People Returning Used Christmas Trees to Costco Sparks Debate

People Returning Used Christmas Trees to Costco Sparks Debate

People returning used Christmas trees to Costco sparks debate on December 2025, as viral videos show customers getting full refunds for trees they bought weeks ago. The “100% satisfaction guarantee” at Costco is being pushed to its absolute limit as “tree-renters” trade in their dead pines for cash.

The internet is divided into two camps. One side calls the practice “trashy” and “abusive,” while the other argues that if Costco allows it, customers should take advantage of the policy they pay for with their membership. Costco is famous for its risk-free 100% satisfaction guarantee. Unlike Target or Walmart, which often have strict holiday return windows, Costco technically allows members to return almost anything at any time—even a brown, needle-shedding tree in January. While the returns are usually successful, reports have surfaced in late 2025 that Costco has begun “flagging” accounts for excessive or abusive returns. Some users have even had their memberships canceled for “systemic abuse” of the policy. Influencers are currently “side-eyeing” those who film themselves returning trees, with many commenters calling it the “Shopping Cart Theory” of retail—just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you should.

Is this a genius money-saving hack or is it officially crossing a line? Sound off in the comments! 👇

#costco #christmastree #viral #shoppinghacks #costcofinds #retailnews #holidaydrama #shorts #fyp #trending

32 comments

  1. This is sad. Some people are idiots and don't give a shit about their fellow man . Then they bitch about prices going up.Costco needs to change it's policy all seasonal item cannot be return after the holiday. I've seen old disgusting, dirty, stained furniture being returned . Furniture should not be allowed to be returned unless it is damaged. The same goes for stealing companies are insured ,they'll get their money. Honest paying customers are the ones that will get screwed .

  2. Why? This is a great company that’s looked out for its customers and its employees. Greedy. Selfish. Unbelievable. Really embodying the Christmas Spirit. 🖕

  3. And I bet you the people returning these items are filthy f n rich asf scums. The people who follow the rules are usually the middle and lower class folks that understand not to do stuff like this because we know what it feels like to come from dirt.

  4. I would never do this. But I can tell you that the policy is a primary reason I stay there. They are very fair. The manager overheard me asking about a problem with a toilet that I had bought two years earlier. I had no intention of asking for my money back on a two year old toilet. She had me bring it in! I was like, "You know I've been using this thing right!" LOL. They also let me bring back a computer that was two years old. I turned around an bought the replacement that minute.

  13. u think costco hasn't crunched the numbers !??.They get FULL credit from the manufacturer for returned items, where the consumer, in this case does all the heavy lifting regarding the return..Also the manufactuerer sends guys in large trucks to pick up wrapped skids marked "returns" that are just for them..Sooooo costco gets hundreds of people returning to their store more often to see and buy AFTER holiday marked up shit..Do you idiots really think cosco CEOs are just sitting there , twiddling their thumbs saying " oh well, what can we do, we will just keep up this policy because we have no beter ideas or the balls to change it now" ??? Comon man, THINK!!!!

  14. Its pretty simple. Any time you get a customer with these abusive claims. Make them stand in line all day, and at the end of the day, tell them you ran out of time and to come back tomorrow

  22. I'm not a Costco member however I love the fact that Costco keeps prices at a reasonable price, I HOPE COSTO PUTS AND END to some things like 👉 Christmas 🎄🎄, half empty food and drinks, or worn out cloth😢😢😢 TO HELP KEEP COSTS DOWN

  23. Normally I would agree with you all that this is shitty behavior ..
    but the way our economy is & how these big stores fuck is just like the government does
    I say by all means 🤷‍♂️ return it all get yo paper back baby 😂🎉

  25. I work for Sam’s Club. We used to have some of the best return policies in all of retail. It’s this sort of behavior that killed those policies. For example: we had people who would return 20 year old sofas…they kept the receipt…technically it was a valid return… As these sorts of shenanigans started to become commonplace the generous policies began to disappear…

Comments are closed.