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Costco Will Pay $14 Million Over 'Limited-Time' Sale Emails — Here's Who Can Claim a Share

Washington state Costco members who received certain promotional emails since 2021 have until August 24, 2026 to file a claim in the class-action settlement.

By THRYV Reviews Desk·Published August 14, 2026·Updated August 14, 2026·3 min read
Costco Will Pay $14 Million Over 'Limited-Time' Sale Emails — Here's Who Can Claim a Share
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The takeaway

Costco has agreed to pay $14 million over claims it sent Washington residents promotional emails with misleading 'limited-time' subject lines, violating the state's commercial email law. Eligible members who received qualifying emails between June 2021 and July 2026 can file a claim online by August 24, 2026; a judge granted preliminary approval in June, with final approval expected in October.

Costco has agreed to pay $14 million to resolve a class-action lawsuit accusing it of sending Washington state members promotional emails with misleading 'limited-time' language, and the deadline to file a claim is August 24, 2026. The case centers on subject lines like 'Today is the last day to access Member-Only Savings' and 'Hot Buys available for 5 Days Only,' which the lawsuit alleged violated Washington's commercial email law by falsely implying urgency.

Who's eligible

The settlement class covers Washington residents who received qualifying commercial emails from Costco between June 2, 2021, and July 7, 2026. The exact number of eligible members has not been disclosed. A judge granted preliminary approval on June 23, 2026, and a final approval hearing is scheduled for October 2, 2026.

How to file a claim

Claims can be filed online, and the settlement notice states no proof of the emails is required for a pro-rata payment. The exact per-person payout has not been set and will depend on how many members file valid claims before the deadline.

To file a claim

Submit a claim at veritaconnect.com/washingtoncommercialemailsettlement/Claimant, or mail a printed form to the settlement administrator, by August 24, 2026.

The settlement applies only to Washington state residents; Costco members elsewhere are not part of this particular case. No quotes from Costco or class counsel were available in the source material reviewed for this article.

Sources

This article is original writing by THRYV. We link to primary reporting and official documents rather than reproducing them.

  1. $14M Costco Settlement Resolves Class Action Lawsuit Over Promo Emails With Allegedly Misleading Subject LinesClassAction.org

Why you can trust this article

Written and edited in-house by the THRYV Reviews Desk. We do not republish or reword agency copy, and we do not invent quotes, statistics, testimonials or ratings. Where figures move frequently, we point you to the primary release rather than printing a number that will be out of date. Advertising and affiliate partnerships have no influence on our reporting — see our editorial standards, fact-checking policy and affiliate disclosure. Spotted an error? Write to newsroom@thryv-news.com.

General information only. Not personalised financial, medical or legal advice.

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