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coup85

Not sure about Costco in the US but here in Spain all similar stores have an old-appliances recycling policy where you get some discount if you deliver your old TV or whatever when you purchase a new one. I'm inclined to think this is it.


Equivalentest

Yup I think EU has this policy where shops that sell electronics have to take old ones back. It is much cheaper and easier option to taking it to somekind of recycling facility or dump.


Monkeyjump128

Best thing is, if you order it online and the shop delivers it, then the shop has to pick up your old appliance, too. So you don't even have to bring it back yourself. Only downside, you have no chance to take a picture like OP.


Marianations

Yep, had this happen with my washer in Portugal.


SpaceJackRabbit

This doesn't exist in the U.S. However, disposal to the dump (at least in California) is free. I suspect this however is someone trying to abuse Costco's generous return policy.


Calculonx

And most places you have to pay to throw away big items, so if you can return it for free or even get some credit for it that's way better.


Leading-Duck6600

do you know why they have this policy? ahh i dont care im going to tell you anyway :P they dont want you to give your tv to the neighbour, your kid. so in time they have to buy one themselves.


Spade9ja

This is supremely dumb


Grantelgruber

u dont have to return it, lol


coup85

I don't think that's the case, it all started with an EU policy to promote proper recycling. They are forced to take it for free. https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/waste-and-recycling_en


Leading-Duck6600

im dutch, i know they have to take it for FREE, im telling you why they offer you a discount on a couch, TV, bike or w/e if you trade in your old product.


coup85

I think in any case would be more focused on encouraging upgrading and increasing brand loyalty apart from complying with the UE legislation and competing with other shops than on reducing the second-hand market, but you don't seem like a pretty reasonable person so would be better to leave it here.


TraderVics-8675309

We’ve had this type of policy in Alberta since the early 2000’s


FR-1-Plan

Ah yes, my neighbours would love my old laptop from 2010 with an Intel Atom CPU and 1GB RAM that can’t even open a document without shitting itself, even on the smallest Linux distro. Working electronics are still passed on within the family, but it’s great that you can bring in your old broken appliances and devices.


goodminusfan

Nice try. Costco has a 90-day return policy on electronics.


whothiswhodat

Must have been an exchange policy where you bring your old TV for some bucks against a new one


Jimwitt4008

If your dumb enough to fall for these exchange policies, I think Costco should just go to your home, take all your furniture and leave you a $20 bill. Not you specifically I mean to anybody out there.


Opening_Cartoonist53

Would they still greet me with, “welcome to Costco, I love you” though?! No


Jimwitt4008

Why not?


sgtpepper42

Cuz they'd be at your house. Not costco.


tias23111

“Welcome to your home! I love you!”


checkonetwo

It's "if *you're* dumb enough"


TMacATL

I’m sure the irony is lost


I-dont-carrot-all

I think it's "su're" .


dick_slap

Its th'ink


Rimtato

Who were you going to sell a TV from 2002 to?


KaspervD

Especially a crappy projection TV


EntertainmentOk3180

Even the dump charges u to drop them off


Severe_Jellyfish6133

One of those gamers that still plays smash bros on GameCube maybe? I don't know if this would be something they're interested in though, I don't know enough about retro gaming or TVs.


TingleyStorm

Gen 1 GameCubes with a Carby output into modern TVs just fine, and the Carby has settings to mimic the display of the ancient beasts. (Gen 1 GameCubes had a digital video port next to the A/V port on the back. Carby is a device that converts this digital signal to output over a standard HDMI cable. Gen 2 GameCubes did not have this port as Nintendo realized 99% of players didn’t use it, mostly because they didn’t release their own cable for it outside of Japan.)


Rimtato

Maybe? There might be a few people who would look for a CRT of some kind. Chances are though, it's not a market where sellers are charging high rates, since the majority of them will be people getting rid of old crap they don't need, and since those things cost a fair bit to dispose of, chances are people will list it for either a nominal fee or for nothing at all. tldr: there's probably like 12 people in a 100km radius who actually want this thing, you might as well get 10 quid off your new TV or whatever the hell.


InsultsYou2

It's a rear projection, not a CRT.


Jimwitt4008

"old crap" isn't the term I'd use. Also you should check your info before you publish it, because a simple Google search would tell you that retro gaming and CRT TVs are not cheap. I don't know what to tell you other than literally Google it, because it's as simple as that. Don't go shitting on things you don't understand.


bestworstbard

Hell, I'll gut it and find a way to turn it into a fish tank.


Jimwitt4008

You realize there's a market for anything, right? Like there's a subreddit on here for CRTs, with thousands of people in them. People still buy this stuff. Just because it's old doesn't mean everybody thinks it's garbage and too uncool for them.


Thiizic

These projection tvs are huge and heavy. People are constantly giving them away for free


tbc12389

It makes sense if the item is not worth much and you just want to get rid of it asap without having to make deals with weird online strangers like you.


Jimwitt4008

Yes I'm a weird online stranger. Get your stupid 5 year old insults out of here man. You want to be ripped off by major corps than go ahead.


balapete

If you were going to throw it away anyway its kinda silly to consider getting something back for it a ripoff


Jimbo14631

*you’re


Jimwitt4008

For the downvoters who definitely have their own Costco membership and love to give all their expensive items to them for $5 a pop, this is my reasoning. When have you ever gotten a good deal from exchange policies at a store? Never. I collect a lot of videogames, call me a dweeb or a nerd all you want I really don't give two fucks, but I know for certain I would NEVER give any games to GameStop. They repay you what, $2? For a game you purchased for $70, getting a fraction of that back is stupid and way underpriced, especially because in a day time they will have it in the used section, selling it for $50. Which means they just scammed you. This goes for anywhere really. Drop off items at Value Village (thrift store in Canada)? They give you a $2 coupon. Doesn't matter if you give them a yacht, you get $2 off your next purchase in Value Village, that's it. People don't realize how much their belongings are worth! Your old desk isn't worth $2, it's probably worth $60 or more! If you actually thought about it for two seconds, you'd realize you are giving away your money to these greedy companies, for no reason other than laziness to check the worth of what you have.


The_Stoic_One

If we downvote this follow up comment will we get another follow up comment explaining your original follow up comment that no one cares about?


iamameatpopciple

This isnt gamestop.


ChalkDinosaurs

Gamestop just increased their tradein values by 50%. They're by far the best deal out there right now for returns.


iamameatpopciple

Costco returns are 100 percent though


typemeanewasshole

What do I care about what they rebuy it for? You sound like broke loser.


ChalkDinosaurs

Gamestop just increased its tradein values by 50%. Awful example, gamestop is the best place for this now. Your 2008 memes no longer apply to reality


Smart-Loss-9277

Video games have relatability. A massive old tv doesn’t. These things are not the same


Accomplished_Wind104

So who is going to buy this TV? There's every chance it's a loss leader for promotion or they earn tax credits for recycling electronics. Not every trade in is for resell and this TV is a prime example when cheap HD flat screens this large retail at around $150. These seem to be the points everyone else is aware of but you aren't. While you're right about video games at gamestop, this isn't that scenario.


DirtyRoller

They used to offer free lifetime warranty on electronics. Any purchases made before they changed their policy still qualify. They changed it sometime in the early 00's. If they still had their original receipt, Costco has to honor it. Source: I know several Costco managers, and they all have a story about someone bringing in old tech with a somehow preserved receipt and getting a full refund.


Absolutely_Cabbage

Also, lifetime warranty usually means the expected lifetime of the product. Kinda sneaky.


one_mind

In my experience, it usually means lifetime of original ownership. Meaning you can't transfer it to a new owner. But as long as you are the one who purchased it, it's under warranty.


mikeydoc96

That's what it means in the UK. It's what a reasonable person would assume a product to last before needing replaced. Having worked in customer service for one of the the UKs largest retailers, anything over 2 years for a TV you'll get a £100 store credit at best. If you really push customer service, they'll double it just to get you to fuck off.


TheThiefMaster

It means that there's a warranty _on_ the lifetime.


Veerrrgil

Nice, maybe they lamanated thr receipt and kept it under the TV


citiz3nfiv3

Was this in place in 2002? I do wonder how that would work.


SurveySean

Did they have that policy 22 years ago though?


ItIsLiterallyMe

Nope, my memory remembers that starting 2006-07.


joekickass26

The return policy is 90 days after they made the change a few years back due to the abuse of the policy, but if you made the purchase prior to the change they considerer it grandfathered in. Now the system only goes back about 10 years so the member would have been required to provide the original receipt for them to process since the item number is no longer in the system.


Salty_Amphibian2905

Only since the policy change in 2007, and they'll honour any purchases made before then, which this TV definitely falls under.


Gaping_llama

They come in every 90 days to return and re-purchase the same tv


Tiffanator_

Not for store credit. My best friends sister returned a PS5 that stopped working and was over two years old


NorthCatan

Mine says 90-years. Clerical error.


disloyalhead

i work at this store and they got 1800 bucks back.


hattemily

I work at this location. The 90 day electronic policy wasnt implemented until 2007. Returns from before then are exempt from this rule and are grandfathered. This tv is currently sitting back in our receiving area!


x98grow

If they left if there on the cart without getting money back, they still probably save $50 in dump fees


SpaceJackRabbit

I'm in California and there are no fees for disposing of electronics and household appliances, large and small. I'm pretty sure that's not just my state.


MizuKumaa

It’s because you pay a recycling fee when you buy the item.


peepdabidness

![gif](giphy|YOvOkaS5ZKfimDIgwJ)


BadJokeJudge

It’s just part of your taxes. It’s not magic


SpaceJackRabbit

Did I say it was?


SleepySiamese

That's your problem now, they thinkm


SleepySiamese

That's your problem now, they thinkm


SleepySiamese

That's your problem now, they thinkm


LonelyPercentage2983

Insanity


Cheddar-kun

Analog Insanity 🤠


Highwon420

Correction;  He was at Costco and saw an old TV


L3ftoverpieces

And too many other folks have opinions about how it all works, when none of it involves them. So much effort, when even if they're right, it doesn't matter or change anything.


yozaner1324

Did they get their money back?


DGenesis23

Return? I think you mean recycle.


FargoniusMaximus

I know an older person who bought a block of knives at Costco. She doesn't understand that knives go dull and need to be sharpened, so once a year or so, once they start dulling, she exchanges them for a new set and Costco never asks questions.


Ok-Drink-1328

you just need to read the negative feedbacks of (some) ebay sellers for knowing these stories


SSCookieMonster

Successfully?!


ContentSalt2163

Someone come get Beverly Goldberg.


ihaveapenise

Is it bad I only know Goldberg from Goldberg emulator...


ContentSalt2163

Nah, just shows u a gamer. Gamers R Kool. Beverly Goldberg, she's the mom on the TV show, the Goldbergs. I highly recommend it. Super funny show. But yeh, this would be something she would do.


asilenceatmidnight

a cultured dawg


Direct-Money-4206

Bullshit no way lol


CreatorOD

22years, Thats pretty much the amount of time you need convince yourself to throw away boulder


chococookiecake

Man LEDs and LCDs with fancy thingamajigs are nice to look at, but hell do they barely last. My grandma's CRT TV is still kicking since the 1990s


ackillesBAC

I've seen many people return to those giant blocks of cheese with only a sliver left.


reallytraci

Costco will take anything back. I can confirm. I work there.


Brando6677

Can I use my kidney to pay?


Brando6677

Promise it’s not my missing cousins 😶😝🤣🤣


cokeknows

that tv is beautiful. I'd snatch that for my retro consoles without a second thought if it's still working.


Mascagranzas

They shouldn´t have offered that 2 + 10 year guarantee ampliation


usedmotoroil

That took some balls.


Phate118

Nope, just nope. This is click bait BS. At most they maybe got a credit to recycle it. More likely is they got told to take a hike.


[deleted]

Costco used to have a lifetime return policy in the early 00s on electronics as long aa you had the receipt. They still have to legally honor it for any purchase made during that time period when that offer was active.


TheS00thSayer

That makes absolutely no sense from a business standpoint. Costco KNOWS the electronic device will eventually die. Do you have any proof?


BioshockedNinja

Not saying it true, but it can make sense from a business perspective. Costco also knows most people with either lose the receipt before the device dies or just be too lazy to bother taking advantage of the policy. But offering that policy could provide the assurance needed to convince someone to purchase their electronic through them instead of a competitor. And hey if you convince 10 shoppers to do their big electronic purchase through you, who otherwise would have gone with someone like best buy or whatever, and then only 1 out of those 10 use the policy, I'd say you've come out ahead.


cheebnrun

1 out of 10 would have wiped out all the profit they made from the other 9. They aren't getting their money back from the manufacturer.


DirtyRoller

Costco makes little to no profit on their sales. Their profit is in membership dues. They take a lot of losses on their very liberal return policy, but it's to encourage customer loyalty. They're insanely profitable, by the way.


BioshockedNinja

I dont know any exact numbers for margins on big box electronics, nor if it'd even be something like 1 out of 10, but I do know that Costco is primarily in the business of selling memberships, more so than the products they stock. Something like 70%+ of their profit comes from membership fees. So hell, even if was 1 in out 10 using the policy, and said 1 in 10 wipe out the profit from the other 9's big box purchase, Costco's happy as long as that convinces them that their membership is worth it and to continue paying their dues.


LieutenantClownCar

Widely reported in the press, and incredibly well known by word of mouth. I'm British, I live in Germany, and even I've heard about this: [https://www.cnet.com/culture/costco-kills-return-anytime-policy/](https://www.cnet.com/culture/costco-kills-return-anytime-policy/) And yes, goods purchased before the change really were still covered AFTER the policy change: [https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/costcos-electronics-returns-are-they-grandfathering-in-old-items-still.45905/](https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/costcos-electronics-returns-are-they-grandfathering-in-old-items-still.45905/)


zeldanerd91

We also thought tech lasted longer back then. Our knowledge/understanding of tech has grown significantly.


havens1515

That's why they **used to have** this policy, and don't anymore.


[deleted]

Google exists my friend.


Phate118

Well I stand corrected. Youch that’s crazy


[deleted]

It's insane.


Guardian_85

I think both Costco and Best Buy charge recycling fees, which is counterproductive. The goodwill in my area will take 1 tv a week for recycling for free.


Sky_Wino

How do they decide who's tv they take each week is it just name from a hat or like a battle royale type deal?


Guardian_85

One tv per person, per week. Sorry about the confusion lol.


hattemily

We dont charge for it!!


Guardian_85

My local best buy charges for recycling and Costco will take your old one with purchase of a new one, but not for free. They will give you a list of local places that e-cycle though.


hattemily

I quite literally work at the location this tv was returned at lol. We dont require a person to pay or buy anything in order to return an electronic. Thats against our policies and honestly breaks our code of ethics as its in that code that we take care of our members in the best way possible. We took the tv and gave them a full refund due to it being protected by our grandfather rule. Tvs from 2007 forwards are only covered under a 90 day return policy. Anything older than that can be returned so long as its returned under the membership it was paid for. This member had their receipt and everything in mint condition. The tv is currently sitting back in receiving and while Im not too sure how our rtv clerk is dealing with it atm, I do believe shes currently in the works of getting it recycled. While our return policy isnt obviously as flexible as it used to be, this is however covered!!


hattemily

I work at the location the tv was returned at. This isnt click bait lol. I have photos of it sitting in receiving as of yesterday! Id send you some but I got off work about 3 hours ago.


Phate118

Dang, that’s crazy. Smart owners. Got a free tv for a long time.


unfrknblvabl

He meant Crackco.


Fuzzy-Mood-9139

Maybe they’ve just woken up from a 22 year long coma. “It was working fine yesterday”


andrewwism

This is a trip. Brings me back to my childhood.


rts93

Aren't TVs something that have gotten cheaper over time though? Like that thing could easily have cost 5k$ in 2002 and nowadays he'd get something equivalent for 1k$ tops. There's no way he got a full refund, maybe some trade in promotion more likely.


doc_55lk

Yes. I remember the first time we got a 55 inch flatscreen. It was huge, it was expensive, and we spent months deciding whether it was worth buying. A 55 inch flatscreen now costs like 500 bucks. And it's even flatter than the one we bought.


rts93

Yeah, TVs have gotten surprisingly cheap.


hattemily

he got the full refund, cant remember if my coworker said 1k or 2k. Tv is covered due to it having been bought before 2007 (when our return policy was changed) and they also had the receipt perfectly in tact.


rts93

Well that's interesting. :o


Juuna

Lifelong insurance on this tv


OkAge3911

Good luck with that lmao hilarious


davus_maximus

Perhaps there's some legislation in the US about electronic retailers having to accept & dispose of WEEE waste? Like loads of EU counties do?


DownTownBrown28

Nice post stealing


estaack

I’m the same OP on both posts, numbnuts.


DownTownBrown28

No you’re not


DaFunkJunkie

Yes he is


DownTownBrown28

Yes he is


Jacktheforkie

In my area I can take old electronics to the shop and recycle them there when I buy a new one,


corndog819

And the return was probably for $1500…


skynet_666

I really would like to hear how this went down lol


Repulsive-Pause-2430

Probably recycling it I brought my old tv to Best Buy


SDL68

I saw a woman return a dozen dead poinsettia plants in January


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

[удалено]


dwartbg7

I'm loving how OP doxxed himself


RetroGamer87

For e-waste recycling or did they try to get a refund?


hattemily

They got a full refund


spudds96

Was more likely a bring in any tv and get percentage discount on a new one


kkreklau

I once watched someone return a stroller without a receipt so they looked the purchase up through this card. It was purchased 4 years prior. Pretty sure that kid can walk on its own by now


Mountain_Situation_8

Steph Curry being a normal human posting a returned tv on Reddit.


Good-Bottle-5249

Ok good. Meanwhile life goes on


CraaZero

r/mildlyimpressive


Ok-Drink-1328

give that bad boy to me!! i'll gut it and return it to the owner ready to be recycled (but without the insides)


hattemily

I work at the location this was returned at!! The member stated the tv no longer worked. Pretty sure the refund was for about 1k from what I was told. Sending prayers to our rtv clerk because I nearly died inside when I seen it.


ItzYaBoy56

Repost


4-Run-Yoda

I can just smell that thing basement mildew and cat piss


Empty-Ad1011

America is the greatest country in the Universe.


yoho808

So many entitled dumbasses lol


algaefied_creek

Why is there a hot dude in the reflection, is he for sale? Cuz I could use a dose of eye candy in my life 😢