Costco lifetime return policy is real!

Ramza394

Ramza394

CAGiversary!
Yesterday the wife and I went to Costco for a supply run and I've been hearing stories about people on multiple podcast's about Costco has a lifetime return policy for game systems so on a whim I headed to the service desk and asked the lady politely that if I had purchased a Xbox 360 4 years ago from Costco and it was "broken"(see below for explanation) could I return it even without having my receipt :pray:. She told me "yeah as long as you have all the items that came in the bundle when you bought it, they could just look me up by my account to verify that I purchased it."

So I headed home and packed up my 20gb Xbox 360 premium with the extra controller and Marvel Ultimate Alliance/ Forza and headed back to Costco. All in all it took 5 min to look up my account and verify that I did indeed purchase the 360 from them and they gave me the option for either cash or credit. I then went ahead and purchased the new Slim Xbox 360 which they had in stock at their store.


***When I say broken I'm talking about this. So I had a red ring of death upon purchasing the 360 from Costco and I had Microsoft fix it. The reason why I didn't return it to Costco was what would have been the point. Either I get a new one from Costco and take my chances on it breaking or put my faith in Microsoft and pray that they actually knew how to fix the problem.

Well I did the latter and I was burned. At the time I didn't know about the Costco return policy and thought it too late to return it anyways. So since I still had the warranty under Microsoft I just had them fix it when it broke again.

Fast forward to last week when I heard about the lifetime return policy and then seeing that Costco had the new Slim 360's. I was relieved that I could return this brick and hopefully get the 360 that Microsoft was meant to release in the first place.
 
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Why? He asked for clarification on Costco's return policy and was within the parameters of it. It's not his fault their RP is ridiculously lenient.
 
So clarify a little, I only made the return because they had the new system in stock. Which they did, so I put all the money I got from the return back into their store. I look at it as an even exchange, they gave me money for a old product and I gave the money right back for a newer product. It's not like I took the money somewhere else and spent it.
 
If he was doing this on a massive scale then he would get flamed. But it really wasn't that big of a deal.. all the pre-slim 360s are technically "broken" by design and he got the ok from a Costco rep before doing anything.

I remember a lot of CAGs used to brag about how they would buy something from Costco, keep it for a period of time, return it, and buy a newer model and do the same dance again. It's people like that Costco should be worried about...
 
[quote name='Vinny']all the pre-slim 360s are technically "broken" by design and he got the ok from a Costco rep before doing anything. [/QUOTE]

Yeah they are. I remember bringing my old 360 home for the first time and finding out that the red ring of death came included with the system. And with its design and hearing about people who are on their 4th or 5th system it was only a matter of time before mine crapped out again.
 
I just called my costco and they said it was a-okay. Will be doing this with my 40gb PS3 and picking up the slim from them. No harm no foul.
 
It used to be everything (except PC) until the tighten it a few years ago since people were doing it with TVs and other high price item.
 
What is the biggest surprise is that they gave you cash back instead of just store credit. That's the craziest part of this. As they are basically not even guaranteeing themselves you spending the $$ back in their store. And I assume cash back without a receipt? Wow!! is what I'm saying :applause:

I wonder if you do not have a receipt and you have changed banks or credit cards over the years how this would work by looking them up.. I'm still in shock by this!

Essentially you could rent for life anything and get back original value like you owned a time machine and price doesn't fluctuate.

Buy a wedding ring.. get a divorce 10 years later.. pawn shop?? hell no!! full $$ back from costco :applause:
 
[quote name='WebWizard']What is the biggest surprise is that they gave you cash back instead of just store credit. That's the craziest part of this. As they are basically not even guaranteeing themselves you spending the $$ back in their store. And I assume cash back without a receipt? Wow!! is what I'm saying :applause:

I wonder if you do not have a receipt and you have changed banks or credit cards over the years how this would work by looking them up.. I'm still in shock by this!

Essentially you could rent for life anything and get back original value like you owned a time machine and price doesn't fluctuate.

Buy a wedding ring.. get a divorce 10 years later.. pawn shop?? hell no!! full $$ back from costco :applause:[/QUOTE]

I'm pretty sure they check your account before you make returns to see if you have returned stuff before and make a judgement whether to accept or reject your return - just so they see you don't abuse the system. Also I'm pretty sure TV, mp3/ipods, and computers are excluded with this return policy - only 90 days.
 
I am surprised by CostCo's policy to allow that, as they WILL lose money by taking in an old Xbox 360, and returning the purchasing value to the costumer. On a small scale, it wouldn't hurt much; but if the trend goes on, I think CostCo will change its policy.

Game consoles are like other technology goods, they start high in the beginning, but goes down with mass production.
 
[quote name='WebWizard']What is the biggest surprise is that they gave you cash back instead of just store credit. That's the craziest part of this. As they are basically not even guaranteeing themselves you spending the $$ back in their store. And I assume cash back without a receipt? Wow!! is what I'm saying :applause:

I wonder if you do not have a receipt and you have changed banks or credit cards over the years how this would work by looking them up.. I'm still in shock by this!
[/QUOTE]

The cash was a surprise for me too but that's how they roll.

As for not having a receipt they do look you up in their system to make sure you purchased the product from their company because everything you purchased is tied into your Costco membership. The customer service lady also had to type in the serial number of the Xbox to verify that this was the one I bought from them so its not like you could take one off the street and turn it in and then get cash back.:shame:
 
[quote name='Ramza394']The cash was a surprise for me too but that's how they roll.

As for not having a receipt they do look you up in their system to make sure you purchased the product from their company because everything you purchased is tied into your Costco membership. The customer service lady also had to type in the serial number of the Xbox to verify that this was the one I bought from them so its not like you could take one off the street and turn it in and then get cash back.:shame:[/QUOTE]

Ramza thanks for the added info, going to return my old fat ps3 and buy the new slim PS3 that they have. Anyone know if costco offers a bundle for the 120gb? Any good warranty services?
 
I know my store had a Uncharted bundle and I think it was around $329 I pretty sure that it was the 120gb model too but not entirely positive. I can imagine each store might have different bundles depending on how much product they sell.
 
When my 360 got RROD i did same thing. Returned it there, and they gave me a giftcard to store, not cash and I used money and bought new one that was now cheaper.
 
You people are crazy if you think this costs these stores money. They do it for a reason. Because people that pay for memberships come in and spend a s--t ton of money during the year on other things and they will do whatever it takes to keep these people coming back.

You honestly don't think that the OP is going to spend a ton more money there because of this experience? Yes return fraud is a problem but I would be willing to reckon it is very very rare at these membership stores, same goes for people returning broken things like the OP did.
 
I don't think I could return a functioning console, even if it was just to turn around and spend money on a new one.They lose money having to ship it back to wherever and trying to do anything else with it.

This is just gaming the system... Just like if you use Gamestop's return policy on used games like it was Blockbuster... ugh
 
[quote name='schuerm26']You people are crazy if you think this costs these stores money. They do it for a reason. Because people that pay for memberships come in and spend a s--t ton of money during the year on other things and they will do whatever it takes to keep these people coming back.
[/QUOTE]

They're not crazy.
It does impact Costco's bottom line.
And no, Costco won't do "whatever" just to retain a customer.
You do realized Costco adjusted their return policy in 2007 to help combat return fraud, right?

"TVs, computers, cameras, camcorders, iPods, MP3 players and cell phones can only be returned within the first 90 days."
You used to be able to return anything at anytime.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17350641/
http://www.seattlepi.com/business/305240_costco27.html

Costco still have the best return policy but it has been scaled back somewhat due to abuse.

[quote name='schuerm26']
You honestly don't think that the OP is going to spend a ton more money there because of this experience?[/QUOTE]

Nope, I don't.
I'm not saying the op isn't a big spender at Costco.
It is just that there is only so much one can buy and stay within budget.

[quote name='schuerm26']
Yes return fraud is a problem but I would be willing to reckon it is very very rare at these membership stores, same goes for people returning broken things like the OP did.[/QUOTE]

True
 
maybe I can do the same thing, but with a broken 60gb ps3 from launch :D.

A hefty 700 bucks

should be able to get me a new 360 plus some games
 
Anyone if Costco sells non-bundled PS3 Slims 120gb? Don't really want to pick up the Uncharted/Blu-Ray Remote bundle for $329.99. Would like to buy the Walmart $399.99 bundle instead but the Costco return policy is great.
 
[quote name='JYabbz']Anyone if Costco sells non-bundled PS3 Slims 120gb? Don't really want to pick up the Uncharted/Blu-Ray Remote bundle for $329.99. Would like to buy the Walmart $399.99 bundle instead but the Costco return policy is great.[/QUOTE]

not as far as I know
 
Pretty sad that the OP used their return policy to "return" something that was "broken". And yes, I'm sure they're not the only one, though it doesn't make it any less slimy.

Yes, their return policy is satisfaction guaranteed for any item that isn't in their special return / warranty timeframe at any time, though using it for "upgrading" his 360 is a pretty sad situation.

This is why Costco cut back on their electronics warranty returns to 90 days for the class of items that someone else posted about, and why they rolled their TV "return" / warranty timeframe to 2 years from the lifetime. People would use it as a free upgrade program and Costco would eat the item, working or otherwise.

If the item doesn't work, then yes, take it back to Costco. Don't bring something back that works perfectly because you want a new / upgraded item.
 
So I just pulled this directly off of Costco's site.

"Merchandise: We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell with a full refund."

Yes I wasn't satisfied with the old 360. It red ringed multiple times, the controller battery came dead, and I wasn't willing to pay $100+ (now that its out of warranty) to fix any other issues that would arise because of their broken design.

I'm just glad somebody like Costco stands behind every product they sell unlike Microsoft. And that's why I'll continue to buy every game system from Costco because I know they'll have my back.:cool:
 
If it red-ringed multiple times, did you send it off to Microsoft for repair in the 3-year warranty RROD repairs had?

You said it was "broken", though that sounds like it had never failed, and in reading your thread, you never explained that it RROD'd multiple times and had other issues with it.

I know the text of Costco's warranty policy, and I had my first 360 RROD on it and Costco dealt with the issue without a single problem. As they didn't have a 360 on-hand for replacement when I brought mine in, they handed me the cash and I picked one up elsewhere.

You didn't explain the situation clearly in your OP and made it sound like it never had an issue and just decided to "upgrade" it. If you had all these issues, why didn't you handle this on the first instance of the RROD or controller issue and not the 4th/5th you're now claiming?
 
[quote name='Ramza394']Yeah they are. I remember bringing my old 360 home for the first time and finding out that the red ring of death came included with the system.[/QUOTE]

I did say in a later post that I had a red ring of death upon purchasing it and had Microsoft fix it. The reason why I didn't return it to Costco was what would have been the point. Either I get a new one from Costco and take my chances on it breaking or put my faith in Microsoft and pray that they actually knew how to fix the problem.

Well I did the latter and I was burned. At the time I didn't know about the Costco return policy and thought it too late to return it anyways. So since I still had the warranty under Microsoft I just had them fix it again.

Fast forward to last week when I heard about the lifetime return policy and then seeing that Costco had the new Slim 360's. I was relieved that I could return this brick and hopefully get the 360 that Microsoft was meant to release in the first place.

So yeah in my original post I could have added some more background about the 360 and worded a few things differently. However, I never said anywhere that I was trying to scam Costco or just upgrade my system for the hell of it. Those were assumptions everyone made before asking any real questions.

I just wanted to praise Costco for their amazing return policy and let everyone know who is in the same boat as I was that they have other options.
 
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