I just confirmed this, that costco no longer has the unofficial "lifetime" guarantee anymore! Sucks for the people that have not upgraded yet.
Costco Changes Return Policy for Electronics: Costco changed their return policy for all electronics purchases. Under the new policy, all electronics purchases as of 2007 can be returned "no questions asked" for up to 3 months after purchase, and up to 6 months for defective merchandise. This is a huge change to their policy, where all non-computer electronics returns were accepted for up to 3 years (sometimes 5 years) after purchase with the original receipt. The new policy is for all electronics, including televisions, stereos, GPSs, cameras, projectors, MP3 Players, and phones.
Costco stores will still accept returns for all electronics purchased within the last 3 years, but only for a few more weeks until members are notified about the new policy. The product being returned must include the original receipt, all manuals, cables, and everything which came in the original box. The original product box itself is not required for most electronics returns.
If you still have the original receipt from an electronics purchase made within the last 3 years, you may want to consider returning it soon before the new policy formally takes affect. For example, if you purchased an upconvert DVD player 2 years ago for $120, a 32" LCD HDTV 2 years ago for $900, a 37" LCD HDTV 2 years ago for $1700, or a Garmin Nuvi 350 GPS a year ago for $800, you can return it today for a complete refund which can be used toward anything including a brand new HDTV or GPS. HDTVs have dropped in price by half over the past 2 years, and GPSs have dropped in half over the last year. Getting a full refund for a past purchase and upgrading to a new model is definitely a hot deal.
All non-electronics purchases still can be returned years after purchase, with the original receipt.
Costco Changes Return Policy for Electronics: Costco changed their return policy for all electronics purchases. Under the new policy, all electronics purchases as of 2007 can be returned "no questions asked" for up to 3 months after purchase, and up to 6 months for defective merchandise. This is a huge change to their policy, where all non-computer electronics returns were accepted for up to 3 years (sometimes 5 years) after purchase with the original receipt. The new policy is for all electronics, including televisions, stereos, GPSs, cameras, projectors, MP3 Players, and phones.
Costco stores will still accept returns for all electronics purchased within the last 3 years, but only for a few more weeks until members are notified about the new policy. The product being returned must include the original receipt, all manuals, cables, and everything which came in the original box. The original product box itself is not required for most electronics returns.
If you still have the original receipt from an electronics purchase made within the last 3 years, you may want to consider returning it soon before the new policy formally takes affect. For example, if you purchased an upconvert DVD player 2 years ago for $120, a 32" LCD HDTV 2 years ago for $900, a 37" LCD HDTV 2 years ago for $1700, or a Garmin Nuvi 350 GPS a year ago for $800, you can return it today for a complete refund which can be used toward anything including a brand new HDTV or GPS. HDTVs have dropped in price by half over the past 2 years, and GPSs have dropped in half over the last year. Getting a full refund for a past purchase and upgrading to a new model is definitely a hot deal.
All non-electronics purchases still can be returned years after purchase, with the original receipt.
