Costco's Little-Known Policy Will Rescue Your Forgotten Items

While paying for the privilege of shopping at a store might sound frivolous, Costco members know how worthwhile it can be. Membership with the wholesaler comes with its fair share of perks. Besides exclusive access to deals on quality goods and groceries, Costco is beloved for its generous return policy (so long as members don't abuse it), affordable gas, food court, and so much more. While company executives have promised that the inflation-proof price of the $1.50 hot dog and soda deal is permanent, Costco prioritizes customer loyalty in other ways, too. Constantly striving to go above and beyond to make members happy, the company has a little-known policy to make sure you get everything you pay for — even if you forget an item in the parking lot.

After a long (and likely exhausting) trip through a Costco warehouse specially designed to send you on a treasure hunt, it's easy enough to accidentally miss something in your cart after unloading it. If you forgot to grab an item before heading home, don't write it off. Chances are that with a return trip to Costco at your next convenience, you can secure a replacement item — and at no extra cost. Not many other retailers, if any, make a point to help customers who accidentally leave purchases behind. But Costco is special, so the company treats its members like they are, too. Here's how to take advantage of this secret membership perk.

Whether you're rushing home or forgot to check the cart's bottom rack before returning it, leaving an item behind in the Costco parking lot is more common than you might expect. It happens often enough that Costco has a decades-old system for returning forgotten purchases to their rightful member.

Any items that are left in the lot and brought back in, either by employees or courteous passersby, are logged at membership services. Individuals on Reddit who have made this shopping faux pas refer to a special "lost in lot" folder with details about which products were retrieved and on what date. If you've forgotten an item, Costco employees can check the log to see if and when it was turned in and verify that it's yours by looking at your receipt or purchase history.

Of course, all this hinges on the hope that anyone who notices abandoned items will be kind enough to bring them back to the store. Fortunately, Costco is often willing to replace the item even if it hasn't been returned. "It's a cheap way to keep a customer happy, which is worth quite a lot," noted one Reddit user. 

Worried about leaving without present-day proof of purchase? Since Costco workers check receipts at the door, whoever helps you can give you a note (or chaperone) to make the process smooth. Before you know it, you'll be headed home, forgotten item in tow.