I Returned an Ancient Keurig to Costco. Here's What Happened

Putting Costco's generous return policy to the test really paid off.

A very long time ago, I bought a Keurig coffee machine from Costco. I set it up and it never really worked right, so I was going to return it to the store for another one.

Unfortunately, shortly after I purchased it, I moved. The item ended up getting stuck in a box for years since the box got pushed to the back of the basement and not unpacked for some reason. When I moved again and found it, I was pretty upset that I had put over $100 on my credit card for an item that didn't work and was out the money since I'd forgotten to follow through with the return.

Then, I remembered Costco's great return policy. With some exceptions (such as for electronics and large appliances), Costco guarantees your satisfaction and accepts returns -- generally with no time limit.

I wasn't sure if the Keurig would be considered an appliance or an electronic device, and it had been years since I bought it, but I decided to take it into the store and explain what happened and see if they would take it back. Here's what happened when I did.

Costco's return process amazed me

When I took my ancient Keurig back to Costco with me, it was years outdated and had been replaced by many newer models. I was also no longer a Costco member. So, I didn't have very high hopes for actually being able to return the item.

Still, I explained to the customer service associate exactly what had happened with the unit. Much to my amazement, she was very sympathetic. She understood what had happened and she said that Costco's return policy was there to make sure customers were happy. Since I wasn't happy, they would make it right and accept a return.

I did have to get a store gift card for the value of the Keurig rather than getting money back directly, but that was just fine with me. They were actually able to look up the purchase price that I had paid for the Keurig years ago and put the entire amount on a gift card -- well over $100.

Since I am no longer a Costco member, I wasn't sure how I would be able to spend it. But the customer service associate let me know that I could just shop with the gift card in store despite not having a membership.

I was able to take the gift card with me to buy a brand new Keurig (which had come down considerably in price since my initial purchase) and had money left over to take advantage of some of Costco's other great deals.

Costco's return policy is a big reason to shop there

There are lots of good reasons to shop at Costco, but the store's generous return policy and commitment to customer satisfaction is definitely near the top of the list. The fact that the store took back a years-old Keurig from me without any complaints or questions really convinced me that they do care about my shopping experience.

In a day and age when good customer service can be hard to come by, this really helps to set Costco apart from the crowd and can be enough by itself to make the store's membership fees well worth paying.