Buying phones at Costco?

[pratik97]

Has anyone actually purchased their Verizon phone at Costco? I had heard a while back of some people returning theirs after months of use because they were unhappy with it. I'm thinking about picking up a few phones for my parents. Can I negotiate chargers, things like that as well?

[AnArmyofNone]

they usually low end car chargers and cases in for free, not that i'd plug any of my phones into one of those.

[bamx2]

Costco's satisfaction guarantee policy on electronics changed several months ago because of excessive abuse ( mainly returns of big ticket TVs and computers ) and the cell phone return policy is 90 days or less - see - http://www.costco.com/Images/Content.../concierge.PDF or http://www.costco.com/Service/Featur...uctNo=11204333 - . If you buy at Costco , you may still get waived activation fee and some accessories but the main advantage of buying at Costco is gone . You find might better prices and more current phones elsewhere . I have purchased few thousand $ worth of items (electronics, tires, tools ) at Costco over a period 10 years and only made one $50 return in 8 years.

[cellularcrea]

Well one nice thing is you get the 3-month return policy over the 14-day offered by most the cell phone companies. I'm sure the deals would be a lot better if it was really Costco operating the kiosks selling phones, but its an outside agent.

[Lenagainster]

Costco's satisfaction guarantee policy on electronics changed ...

Thanks for pointing that out. I'm in Costco once a week and wonder about the meager selection of phones, but thought that the extended return policy fueled the success of the kiosk. Now, why bother?

[ERS]

Thanks for pointing that out. I'm in Costco once a week and wonder about the meager selection of phones, but thought that the extended return policy fueled the success of the kiosk. Now, why bother?

If a companies return policy is why you buy something there your shopping for the wrong reasons.

[bigcalidave]

I used to manage one of these stores, and the only great advantage was the return policy, which with costco USED to be awesome. You could "upgrade" whenever you wanted But now it's gone, so don't waste your time. They have bad policies. Buy a phone from VZW corporate stores.

[experiment626]

It's a shame so many people abused and ruined a great thing. I would have bought electronics at Costco because of their return policy,even if the savings were negligible.

[MikeG~]

If a companies return policy is why you buy something there your shopping for the wrong reasons.

Why? I do that with Home Depot. It's not like their prices are noticeably low anymore and their service, if you want to call it that, sucks <insert item or body part of choice>. So really, all you're basically paying for at stores like that is good return policy and decent, though rarely great, pricing. Why is that a bad reason any more than paying MSRP at a store with knowledgable staff when you do actually need "service" or an informed opinion about the products they sell?

What is arguably "bad" policy is a company trying to suck people in with a money losing policy just because it "sounds good" - at least until reality sets in. If the policy is "any time for any reason", I see almost no opportunity for what could legitimately be called "abuse" unless someone commits actual fraud by trying to "return" something they bought elsewhere...

[bamx2]

I previously purchased electronics almost exclusively at Costco ( sometimes paid a little more) knowing that I could return an item if there was a problem (vs RMA hassles that can happen ) .

As far as their " new " 90 day policy , just remember that you are still locked
in your contract after 14 / 30 days .

[PalmEnvy]

If a companies return policy is why you buy something there your shopping for the wrong reasons.

I completely disagree. I would rather pay slightly more for an item at a retailer that offers superior customer service or a no-hassle return policy.

This is one reason why I refuse to buy anything from a place like BestBuy, which is a nightmare to return anything. So who cares if you save 15% on a product you can't return???

[ERS]

Your both missing my point.. I plan on KEEPING the things i BUY. Anything less in my book is theft of use.

[Eric The Duke]

Your both missing my point.. I plan on KEEPING the things i BUY. Anything less in my book is theft of use.

good thing no one else goes by your book.

[Eric The Duke]

Has anyone actually purchased their Verizon phone at Costco? I had heard a while back of some people returning theirs after months of use because they were unhappy with it. I'm thinking about picking up a few phones for my parents. Can I negotiate chargers, things like that as well?

I'm not sure how good the prices are at Costco, but I recieved a coupon in the mail from them yesterday. It's $50 off an Samsung phone. I think you can find the coupon in the store also. So it might be a good deal if you are buying a Samsung.

[ERS]

good thing no one else goes by your book.

Oh quite a few people do.. You know those of us that think stealing is wrong, in any of its forms. Don't get me wrong I have returned things before usually within a week if my needs or situation has changed. But moaning and complaning because a company finally decided to stop getting itself abused by greedy customers is wrong, and I say Kudos to Costco for FINALLY changing a policy and showing itself to be a business I know I can trust to be there in a few years when i need to come in and upgrade my purchases.