Costco has several things going for it. Not only do they have great prices when you bulk shop, but they have delicious hot dogs for only $1.50 with a drink, and a rotisserie chicken that’s been $5 for years. Along with that, the return policy at Costco is unparalelled. Well, at least it was.
According to shoppres, the iconic return policy at Costco is seeing a quiet change. Unfortunately, the warehouse is cracking down on their easy, stress-free no-hassle return policies.
The no-questions-asked policy has won shoppers, with many enjoying how simple and easy it is to return something. The policy essentially allowed customers to get a full return on virtually anything, regardless how long the purchase was made and if they lost their receipt.
But has shoppers abused this power? Maybe so, because members are reporting that Costco workers are getting more strict with their flexible policy. Some employees are demanding extra proof of purchase from customers, which used to be unheard of. in some cases, members are reporting that the warehouse is cross-referencing how often shoppers return their purchases, picking up patterns from those frequently having this issue.
While there is no official statement yet about these changes, so we’re not sure if this a store-to-store case or slowly being implimented everywhere, it seems with the recent holiday shopping returns have caused some concern for shoppers. Many have attempted to return Christmas trees long after the holidays and were unsucessful.
One shopper posted their story on Yahoo! saying that they had to bring in their gallon of spoiled milk to verify that they could have their money back. A Reddit post made a few months ago also talked about this frustrating experience, saying, “In my recent experience, the former ‘no questions asked’ return policy of 10+ years ago has tightened up some and the employees tend to really dig in some of the items.”
However, with some members bringing back dead plants, half-eaten meals, and more, it’s no wonder the warehouse is tightening up their policy. It feels as though shoppers are abusing their power of full refunds.
And apparently, it’s gotten out of hand at multiple retailers. According to Appriss Retail and Deloitte, fraudulent returns and claims cost retailers in the US roughly $103 billion in 2024. It’s a shame that a once amazing policy has to be changed because of crazy “hacks” that should not be happening in the first place.