Costco customer returns an old mattress after using it for 5 years because why not, right?

More than cheap hotdogs, free samples, and discounts, Costco members are elated about its generous return policy that even allows them to return items years later. The internet is filled with stories of miraculous returns, and a member tries to put the policy to the test every now and then. One such story shocked the internet when a couple tried to return a five-year-old mattress back to the store. 

Last year, Costco member and TikTok user, Areli (@purrfectreads), along with her husband, took a queen-size mattress back to the store after using it for five long years. Furthermore, she documented the audacious attempt to share the result with her viewers. In the video, Areli and her partner are seen parked outside a store with the mattress on top of the car. They then unloaded it, put it on Costco's signature flatbed cart, and pushed it inside the store to return it. “We returned our 5-year-old mattress back to Costco,” a text overlay on the video read.

While the user knew how generous the store's policy was, she still wrote “I was so nervous,” in another text overlay. The video then showed the user claiming that the return went through successfully and she even shared a picture of the receipt to prove it. Even the user couldn't believe that it went through. “I can’t believe they accepted the return,” she further wrote. The receipt indicated that the store had approved the refund of $414. This meant that the couple were able to use the mattress for half a decade for free. The video then showed the Costco workers taking their old mattresses to the back. “And then we see our old mattress being taken away to the back,” she wrote.

The couple decided to spend their balance immediately on a new mattress. “We upgraded to a King of course,” the user wrote, showing off the mattress standing up in her home as the video ended.

The user clarified in the caption why they had to make the bold return attempt. “Desperate times come for desperate measures we decided to try the theory on can you return stuff that has been more than couple years at Costco and without a receipt and well it works,” she wrote. 

Areli isn't the only member to test the store's policy. In 2023, another TikTok creator Jackie Nguyen shared a similar video showing how she successfully returned a two-and-a-half-year-old couch to Costco. To make things interesting, Nguyen did not have a receipt or a straightforward reason for returning the couch. Despite this, the store accepted the return and refunded her in full.

While these cases are astonishing, turns out that trust and loyalty are a two-way street. According to a report from The US Sun, Costco can deny returns if members try to abuse the policies, by making frequent returns due to various reasons.

For more updates and entertaining content, follow Areli (@purrfectreads) on TikTok.