Great negotiator or dishonest?

[landpoke]

My ex and I used to argue about this. She felt if they would take it back it was OK and you didn't owe them a full explanation. Her final arguement was, they take advantage of us if they can.

Reminds me of a friend who played cards with me in my office. He got on an unvievable hot streak. I finally figured out he could see my cards in a reflection from the window behind me. His arguement was it was a competitive advantage he just used.

Needless to say from then on I was very careful in my business dealings with him.

Bottom line, these types can't be trusted, IMHO.

[BlueHair]

I guess it depends on what type of warranty the mattress has. If the warranty covers denting, I think he has a right to get his money back, or a pro-rated refund. If he lied or caused the damage intentionally, I would say it was dishonest. Having said that, I never return anything. It embarrasses me.

[pellegrino]

Sometimes I seriously wonder. Do you really think it comes back to bite people like this? It seems like nice guys (and gals) may very well finish last. But I really hope karma is a *itch. This particular couple has done several shady things, so I guess DDD is right about them being serial offenders. It would be nice to see them get a taste of their own medicine.

I believe in karma, but part of my belief in that power consists in never hoping it comes back to me or anyone else. Just let it take its course.

[scandell]

I return items to Coscto about 3 times a year. I shop at Costco almost weekly. I buy things ranging from everyday groceries...to media...to furniture.

IN FACT. On tuesday I returned a large $400 floor rug to Costco. I bought it over a year ago. My wife has always been dissatified with it because it always refused to lay flat. I told her with time it may lay flat...so we kept it. Fast forward 1 year and I finally got around to returning the thing.

The Cashier asked me what the problem was. I told her the rug refused to lay down...and it frustrated my me and my wife. She then asked me why I kept the item so long. I told her I am quite the procrastinator. She smiled and asked me if I store credit would suffice. I handed her my receipt and told her I would prefer cash. She opened the drawer and counted out the 20 X $20 bills.

I buy furniture at Costco...because I know they guarantee my satisfaction. We have couches, end tables, bunk beds all from costco. If I ever have a problem with them...or I feel unsatisfied...I will return it. MOST of the item they sell have met my satisfaction. I estimate my spending to be $6,000-10,000 a year at Costco. I don't think they mind if i return a $400 rug. In fact...I know they don't.

NOT DISHONEST.

Its only dishonest if you lie about it. Don't compromise your beliefs. There is no need at Costco anyway. Their generous return policy is built into their business model. They earn my trust. I ALWAYS shop there.

I would love to see how you guys attempt to dispute this.

[wuapinmon]

I return items to Coscto about 3 times a year. I shop at Costco almost weekly. I buy things ranging from everyday groceries...to media...to furniture.

IN FACT. On tuesday I returned a large $400 floor rug to Costco. I bought it over a year ago. My wife has always been dissatified with it because it always refused to lay flat. I told her with time it may lay flat...so we kept it. Fast forward 1 year and I finally got around to returning the thing.

The Cashier asked me what the problem was. I told her the rug refused to lay down...and it frustrated my me and my wife. She then asked me why I kept the item so long. I told her I am quite the procrastinator. She smiled and asked me if I store credit would suffice. I handed her my receipt and told her I would prefer cash. She opened the drawer and counted out the 20 X $20 bills.

I buy furniture at Costco...because I know they guarantee my satisfaction. We have couches, end tables, bunk beds all from costco. If I ever have a problem with them...or I feel unsatisfied...I will return it. MOST of the item they sell have met my satisfaction. I estimate my spending to be $6,000-10,000 a year at Costco. I don't think they mind if i return a $400 rug. In fact...I know they don't.

NOT DISHONEST.

Its only dishonest if you lie about it. Don't compromise your beliefs. There is no need at Costco anyway. Their generous return policy is built into their business model. They earn my trust. I ALWAYS shop there.

I would love to see how you guys attempt to dispute this.

You're not very good at this. The difference here would be if you take back a piss-stained rug that you knew that you had caused not to lie flat due to your use of the item outside of reasonable wear and tear. The cries of flawed ethics were over shading the truth, not a legitimate problem with the quality of something. Try again.

Also, do you use your American Express Centurion card when you spend $6-$10k a year at Costco? I know I do.

[wuapinmon]

I like to use my Amex Black card. I try not to let anyone know about my card, though.

Well, I usually pay the annual fee with part of my Christmas bonus.

[Senioritis]

Costco doesn't get hosed. Costco never gets hosed.

The guy that gets hosed is the small business who provided the rug to Costco at a ridiculous discount to wholesale because Costco demanded it. Built in to the vendor agreement is plenty of protection to Costco, including unlimited chargebacks with no time limit and vendor charged freight at Costco's sole discretion - even if it's one item per pallet.

Sure, the small business owner doesn't have to do business with The Co. He can forego the opportunity and continue to do a fraction of the business with independent retailers or small chains. But who in their right mind passes up the opportunity to work with Costco? The quantities are staggering, and it's easy to get stars in your eyes.

It works out great for some - minimal chargebacks, small return shipping charges, great forecasting. For others, it absolutely breaks their business. There's enough that can go wrong without dishonest schmucks returning stuff for no good reason.

I've done a couple deals with Costco. I've been relatively lucky. I wouldn't do another one unless I was REALLY sure about the variables.

I shop at Costco. I love Costco. But I don't take anything back unless it outright doesn't work.

You're not hosing Costco. Costco never gets hosed.

[Soccermom]

I believe in karma, but part of my belief in that power consists in never hoping it comes back to me or anyone else. Just let it take its course.

That is good advice. Though, I have to say, it is hard not to wish for some good karma to come my way!

[TripletDaddy]

Costco doesn't get hosed. Costco never gets hosed.

The guy that gets hosed is the small business who provided the rug to Costco at a ridiculous discount to wholesale because Costco demanded it. Built in to the vendor agreement is plenty of protection to Costco, including unlimited chargebacks with no time limit and vendor charged freight at Costco's sole discretion - even if it's one item per pallet.

Sure, the small business owner doesn't have to do business with The Co. He can forego the opportunity and continue to do a fraction of the business with independent retailers or small chains. But who in their right mind passes up the opportunity to work with Costco? The quantities are staggering, and it's easy to get stars in your eyes.

It works out great for some - minimal chargebacks, small return shipping charges, great forecasting. For others, it absolutely breaks their business. There's enough that can go wrong without dishonest schmucks returning stuff for no good reason.

I've done a couple deals with Costco. I've been relatively lucky. I wouldn't do another one unless I was REALLY sure about the variables.

I shop at Costco. I love Costco. But I don't take anything back unless it outright doesn't work.

You're not hosing Costco. Costco never gets hosed.

nice chiasmus.

[Senioritis]

nice chiasmus.

I don't want to come on too strong, but if you like my chiasmus, I'd love to show you some Spoonerism.

[PaloAltoCougar]

...Built in to the vendor agreement is plenty of protection to Costco, including unlimited chargebacks with no time limit and vendor charged freight at Costco's sole discretion - even if it's one item per pallet....

This is both new and very interesting to me. I was aware WalMart can really screw over its vendors, but it didn't occur to me that pretty much any major retailer can and does do the same.

[statman]

dishonest and they know it...

[statman]

What a complete lack of integrity. It's one thing when you are dishonest, it's another when you brag about it to the world. This will come back to bite them (or their kids) in the behind.

I used to frequent a WRX tuning board - back when I had an aftermarket-equipped WRX. One guy came on the board and bragged about how he'd WAY over boosted his engine, and blew the heads off one side of the engine. He'd had an 'interceptor chip' installed to make the changes he wanted to the turbo boost/fuel-to-air mixture/timing/etc, which tells the cars CPU one thing, but tells all the engine components another. Long story short, he removed all his after market stuff, and simply told the dealer that he was driving it normally, and BAM! The dealer checked the CPU, and found all the numbers to be in the normal range (his interceptor chip passed only normal numbers to the CPU), so they replaced his engine - about $8000.

I copied the string of posts and forwarded it on to Subauru USA.

The guy came back a day or two later lamenting that Subaru had changed its mind and wasn't replacing his engine. I told the guy he was an ass and that I'd told Subaru he was trying to rip him off. The two things that made me the maddest about the whole thing were:

1) He was COMPLETELY irresponsible. He'd seen videos of a WRX that did 500hp on a dyno & wanted to duplicate it. NO ONE generating 500 hp with a 2.0 liter engine expects that engine to last. The people who made the video make their money selling expensive upgrades to idiots like this guy. An engine is a pretty cheap investment for them, considering the leads such a video would generate. He found out what the guys in the video had done, and went beyond it with much cheaper components and no safeguards. OF COURSE he blew his engine!

2) After successfully ripping off Subaru he had to come to the tuner site and brag about it. That really pissed me off...

The opinion of me on that site was about 50-50, which is pretty understandable, I guess. Everyone who tunes a car knows that if they mess up it's going to cost them. A lot of people were glad to hear that someone had gotten away with one. A lot were glad I did what I did...

[statman]

This is both new and very interesting to me. I was aware WalMart can really screw over its vendors, but it didn't occur to me that pretty much any major retailer can and does do the same.

Costco has gotten major push-back from its electronics & computer suppliers. They were walking away from deals with Costco because the chargeback provisions were eating them alive. Imagine a computer that you use for two or three years and then return for full credit when it's outdated. It happened a lot. So now you can only take electronics back for 3 months.

The one that really gets me is the furniture returns that happen at the Orem Costco when BYU lets out in April. Buy in August, use through fall and spring semesters, return when school gets out. It happens A LOT. I'm sure it happens all over, but it makes me feel a bit queasy to know that it's kids who've gotten an EO from their bishop (or a Temple Recommend) who are doing it.

The other big one that happens at every Costco is the Super Bowl returns. Buy a new big screen for NCAA Bowls and NFL playoffs. Return on the Monday after the Super Bowl...

[scandell]

You're not very good at this. The difference here would be if you take back a piss-stained rug that you knew that you had caused not to lie flat due to your use of the item outside of reasonable wear and tear. The cries of flawed ethics were over shading the truth, not a legitimate problem with the quality of something. Try again.

Also, do you use your American Express Centurion card when you spend $6-$10k a year at Costco? I know I do.

The rug was in the dining room. Food was spilled on it...and it was thrown up on once.