There’s a reason why so many people are willing to spend money to walk through Costco’s doors. In exchange for the $65 per year you pay for a basic Gold Star membership or the $130 you pay for an Executive membership, you can save money on groceries and household supplies. And in many cases, the savings you enjoy on these items will far exceed the cost of your annual membership.
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But you should know that Costco has the right to revoke any membership at any time. If you make any of these moves you risk being banned from the store.
Costco guarantees satisfaction with its memberships and offers you the opportunity to cancel the membership at any time of the year and get your money back. But if you cancel right before your membership renewal date, effectively giving you a year of free shopping at Costco, you probably won’t be allowed to renew your membership soon after.
At that point you run the risk of missing out on a world of savings. If you’re approaching the one-year mark and realize you haven’t been shopping at Costco as often as you used to, don’t just cancel. Instead, think about the different ways you can maximize the benefits of shopping at Costco.
You may have less need for large groceries if, for example, your children have recently left home. But in that case, you may have more freedom to travel, so you might want to take advantage of Costco’s cheap vacation packages.
Also keep in mind that Costco sells a variety of items from clothing to electronics and home appliances. And if you use the right credit card at Costco, you can stack your savings. Click here for a list of the best credit cards for Costco.
Costco’s return policy is more than fair. You can return virtually any item at any time for any reason, with some exceptions (such as electronics, where your return period is limited to 90 days). But if you abuse Costco’s return policy by returning items that are clearly no longer in resalable condition, you could be banned from the store.
Suppose you buy a jacket for your child and he or she wears it once before claiming it is not comfortable. Even if the tags have already been removed, this can be a reasonable return if the jacket is in like-new condition when you return it.
On the other hand, let’s say you buy a rug that your kids and pets will stomp on all year round. Then, after twelve months, if you try to return it all battered and torn, Costco may not take kindly to it.
There is no specific number of Costco returns that will result in your membership being revoked. But if your returns become excessively high, you risk losing your Costco access.
What is exaggerated? Making two or three returns per month is probably not enough, provided those returns are reasonable according to the point above. But if you make 12 returns in a month, you may end up on Costco’s blacklist, so be careful.
Of course, if you’re concerned because you’ve recently made a higher number of returns than usual, you can always go to your local store’s customer service department and ask if there’s a problem. A Costco representative can assure you that your return is still within a reasonable limit. And if not, you’ll at least get a warning to push returns back a few months to avoid getting flagged.
Losing access to Costco could take a major hit to your finances. Avoid these mistakes so that doesn’t happen.
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Be careful: These three mistakes could get you banned from Costco. Originally published by The Motley Fool
