I *heart* Costco

I know Costco recently changed their return policy that you can't return electronics past 90 days after you purchased them. But, hey, that's still 90 days longer than most stores!

So, let me take you back 2 years ago. I'm newly pregnant, just 4 weeks along. In fact, I haven't even told my parents that I was pregnant yet because I was waiting for their visit in just 2 days to be able to tell them in person.

Back to the real story.

Kyle and I are so excited about being pregnant, our digital camera is on the fritz, so we decide that a new camera is definitely something we need if we're having a baby. We drive to trusty 'ol Costco and buy ourselves a digital camera that is "highly recommended" by the employee in the electronics department. We bring it home, mess around with it and discover that the pictures are terrible. Back to Costo we drive to return it. Most stores (ie. Target) won't even return an electronic item if you've opened the box, but, Costco is fabulous. There is nothing in store that we like that is in our price range, so we go home and order a Canon Power Shot online from Costco.com.

We get it we love it, it's a great camera and we use it religiously for a long time, well, almost 2 years to the date, in fact. Then, one day, the zoom control starts sticking. And, I'm thinking to myself, "I don't want to spend another $200 on a camera, we didn't buy this one that long ago!". Then, that little light bulb goes on in my head like in the cartoons and I remember where we bought our camera, "oh yes! Costco, they'll totally return it!"

I dig around in my Gmail inbox and I come across the receipt, I print it and take it to the store to see if they'll return it. Sure enough, the customer service lady says that if I bring it in by June 17th, they'll take it back (I guess that when we bought it they had a 2 year return policy). I come home and start digging around the box. *gasp* I must have thrown it away! BUT, I did have EVERYTHING else, the memory card, the cable, everything.

I put off going back because I dreaded them saying "oh, you don't have the box, we can't return it. But, I knew it was worth a try and if they did by chance say they could return it, it would save us like $200. So, I prayed all the way to Costco today, "Lord, please let them take it back". I got up to the customer service counter and the lady hums and haws a little bit, but she returned it and give me CASH back including the shipping cost! I can't stand not being without a camera, so I bought a new Canon Power Shot while I was there for just a $18 difference.

I don't like making big purchases like that without Kyle, but he was home babysitting a sleeping boy, and I didn't want to drive back later since the next 3 days are packed for us and I need a new one by Sunday. But, apparently, I made a good choice because of all the cameras at Costco and Costco.com Cnet.com rated this one the highest.

That's why I *heart* Costco.