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This was also really common with TVs during the Super Bowl. People would come in and buy the biggest TV they could get, have their Super Bowl party and then ret

by akamia 5y ago

This was also really common with TVs during the Super Bowl. People would come in and buy the biggest TV they could get, have their Super Bowl party and then return the TV.

wrs 5y ago
That why the Costco policy no longer applies to electronics (they’re time-limited now). But it’s at manager discretion, so if you seem to have a genuine problem they’ll still take something back after the limit.
- nucleardog 5y ago
  That was less about the Superbowl returns (the return window on electronics is 90 days, you can easily get a TV, have a Superbowl party, and return it still). It's more the depreciation and how quickly electronics evolve. People were using the returns as a free lifetime of upgrades. One particularly stark example when I worked there a long time ago was someone who wanted to upgrade their old projection TV. So four years after they bought it they brought it in and returned it. They got about $4k back. They walked out on the floor, picked up a brand new LCD TV for $2k and almost half a decade after their original purchase they walked out with a brand new, upgraded TV and $2k in their pocket. You can imagine how this can be abused with most electronics that Costco sells. Imagine going in and getting a brand new upgraded laptop every 2-3 years for the rest of your life after a single couple thousand dollar purchase.
  - fomine3 5y ago
    Wait, the free return period is 90 days even thought it's "limited"? It looks still insane from outside US.
    - nucleardog 5y ago
      Yes. Electronics are 90 days any reason. Any non-electronics it's "lifetime for any reason". I saw someone return a flat of steaks with half a remaining cooked steak left just saying "my guests thought they weren't very good". Someone had a custom photo book printed and when they came to pick it up decided they didn't want it anymore and just got a refund. Someone returned a plasma TV because of the glare from their windows. My wife bought a car seat there (something you can't return _anywhere_) which we ended up not being able to get installed in the car (had the shitty cheap version of the LATCH clips that are impossible to get tightened up). Took it back for a full refund. We bought a vacuum there that broke literally a week after the manufacturer's warranty. Brought it in and exchanged it for a new one. There's no time limit on any of this. This is by no means normal in North America. It's one of those Costco things like providing part time retail workers reasonable salaries and health benefits, etc that sounds insane in theory but obviously works for them. I know personally there's been a couple times where I've been on the fence about buying something and ended up purchasing it because "If it sucks/falls apart in 6 months/whatever I can just bring it back."

by akamia 5y ago

This was also really common with TVs during the Super Bowl. People would come in and buy the biggest TV they could get, have their Super Bowl party and then return the TV.

wrs 5y ago

That why the Costco policy no longer applies to electronics (they’re time-limited now). But it’s at manager discretion, so if you seem to have a genuine problem they’ll still take something back after the limit.

nucleardog 5y ago
That was less about the Superbowl returns (the return window on electronics is 90 days, you can easily get a TV, have a Superbowl party, and return it still). It's more the depreciation and how quickly electronics evolve. People were using the returns as a free lifetime of upgrades. One particularly stark example when I worked there a long time ago was someone who wanted to upgrade their old projection TV. So four years after they bought it they brought it in and returned it. They got about $4k back. They walked out on the floor, picked up a brand new LCD TV for $2k and almost half a decade after their original purchase they walked out with a brand new, upgraded TV and $2k in their pocket. You can imagine how this can be abused with most electronics that Costco sells. Imagine going in and getting a brand new upgraded laptop every 2-3 years for the rest of your life after a single couple thousand dollar purchase.
- fomine3 5y ago
  Wait, the free return period is 90 days even thought it's "limited"? It looks still insane from outside US.
  - nucleardog 5y ago
    Yes. Electronics are 90 days any reason. Any non-electronics it's "lifetime for any reason". I saw someone return a flat of steaks with half a remaining cooked steak left just saying "my guests thought they weren't very good". Someone had a custom photo book printed and when they came to pick it up decided they didn't want it anymore and just got a refund. Someone returned a plasma TV because of the glare from their windows. My wife bought a car seat there (something you can't return _anywhere_) which we ended up not being able to get installed in the car (had the shitty cheap version of the LATCH clips that are impossible to get tightened up). Took it back for a full refund. We bought a vacuum there that broke literally a week after the manufacturer's warranty. Brought it in and exchanged it for a new one. There's no time limit on any of this. This is by no means normal in North America. It's one of those Costco things like providing part time retail workers reasonable salaries and health benefits, etc that sounds insane in theory but obviously works for them. I know personally there's been a couple times where I've been on the fence about buying something and ended up purchasing it because "If it sucks/falls apart in 6 months/whatever I can just bring it back."