A woman returned a $499.99 queen mattress to Costco five years after she bought it without a receipt — and Costco accepted the mattress under its bounty return policy.
In one TikTok was liked almost 20,000 times, @purrfectreads shared how she and her partner took their five-year-old mattress to the Costco return center and received $414.95 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 the mattress was uncomfortable and too squishy as their reasons for returning it.
“I was so nervous,” wrote @purrfectreads.
@purrfectreads Desperate times come for desperate measures? we decided to test the theory that you can return things that have been more than two years old with cost and no receipt and well it works? #costcotiktok #cost recovery#cost #king #without shame #save money ♬ HOULIGANG – Joey Valence & Brae
The couple used the refund to buy a new king mattress. They ended up paying $300 for a king bed on gift cards.
This TikToker isn't the first to return a product to Costco years after buying it, and he's also not the first to go viral.
In January, Costco member Jackie Nguyen shared with over two million viewers that she returned a sofa to Costco that she had owned for two and a half years – without a receipt. She received a full refund for the couch.
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Costco's return policy states that the company “will refund your purchase price” with some exceptions for products such as electronics, diamonds, gold bars and gift cards.
That doesn't mean Costco doesn't have consequences for old returns. Members who abuse the return policy can see their membership has been revoked.
Costco did not immediately respond entrepreneurRequest for comment.