Costco customer returned $1,400 playground set from 2008 simply because his 'kids grew up'

Apart from offering great discounts on a variety of products, Costco is famous for its more than liberal return policy. There have been several viral stories where people have returned products that were years old. A similar but unique story from a Costco worker went viral earlier this year. In the video, @psychoz28 explains how a customer successfully returned a $1,400 play set simply because his kids grew up.

Borrowing a $1,400 Playset for 14 years 

In a video that now has over 2.3 million views, the worker shares that he had been working at Costco for over 5 years and has serviced multiple sections of the store. He says that he used to work at the 'Membership' section which he says is basically the customer service section.

He says in the section there are several planks that inform customers about their return policy. He explains that merchandise bought by members could be returned anytime and there are only some exceptions like electronics which need to be returned within 90 days. 

Recalling one incident, the worker says he was called to the Membership area to assist a customer with a return. “I see a guy standing there with one of those orange flatbed carts. It has a whole bunch of pieces to a playground set,” he recalls. He then says that he had to help the customer find the receipt for the play set as he wanted to return it.  

Once he found the receipt in the system, he realized that the playset was bought in 2008 for $1,399. “I look at him and I ask, ‘What’s the reason for return?’”  To this, the customer replies that he was returning it because his "kids grew up“. The worker recounts that there was a 16-17-year-old pushing the cart who might have been one of his kids.

Unbelievably, the Costco store had to accept the return as it fell under their policy. “It’s allowed to go through because it’s customer satisfaction first at Costco,” the TikToker says. However, he does mention that he had to check if the customer had previously abused the policy to make money, in which case his return may have been denied. 

Since he hadn't done so, the customer was he was able to return the item. “This guy essentially borrowed a $1,400 play set for his kid. It’s crazy how much Costco cares about their members," the creator says. 

For more such interesting videos follow @psychoz28 on TikTok. 

Costco's generous return policy

In another viral case, a woman was successfully able to return a couch after using it for 2-and-a-half years. Shopper and TikTok creator Jackie Nguyen explained that she wanted to return the couch as she didn't like the color anymore. 

In the viral video, she documents the entire process and like the customer with the play set, she too was able to return the couch without a receipt. She walked out of the store with a full refund as a happy and satisfied Costco member. 

While the policy is generous, there are certain rules and limitations to it. In a Motley Fool report, Maurie Backman who spoke to an employee explains that customers are flagged if they try to abuse the system. The report mentions that if someone tries to return multiple items within a short time frame with bogus reasons, not only their returns could be denied but they could be at risk of losing their membership.