<p>Just a week shy of a year ago I bought a GPS system for our car on-line from Costco.com. We really liked it but it stopped working a couple of weeks ago. I actually found the receipt and called Costco up and was offered a free UPS pick-up or I could return it at the store. I also asked about getting it fixed and she gave me Garmin’s phone number. With the way prices are going down while the quality is going up, it only made sense to return it and get a new one.</p>
<p>I told the customer service person that I didn’t have the box or instructions any longer but she said not to worry about that. So I stuck everything I did have, along with the receipt and went to Costco. When I got to the desk I found out that I should have also brought a cord that attaches the GPS to the computer. Guess what - even without the cord, the software disc or the box they gave me a 100% refund. Of course I had to buy my new Garmin (I got the nuvi 1490t) there just in case it commits suicide too. Kind of fun getting an upgraded Garmin for $80 less then I had originally spent! This is the service that makes me want to buy the more expensive things at Costco.</p>
<p>Just the reason we purchase all big items at Costco. We had the same experience with an iPod, returning a defective one and buying a newer model for less money! My BIL has the same experience as you did with a camera; he was missing something from the box, but they took it back anyway. The newer version was $50 cheaper with tons of new features.</p>
<p>Our flatscreen died short of 3 years. Couldn’t find the receipt but did note the purchase date on the manual. Costco got on their computer, found the purchase, Ok’d their warranty and referred us to the manufacturer for repair-which took us many hours and a week to convince them that the TV died and their solutions are not working. The manufacturer did send out a repairman and the bad electronic board replaced quickly.</p>
<p>Somemom, Costco’s stated policy is that you can return it anytime for any reason (I believe opened electronics have a different policy, though). For your unopened item, you shouldn’t have any problem.</p>
<p>We just this summer asked if the return policy would apply to our grill. They said, yes–even though we had already tried to repair the defective burner by replacing it. We did not need to locate the receipt (a couple years old), they said they’d just look it up on the computer.</p>
<p>We brought the couple-years old grill back, they looked it up, credited our card, and we bought a new grill. Hubby was quite pleased.</p>
<p>I do need to check into the electronics policy, though, as our daughter’s TV and DVD player have gone on the blink after less than two years of occasional use.</p>
<p>Electronics are now 90 days, but at my locations they have been very generous. If you purchased something before they change the policy, your items is grandfathered in so you will still have forever to return it!</p>
<p>I can see why they’ve made electronics 90 days. Some college kids learned that they could buy a television at Costco at the beginning of the school year and return it at the end.</p>
<p>Just checked it out on their site…
Yes, the RETURN policy for ‘selected electronics’ is now only 90 days…that will thwart obnoxious schemes like 3bm103 mentions.<br>
Still good enough for more honest folk.</p>
<p>AND they still do double the manufacturer warranty on TVs, computers, and projectors.
The inexpensive HP desktop we bought online is wonderful and the 2 yr warranty convinced us to purchase via costco.</p>
<p>Yes, the 90 days is for returns, the warranty is still doubled if they told you that (I thought they only did that if you used their AX credit card). So maybe it’s 2 years regular and 3 if you use their AX card.</p>
<p>I love Costco for many reasons including…</p>
<p>Their no receipt needed return policy </p>
<p>Great prices</p>
<p>Incredible quality and value of their Kirkland brand products. (still can’t find canned tuna of such consistently high quality as theirs anywhere)</p>
<p>Every food item… Fresh, Frozen, or packaged… is an excellent choice. </p>
<p>Costco online</p>
<p>Great Tires and Tire Service. </p>
<p>And the biggest unexpected bonus — a small selection of very high quality products that let me choose quickly from among the best products in the category. *** Before Costco I checked consumer reports for any purchase over say $100. so that I knew the difference between a lousy, good and great product based on facts and not just how pretty it looked or how much it cost. At Costco they might carry 6 vacuums (or whatever) instead of 30 at some other stores, but the 6 they carry are the best in the category, and the other 24 that they don’t carry are often junk. I saves me so much time and energy to just go to Costco and choose from what they carry knowing it will be a great product in the first place and if for any reason I don’t think so, they take it back no questions asked…</p>
<p>— AND THE ONLY THING I would be careful about purchasing at Costco is computers. Because they buy in such large quantiles (I assume), it seems to me that their computers are often older (older model) and more expensive that is available elsewhere. It might have been a good computer and a good price when it was first ordered by Costco but the same computer selling at the same price would be considered slow and overpriced 6 months later and Costco just doesn’t seem to do well in keeping up with changes in the prices and technology of computers. My experience is that most consumer electronic stores have better deals on better computers than Costco).</p>
<p>Three years ago I purchased two Sonicare toothbrushes. H and I liked them so much that within a month of the first purchase we bought a set for D and S. I was irritated when the both brushes from the first set died within two years. However, since we liked them so much I just bought another set. Well, two more brushes died (D which was now over 3 years old and mine which was shy of one year old). At this point I was miffed since they run about $100/set. </p>
<p>A call to Philips (the manufacturer) was useless. Basically, I was told - they can last up to 8 years but hey, guess I was not one of the lucky ones. They offered me a coupon for my next purchase.</p>
<p>I called Costco and explained the problem. I even mentioned that I was a bit embarrassed by the age of the product and was not one of those people who brought back big screen TV’s after the Super Bowl or BBQ’s after the 4th. She laughed and said just bring it all back. It WAS important to have all the original parts - not necessarily the packaging. Got a full refund. Yep. I love Costco.</p>
<p>When I was returning my GPS yesterday, the Costco customer service person told me of someone she knew who had her GPS stolen and Costco replaced it for free because she had bought it with her AmEx card. I thought I remembered hearing that benefit when I got the card but sort of brushed it off. Has anyone done that before - replaced a stolen item for free with AmEx?</p>
<p>Costco is the Nordstrom of wholesale clubs; their return policy and service are amazing. DH’s opthalmologist mistyped DH’s prescription, and only after getting his glasses DH figured out that there was something wrong with his prescription. Costco took back his glasses without any questions and replaced the $80 super-duper lenses for free, even though it was not their fault and the doctor who mistyped the prescription was not affiliated with Costco!</p>
<p>Our son, age 24, probably wouldn’t buy a laptop at Costco.
He has specific components he ‘has’ to have and since he’s paying for it, he’ll customize a system from Dell or wherever.</p>
<p>We, the rest of the family, usually drive a computer into the ground and replace it only when it really dies, after 5 or 6 years.
Our needs are modest and a midrange PC after our dinosaur is actually amazing.
The preconfigured HP we got from Costco was less than $450 delivered.
Much more storage, RAM, bells and whistles than we were used to.</p>
<p>AND a 2 yr warranty.
Pretty much disposal if it dies after that. Son actually canabalized our last PC so we disposed of very little.</p>
<p>DH and I remember our first PC back in 1984ish, it was over $1200!!!
How old are we??? (Don’t answer that)</p>
<p>Our plasma tv developed a several inch thick black line that ran the length of the set. This was about 2 days after the 2 year warranty ran out. We didn’t even think to call Costco until about 2 weeks later; though they didn’t say they’d fix it, they were the ones to check with us to see if we purchased with the Costco Amex card. We did and then we dealt with Amex on it. Amex was AMAZING! They paid for the diagnostics (a person of our choosing, not theirs), then the attempt to repair (actually replacing a board; that didn’t work), then they refunded us the entire cost of the TV. Not the cost to replace it, they refunded us what we paid. We actually were able to replace the tv with a better model for less money. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find what we wanted at Costco this time around, so we did Best Buy (and paid for the ext. warranty, which I almost never do, but have heard that this is not an uncommon problem with plasma tvs.) And you better believe I used my Amex to buy it! I can’t say enough good things about how they handled this issue.</p>
<p>Does anyone know what Costco does when a printer malfunctions? I bought an HP bundled computer/printer from Costco online last November, on my Costco Amex card. I recently had a paper jam which I fixed but now the paper doesn’t feed into the printer. It keeps saying it is empty. I have the receipt but nothing in the materials says anything about warranties.</p>
<p>silvervestersmom, (that’s a hard screen name to type fast!), I would suggest just taking it in if you live close enough. If you would be making a special trip, I would call the customer service and see what they say. I called first since I don’t live close and only went when I found out that I would get a refund.</p>