11 Of The Most Frequently Returned Appliances At Costco

Costco is known for having one of the more generous return policies of all the big retailers. Outside of several exceptions, Costco will refund the purchase price of any product a customer deems disappointing, at any time, no questions asked. The caveats include bringing electronics back within 90 days, and the exemptions include cigarettes, alcohol, precious metals, gift cards, and shop cards — all of which are ineligible for returns, period.

Otherwise, if the thing you bought at Costco isn't doing it for you, restitution is always an option. In fact, you can even return your membership itself if you're unhappy. Yes, Costco will cancel the membership and refund the actual cost at the mere expression of dissatisfaction. That's how good the policy is: You can even return Costco to Costco. 

And you can bet customers take full advantage of the lenient protocol. All manner of items are returned to the store, in all kinds of states: from unwrapped poultry to opened bags of walnuts to half-eaten birthday cakes — and that's just food. Another big category of returns is appliances. They can break down, bust up, burn out, and bite the dust way sooner than expected. Before you buy your next kitchen gadget at Costco, let's take a look at some of the appliances that customers have returned the most. Consider it pre-purchase intelligence.

Keurig has been taking an industrial-scale hit lately. Not only did its sustainability image absolutely tank after the SEC determined the parent company (Keurig Dr Pepper) lied about the recyclability of its extensively used coffee pods, but the corporation's U.S. coffee segment as a whole has seen its income plummet in recent years (despite the many K-Cup hacks available out there). This may explain why the brand's coffee makers have become shoddy, making them among the most returned appliances at Costco.

And by most-returned, we mean that a Costco employee who worked returns reported at least one Keurig being brought back every day. Another return worker claimed it was definitely the product they saw the most frequently. Staff in general have told customers seeking refunds for their Keurig that they rarely last a year. For a coffee maker that can cost over $200, this is simply not a sound investment. 

With all this well-known, relentless disappointment, it's a surprise that anyone still buys Keurig products at Costco. Add to that the ever-rising awareness of microplastics, and any appliance that literally causes you to repeatedly consume its product out of tiny plastic containers already has a big strike going against it. Although maybe the fact that the machines don't really work well means it's actually saving your health? Lose some, win some?

Some may think returning a giant refrigerator — even if it's not completely all you dreamed of — is too much of a to-do. Others may feel that's the only reason you need to return what may be the most important appliance in your kitchen, if not your entire house (no offense, standing lamp). And sometimes, that decision is made for people, particularly when the refrigerator in question simply doesn't work. After all, it should at least refrigerate.

And it seems the Samsung and LG fridges are the ones falling short and being returned more than any others at Costco. Samsung, in particular, has sent dismayed customers flocking to social media to air their grievances regarding these faulty products. It's even caused some people to swear off Samsung products altogether. All told, the low expectations for any fridge with "Sam" and "sung" on it, in that order, are well-established.

Not to be outdone by Samsung, LG has repeatedly frustrated buyers with its refrigerator model's poor temperature control (a semi-important function for what's essentially a temperature-control device). Because of the subpar compression system, LG customers are getting terrible reliability, which is another characteristic of a fridge that's really a non-negotiable. It became so bad that people have sued LG in a class-action, although the company has slyly maneuvered around any real legal consequences to this point. Maybe LG stands for "legal gamesmanship." 

Sometimes the choice to return a product to the store is an extremely easy one. And easy choices are welcome. We're all stuck with enough indecision in our lives, so it can actually be refreshing to look at something you own and go, "I definitely need to get this out of my home immediately, full stop." In this one context, people can thank Oster. However, many dismayed Oster customers would rather replace the "thank" in "thank you" with a different word — one with just four letters. Actually, let's stop there.

Why is the Oster countertop oven often returned? Simple: It was literally burning people. Not burn as in a scathing insult accompanied by an "Oohhhh!" or when a wide receiver leaves a cornerback in the dust. Burn as in dangerous heat on skin. If there were a bullet-pointed list of things you didn't want your oven to do, "burning me" would probably be ranked number one through five. But Oster's French-door countertop oven was doing just that, with nearly 100 burn reports tied directly to the appliance.

What was the result? A massive recall for over a million separate ovens, originally sold not only at Costco but also at Walmart, Bed Bath & Beyond, and other stores. For Costco customers, many eschewed the official recall's instruction to order a repair kit and just got a refund. Can't blame them.

There's almost nothing worse than dreaming of the first sip of wine at the end of a long day, only to discover your electric wine opener isn't doing its one, single job. So there you are: punching it a little out of frustration, rummaging through the drawer, blowing the dust off your creaky manual wine opener, pulling a muscle trying to use it, breaking the cork ... it's all too much.

There may not be a metric for this, but it wouldn't be a surprise to hear that customers returning electric wine openers are some of the most disgruntled returners of things. Some of the specific reasons behind the returns for the Rabbit were sputtering motors and degraded rubber. One customer had even admitted to purchasing the defective opener three different times (while confessing that they can't seem to learn their lesson).

And the thing is, the Rabbit wine opener really does seem like an economical purchase, with the set retailing at Costco for only around $20. Affordable enough to make a great gift, one may even tell themselves. Think twice. What you might assume is a gift may just be a future moment of crisis for the grateful beneficiary who has no idea what's coming. Can that really be called a gift? After all, there are a lot of wines to pair in the world and little time to waste opening them.

Despite desperately searching Google in the hopes that it was true, it turns out microwaves don't use space energy to reheat your burrito. Using electricity, microwave ovens simply create the same type of electromagnetic radiation that exists throughout space. But those two energies are, disappointingly, separate entities. Listen, you can still call it a space burrito if you want. 

For buyers of Panasonic microwaves, it seems many of their space burritos were not being nuked to satisfaction. And back to Costco they have gone. One customer who was disgruntled, not once, but twice, over the product after a replacement, called Panasonic's product the "microwave from Hell." Never really wondered what Hell's microwave would be like, but one could imagine it would have a very high heat setting. And possibly demons.

Even a customer who had stuck with the Panasonic model for several years had no problem finally taking the initiative and sending the microwave back to Costco from whence it came. Others rarely have to wait that long to lug it to the return counter. Especially after they're, yet again, being failed by the replacement as well. See a theme here? Aside from regret?

The late Dutch engineer Frank van der Weij invented the air fryer in 2006. Was it the greatest thing to come out of the Netherlands since Vermeer's masterpiece "Girl with a Pearl Earring?" We'll let posterity decide. What can't be argued is that the air fryer has changed the appliance game forever, boasting numerous applications in the kitchen. But not all air fryers are created equal. Many are returned to Costco.

And it seems the Gourmia and Cuisinart versions are leading the way. Regarding the latter brand, wheezing and hacking customers have reported its air fryer burning food in minutes, filling the house with smoke — and this is after having it for less than two years and avoiding daily use. Others have complained that the digital settings were faulty, which would give the timer what seemed like a mind of its own (haunted air fryer?).

As for the Gourmia air fryer, it seems to have its own wiring issues, with one buyer claiming that the cord would get dangerously, abnormally hot. When your appliance is a genuine hazard, that's a bad sign. No wonder it makes people encourage returning it to Costco, in the hope that the chain stops selling that manufacturer. (Nothing sends a message to a company more than a bottom-line threat.)

Americans take their outdoor grilling seriously. Many an apron-clad uncle will tell you as much. A 2025 survey by Talker Research revealed that two-thirds of the population cite summer grilling season as their favorite time of year. (Interestingly enough, the same survey revealed a consensus for the ideal number of guests at a barbecue: 11.) What's not to love? And it's really the easiest cooking to do. However, don't tell that to the same uncle. You think they give "Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em" aprons to just anybody?

As for the appliance itself: Traeger makes the world's best-selling woodfire grills, so lots of people have them. Costco is one of the biggest retailers in the world and happens to sell Traeger grills. And lots of people return them. What were some of the complaints? Improper funneling of woodchips, turning itself off, and self-combusting (!) to name a few. Admittedly, it hasn't turned every jilted customer off of the brand, as one Redditor claimed that the Traeger Ironwood 650 is a well-made iteration.

Still, you might want to do your due diligence before walking out of Costco with your Traeger, ready to host exactly 11 people for a backyard barbecue. It may decide not to work or, on the other end of the spectrum, work too much that it becomes a literal fireball. But who needs eyebrows, right?

Nespresso? More like No-spresso. Or more like Espress-no. Those are definitely the exact two things many Costco customers are saying aloud after purchasing a Vertuo Next — at least, judging by the volume of those particular returns the warehouse chain sees on a regular basis. The Nespresso headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, may want to take notice. Although who can blame them for instead just staring out onto Lake Geneva without a care in the world? (Answer: Many people.)

Aside from the instances where people have just not been cleaning their Nespresso machines, it seems there are constant defects in the products themselves. One customer expressed shock at how poor a model the Next was, especially since they were happy with other Nespresso machines they previously purchased. 

Another buyer, more curt with their feelings, called the Next a "disaster." Yet another hard-done-by consumer had all kinds of problems with their Next, including water leaking and strange noises emitting from the machine, only for the replacement to arrive with missing and broken parts. That can bring a level of frustration that forces one to sit down, take a breath, and relax over a nice cup of coffee. Oh, wait.

SharkNinja, the maker of Ninja products, went from a small '90s Canadian startup to a multi-billion-dollar consumer product company with a handprint on a lot of homes. One of those handprints: the once-viral Ninja Creami, an ice cream maker that allows for a lot of creative freedom. Indeed, there is no shortage of recipes, hacks, and inspiration to be found online for optimal Creami utilization. People take their ice cream very seriously around here.

There's no doubt the product has stirred the imaginations of many a Costco shopper since appearing on the chain's shelves. Unfortunately, many of them have had dreamer's remorse, as the Creami has become one of the most sent-back appliances at the member-only warehouse.

Some have reported complete breakdowns after possessing the product for only a few weeks. What hurts is that it's a product that customers just really want to love. One person started weeping when their machine unexpectedly broke. Unfortunately, some folks have come to accept that, as appealing as a Ninja product can be, the quality in the build is often sorely lacking. Too bad. There's nothing worse than wasted opportunity (to eat ice cream).

The next entry on this list is simply an entire genre of appliance. No specific brands here. It seems that a wide range of dishwashers are at fault and need to shoulder the blame, because all types are being ricocheted back into the Costco inventory by perturbed patrons. And it goes beyond people cleaning the filter incorrectly (or not at all); it's often a product problem. 

It's an unwelcome problem to say the least. Most people don't want to just accept this fate and start cleaning all their flatware, pans, and utensils by hand. Also, cleaning by hand sucks.

So, yes, there have been many a dishwasher wheeled back into a Costco, either on a flatbed or the shoulders of a person whose dishwasher-based rage has endowed them with superhuman strength. Some dishwasher returns have come two years in, due to defective control boards. Some have happened immediately because the darn thing just won't fit into the wall. One customer in particular saw their new dishwasher dead-on-arrival after being delivered by Costco — and then went on to have to replace it three more times.

The advantages of a toaster oven over a standard toaster are many and varied. Armed with every capability the pop-up kind offers, yet able to toast a wider array of food, toaster ovens have convinced many a Costco customer of an investment. In fact, the toaster oven is so formidable that it can compete with another appliance juggernaut for your counter space: the air fryer.

But there is a problem, it seems, when it comes to the Cuisinart variety of toaster oven at any given Costco: There's a good chance it's going to be returned. Issues have ranged from the clock on the oven running too fast, causing food to be undercooked (all sorts of bad things can happen there), to the knobs simply not working, making it extremely difficult to dial cooking to the right time or temperature in the first place.

These are issues similar to Cuisinart's other much-returned product, the air fryer. Even Cuisinart's conventional pop-up toaster seems to have all kinds of circuit-shorting defects going on. Sounds like multiple Cuisinarts on a countertop may make for many a misadventure. Someone high up at Cuisinart should take a good, long look in the mirror. Wait, Cuisinart doesn't make mirrors, do they?