Costco Member Sees Returning 2002 Vintage Items During Retailer’s ‘Unlimited Grace Period’ – Should They Be Eligible for a Refund?

A viral photo showing someone returning an old TV from the early 2000s to Costco has once again put the spotlight on the retailer’s much-loved return policy.

The photo shows a vintage Samsung television sitting on an iconic orange Costco flat cart in a store in Pennsylvania.

Costco’s return policy hit the headlines in January when a video surfaced of a woman returning her two-and-a-half-year-old couch without a receipt.

At the time, customers and even staff confirmed that the retailer’s generous policy allowed most items to be returned at any time.

But the return of a two-decade-old TV is another matter that has left even Costco fans stunned. One signed viral post on reddit: ‘This is WILD. 22 years later, who just decides to roll in and return a TV?’

Electronic items must now be returned to Costco within 90 days, but that was not the case until 2007. Pictured is a news item published by the LA Times in 2007

The original poster replied: “You know, after 20 years, I felt like this just wasn’t working for our space.”

Referring to the size of the TV, which has a base with a large speaker and is much deeper than the flat-screen sets most people have today, they added: ‘It probably took 20 years just to find someone to help get it out of their living room.’

The user who posted the photo, which went viral on the r/Costco subreddit, told DailyMail.com they weren’t sure if the refund was issued and that they overheard employees suggesting the original purchase was made in 2002.

The model appears to be a rear projection Samsung HCL552W which was available on the US market in 2002.

‘I didn’t get to see the person(s) who did the actual return,’ the user wrote in a reply to the photo.

‘I just saw the associates treat. Their response was “falls within the guidelines” along with a big shrug.’

The owner of the old TV would have had a strong case for returning it.

Although Costco currently has a policy that electronics must be returned within 90 days of their purchase, that was not the case until 2007 – after the television was allegedly sold.

In a news published by the LA Times in February 2007, titled ‘Costco ends liberal electronics return policy’, it was reported that Costco had been losing ‘tens of millions of dollars’ a year on returned consumer electronics, particularly televisions.

Following the story about the couch being returned in January, DailyMail.com published a full breakdown of Costco’s return policy.

Almost all goods, with some exceptions, can be returned at any time – even without a receipt.

This was backed up by a former employee at Costco’s returns desk, who said the retailer maintains a list of everything a customer has ever bought and returned.

This means they can tell when the lenient policy is being abused, and also that members may not need to show a receipt as proof of purchase.

A TikToker who worked at Costco for six years in the returns department offered some insight into why the store has such a relaxed return policy

Costco is famous for its liberal return policy, which still allows members to return most items at any time. Pictured is a warehouse in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania

It’s not clear if Costco has issued a refund for the vintage Samsung TV. Pictured is a staff member directing customers at a store in Teterboro, New Jersey

When Costco changed its electronics policy in 2007, the LA Times interviewed a police officer who was in the process of returning a plasma TV he bought in 2004 because its colors were fading.

The warehouse in Glendale issued a refund, ‘no questions asked’.

‘It was cool. It was fantastic, he said. ‘It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that someone would abuse it eventually.’

ONE separate report in 2007 published by the Wall Street Journal also covered the end of the “unlimited grace period to return (electronic) purchases for a full refund.”

It noted that “electronic items purchased prior to the implementation of the new 90-day policy can still be returned at any time.”

So luckily for the owner of the vintage Samsung spotted in Pennsylvania this week, the television purchased before 2007 is theoretically eligible for a refund.

DailyMail.com wrote to Costco to find out if a refund was issued for the television, but did not immediately receive a response.