Strange return experience at Costco

[Golden sunsets]

Just a few comments on the eyewear industry. DD is a sunglass designer. She works for the major competitor which just merged with Luxotica. Headquarters are now in France. Virtually all eyewear are cloned products that may look alike but in reality are sourced from China with very different cost specs and then sold under different brand names, but are not identical in quality. In order to get into a store like Costco, or Walmart, the store tells the company (whether it is Luxotica, Essilor or a smaller vendor ) how much they will be paid per scu. The vendor, no matter who it is then uses materials (100% sourced from China) that fit the pricing that is dictated to them. If the vendors don't accept the pricing limitations they won't get the business. So the materials in glasses may very well not be the same in the Costco pair as the same brand sold in Bergdorfs or some other high end department store, despite the licensed name, such as Rayban or Maui Jim or fill in the blank. There are huge differences between "value", "mid tier" and "luxury" styles, all of which try to emulate the same trends and shapes that are popular.


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[Music Lover]

Good sunglasses are expensive. Honestly I agree with the sales person. 12-18 months of use for a $60 pair of sunglasses seems very reasonable. It would not occur to me to return such an old reasonably priced item after such long period of use. I think return policies can sometimes be too loose and of course we all end up paying more for the price of goods.

I can take thousands of steps a day with my full body weight on a pair of $60 runners and they'll also last 12 - 18 months.

Glasses sit on your head and receive virtually NO wear. They should last at least a decade or more without wearing out.

 

[Ready]

It's always interesting to see the variety of perspectives on this forum. I will almost always avoid returning things because I just don't want to deal with the hassle. So if I do decide to return an item it's because I feel in principle the item should have lasted longer than it did.

When I was in line to return the sunglasses, there were two people in front of me. The first one was returning a half eaten box of Cheerios. The second one returned a fully cooked piece of steak that he thought had too much fat in it. Of course they took both items back without issue. I would have felt really foolish returning either of those items.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Did you or Costco have the necessary proof that you were within the 10 year warranty? My guess is that most people could not find their receipt after a year or two if their life depended on it.

I returned an electric pencil sharpener without a receipt. The Costco clerk looked up the record of the sale on the computer at their service desk. It was maybe a year after the sale -- I don't know why they wouldn't have similar records going back several years.

 

[ERD50]

Just a few comments on the eyewear industry.

... So the materials in glasses may very well not be the same in the Costco pair as the same brand sold in Bergdorfs or some other high end department store, ...

OK, thanks for the insider info, but how does the consumer distinguish (may not be the same, or are not the same?)? Costco does seem to push vendors for high quality at a low(er) price. If I go by price alone, I can't I tell real value from a high markup.

-ERD50

 

[Letj]

I can take thousands of steps a day with my full body weight on a pair of $60 runners and they'll also last 12 - 18 months.



Glasses sit on your head and receive virtually NO wear. They should last at least a decade or more without wearing out.

You can also drop your glasses, step on them, sit on them. If there’s an obvious defect in workmanship, that’s very different from normal wear and tear and damages not related to normal use.

 

[MooreBonds]

Did she tell you what they do with the returns?

I asked my local Kohl's store this question and was told return items are "not" put back on the shelf. Yet, I have seen items for sale at Kohl's that were obviously used, including items labeled with another store's brand.

Do they allow customers to take them to the fitting rooms? Could have been someone that did a 'switch out' in the fitting room with the bra she wore into the store, to take home a new one...

 

[Letj]

When I was in line to return the sunglasses, there were two people in front of me. The first one was returning a half eaten box of Cheerios. The second one returned a fully cooked piece of steak that he thought had too much fat in it. Of course they took both items back without issue. I would have felt really foolish returning either of those items.

OMG. That’s the craziness those type of return policies invite. And who pays for all of that?

 

[JoeWras]

When I was in line to return the sunglasses, there were two people in front of me. The first one was returning a half eaten box of Cheerios. The second one returned a fully cooked piece of steak that he thought had too much fat in it. Of course they took both items back without issue. I would have felt really foolish returning either of those items.

That is so off the scale to me I'm having a hard time believing you... except... my sister worked in retail and has those stories. So I believe you. Cheerios? Really? Sheesh.

 

[Ready]

That is so off the scale to me I'm having a hard time believing you... except... my sister worked in retail and has those stories. So I believe you. Cheerios? Really? Sheesh.

It was pretty funny to watch actually. The guy returning the steak had to be in his late 70s or early 80s. He brought the steak back in a garbage bag and took it out onto the counter where it dripped all over the place. He then went on and on telling the cashier how he had four different people try the steak and they all agreed it wasn't good. I could tell the cashier was ready to just give him the credit and move on but she didn't want to interrupt him, so he continued talking about what a good cook he was and if the steak came out this bad it had to be because it was bad meat. It was pretty entertaining.

 

[Ready]

OMG. That’s the craziness those type of return policies invite. And who pays for all of that?

I'm not sure anyone does. You could argue that a store with a generous return policy has to make up for it with higher prices, but Costco seems to defy that logic by having both the most generous return policy of any store I shop at, and the lowest prices on virtually everything I buy there.

And, they are a profitable business known for providing decent pay and benefits and being a good place to work. So with all of the craziness around the returns, it all just seems to work out best for everyone.

Perhaps the vendors ultimately take the hit since they have to credit the returns back to Costco, but vendors will do anything to get Costco to carry their products because the volume is so high that even with the generous returns their business skyrockets once Costco begins selling their products.

 

[harley]

You can also drop your glasses, step on them, sit on them. If there’s an obvious defect in workmanship, that’s very different from normal wear and tear and damages not related to normal use.

I don't think anybody would consider stepping or sitting on your glasses normal use. I believe the OP implied what most would consider defects. Peeling rubber and cracking, assuming there wasn't a lot of abuse, would be considered defective by me. I'm not sure I would return them after 12-18 months, but I'd certainly not buy that brand again. And maybe I would return them, especially if I was going to Costco anyway.

I know a lot of people abuse return policies, but I still think the clerk was out of line in the OP. Now, that cooked steak return might rightfully draw some comments, but the sunglasses should have just been taken back.

 

[tb001]

To the question of who pays, part of the reason I shop at Costco is because of their generous return policy. For every moron returning a cooked steak, there are probably several people buying random products they might not if they couldn’t return.

 

[CoolRich59]

When I was in line to return the sunglasses, there were two people in front of me. The first one was returning a half eaten box of Cheerios. The second one returned a fully cooked piece of steak that he thought had too much fat in it. Of course they took both items back without issue. I would have felt really foolish returning either of those items.

I can easily believe this. When I was in high school I worked in a grocery store and got to see these kind of people every day. In fact, it convinced me way back then that whatever career I chose, it would be one where I did not have to deal with the general public.

 

[travelover]

To the question of who pays, part of the reason I shop at Costco is because of their generous return policy. For every moron returning a cooked steak, there are probably several people buying random products they might not if they couldn’t return.

Me. too. Given a choice at the same price, I always buy at Costco. It is no risk for me, then. If it doesn't work out I can return it, which I almost never do.

 

[Amethyst]

Me, I would have been so fed up, standing in line listening to such babble. Preserve me from ever getting to be like that.

He went on and on telling the cashier how he had four different people try the steak and they all agreed it wasn't good...he continued talking about what a good cook he was and if the steak came out this bad it had to be because it was bad meat.

 

[Amethyst]

+2. $60 is more than cheapo drugstore sunglasses, but it’s also far from the cost of good sunglasses - closer to $150-250 IME. You probably got your money’s worth, and there’s no way the store can know how they were cared for, e.g. the frame didn’t just spontaneously crack.

 

[Sue J]

Not Costco and not sunglasses.

We bought a toilet from Home Depot. We used it for 8 months and the flush always seemed weak. DH adjusted everything in the back that he thought would help. Finally I took a mirror and looked under the rim, where the water is supposed to flow from the tank to the bowl. What I found was that around half of the holes were not open, they were formed incorrectly. No wonder the flush was so weak!

I didn’t have the receipt but I did have a credit card statement. I took the USED TOILET back to Home Depot and explained. I was very surprised that they gave me a full credit card refund!

I left there and went to Lowe’s and got a different toilet. We still have that one.

 

[aja8888]

Not Costco and not sunglasses.

We bought a toilet from Home Depot. We used it for 8 months and the flush always seemed weak. DH adjusted everything in the back that he thought would help. Finally I took a mirror and looked under the rim, where the water is supposed to flow from the tank to the bowl. What I found was that around half of the holes were not open, they were formed incorrectly. No wonder the flush was so weak!

I didn’t have the receipt but I did have a credit card statement. I took the USED TOILET back to Home Depot and explained. I was very surprised that they gave me a full credit card refund!

I left there and went to Lowe’s and got a different toilet. We still have that one.

That must have been the new "low flow" design for water saving!

 

[Walt34]

Glasses sit on your head and receive virtually NO wear. They should last at least a decade or more without wearing out.

How about four decades? I paid $50 for a nice pair of sunglasses in 1978 and still have them, they work fine. They have a lifetime guarantee but I have no idea if that store is still there, probably not.

I have to admit that I think I've gotten my nickel's worth from them.

 

[Ronnieboy]

It was pretty funny to watch actually. The guy returning the steak had to be in his late 70s or early 80s. He brought the steak back in a garbage bag and took it out onto the counter where it dripped all over the place. He then went on and on telling the cashier how he had four different people try the steak and they all agreed it wasn't good. I could tell the cashier was ready to just give him the credit and move on but she didn't want to interrupt him, so he continued talking about what a good cook he was and if the steak came out this bad it had to be because it was bad meat. It was pretty entertaining.

Having worked at a Costco I can tell you that is just the tip of the iceberg. People definitely take advantage of the return policy. Buy a live xmas tree before the holiday, return dead xmas tree after the holiday because it died.

Had someone return their yellow pee (and other) stained mattress b/c it didn't last xx years. Someone returned one of those 'bury under the ground' electronic dog fences for their yard, years later because their dog died.
Cakes, party platters, rolls, get returned because they over bought for their party/wedding/bar mitzvah. They obviously can't be resold and will have to be scrapped.

The electronic policy was changed because as described in an earlier post people would return years old electronics and by a better newer one for cheaper. Apple products (ipads, laptops) would get returned when the newer version came out.

I think over time the employees take it personally when people abuse the program so that is why you get some reluctance and dirty looks. Trust me that if there is a regular abuser then Costco has no problem returning their membership monies and asking the person not to shop there anymore.

Yes, everyone ends up paying for for returns, whether it be the manufacturer who has to raise prices due to accepting the returns from Costco or Costco having to raise prices to cover the cost of the returns (they are in business to make money).

Personally I rarely return anything and if I do it is something that either didn't fit clothes-wise or something that broke in the first few tries of using it and is an obvious manufacturing defect. If two or three of the nectarines/apples go bad before the case is eaten, it gets thrown away. When my florescent bulbs didn't last the 15,000 hours they said they would I got rid of them instead of trying to return them.

Maybe that's why I am not retired yet

 

[FUEGO]

Screw costco and their $60 sunglasses!

I accidentally stole a few pairs of Elvex Avion safety glasses from work when they fired me (well, they were in my trunk since they were safety gear required on the job site and no way I'm driving back downtown to hand them over!). Oops.

6-7 years later and the one pair I wear all the time is still almost brand new. UV protection and ballistic impact protection. Not the prettiest but it's very functional and covers a wide angle so it's nice and dark. I've taken them all over the world several times without incident.

Best thing is, I googled the glasses and they appear to be $4 online. They've lasted a lot longer than the $10-15 pairs I usually get from Walmart.

 

[rick55]

My former brother in law returned a sofa and loveseat after 2 YEARS because he wasnt thrilled with it, and they took it back.

I do believe the pharmacy and optical depts are not part of costco, thats why non members can buy items from them.

 

[debbie95054]

I buy a lot of stuff from Costco, and I rarely return things even if they are defective or unsatisfactory. It's just not worth the time and hassle to me. I see a lot of people abusing the policy and I don't want to be like that.

But this week I had two pairs of sunglasses break on me, both purchased from Costco. In one case the frame cracked, and the other case the rubber coating on both stems just peeled off. The pairs were 12 and 18 months old. I still have sunglasses that I bought 20 years ago that are perfectly usable, so it seemed very odd to me that these would fail so soon.

So I brought them back to the Costco. I stood in the returns line only to find out that sunglasses have to be returned to the optical department. So then I brought them over to optical and asked to return them.

The woman looked at the first pair and said to me that I could easily glue these back together and they will be fine. So I asked her "do sunglasses have a different return policy than other Costco items"? She gave me a bit of a dirty look and told me that I should only expect to get 12-18 months of use out of sunglasses.

One of the pairs was almost $60, and I told her that I thought for $60 they really should last longer. She gave me another look and told me that $60 is nothing for sunglasses. I was really beginning to feel like I was being put in my place for a) paying so little for the sunglasses, and b) expecting them to last more than 12-18 months.

I stood firm and she eventually told me she would make a "one time" exception and took them back. But I left the store feeling really weird about Costco.

I went to the Big 5 Sporting Goods store where I've bought sunglasses for the past 30 years and bought two nice pairs of Serengetti's there. I guess I won't be buying sunglasses at Costco any more.

Has anyone else had a weird experience trying to return an item to Costco lately?

I would be embarrassed to return anything that old regardless. Retail has a hard-enough time staying afloat because people shop for sport and return all the time expecting the retailer to give them something new. I don’t return very often because I read the warranty and return information on the packaging and the store. BUYER BEWARE!!! And Oh, by way! KEEP YOUR RECEIPTS FOR WARRANTY!

 

[Toddtheformeraccountant]

+1 let’s return underwear with skid marks [emoji4]