Catering to more than 100 million customers in the US alone, Costco is one of the best-loved stores in the country.
They stock almost anything you could ever need, whether that is food, consumer electronics, or even clothes.
Costco also stocks a selection of shoes including boots, sneakers, and slippers.
If you’ve purchased a pair of shoes from Costco but no longer want them; perhaps they’re an unwanted gift, don’t quite fit properly, or you ordered them by mistake, then you’ll need to get familiar with Costco’s returns policy.
To help you there we’ll bring you up to speed with what their returns window is, how to make a return, what to do with no receipt/packaging, and much more.
Keep reading to find out…
What is Costco’s Shoe Returns Policy? The Short Answer
In short, Costco allows you to return shoes at any time after purchase as part of its 100% satisfaction guarantee. You can return them for a full refund or exchange either using the online process or by returning them in-store.
This covers pretty much any eventuality such as:
- If they don’t fit
- You don’t like the look of them
- They were ordered by mistake
- They’re an unwanted gift
- If you want to try another pair
While Costco’s returns policy is notoriously flexible, we wouldn’t advise abusing it by repeatedly buying shoes, wearing them once, and returning them.
This is likely to get your account flagged and suspended or worse still.
Can You Return Worn Shoes to Costco?
The fact that you’ve worn shoes purchased from Costco does not prevent you from returning them.
On the wording of Costco’s policy, you could even wear them multiple times and still return them.
Although, as we’ve said above, we wouldn’t make a habit of doing this as it will start to look slightly suspect and may put your Costco account at risk.
Related Article:
Costco Furniture Returns Policy
How to Return Shoes to Costco?
You can return your unwanted shoes by either returning them in-store or using the online returns process.
We’ll talk you through these:
Online Returns
To initiate an online return you need to:
- Head along to your Costco account and log in
- Select orders and returns
- Choose to return
- Print off the label they provide
- Drop your shoes at your nearest USPS drop-off point
The returns label Costco provides includes free delivery with USPS so you won’t need to pay a bean to return your item.
They also don’t charge a re-stocking fee like some stores.
You will also receive a refund for any shipping charges or handling fees.
In-Store
- Head to your nearest store. You can use the Costco store locator to find this
- Present the shoes to the counter or check out
- Present your membership card
- Ask for your return to be processed
- Your returned shoes should then be processed there and then for an exchange or full refund
Can I Return Shoes to Costco Without a Receipt and/or Packaging?
You shouldn’t need a receipt when returning shoes to Costco.
All items can be traced using your membership card and if you ordered online where you don’t need a membership card, use your invoice number, which will have been emailed to your inbox upon purchase.
Costco is also quite flexible when it comes to missing packaging so you shouldn’t have any issues if you’ve misplaced the shoe box.
However, if you have any questions, we’d suggest speaking to someone using the Costco chat function (see the bottom right-hand corner).
Related Article:
Costco Underwear Return Policy
How Does Costco’s Shoe Return Policy Compare to the Competition?
We’ve had a look at some of the competition to see how Costco’s shoe returns policy holds up.
This might be helpful if you’ve not yet purchased your shoes yet and have a competitor in sight as well.
| Competitor | Returns Window |
| Target | 90 days |
| Amazon | 30 days |
| Walmart | 90 days |
| Dillard’s | 30 days |
| Nordstrom | 100% satisfaction guarantee |
| Macy’s | 90 days |
| Saks | 30 days |
| Rack Room | 60 days |
Only Nordstrom offers anything like Costco in terms of the length of its returns window.
All the rest of the competition we looked at offered a measly 30 days or only slightly better 90 days.
Costco is therefore very hard to beat.
But then again that’s what you pay your membership fee for.
Related Article:
Amazon Exercise Equipment Return Policy
Final Thoughts
In summary, Costco provides an extremely generous 100% satisfaction guarantee policy meaning you can return shoes to Costco at any time for pretty much any reason at all.
Unfortunately, they don’t offer a great selection of shoes but then Costco isn’t primarily a shoe shop and is more of a one-stop-shop for everything with some shoes thrown in for good measure.
Costco also offers free returns and even refunds your initial delivery charges making it pretty hard to beat.
