Costco is Testing Batteries Now?

[loneryder]

Not surprised, the 3 year no-prorate warranty was ripe for fraud. People were returning them at month 35 and getting a brand new battery.

They used to do that with computers. Always have the latest technology.

 

[Snagglefoot]

So why do they pretend to count? Are they being stealthy?

They might be profiling and also they are establishing a presence to discourage the amateur thieves. I’ll bet the pros don’t get discouraged by this.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Believe it or not, their official stance on the subject is that there are more risks of the customer being overcharged than trying to sneak with unpaid merchandise. Given the turbo bills people usually pay at Costco - a double scan is easy to miss in the final number.

Now I know for certain you’re pulling my chain. Costco would love for me to pay twice.

 

[demarpaint]

I love when they pretend to count your 54 items that are shoveled into your cart by their associate in a big heep, then draw a line through the ticket to signify you have 54 items

LOL I find that entertaining too, especially as the line to exit is growing. Regarding testing the batteries, certainly helpful for selling a battery, and stopping people trying to scam them before the warranty is up is just another perk .

 

[Hall]

because people would abuse the warranty and trade in perfectly good batteries to get "a fresh one" right before the replacement period was up.

Even right here among BITOG members, we have heard people brag about abusing Costco's generous warranty, by returning good batteries, just so they can get a fresh battery under warranty.

This is exactly what I thought of when I read The Critic's post.

 

[Kira]

Given the turbo bills people usually pay at Costco

?? I assume this refers to shopping carts FILLED with stuff.

 

[goblin]

?? I assume this refers to shopping carts FILLED with stuff.

Yup, full cart, $500+ bill.

Get something double-scanned and Costco will lose way more money dealing with your complaint later, vs catching it right away. There's rarely a scenario where you'll stay quiet on an overcharge-everything at Costco is north of 10 bucks a pop, or almost.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Cannot blame them at all, this should've been in place long time ago. The worst is when they "buy" biggest TV just to return it after Super Bowl or whatever they are watching.

They stopped the no-question tv return years ago. I had bought a Visio(?) tv for my folks that went on the blink after a few years. I went to buy another figuring the warranty was up. The guy looked up the transaction and said, "Bring it in. That one is still under the old program." I told him, "No, that's not right" but he said, "No, bring it in." So I went and got it, and of course got a bigger TV for less $$.

 

[Donald]

Returned/exchanged one 2 months ago, no test. What if it's not charged. Not likely they will spend the time to charge it and test. More likely they will test the existing battery if you ask.

A conductive battery tester like a Midtronics does not require a fully charged battery.