Costco sells pretty much anything anyone could ever want to get their hands on, from groceries to electronics, right through to clothes, and even solar panels.
Costco is a one-stop shop for all consumables and there’s no wonder it’s the fourth most popular store in the US turning over more than $200b a year.
One of the lesser spoken-about goods Costco sells is luggage. They now stock a range of suitcases, bags, satchels (including handbags), and other luggage items.
If you’ve purchased luggage from Costco, perhaps for a vacation you’re going on or have been on and want to make a return, then you might be wondering what their returns policy is for luggage items.
To help you out with that, we’ve taken a good look at Costco’s luggage return policy and have covered what it is, what the returns window is, how to make a return, and have compared its policy with its main competitors.
Let’s take a look…
Costco Luggage Return Policy. In Short
If you purchase luggage from Costco as a member or on their online store (even as a non-member), you’ll be covered by their 100% satisfaction guarantee promise which allows you to return your luggage at any time for a full refund or exchange.
We’ve covered the intricacies of this below.
How to Return Your Luggage to Costco
If you picked up the luggage in-store at one of Costco’s warehouses, then you should return it to the store in question.
Returning your luggage in-store is a simple process where you can just approach the help desk and ask them to deal with your return.
You’ll then be offered a refund or replacement.
If you ask for a refund this will cover the cost of the item, any handling charges, and delivery fees.
If you purchased your product online and want to return it using the online process follow these steps:
- Go to your Costco online account
- Pick Orders and Returns
- Complete the requests
- Print off the labels
- Attach the labels to your luggage and drop the item at your local USPS drop off
Does Costco Offer Free Returns?
Yes, you won’t need to pay anything to return your luggage. The USPS stickers provide for free delivery.
There isn’t a restocking fee either like some stores charge.
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Costco Bike Return Policy
Can I Return Luggage to Costco Without a Receipt?
Returning your luggage to Costco shouldn’t be a problem even without a receipt.
As a members club, Costco can easily trace your luggage purchase through your membership card.
You don’t have to be a Costco member to shop at their online store and there will be an invoice generated from when you purchased the luggage, along with an order number so you shouldn’t have any trouble returning it online using the process we’ve described above.
Can I Return Luggage to Costco Without the Box and Packaging?
This shouldn’t cause a problem when making a return of luggage to Costco.
Costco’s returns policy is extremely flexible and forgiving as part of their 100% satisfaction guarantee.
The only time when questions might be raised is if you’ve lost key components like one of the cases is missing for example when you’ve purchased a luggage pack (i.e. with several items of luggage).
What About Damaged Luggage Items? Will Costco Still Accept Them?
Yes, Costco will accept damaged luggage items, especially if the luggage has become damaged or developed a fault through general use.
Even luggage damaged many years after purchase can still be returned on the strict wording of Costco’s policy.
You’re only likely to encounter difficulties if the item has been damaged through obvious misuse, for example, if you’ve modified it or if you’re making repeat returns of damaged goods.
Are There Any Restrictions When Returning Luggage to Costco? Is the 100% Satisfaction Guarantee Absolute?
From our research, Costco’s satisfaction guarantee policy is extremely flexible and is one of the most generous policies on the planet.
We’ve even heard of people returning items after 10 years of regular use.
Even items as bizarre as a dead Christmas tree and an old frozen fish.
Costco only limits returns on a few items such as electronics, like laptops, with everything else, including luggage, being covered under their ridiculously generous policy.
However, you should keep in mind that this doesn’t offer you carte blanche to return things over and over without repercussions.
If Costco notes peculiar activity on your account, then you’re likely to have it suspended.
So you still need to be sensible with any returns, which generally means using the policy as it was intended, i.e. for:
- Items that develop faults
- Items where you purchase them and decide you no longer need them
- Items that are given to us as unwanted gifts
- Items that end up being not fit for purpose or not as described
How Costco’s Policy Compares to its Competitors
There’s not much out there that can compete with, let alone beat Costco’s returns policy.
It really is class-leading, albeit their prices may be slightly above other retailers for this reason.
Nevertheless, we thought we’d share with you how Costco’s competitors measure up in comparison:
As you’ll note, Costco’s returns policy is by far the best on the market with most competitors offering only 90 days, with Kroger at the bottom of the pile with a measly 30-day returns window.
Costco’s 100% satisfaction guarantee policy, together with free returns and a hassle-free returns process, makes it almost impossible to beat.
The only downside of buying luggage from Costco is they don’t have a great selection compared to some of its peers.
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Final Thoughts
Costco offers a world-beating returns policy on its luggage due to its 100% satisfaction guarantee promise.
You should have very little difficulty returning luggage to Costco even without a receipt.
Whether your luggage is damaged or you’ve simply decided it’s not for you, Costco’s policy seemingly has you covered for a full refund or exchange.
Remember that this doesn’t give you free rein to abuse the policy and any suspicious activity on your account is likely to see your membership suspended.