What Does Costco Do With Unsold Appliances And Furniture?

There is nothing better than a Friday night at the club. No, not that club — Costco. In these turbulent times, the big-box store has become the hero we didn't know we needed, with common household items you can buy in bulk and an iconic $1.50 hot dog (the price has stayed the same since 1985). But if you thought you couldn't beat the deals, it turns out, you can. How? By shopping the store's unsold furniture.

Costco is renowned for its extremely lenient "risk free, 100% satisfaction guarantee" return policy. Items can be returned to any location or warehouse to be refunded for the full purchase price, with no restrictions on furniture. (Appliances, for example, have a 90-day return window.) This means that the store gets a lot of returned furniture, rugs, patio sets, and home decor that can't be put back on the floor. These often-returned items go up for sale at Costco's wholesale liquidation auctions.

These auctions are B2B, meaning that for U.S. buyers, they are restricted to business owners with a resale certificate from their respective state. International buyers can provide proof of a business and a valid U.S. address. Approved buyers can bid on liquidated inventory that includes returns, excess inventory, and rare shelf pulls, though there's a chance these items will have missing parts or minor damage.

Business owners who want to shop Costco's auctions must first register for a sales tax permit. This process varies by state, so head to your state's department of revenue website for more details. Usually, you'll need to provide your Employment Identification Number (EIN), and reason for applying, which includes what you'll be selling and how much. Once approved, you'll receive a reseller permit that prevents you from paying double taxes — i.e. tax when you purchase or stock an item and sales tax again when you resell it.

Once you have this document, you can apply to Costco's wholesale liquidation auctions via the retailer's website. Then, you can bid on auctions throughout the year. They close daily, and you'll want to keep an eye on the auction's location, since one closer to you will help mediate shipping costs. Also, note that the retailer prohibits you from selling items within five miles of a Costco retail store.

During these auctions, you'll receive everything you need to know about Costco's home products. You can shop by the lot size, which ranges anywhere from a small pack of boxes, to pallets, to groupings of pallets, to full truckloads. Within these groups, inventory is rated by condition: new, like new, grade A/B (which can cover returns or unsold merchandise), or C/D (returns that might be scratched, dented, or have missing or broken parts). You can also filter by type of product to narrow in on exactly what your business needs.