Here's all the crazy shit people have tried to return at Costco

Illustration for article titled Here&#39;s all the crazy shit people have tried to return at Costco
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How do we love Costco? Let us count the ways. One of our favorite aspects of the big-box store is its return policy, which generally sides in favor of the customer and doesn’t make you feel like a jerk even when you’re returning an entire set of patio furniture a month after buying it. But we should rest easy, because patio furniture is totally not weird compared to some of the 100-percent bananas items that customers have tried to return over the years.


The Kitchn rounded up the best replies to a Reddit thread that asked Costco employees what strange items they’d seen shoppers return. Give the whole list a read, because the gall with which Americans will return items that are obviously decades old and/or already used is a thing of wonder.

A few highlights:

  • A dog bed that had been used for 7 years, complete with dog hair and dander
  • A congealed mass of melted gummy bears someone had left in a car
  • A dead Christmas tree, returned in January because it had died

Did they get their refunds? Inquiring minds really need to know. (In the case of the molten gummy bears, apparently the shopper did get her money back.) This makes us even further appreciate what a beautiful, trusting place Costco is. “Oh, you’d like to return this hibachi grill that very clearly was used to cook cheeseburgers last night? No problem at all! And here, please have a free sample.”


Seriously, give The Kitchn’s piece a read, ideally while noshing on a $1.50 food-court hot dog.



The guy at Lowe’s once suggested that I just buy both faucets and return the one I didn’t like. I asked if it would be an issue if it was out of the box. He said “no, we’ll take anything back. I think there’s a ‘74 Cadillac back there that someone returned.”