Costco has a popular section where one can buy gift cards for a variety of businesses. These gift cards are intended to work by a customer bringing them to the cashier, who will activate them upon purchase.
However, at all stores, things don’t always go as expected. For example, one Sephora customer claimed that she had a gift card, only to discover upon going to the store that scammers had completely drained it. Others have been dismayed to learn that their gift cards were subject to “monthly maintenance fees.”
Now, a user on TikTok has gone viral after sharing a piece of advice about gift cards and vouchers purchased from Costco.
What went wrong with these Costco LA County Fair tickets?
In a video with over 483,000 views, TikTok user Jocelyn Kirkland (@jocelynmkirkland) issues a warning to those buying tickets to the Los Angeles County Fair through Costco.
“You see these things?” she says, holding up a cardboard sleeve decorated with LA County Fair imagery. “Don’t leave the store with them, because this doesn’t have any value.”
As the video goes on, Kirkland explains that she purchased the package, which includes 4 admission tickets, 20 ride tickets, and more, from a Costco location. However, upon driving an hour and a half to where the fair was taking place, she learned that this cardboard sleeve was not enough to give her what she had purchased.
“[The worker] was like, ‘Why did you leave Costco with that?’” the TikToker recalls. “Excuse me, because I bought it? Because I wanted to come to the fair? She’s like, ‘they shouldn’t let you leave with that.’”
In the end, Kirkland simply bought tickets at the fair and returned the package to Costco.
How are you supposed to get tickets from Costco?
In many cases, Costco will allow one to purchase a product without actually having it in their hands by providing them with a voucher. Then, they can exchange the voucher for the actual item.
For example, if one is buying a video game from Costco, they often aren’t given the game itself until the checkout. Instead, they are made to carry around a cardboard sleeve with the directions “Take this card to the register to purchase this item.”
Generally speaking, employees are supposed to inform customers of this dynamic so that they don’t leave with solely the sleeve instead of their product. However, mix-ups do happen, such as the case of Kirkland’s LA County Fair tickets. In instances like these, one should bring their receipt to Costco and attempt to resolve the issue there.
@jocelynmkirkland #costco #discount #shopping ♬ original sound – Jocelyn Kirkland
Commenters are surprised
In the comments section, many users were shocked that the TikToker was able to leave the store with the cardboard piece in the first place, as Costco employees are trained to be observant about this exact thing.
“As strict as they are I am surprised they didn’t catch that,” wrote a user.
“Our Costco calls the manager to grab it while you are checking out,” added another.
“The cashier should tell you to get your tickets and take that cardboard from you immediately,” echoed a third.
In a follow-up video, Kirkland noted that similar products offer instructions in fine print at the bottom, though she was able to secure a refund following her error.
The Daily Dot reached out to Costco via media contact form and Kirkland via email.
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