What is Digg?65 Comments
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+51that's what you get when a liberal policy is abused... for any organization.
- Nocturnal, on 10/12/2007, -2/+50It's funny how everyone now is saying OMFG, we're not going to go to Costcos anymore since they are screwing us over with this new return policy!
LISTEN, they still have the most lenient policy in the retail industry. They offer 90 days.
Comp USA
Best Buy
Circuit City
Office Max/Depot
Fry's
Staples
Target
ET. AL.
DOES NOT offer more than 14 days on the items that Costco is limiting (Cameras, cell phones, computers).
Please do not cry. They are not screwing you or anyone over. If anything they're helping themselves to stay afloat. Again, 90 days is more than ample time to return something if you do not want it. Anything else is *****. - raitchison, on 10/12/2007, -2/+29Exactly, you hear all the time about people bragging about abusing the Costco return policy. Sometimes it really is the bad apples that ruin it for the rest of us.
- kazzyD, on 10/12/2007, -2/+28One thing the article didn't mention is that Costco did try other ideas first before going with the policy tightening: it introduced an 800 number for customers to call to get technical questions answered. It also started offering limited third-party service for HDTV home installation, etc.:
http://www.computers.net/2007/02/costco_limits_r.html
The change was inevitable, at least they eased the blow by introducing the two year warranty... - Krakn3Dfx, on 10/12/2007, -2/+23I'm surprised it took this long. Morons taking advantage of Costco's generosity when it comes to returns ruined it. If you buy an LCD and it dies a year after you bought it, go to the damned manufacturer, at that point, it shouldn't be a Costco issue.
- eunosx, on 10/12/2007, -2/+22No one was crying about anything. The lifetime warranty was an added incentive to buy items at Costco that might have been found for a little cheaper by shopping around. Now that that has changed, I'll be shopping around too, but not avoiding Costco.
They still got the killer $1.50 hot dog & soda deal and free samples, that's enough of a draw for me anyday. - Scotty87, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15My mother works are Costco's and There was one time where a gentlemen came in a morning and got a bunch of loafs of Bread, Mayonnaise, and various sandwich meats (Ham,beef,etc).
That person then came back shortly before closing time that same day with one of those portable refrigerators and had all the stuff he got in the form of a sandwich and went to return what he had left
This person if you haven't caught on to it yet, Got a bunch of stuff, made a bunch of sandwich, drove around city selling them and YES, got a FULL MONEY BACK on not just what he had left, but a everything he originally got!
This person made money from people who bough from him and got all his "investments" back when he returned it...
talk about abusing the system... - HappyScrappy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14Yeah. Sometimes people brag about abusing return policies, and then also complain all the stuff on shelves is re-wrapped returned items.
- crombenevolant, on 10/12/2007, -4/+16@Yashar
Every stock is dropping like a rock today. The Dow is down 500. I would hardly say that this is a response to Costco's return policy. - LostOnion, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12FTA:
"...one member recently wrote the company saying she was disappointed because she had heard Costco was going to stop its "free TV upgrade policy."
I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the stupidity of some people. But come on already! A Free TV Upgrade Policy? I wonder how many she had returned? - NoelGallagher, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13I bought a 50" Maxent in December for $1999, last Friday I noticed it for $1299. I called the Costco and the lady in customer service told me they couldn't do a cash refund for the difference on items more than 30 days out. She then actually told me to bring in my TV for a refund and go buy the TV for cheaper. I did so right away.
It's very odd that the employees themselves were telling people to do this, and then they get mad that it is happening. - Valleye, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8I agree completely. Shure, it was nice if it broke to be able to go to the local Costco and get a new one (or better if unavailable) but I know first hand of people sabotaging their stuff so that they can get the new model.
It is pure corruption. Costco had no choice. - PDelahanty, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6You should check Costco for a keyboard where the "O" doesn't stick.
- crazynuj, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6FYI, Target also has a 90 day return policy.
- halbe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I work for a competitor and have heard from management we will soon change our policy as well.
- slyydrr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5While the "lifetime satisfaction" part of Costco's policy was wonderful, I can understand why it has to come to an end. Oh well, 90 days is more than sufficient in my opinion.
I truly do appreciate however that they aren't retroactively making this policy change. Any item bought on the previous policy (lifetime warranty) keeps that warranty. That's very respectable if you ask me! - OwdenBowden, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6It is a sad day. I had to return my LCD when it started changing brightness and would sometimes not go on as it did not detect a video signal - all of this in under a years time from purchase. I just wanted to get my TV back but they refunded all of my money and I was able to pick up the same tv (and keeps some money - about 50%). I think costco should just go with the policy of No Money back but you can use the total cost as a credit towards a new tv - thus you can pick up a tv of equal or lesser value for free or apply the cost to a more expensive set.
- redmaxx, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Let's see...you could go somewhere else and get a 30 days max policy, maybe a restocking fee, etc. That definitely seems better than 90 days. *rollseyes* Your 360 comment doesn't even make sense, since this doesn't apply to those video game consoles.
- gchucky, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I work at Costco, and there are stories like this all the time. We've had people return one hamburger from a package and demand their money back (and they usually get it, too.) The biggest thing I can remember was last summer, someone returned a TV that they bought in 1999 and got $4000 cash back on it. Glad to see they're tightening things.
- OwdenBowden, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Costco tracks all actions of its members - so they can create a policy of not more than 2 exchanges within a time period per each product.
- Valleye, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3What is to prevent from using this a leasing tool and upgrading your model every year?
- OwdenBowden, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I agree and any company that does not offer a full years warranty for their products should be put out of business. A year is a long enough time period for a product to experience any issues. Any company that has a 30 day or 90 day is telling me and the world that this product will not last past 90 days.
- hmemcpy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Welcome to Costco. I love you!
- sidehop, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I agree, it was abused, may not have been illegal but it's great they are implementing this new policy. It's still 90-days, that's more then 60 days over stores like Best Buy where returns and exchanges are often not accepted even within the 30-day period. I love Costco :)
- tmcdigg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Still, prices on these items are not so much better than Online retailers or other outlets.. wouldn't the return possibly worsen the deal.. leading consumers to boycott the products?
Or will this cost savings lead to lower prices?
Hmmm.. time will tell.. - supervapio, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Impossible! sweet! http://musiclabs.blogspot.com
- Sonderiaom, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Margins are only 15% max at Costco.
- slyydrr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@Valleye: I'm just speculating, but I'd be very surprised if Costco didn't have some sort of automatic audit tool that checks the frequency of returns by account...
@owdenbowden: They mention in the article that all TV's will have a 2 year warranty on them still... :) - SniperAlf22, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@ noelgallagher: I would call that really good customer service, personally.
- nicepants, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1....but do they have a killer hot dog/soda snack deal?
- JohnboiWaltune, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Most manufacturer warrantees are only 1 year, after that it's your problem to find a repair shop and pay for the repairs. In many cases a year old TV costs more to fix than to replace.
- redmaxx, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I say blame it on electronics manufacturers with crappy warranties and quality. Wait on hold for hours, only to get "Bob" from India, spend hours trying to get him to see your problem, then they send someone out to fix it, who has the wrong parts, etc. Repeat four or five times. Is it any wonder then, when something goes wrong that my first stop now is Costco's return desk? I'm sick and tired of dealing with TV manufacturers, computer manufacturers and cell phone companies that give you a really hard time trying to get something fixed.
Hopefully this warranty extension and free technical support will fix that. I really want to be satisfied with my stuff, but the manufacturers make it *very* difficult. - JimV, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2What the hell? Why not call the manufacturer and get it fixed, instead of expecting Costco to replace it?
- senixon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This was inevitable, because so many started to abuse it especially during the SuperBowl season. Just proves that no good deed (or policy in this case) goes unpunished (or abused)
- JimV, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Quit buying crappy products with crappy warranties. What do you expect to get when you buy the cheapest model of TV/Computer/whatever it is you're buying? Pay a little more and get better quality.
- halbe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Except they do not have margins that high.
- portwojc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I wonder if this
http://consumerist.com/consumer/indoor-pool/costco-accepts-return-of-swimming-pool-intended-for-pet-penguin-221611.php
Had anything to do with it... - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I love them too! :D
No really. Once I ordered a 17 inch monitor from them, but the did not have any in stock. So I got a FREE upgrade to a 21 incher! - akcoder, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1We've only taken two things back to Costco. One, a bike I bought 3 years ago. Rode it around for around a half mile realized it was way to short for me, took it back. The other is a humidifier that billed itself as being "quiet." It was much noisier than the one I was trying to replace.
I've never abused the Costco return system, never will. Return policies that don't screw the consumer are a rarity these days. Even Costco's new policy is MUCH more generous than any place I've ever shopped at. - alanchau, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Does this apply to Canadian Costco stores as well?
- HappyScrappy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1What about on video game consoles?
- Mesach, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Seems to me that the only common factor in all of these IS you! Quit complaining and buy an Aquos, You will know where the extra money went.
- Requench, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I'd like to know this too. Not sure if it falls under "computers" or not.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0When I was in Richmond.. that's in Vancouver, BC.. every Sunday you will see people bringing back TVs.
- gummialien, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Damn scotty.... with a return policy like that I wonder how far along the food consumption/digestion cycle they will go until its deemed unreturnable.
- brettmaxwell, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I didn't see this mentioned in the article...? This is a major concern for me as a few months ago I bought an $800 camera at Costco even though it was $80 cheaper elsewhere. I wouldn't return my camera just because there's a new model out, rather I view it as an excellent "service plan" in case I have problems with my camera in a few years.
- redmaxx, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Oh, right...that's why the HP, Dell, Gateway and Sony laptops I've had all have problems, it's ME. I should have known. Right now we're sitting here with a Vizio Plasma that has lines in it's display and getting Vizio on the phone is next to impossible. Busy signals most of the time and hour long waits on hold when I can. Somehow that's *my* fault? I don't think so. Before you tell me it's Vizio, Samsung was no better. We had horrible service from them too. It has *nothing* to do with me.
Interestingly enough, the refurbished Dell I got, from Dell, is doing just fine. It's a Latitude D820. It's sad when you've got to buy a business class PC just to get a decent quality machine. - justmega, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0@LostOnion
"...one member recently wrote the company saying she was disappointed because she had heard Costco was going to stop its "free TV upgrade policy."
Please let me know when they have a free beer refill policy, esp. Newcastle. - duckedape, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2that IS a good snack deal.
-
Show 51 - 64 of 64 discussions
Check out the new & improved 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is