Costco's Return Policy Was Put to the Test When a Couple Brought in a 5-Year-Old Mattress: 'I Was So Nervous' They wheeled in a $500, five-year-old queen mattress with high hopes and no receipt — and TikTok is loving it.
By Sherin Shibu Edited by Melissa Malamut
Key Takeaways
- A woman and her partner returned a five-year-old queen mattress to Costco.
- Costco accepted it and they used the refund to contribute to the purchase of a new king mattress.
- Costco's return policy states that the company "will refund your purchase price" with a few exceptions.
A woman returned a $499.99 queen mattress to Costco five years after buying it, without a receipt — and Costco accepted the mattress under its generous return policy.
In a TikTok liked almost 20,000 times, @purrfectreads showed how she and her partner wheeled their five-year-old mattress to Costco's return center and received $414.95 back in a Costco gift card. Even though they didn't have a receipt, Costco looked up the purchase on their account and found it in their account history.
The couple said that the mattress was uncomfortable and sunk too much as their reasons for bringing it back.
"I was so nervous," @purrfectreads wrote.
@purrfectreads Desperate times comes for desperate measures ? we decided to try the theory on can you return stuff thats been more than couple years at costco and without a receipt and well it work ? #costcotiktok #costcoreturn#costco #kingbed #noshame #savingmoney ♬ HOOLIGANG - Joey Valence & Brae
The couple used the refund to buy a new king mattress. They ended up paying $300 for a king bed on top of the gift cards.
This TikToker isn't the first to return a product to Costco years after buying it, and also not the first to go viral.
In January, Costco member Jackie Nguyen shared with over two million viewers that she returned a couch she had owned for two and a half years to Costco — without a receipt. She got a full refund for the couch.
Related: Costco Increases Membership Fees Days After Announcing Hourly Employees Are Getting a Raise
Costco's return policy states that the company "will refund your purchase price" with a few exceptions on products like electronics, diamonds, gold bars, and gift cards.
That's not to say that Costco doesn't have consequences for years-old returns. Members who abuse the return policy could see their membership revoked.
Costco did not immediately respond to Entrepreneur's request for comment.
