Talk about the cost of doing business.
A shameless Costco shopper put the popular warehouse retailer’s generous return policy to the test – and tested the patience of social media watchers – by lugging a three-year-old sofa back to her local store.
California-based real estate agent Jasmen Reyes recently publicly demonstrated the limits of the warranty with a video posted to her TikTok account in which she attempts to return the unwanted furniture – said to be valued at about $1,400.
Reyes followed the lead of someone who had just returned a five-year-old mattress to the wholesaler, wanting to find out how serious the Issaquah, Washington-based retailer was about taking responsibility for its product.
“We guarantee your satisfaction with every product we sell and will refund your purchase price,” the online policy states.
Apart from electronic items, which have a 90-day return period, and specialty items such as jewelry, the wholesaler is known for its generous return policy.
But things apparently didn’t go quite so smoothly: According to Reyes, she encountered considerable resistance from the store, even though she had called beforehand and announced that she would stop by.
Employees “tried to make excuses” to prevent returns, Reyes claimed, starting with a manager who told her no furniture would be returned that day.
Then, Reyes explained in her video clip, the employees allegedly haggled over some stains on the merchandise that Reyes’ son had left by scribbling a little on the sofa – a minor blemish that, according to the calm mother, “can be washed away.”
Reyes also said she showed the restrained staff where the stitches were coming apart and said, “They’re starting to tear.”
Numerous commentators online seemed as excited about Reyes’ return attempt as the store employees.
“I have had the sofas you returned since 2016 without any problems,” said a passerby.
“It sounds like you’re just being rough with your furniture,” she said with her tongue.
“It’s all about me, me, me,” sniffed another. “Go to the landfill.”
“It’s time to buy new ones three years later and not return them,” one person suggested.
“This audacity,” remarked another viewer.
“Does that make you feel good?” someone else asked challengingly.
“If they don’t want returns, they should deliver better quality,” Reyes shrugged in response to one of her critics.
“They ended up doing the return,” she said, saying she used her credit on a newer sofa at the store. She criticized the store, saying that “their employees need to be better trained.”
But it may have been a Pyrrhic victory, because in the end the savvy consumer admitted that she missed her old sofa.
“They’re not as comfortable as my old ones, which I’m going to miss,” Reyes said. “But they’re still really cute.”
