Can You Return A Costco Cake? Here's What To Know
Costco's return policy is generous, to say the least — members have been known to make some surprising returns and walk away with a full refund, even for items that are half-eaten. One Costco bakery secret you may not have known is that all the cakes are eligible for return if you so choose. Maybe you had to cancel a birthday party at the last minute or you accidentally grabbed the wrong flavor. Whatever your reason, you can return a cake to Costco if you are not 100% satisfied with it, even if there are a few bites taken out of it.
When it comes to Costco's return policy, it is easier for the company to outline the handful of items that you cannot return, rather than list all the items you can. It is not specified anywhere on Costco's return policy that members cannot return a cake, therefore it is safe to assume that you could, hypothetically, return a cake — this applies to both pre-made cakes that are displayed in Costco's bakery section as well as the personalized sheet cakes that are made to order for your celebration. If you are not 100% satisfied with the state of your cake because of its design, flavor, or you simply ordered a backup that you didn't end up needing, the warehouse will most likely give you a refund as long as there is cake leftover to return.
Costco will take back a cake if you are unsatisfied — but there's a catch
One of the biggest benefits of having a Costco membership is utilizing the company's return policy, especially when you are hosting. Being able to return items like large cakes that end up going mostly ignored because everyone filled up on dinner is a huge relief to our wallets. However, there needs to be a substantial amount of cake left in order for Costco to complete your return. While it is not explicitly stated in Costco's return policy terms, it is a commonly understood rule that the item needs to exist in order to make a return. If you show up to your local warehouse with an empty cake box and claim that your family didn't like it, all the employees can give you are their condolences, since there are no actual slices left to give back. If a cake is about 25 to 30 percent eaten, you will likely be able to make a return, but if more than half of your dessert was finished off, you may be out of luck.
While you could technically return a cake to Costco, users on Reddit have debated about whether or not you should. Some users claim that the idea of returning a cake that is partially eaten is taking advantage of the return policy Costco offers. Other members on a Costco subreddit couldn't understand why leftover cake is a bad thing, suggesting that people donate it rather than throw it away since employees will just end up throwing the cake out for health and safety reasons anyway. Either way, rest easy knowing that if you are unsatisfied with the quality of your cake, Costco makes it easy to get a refund.