Costco is cracking down on its famous no-hassle return policies

The change comes as retailers have lost billions of dollars to return fraud

Costco is tightening its famous no-hassle return policies — much to the disappointment of some members.

For years, members of the warehouse club were able to return nearly anything and receive a full refund — regardless of how long ago the purchase was made or if they had lost the receipt.

However, some members have found that Costco workers are now requiring extra proof of purchase for some returns, and managers are even checking to see how often customers are returning their purchases, according to Cleveland.com

The change comes as social media users have shared stories of customers returning Christmas trees well after the holiday season was over — and other instances of members clearly taking advantage of the 90-day return policy.

While many retailers have offered competitive return policies in recent years as a way to draw in customers, the leniency has also allowed some shoppers to take advantage with fraudulent returns, leaving businesses to lose billions of dollars.

Costco is tightening its lenient return policies as some customers appear to take advantage of the flexible return windows (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

In 2024, fraudulent returns and claims cost U.S. retailers about $104 billion, according to Appriss Retail and Deloitte.

At Costco, some customers who were used to the lax policies were shocked to find the warehouse club denying their returns after they were unable to provide additional information or receipts, according to the report.

Shoppers have previously gone viral for bringing back a host of different items to the retailer — from dead plants to half-eaten meals and 15-year-old couches, according to The U.S. Sun.

Aggravated customers have taken to Reddit to vent their frustrations over the changes.

“In my recent experience, the former ‘no questions asked’ return policy of 10+ years ago has tightened up some and the employees tend to really dig in on some of the items,” one member wrote. “It just doesn’t feel like the same easy/friendly experience it was when I first joined.”

Another Reddit user complained that the retailer’s perishable food return policy had also changed after they tried to return bone-in goat meat after realizing the product wasn’t portioned like the box made it seem.

“Was told any perishable food can’t be returned once it is out of warehouse. I showed them I just opened the box with no touch on the plastic bag at all. But it did not help. They are firm with their policy,” the user wrote.

Higher-priced items like electronics and jewelry are also seeing clearer time limits and documentation rules, according to Cleveland.com.

In addition to becoming stricter about returns, Costco is updating how customers order certain items, like custom cakes and deli trays. Instead of filling out paper forms in the store, customers will soon have to place these orders on the Costco mobile app.

The update is expected to be available to all members by the end of the year, the warehouse retail club announced last week.

“Many of the things that we’ve heard from our members that could be a little bit clunky are now moving to a digital state, and we’re seeing great adoption right out of the chute,” Costco CEO Ron Vachris told investors in the December call, adding that the company aims on “locking in” its brick-and-mortar business with its virtual digital business.

The Independent has contacted Costco for comment.

With more than 800 warehouses worldwide, including over 600 in the U.S., Costco has long trailed rivals like Sam’s Club in online bakery offerings. Additional digital upgrades, such as faster self-checkouts, are also on the way.