Costco member spotted returning vintage item from 2002 under retailer's 'unlimited grace period' - should they be eligible for a refund?

A viral photo showing a person returning an old TV from the early 2000s to Costco has again put the spotlight on the retailer's much-loved return policy.

The image shows a vintage Samsung television sitting on an iconic orange Costco flat cart in a store in Pennsylvania.

Costco's return policy hit the headlines in January when a video emerged of a woman returning her two-and-a-half-year couch without a receipt.

At the time, customers and even staff confirmed that the retailer's generous policy allowed most items to be returned at any time.

But the return of a two-decade-old TV is another matter that has left even Costco fans stunned. One wrote under the viral post on Reddit: 'This is WILD. 22 years later who just decides to roll in and return a TV?'

The original poster replied: 'Y'know, after 20 years, I felt like this just didn't work for our space.'

Referring to the size of the TV, which has a base with a large speaker and is much deeper than the flat screen sets most people have today, they added: 'Probably took 20 years just to find someone to help haul it out of their living room.'

The user that posted the photo, which went viral on the r/Costco subreddit, told DailyMail.com they were not sure whether the refund was issued and that they overheard associates suggesting the original purchase was made in 2002.

The model appears to be a rear projection Samsung HCL552W, which was available in the US market in 2002.

'I didn't get to see the person(s) that made the actual return,' the user wrote in a reply to the image. 

'I just saw the associates processing. Their response was "falls within guidelines" along with a large shrug.'

The owner of the old TV would have had a strong case for returning it.

Although Costco currently has a policy whereby electronics need to be returned within 90 days of their purchase, that was not the case until 2007 - after the television was supposedly sold.  

In a news story published by the LA Times in February 2007, titled 'Costco halts liberal electronics return policy,' it was reported that Costco had been losing 'tens of millions of dollars' a year on returned consumer electronics, especially TVs.

After the story about the sofa being returned in January, DailyMail.com published a full summary of the Costco return policy.

Almost all items, with some exceptions, can be returned at any time - even without a receipt. 

This was backed up by a former worker on the Costco returns desk, who said the retailer maintains a list of everything a customer has ever bought and returned.

That means they can tell when the lenient policy is being abused, and also that members may not need to show a receipt as proof of purchase.

When Costco changed its policy around electronics in 2007, the LA Times interviewed a police officer who was in the process of returning a plasma TV he bought in 2004 because its colors were fading.

The warehouse in Glendale issued a refund, 'no questions asked'.

'It was awesome. It was great,' he said. 'It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that someone was going to abuse it eventually.'

A separate report in 2007 published by the Wall Street Journal also covered the end of the 'unlimited grace period to return [electronic] purchases for a full refund.'

It noted that 'electronics goods bought before the implementation of the new 90-day policy still can be returned at any time.'

So fortunately for the owner of the vintage Samsung spotted in Pennsylvania this week, if the television was purchased before 2007 they are theoretically eligible for a refund.

DailyMail.com wrote to Costco for clarification as to whether a refund for the television was issued but did not immediately receive a response.