If you don’t need your Christmas tree after Dec. 25, you might be able to get a full refund.
A woman in Santa Clara, California was spotted returning a Christmas tree to Costco on Jan. 4. She returned the tree “because it [was] dead,” a shopper waiting in line behind her said according to The Sun, and got her money back.
“I can’t make this stuff up,” Scott Bentley, who took a photo in the refund line, wrote on Facebook.
Costco gave the woman her refund after questioning her, verifying the purchase on her Costco account and shaming her “to a small degree,” the other shopper said.
The refund attempt riled up people online who couldn’t believe someone would try to return their Christmas tree well into the new year.
“People like this are miserable. Seriously, how cheap can you be?” one commenter said.
But Costco — like Nordstrom and REI — is famous for its lenient return policy. The store will take back almost anything at nearly any time.
“Sister works for Costco, can confirm. People do this all the time. They will even demand a refund without bringing back the tree,” one commenter said.
On one Reddit thread, Costco employees recounted the weirdest returns they’d seen. Dead plants, old mattresses, empty wine bottles and personal photos have all been exchanged for refunds.
