Apparently, Costco’s notoriously generous return policy doesn’t apply to this guy, but why?
People have returned a series of used, broken, and half-eaten merchandise and have been able to get their money back with no hassle.
But when this guy tried to make his first-ever return, he was turned away.
Costco denies return
In a video with more than 90,000 views, business owner Dave Collenberg calls out Costco for not honoring its famous return policy.
“I’m only returning 20% of what I bought,” Collenberg states in the text overlay.
Collenberg says he bought more than a thousand totes (also referred to as plastic storage bins), but about 300 of them are “no good.”
But when he tried to return them to Costco, he says they denied him.
In the video, Collenberg has a very long flatbed with stacked plastic containers.
Now, it seems there was some controversy going on in the comment section because Collenberg turned off comments. In a follow-up video, he addresses people who said there was “a LOT more to this story.”
In the follow-up, the bins did seem used, but it’s unclear if they arrived to him like that, and that’s why he wants to return them, or if he was just trying to be like the dozens of other people who’ve gone viral returning used merchandise to the big box retailer.
The Daily Dot could not confirm the plastic bins’ price on the Costco site since they’re only sold through the business center. But Home Depot has similar ones. They sell for $10 each, meaning Collenberg was trying to get about $3,000 back from Costco.
In a comment, Collenberg said he’s spent “100 of thousands of dollars” with the retailer, so he was taken aback that they’d deny his “only return ever.”
“I’ll take my business elsewhere,” he said.
What is Costco’s return policy known for?
Costco boasts a “risk-free 100% satisfaction guarantee.”
“We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell, and will refund your purchase price,” the site states.
Sometimes, they don’t even need your receipt to process the return; instead, they can look up purchases from your membership card.
One person returned a stinky 3-year-old rug that was falling apart. Another returned cat food without the original bag because their furry friend stopped liking it. And others returned fully eaten steak and chicken that just had the bones left.
While most items, including food, are returnable, here are the listed exceptions:
- Gift cards
- Specific electronics have a 90-day return window
- Diamonds must have all their original paperwork and will need to go through an authentication process
- Cigarettes and alcohol
- Products with a limited useful life expectancy (like tires and batteries)
- Custom items
- Plane and event tickets
- Gold bullion, gold bars, and silver coins
Commenters react
“So glad Costco turned you away those totes are old and useless to Costco,” a commenter wrote.
“They should give him the refund. Specially if he’s willing to take store credit like he said,” another said.
“Why don’t you try it at a different Costco maybe it was just the employee,” a person suggested.
@farmndave Costco doesn’t honor there return policy make it viral #costco#fyp#oregon ♬ original sound – Farmn Dave
The Daily Dot reached out to Collenberg for comment via email and TikTok direct message and to Costco via email.
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