ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / NEWS

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

This may be a new TikTok record for using a Costco item for the longest time before returning it.
PUBLISHED JAN 25, 2025
Screenshots showing the couple trying to return the old mattress (Cover image source: TikTok/@arely_smar)
Screenshots showing the couple trying to return the old mattress (Cover image source: TikTok/@arely_smar)

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. 

Unsplash | Photo by Marcus Reubenstein
Representative image of a Costco store front (Image source: Unsplash | Photo by Marcus Reubenstein)

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.

Screenshots showing the mattress (Image source: TikTok/@arely_smar)
Screenshots showing the mattress (Image source: TikTok/@arely_smar)

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.

Screenshots showing the receipt and the new mattress (Image source: TikTok/@arely_smar)
Screenshots showing the receipt and the new mattress (Image source: TikTok/@arely_smar)

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. 


@arely_smar Desperate times comes for desperate measures 🛌 we decided to try the theory on can you return stuff thats been more than couple years at costco and without a receipt and well it work 😀 #costcotiktok #costcoreturn#costco #kingbed #noshame #savingmoney ♬ HOOLIGANG - Joey Valence & Brae

 

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.


@nextshark

Tiktoker Jackie Nguyen was able to return her couch to Costco after 2.5 years 😯

♬ original sound - NextShark

 

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.

RELATED TOPICS COSTCO
MORE ON MARKET REALIST
Seacrest was so astonished that he had to test the contestant's strength right then and there.
17 hours ago
Drew Carey is quite a sensation when it comes to performing viral dance trends.
18 hours ago
The guest initially expected her grandmother's painting to be worth a couple hundred dollars.
19 hours ago
The creators of the show apparently went too far with the joke but tried to make up for it too.
1 day ago
The TikTok creator claimed that the recalled products are widely used by low-income and middle-class families.
1 day ago
The star was stopped midway by his partner while fans loved the look.
1 day ago
Viewers couldn't believe what they saw and some even suggested it could be a prank.
1 day ago
Cuban offered the entrepreneur a "geek to geek" offer that he couldn't refuse.
1 day ago
Reports suggest that the anti-theft measures are causing hostility between shoppers and workers.
2 days ago
Seemed like inflation has been eating into the nuggets sold by Walmart under Great Value.
2 days ago
The entrepreneur shared that it was a habit of his to reward the people who worked hard for him.
3 days ago
Pointing at the shelf full of Great Value Orange Juice, the creator said that the brand is trying to fool people.
3 days ago
For the contestant named Linda, the deal was further sweetened as she got to meet a celebrity.
4 days ago
When it was her turn to play, Mama Doris went blank on the fifth answer costing her team.
4 days ago
She herself couldn't believe that she had come up with a solution that seemed impossible.
4 days ago
Carey called the aspiring actor a 'future star' while celebrating his win on the show.
4 days ago
Kimmel successfully bagged a multimillion dollar deal as well.
4 days ago
He got too close to the contestant but she played along while the audience laughed awkwardly.
5 days ago