of the store where you will buy a TV from?

you buy a TV planning on getting a refund more than 90 days after buying it?

keep in mind that most of the tv models costco sell are in some way handicapped just for costco, ie, they take out some features that the normal model would have. One example is the panasonic 42" plasma models (thxxx6u vs thxxx600u)

it is now better to just find a reputable place that has the best deal on the tv.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: Naustica
Majority of Costco's profit comes from membership fees and not from selling of the merchandise.

...therefore they should be willing to take a loss on merchandise due to RMA abuse?

Seriously -- even the 'revised' policy is VERY generous. You have three months to check the product out and make sure it is what you really want. If it breaks -- that's what the warranty is for, and Costco even extends the manufacturer's warranty, something that is generally quite expensive at other stores.

 

[ponyo]

Originally posted by: Matthias99

Originally posted by: Naustica
Majority of Costco's profit comes from membership fees and not from selling of the merchandise.

...therefore they should be willing to take a loss on merchandise due to RMA abuse?

Seriously -- even the 'revised' policy is VERY generous. You have three months to check the product out and make sure it is what you really want. If it breaks -- that's what the warranty is for, and Costco even extends the manufacturer's warranty, something that is generally quite expensive at other stores.

Costco is a membership club. They have the option of revoking membership from people who abuse the RMA system and banning them from the store.

As for the loss on the merchandise, Costco has limited return allowance given by their vendors. It's part of the requirement to do business with Costco.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: theGlove

Originally posted by: FoBoT

Originally posted by: waggy
guess i won't be getting a TV from Costco

so, where would you buy a TV? what is the policy of the store where you will buy a TV from?

you buy a TV planning on getting a refund more than 90 days after buying it?

keep in mind that most of the tv models costco sell are in some way handicapped just for costco, ie, they take out some features that the normal model would have. One example is the panasonic 42" plasma models (thxxx6u vs thxxx600u)

it is now better to just find a reputable place that has the best deal on the tv.

got any proof on this?

 

[Imported]

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: theGlove

Originally posted by: FoBoT

Originally posted by: waggy
guess i won't be getting a TV from Costco

so, where would you buy a TV? what is the policy of the store where you will buy a TV from?

you buy a TV planning on getting a refund more than 90 days after buying it?

keep in mind that most of the tv models costco sell are in some way handicapped just for costco, ie, they take out some features that the normal model would have. One example is the panasonic 42" plasma models (thxxx6u vs thxxx600u)

it is now better to just find a reputable place that has the best deal on the tv.

got any proof on this?

I thought that had more to do with where the TV was manufactured. Like the Sony TVs from Costco are made in Mexico I believe.

I got my HDTV at Costco a couple weeks ago so I'm good on the return thing, but I don't plan to return it unless it craps out on me.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: Naustica

Originally posted by: Matthias99

Originally posted by: Naustica
Majority of Costco's profit comes from membership fees and not from selling of the merchandise.

...therefore they should be willing to take a loss on merchandise due to RMA abuse?

Seriously -- even the 'revised' policy is VERY generous. You have three months to check the product out and make sure it is what you really want. If it breaks -- that's what the warranty is for, and Costco even extends the manufacturer's warranty, something that is generally quite expensive at other stores.

Costco is a membership club. They have the option of revoking membership from people who abuse the RMA system and banning them from the store.

Okay, but if they join, buy a $2000 TV (but nothing else), then return it after a year or two for a $2000 credit, no questions asked? Sure, they can kick them out, or refuse any future returns -- but they're already way in the hole.

While I can't argue that their earlier return policy was awfully nice -- it's just way too easy to abuse on big-ticket electronics. That kind of draw is just irresistable to some people.

As for the loss on the merchandise, Costco has limited return allowance given by their vendors. It's part of the requirement to do business with Costco.

And if they have more items returned than their allowance, Costco eats the difference or has to try to liquidate them as open-box. This isn't rocket science.

If they were losing what they considered an unacceptable amount of money on returns like this, they really had only two options: 1) raise prices so they make more money to begin with, or 2) limit the return period on the items people are most likely to abuse it with. Given that they compete with a lot of other stores based on price, option 1 is not that attractive. I suppose they could also do things like prorating refunds on electronics -- so if, say, you return it after a year you only get half your money back. But then trying to figure out how to prorate everything fairly is a nightmare.

It's described as a 'satisfaction' guarantee. The point was not so that you could buy something, use it until it's obsolete (or you break it), and then suddenly decide you are 'unsatisfied' with the product and want your money back.

 

[Staples]

I know I a few days late but I just want to say that this change makes zero difference to me. Such a policy should have never existed.

I would have never returned anything after 6 months and by them letting other people do it after years screws over the customers who play by the rules.