var json_comments = new Array("
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RudeandRude
April 11, 2009 4:05 AM
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Am I the only one that thought the hard drive was sold to a 9-year old kid by the look of the title?

:Feeling dumb:

Does anyone believe in keeping customers happy anymore?

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22 replies
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PhiTauBill
April 13, 2009 6:50 PM
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@jc364: I figured it out when he said that he had driven to the store a couple of times, because at least in the states around me on the East Coast, they make you wait until at least age 16 to grant you a driver's license.

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RStui
April 13, 2009 1:31 PM
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@RudeandRude: HAHA!! Me too!


I feel better now, though.

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MyDarlin
April 12, 2009 3:17 AM
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@RudeandRude:


Well I didn't get it until I read you post! Of course I 'was' thinking that 9 y/o john was amazingly eloquent in his writing! Now I know!

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zumdish
April 12, 2009 1:47 AM
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@RudeandRude: Reminds me of a sign in a gas station that said \"WE WILL NOT DISPENSE GAS TO ANYONE IN GLASS BOTTLES\" - wondered how may people drive up inside a glass bottle . . .

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dragonfire81
April 11, 2009 4:05 PM
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@TCTH: I guess it should have read \"Best Buy sells old discontinued hard drive....\"

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chatterboxwriting
April 11, 2009 3:09 PM
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@RudeandRude: Nope. I was impressed that a 9 year-old could afford such an expensive item.

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burnedout
April 11, 2009 2:40 PM
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@RudeandRude: I totally thought they meant a nine-year-old kid, too. Don't feel bad :)

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Feminist Whore
April 11, 2009 2:06 PM
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@RudeandRude: I did, but I'm totally stoned so I have an excuse.
]:^}

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morganlh85
April 11, 2009 2:04 PM
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@RudeandRude: Yes I totally thought that. I was all, \"Wow, what a well-written nine-year-old!\" lol

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crunchberries
April 11, 2009 1:52 PM
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@RudeandRude: No, it took me a couple of read through to realize it wasn't about that.

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techstar25
April 11, 2009 1:17 PM
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@RudeandRude: I hear that at the Best Buy in Thailand you can in fact, buy 9-year-olds.

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esp13
April 13, 2009 3:46 PM
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@techstar25: in Soviet Russia, 9 year-old sells you...

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kmw2
April 11, 2009 1:54 PM
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@techstar25: Yeah, you think you're getting a nine year old, but actually they're 15.

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ScarletsWalk
April 11, 2009 12:19 PM
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@RudeandRude:

I was thinking \"Dang, this kid is articulate\" and thought the comments were going to be full of \"Who cares how old the poster is? What difference does that make?\" vitriol.

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gc3160thtuk
April 11, 2009 9:21 AM
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@RudeandRude: no, I honestly kept trying to find the parts about how the consumer-savvy 9 year-old bites Best Buy in the ass and gets his money back. It finally dawned on me that they meant the drive was 9 not the consumer. LOL.

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RB_Bhoy
April 11, 2009 8:13 AM
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@RudeandRude: no i thought it was about selling to minors, too! then i thought it suspicious that a 9yo had $225...

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D-Bo
April 11, 2009 6:24 AM
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@RudeandRude: From the title I too thought BB had stooped to ripping off children...

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SharpTenor
April 11, 2009 4:09 AM
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@RudeandRude: Don't feel bad, at first glance, I thought Best Buy sold a nine year old. This is a helpful reminder to open products before leaving.

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MyPetFly
April 11, 2009 4:18 AM
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@SharpTenor:

Jake: [fakes accent] How much for the little girl? How much for the women?
Father: What?
Jake: Your women. I want to buy your women. The little girl, your daughters... sell them to me. Sell me your children.

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bkdlays
April 11, 2009 4:10 AM
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This situation is very improbable so I can see why BB is giving John a hard time.

If the box was actually sealed then something very strange is going on. I would speculate that this item was once before sold and returned. The previous customer scammed BB and it was returned to inventory as \"sealed\"

BB's history has shown they have no problem selling any merchandise as new, never mind a sealed box.

A BB Employee also could very well have made the switch. A shrink wrap machine creates a factory looking seal in seconds!

Either way this is what credit cards are for and he should win a chargeback and not even bother wasting hundreds of hours callin BB.

I believe in the path of least resistance.

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2 replies
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amuro98
April 13, 2009 5:54 PM
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@bkdlays: The original poster didn't say how exactly the box was \"sealed\".

Most companies today now use tape that has their name stamped on it. This way you know the item came direct from the factory, as opposed to being opened and resealed with a tape gun at the store's customer service desk.

If possible, also make a note if the other boxes are wrapped in shrink wrap or not. Another common tactic is to take returned items and shrinkwrap them. Most companies don't do this anymore, instead relying on small circles of tape with their name printed on them.

So, if you find an item that's packaged differently than its neighbors, it's probably a return, or been tampered with somehow. Either way, don't grab that one.

If this was indeed a sealed box from WD that had the wrong drive in it, then something weird happened at the factory and/or warehouse. However that still doesn't explain why Best Buy didn't just make this guy happy by swapping the drive for him, and then taking up the issue with WD themselves. Hopefully it doesn't take a court case for the guy to get satisfaction.

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rioja951 - Why, oh why must I be assigned to the vehicle maintenance when my specialty is demolitions?
April 13, 2009 10:36 PM
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@amuro98: The problem here is that the drive cold not have come from WD, since the Quantum is a MAXTOR drive. Totally different companies, the most likely situation was an in-store switch by an employee, or BB is just re-selling a return without checking what was returned.

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Michael Stanley
April 11, 2009 4:11 AM
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Here is the issue: This feels like a scam. I would say that it seems a bit far fetch that best buy (employee or company) would do this. And if it was sealed (factory) then it is Western Digital issue, best buy is not the MFG. Yes, best buy can help but they are not obligated. This is a Western Digital issue.


The truth is that this feels like a scam and even if it is not it needs to be look at and not a instant refund. You do not think scams happen that much - see you at the next atm skimmer!

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14 replies
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Bs Baldwin
April 18, 2009 3:14 PM
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@Michael Stanley: You trust a BB employee not to scam their company and customers?

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Cassius98
April 11, 2009 2:51 PM
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@Michael Stanley: When was the last time you tried to return a product to any store that it wasn't opened and checked before your money was refunded? Better than that when was the last time you heard of a \"scammer\" filing a police report. If he had been trying to \"scam\" BB I am sure he would have given up before taking it to the police or his CC company. Come on how many times does BB have to bite you people that you realize they cannot and should not be trusted. Check everything before you leave their stores people, even if it looks \"sealed\". And yes BB does repackage returned items and they are very good at it. I still shop at BB so dont get me wrong, I am not wone of those people who bashes BB just because I have been burnt, hell they ARE the ONLY show here in my town. That doesn't mean I blindly trust them!

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Michael Stanley
April 11, 2009 11:53 PM
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@Cassius98


I think this could go either way. I think this story we have is only half of what it actually is. And this is the problem with the internet, we only hear half of the story. I want to wait and hear the outcome but I do think that the writer should have left this one open because the outcome is what is going to determine it all.

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LostMyMind
April 11, 2009 2:40 PM
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I've seen many items from small-ticketed to high priced wrapped in shrink-wrap watermarked in their respective manufacturer's logo. I think it would be best for all of these companies to take up this practice for the manufacturer, store and consumer against repackaged and resealed merchandise. A note could be put on the box saying \"DO NOT PURCHASE\" if original watermarked shrink-wrap is broken or missing.

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carthis
April 11, 2009 1:05 PM
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@Mchl Stnly: Yh t's ttlly scm nd hs nvr hppnd bfr. Fcbk mrn.

Y d knw tht strs hv mchns tht cn shrnkwrp bxs tht hv lrdy bn pnd, rght? Jst bcs t ws sld wth thn lyr f plstc mns nthng.

ls, ths s nt WD ss; WD mply tht cld gt drv n t swp nthr t nd lv wth tht n wldn't hv t g thrgh th trbl f swppng drv t ll. H cld jst STL TH DRV. Ths s prtty clrly Bst By mply stlng crp nd rpckgng t.

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idip
April 11, 2009 4:33 PM
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@carthis: Lol, bummer. You got disemvoweled for calling names.

And yet when I reported the following comment

[consumerist.com]

I was told: \"While they are negative towards those other commenters, it's not
insulting to be disagreed with.\"

Lol. That blows.

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Brawndo_The_Thirst_Mutliator
April 13, 2009 12:24 PM
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@idip: You'll never get any action against a starred commenter. Especially trai-dep. You should abandon that hope right now.

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madanthony
April 11, 2009 4:34 AM
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@carthis:

While it's obvious that someone switched the drive, it's just as likely that someone bought the drive, switched them out, resealed it, and returned it.

And it is not impossible for someone to buy something and then claim that they opened it and found something else. I'm not accusing the OP in this case of doing that, but I can understand why the store isn't eager to give every customer the benefit of the doubt.

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carthis
April 11, 2009 4:45 AM
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@madanthony: I understand what you're saying about maybe the OP is trying to pull a fast one on Best Buy, but seriously, why would you go through all this trouble and send it to Consumerist and make such a big deal about it if you're trying to scam a corporate giant for like $250? It just doesn't make sense.

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Oddfool
April 11, 2009 5:12 PM
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@carthis: Going through the trouble to send it to Consumerist and making such a big deal instantly makes a story true? I'm not trying to blame the OP, but scammers can easily do anything to back their side of their \"story\" for any amount.

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Cocoa Vanilla
April 11, 2009 6:49 AM
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@Michael Stanley: Uh, no. Best Buy sold him a Western Digital VelociRaptor hard drive. It doesn't matter if a customer swapped it, if an employee did, or if a WD employee did it. Best Buy sold him a VelociRaptor; they gave him some ridiculous Quantum Fireball. If Best Buy thinks WD did it, then they can take it up with them.

It is TOTALLY not the customer's problem here. Let BB take it up with Western Digital if they really think WD did it.

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Darkest Daze
April 11, 2009 8:10 AM
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@Cocoa Vanilla: I can't tell you how many times I had customers come into CompUSA when I worked there with 10GB drives in a box and tried to return them as the 100+GB drive that the box was for.

Now, how do we know the OP wasn't the one who tried switching the drives, and when unsuccessful, hoped that some bad publicity for BB would get him a refund anyway. Sure, it's just as possible that someone before him returned the drive and BB resold it to him, but how can we tell who did it and who's the scammer?

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SudhamayiKabong
April 12, 2009 2:10 AM
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@Darkest Daze: You don't, and maybe that's why you folks ought to drop it. Oh, I'm not suggesting that we take everything we read at face value, but since there's no way of knowing if what you folks are on about is even remotely true, there's not much productivity to be had from going 'round and 'round about it. Besides, you folks are as annoying as all get out.

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cheviot
April 11, 2009 7:23 PM
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@Darkest Daze:

THIS.

There is no evidence to support the idea that Best Buy sold the OP the wrong drive, just as there is none to support the idea that the OP swapped the drives.

Immediately siding with the OP is wrong.

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xsmasher
April 12, 2009 7:45 PM
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@cheviot: We have a firsthand account from the OP, and nothing from best buy. That is evidence, although not conclusive, and you can ague about its reliability. But it's evidence.

If you has said something like \"Sometimes scammers return items, and Best Buy can't tell if the person returning the item is a scammer or an innocent victim of a rogue BB employee,\" then I'd agree with you. That's a problem, but it's best buy's problem, not the innocent victim's.

It's a shame, but the Op should try a chargeback next, and small claims after that.

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godlyfrog
April 11, 2009 9:07 PM
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@LetMeSayThisAboutThat: We can lean toward the OP, and here's why: this particular scam is not performed by alerting the store to the fact that the product is not the correct product, it's done by returning the product for an inane reason such as: \"It was the wrong one,\" or \"It was a gift,\" and hoping that the clerk isn't informed enough to recognize the swap if they decide to open the box. Alerting the store raises suspicions, as it did in this case, which is exactly why no scammer would even attempt such a thing.

Chances are that this is what happened: The original scammer succeeded in swapping drives and returned it, unsealed. They claim that the drive was never used, and BB, trying to avoid losing money on \"Open Box\" when it was ostensibly just the wrapper that was taken off, resealed it. Customer buys the bad box and calls back, because, again, this isn't how the scam is done. The store doesn't keep track of the packages it reseals (why would it?), so it assumes it came that way from WD and says so. They do that because the other alternatives are admitting that an employee did it, they got scammed and resealed an open box, or accusing the customer of doing it. None of these things is preferable.

It is at this point that Best Buy should claim responsibility. It is their vendor that sold them the drive, and regardless of how silly the suggestion is that WD would do this, telling a customer to go to their vendor to resolve the issue is ludicrous, and I'd be willing to bet that a regional manager would agree. The $300 they've lost to a previous scammer is not worth the hassle that doing this to a customer will get them, but so many local managers are nothing but idiots who think so small that it's no surprise this still happens.

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tsume
April 11, 2009 8:35 AM
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@Darkest Daze: They could make the receipt checkers useful and force them to check the customer's merchandise and ensure it is the correct item :) Anything over 50+$

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Verucalise (Est.February2008)
April 11, 2009 12:45 PM
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@tsume: Receipt checkers don't open your brand new boxes. I agree, you should open the box in the store to rule out shenanigans on your side.


Whats also concerning, is that many people here are saying it's highly possible that \"Jon\" could of done the swap himself. Yes, you can never rule it out sadly. BUT this is NOT the first story (nor the last) that Best Buy has attempted to sell something brand new that was actually used, and fought the customer TOOTH AND NAIL about it. We aren't even talking about buying a hard drive and getting tiles-


[consumerist.com]


So in this instance, I tend to side with the customer who isn't trying to get cash. He's trying to just get what he paid for thru the proper channels.

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DeeJayQueue
April 11, 2009 4:27 AM
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@Michael Stanley: Because of course Best Buy doesn't have shrink-wrap machines in the back, so they can re-seal something that's been opened and tampered with.

Oh, wait. They do.

Just like most retailers. Whether they admit it or not, or whether there's anyone there who knows how to work it or not, most medium to big box retailers have a roll of shrink wrap and a sealer and a heat gun somewhere on site. Even if they don't they're not hard to come by.

But, I'll go along and say that maybe this was a manufacturer error, and maybe someone at Western Digital managed to smuggle in a 9 year old Maxtor hard drive and swap it with a new drive somewhere along the assembly line. We'll assume that there are no bag checks going into or out of the hard drive factory. We'll even assume that there are humans doing any part of this process, even though odds are there aren't.
Even going out this far on a ledge, Best Buy still sold him the product, still warrants the product on the shelf as saleable and as the product advertised. Not only that, but they have mechanisms in place to return damaged/defective merchandise to the manufacturer that consumers do not.

So even if all of the above were true, and it were a manufacturer error/mistake/fraud, BB would still be the responsible party here.

They owe the customer his money back, or the product he intended to buy.

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ophmarketing
April 11, 2009 2:46 PM
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@DeeJayQueue: We had one of those at Borders back in the '90s. That's how we would reseal CDs or videos that we opened to play in the store, or reseal things that had been ripped open by customers. It wasn't a secret.

I loved working the heat gun. The trick was to make a tiny hole in the shrink wrap before you started the gun, otherwise the shrink wrap would inflate when it heated up. Of course, you also had to make sure not to aim the heat gun directly at the hole you made, otherwise the hole would expand and the edges would sear, and you'd have to start over.

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TacoDave
April 11, 2009 4:20 AM
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@Michael Stanley: Bull crap. The Best Buy employees have access to a shrink wrap machine and regularly use it to re-seal opened merchandise.

I used to work there.

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Kogenta
April 12, 2009 1:21 AM
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@TacoDave: All the WD drives I've seen in retail outlets come in sealed plastic cases, not shrink wrap. And if that is the case here, frankly speaking, even if it were re-shrink wraped, you wouldn't have been able to hide the fact that the item in question had been previously opened the moment you picked it up.

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Michael Stanley
April 11, 2009 4:25 AM
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@TacoDave:
It says nothing about anything about shrink wrapped. It says it was sealed.

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twophrasebark
April 11, 2009 4:13 AM
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I believe the OP, but these are very difficult situations for the store, the customer, the police...

Everyone.

It could be that an employee stole the item and repackaged it. It could be that another customer bought the item and repackaged it. It could be that the customer made up the story.

Consumerist's advice is on the mark: if you buy an expensive item, open the box immediately.

That being said, BestBuy's response is absurd. Of all the scenarios, an employee of the manufacturer did not steal the drive, replace it with a competitor drive and then ship it to your store. This response clearly shows that BestBuy is trying to waste the customer's time.

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6 replies
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sodomanaz
April 11, 2009 5:20 PM
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@twophrasebark: One thing I miss about SE Asia is their electronics stores. Anything you buy that is even the tiniest bit 'big-ticket' gets the warranty treatment.

That means before you purchase the item, the salesman brings you and your item to a table, opens the box, and tests the equipment. Once you both agree that the item is to your liking, the salesman boxes it up for you, re-tapes it, and hands you the box and your sales slip. Then you stand in line to buy the thing.

It's a pain in the ass, generally taking an extra 15-25 minutes, and I couldn't imagine the hell this would cause at Black Friday, but it does keep everyone honest.

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rioja951 - Why, oh why must I be assigned to the vehicle maintenance when my specialty is demolitions?
April 14, 2009 12:08 AM
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@sodomanaz: I had the same experience, but in mexico.
The display only had a sealed box and an open one displaying the external drive I wanted, all you or the sales guy could get were a printed slip with the product and you went to the front desk and then the manager would get it for you from a closed and monitored enclosure.
After you got it and paid, they would call you and open it in front of you and register the s/n and stamp your warranty ticket, close it with a security tape and escort you to the door.
Kind of extremist but haven't heard of anything like this over there. Of course, this is done for any type of electronics item, be it a drive to a laptop, and all others in between.

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HogwartsAlum
April 12, 2009 1:58 AM
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@sodomanaz:

Oh man, that's awesome. I wish they did that here. That would save people so much hassle. But unfortunately, no one here seems to care about anything except money.

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VeeKaChu
April 11, 2009 1:37 PM
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@twophrasebark:I had a very similar problem at Best Buy back in 2003 or so. I bought a new Sony AV reciever to go with my (then) new HDTV and DVD player.


The product in the box was indeed a Sony receiver, but a part # that hadn't been produced since 1996. It looked brand new, and the unit dimensions were identical, so the thief had used the same foam packaging as the \"new\" one had been seated in in the box. The bottom tape had been cut and replaced.


I had purchased it near closing time at the BB not five minutes from my house, so I was there at the opening next morning. I didn't even initially consider that I might be implicating myself in some crime, I just wanted what I had purchased.


They did pretty much the same thing as in this article- the CSR at the returns desk did a lot of typing on her terminal, a lot of nose-scrunching and brow-furrowing, then disappeared for about 10 minutes. I ended up in a bit of a confrontation with the manager on duty, which resulted in me loudly telling him that if he thought I was trying to rip them off to say so, or give me what I had bought.


I did get the correct receiver after about 20 minutes, however when I walked out there was a squad car sitting outside; guess it could've gone either way!

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Michael Belisle
April 11, 2009 5:18 AM
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@twophrasebark: No, they're trying to cover their ass and, if the quotes are accurate, are doing it with textbook customer-service dickishness: e.g. there's \"no one higher than [me, the customer service manager]\" and \"yep, [we're basically stealing your money]\"*. Wasting the customer's time is just a side effect.

* Quibble: I have a hard time believing that third-level support would be that poorly versed in how to deal with an aggrieved customer.

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Span_Wolf
April 11, 2009 8:30 AM
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@Michael Belisle: I've been told the same thing by high level tech support before. It's not uncommon.

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RudeandRude
April 11, 2009 4:15 AM
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I should share a couple of good stories regarding this issue. About 6 months ago I bought a PC game from a Gamestop (Peekskill, NY). When I got home, there were 2 CD-R (blank) inserted where the game should have been. I called the Gamestop and they said to come in for a full refund. No questions asked.

Just 2 weeks ago I went into Walmart (Union, NJ) to buy a PS3 game (MLB: The Show). When I got home, there was no CD in the game case. All the manuals were there, but no game. I called WalMart and the assistant manager was very apologetic. I felt that there was some disbelief on her end (probably righfully so) and I asked her to open up another game from the shelves. She opened the only 4 games that were remaining and none of them had the game inside. She said to come in for a refund, and I got my money back.

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3 replies
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Anonymous
April 13, 2009 3:19 PM
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@RudeandRude: I had this happen to me too awhile back. I purchased Ghost Recon (PC) from Frys, got home, opened the packaging and there was no disc inside. Went back to the store and the customer service lady said to go grab another one. She opened the new one and again, there was no disc inside. Grabbed a third one and finally everything was there.

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Outrun1986
April 11, 2009 8:05 PM
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@RudeandRude: The only good thing about Gamestop here is that they do take returns no questions asked, and they don't seen to be freaky about the returns. They gave me a wrong disc in a case (a used game) and it was happily exchanged, although the correct disc was not in the store at all, so it was clear that the warehouse made a mistake when sending them the discs from the factory.

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SudhamayiKabong
April 12, 2009 2:22 AM
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@Outrun1986: I bought a game from Gamestop for my brother's Christmas present. It being a gift, I didn't bother to check to see if the game was in the box. Stupid, I know. As I was wrapping it up the week before Christmas, I opened the box and the game wasn't there. I called Gamestop, and had my game the next day. Four months after I bought it. So yeah, Gamestop is pretty good about making right by the customer. Say what you will about their annoying practices, but at least they're pretty decent at the customer service thing besides all that.

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From the cubicle of PGibbons
April 11, 2009 4:17 AM
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>>When I opened the package (it was sealed)

This is an odd statement. In my experience, retail drives are packaged in a box covered by shrink wrap (usually containing the manufacturer's logo). If this drive was surrounded by shrink wrap, I hope the OP saved all of it because if it matched Worst Buy's backend shrinkwrapper then there's some serious fraud happening here on their part. If the shrinkwrap was indeed Western Digital's then they would be the ones to pursue.

Something does seem odd about this story, though it's mitigated by the fact it happened at Worst Buy....

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2 replies
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Outrun1986
April 11, 2009 8:04 PM
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@PGibbons: I think WD just uses normal shrinkwrap. I have a WD external hard drive and every package I have seen just uses the normal clear shrinkwrap. They definitely don't use logo shrinkwrap for their drives.

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adria.richards
April 11, 2009 9:29 AM
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@PGibbons:
I have never purchased a retail packaged hard drive by Western Digital and had a logo on the shrink wrap. I would think Best Buy employees have access to a roll and the special \"blow dryer\" device to repackage items.

I'm curious about the fingerprints on the hard drive.

If the Best Buy Geeks steal photos, mp3's and pr0n from customer's computers, why stop there? They need a place to store the stolen data.

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TEW
April 11, 2009 4:18 AM
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This is why I buy my big ticket purchases with a credit card. This is fraud and the OP should file both a police report and a charge back. I might be wrong but is Best Buy on the hook even if the manufacture screwed up the shipment?

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2 replies
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Cocoa Vanilla
April 11, 2009 6:51 AM
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@TEW: Agreed. If they're going to be douches, then file a police report on their asses. It's theft. He paid for a VelociRaptor and got some 9-year-old Fireball.

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Verucalise (Est.February2008)
April 11, 2009 12:48 PM
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@Cocoa Vanilla: Hey, 9 years ago- that drive was ROCKIN'.


Ain't its fault its 2009. Poor Fireball.

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MyPetFly
April 11, 2009 4:19 AM
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I'll never buy a thing at Best Buy. I may stop in now and then to look around if I'm bored, but that's it.

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Cocoa Vanilla
April 11, 2009 6:53 AM
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@MyPetFly: Yeah, I only go there to look. And sometimes I'll go on the display computers and open a Consumerist story about them.

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nerdtalker
April 11, 2009 6:14 AM
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@MyPetFly: Amen. I honestly have to question the intelligence of shoppers who even visit these places, and, moreover, why Best Buy is somehow recession proof while stores like Circuit City and CompUSA weren't.

There have been, what, 4 or 5 stories in the past 2 months about Best Buy employees literally stealing things and then selling them as new?

Best Buy? More like Best Lie.

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nate4096
April 13, 2009 7:03 PM
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@nerdtalker: I visited best buy recently and actually after all the research, found that the price they were offering (not a sale item) was equal to or better than what I could find online. To me it was an excellent decision. I could go pick up the item locally, that day, and enjoy it.

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randygbk
April 11, 2009 4:21 AM
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Check the drive for data from the prior owner. If there is anything on it, perhaps it can be used to trace it back to the nefarious Best Buy employee that may have put it in there.

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Blinky987
April 11, 2009 7:39 AM
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@randygbk: Dammit, I missed this post. I made a similar one. Just posting to re-affirm this idea. I think this is the best course of action right now.

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Cocoa Vanilla
April 11, 2009 6:54 AM
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@randygbk: It's 9 years old. Do you expect it to work?

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Scazza
April 11, 2009 11:42 PM
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@Cocoa Vanilla: My current computer and server contain about 12 HDDs, all from the past 14 years. Sure I had to buy a few IDE adapters, but they all work, as every MB counts. All still work. Only once have I got a bad drive...

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Chumas
April 11, 2009 9:56 AM
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@Cocoa Vanilla: I've got an old beater box running Debian that has parts at least a decade old in it. Unless the drive has sustained really bad concussions and has been kept in a stable environment there's no reason it won't spin up.

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MightyDwarf56
April 11, 2009 12:08 PM
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@Chumas: Good call. A good buddy had his house flood a couple of years back and his computer ended up underwater. After it had all receded, I took the HD out of it and put it in a different computer(the same model, different config) and it worked just fine. So you never know until you try.

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Cliff_Donner
April 11, 2009 5:33 AM
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@randygbk: This was my first thought too. Best Buy employee scammers are not known for being the brightest bulbs in the pack: Best Buy Sells Busted Cam As New, Blames You. Oops! Employee Pix!

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Anonymous
April 11, 2009 4:30 AM
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I think this a Western Digital Issue, I had the same issue with a \"SEALED\" new box, the drive was even in a Sealed Anti-Static bag. Western Digital needs better quality control.

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albokay
April 11, 2009 4:37 AM
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ive had a 25 dollar gift card for best buy for about a year. Ive made several purchases of items they are selling but yet ive never once felt i should go in there and buy something. Its not worth it. Id much rather buy online.

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ribex
April 11, 2009 5:12 PM
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@albokay: I wonder if they carry apostrophes.

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KingPsyz
April 11, 2009 10:22 PM
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@ribex:
If they do I'd imagine $25 could pick up at least a few...

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vdragonmpc
April 11, 2009 4:45 AM
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Western digital boxes use a clear circle tape on the box and then there is a plastic statis bag the drive comes in. That static bag takes fingerprints like a champ.

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WhiteGuyOnWebCam_GitEmSteveDave
April 12, 2009 4:19 AM
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@vdragonmpc: And those microfiber clothes take them off like one. Besides, anyone worth their salt will throw on a cheap pair of latex gloves before performing plastic surgery.

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SatanicGuinea
April 11, 2009 4:46 AM
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@Carey:

\"Opening the box inside the store is the only the way to guarantee that you have the right product.\"

Agreed this is a good idea, but if Best Buy will not even honor their own in store warranty, what are the chances they would still tell you to call WD using your suggestion?

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douglasdavisjr
April 11, 2009 5:00 AM
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Should have purchased from NewEgg.

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Anonymous
April 11, 2009 5:03 AM
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Now for the Best Buy perspective, we have people try this all the time. People will bring in older products in boxes of new product trying to pull a fast one on us.

Thing is, we don't always catch everything, and believe it or not, some customers can get a hold of a shrink wrap machine.

BB should make this right, but at first glance, this could easily come across as just another person trying to pull a fast one.

FYI, Best Buy employee here.

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rubyfrog
April 11, 2009 5:09 AM
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Old hard-drive without a buckets o' cum DVD? Man, Best Buy isn't even giving out consolation prizes anymore.

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1 replies
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randygbk
April 11, 2009 5:23 AM
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@rubyfrog: Who knows what kind of depravity is contained on that hard drive? Seriously, it could be anything...

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MikeVx
April 11, 2009 5:26 AM
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Articles like this are why a local Best Buy cashier got to watch me cut open the box of a DVD player I bought on tuesday. Once I verified that there was in fact the correct model of player in there, and that it was in fact a DVD player at all, I thanked her politely and left with my purchase. And yes, this was after she handed me back change, so it was mine at that moment. She was not inclined to believe that anyone could re-seal a box.

A Toshiba XDE-500, for those interested.

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savdavid
April 11, 2009 5:32 AM
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I am Best Buy. Do I want to anger a good customer and garner bad publicity because I might be right OR do I want to make the customer happy, not get bad publicity because I know refunding is the right thing to do for my valued customer?

Nope, I am a big company and I can do any damn thing I like, especially since Circuit City shut down. Screw the customer. Only if you make it more expensive for me to NOT do the right thing will my tough mask crack.

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Firesoul1
April 11, 2009 6:00 AM
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@savdavid:

totally agree with you.
Becuase of best buys stupidity/stubborness
there are good companies out there like
newegg and tigerdirect.
imo newegg > tiger

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Firesoul1
April 11, 2009 5:54 AM
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No way could the OP have scammed Best Buy.
It clearly says, \"purchased a Western Digital VelociRaptor hard drive on bestbuy.com for in-store pickup\". The theory that someone within the best buy warehouse could have stolen the real drive and re-sealed with the fake one is plausible. And of course there would be a shrink wrap machine in the warehouse just in case of any tears while shipping.

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Pixelantes Anonymous
April 11, 2009 9:11 AM
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@Firesoul1: The OP could be lying to BestBuy (I don't think he is, but that's what BestBuy is thinking). The scam in that case would be that he buys the expensive drive, opens it, replaces it with the old hard drive he has at home, goes back to BestBuy saying they sold them shit.

Happens all the time.

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Firesoul1
April 11, 2009 1:05 PM
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@Pixelantes Anonymous:
you are right also. But i would not do 4 hours
of driving between my house and best buy back and forth.

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RvLeshrac
April 15, 2009 9:06 AM
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@Firesoul1:


You wouldn't drive 4 hours at $50/hour?


You must be an investment banker or auto-industry CEO.

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LetMeSayThisAboutThat...
April 11, 2009 8:29 PM
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@Firesoul1: How do we know he drove 4 hours? All we know is that he wrote to the Consumerist.


I hate to be defending BB, as I am more of a New Egg guy, but I refuse to to make my decision based on one strangers story.


Perhaps Jon's deal is that he is a budding writer... I'm just sayin'.

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Firesoul1
April 11, 2009 10:56 PM
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@LetMeSayThisAboutThat:
I also use newegg religiously.
To be honest all my purchases from my nearest best buy were all A-ok. I just wonder why some stores suck more
than others. as for Jon being a budding writer, you got me on that one.

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sean98125
April 11, 2009 6:00 AM
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Best Buy has the 300Gb VelociRaptor for $257.99 on their website.

Newegg has the same drive for $229.00 with a $20 rebate.

Please don't buy things from Best Buy. It only encourages them.

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adria.richards
April 11, 2009 9:32 AM
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@sean98125:
I completely agree. Newegg has a great RMA return policy. I had an external HDD enclosure flake out after 8 months and I got an RMA replacement without any hassle.

Newegg rocks!

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Cassius98
April 11, 2009 3:00 PM
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@adria.richards: I like Newegg but I have to say I have had nothing but problems from their RMA policy. Several times I have had to argue just to get to a manager who ultimately fixed the issue but they are far from perfect.

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KingPsyz
April 11, 2009 10:31 PM
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@Cassius98:
And since newegg doesn't have a B&M nowhere to do an instore pickup shortly after placing the order...


I bought the HDMI cable I use for my PS3 there, but I had to wait a week+ to play in glorious HD. Granted for $6 it was worth the wait, but maybe the OP couldn't wait?


Now if Newegg opened B&Ms with the same kind of pricing and (usually...) good customer service, then Best Buy would be done for. Until that time, people will continue going to Best Buy.


I go there from time to time, but won't buy big ticket items there. My girlfriend got screwed by the geek squad when my Monster Power center fried her computer (it was free) when they 1)charged her up the ass for data recovery and only saved her music files and some photos (I got the HDD myself) 2)wouldn't give us a written estimate for repairs to submit to Monster Cables, and 3) tried to charge her the bullshit initialisation fees for a new computer bundled with about $500 in fees.


Luckily I arrived before the transaction was complete and made them cancel everything as they were going to make her wait 24 hours to pick up her new computer that they were doing nothing but powering up in the backroom.

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Anonymous
April 11, 2009 6:34 AM
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I used to work in the tech bay at Best Buy. I remember customer service asking me to approve the return of a video card. I checked the box and it was sealed with shrink wrap. This was a high end card at the time (nVidia TI series). As soon as I picked up the sealed box, I felt that something was not right. The shrink wrap felt different. I opened the box there and noticed some else that was fishy, the Mylar bag that the card comes in was sealed. I know that nVidia & ATI never seal, they just fold the Mylar over and put a sticker. It looked like it was sealed with a potato chip bag sealer and was uneven. I opened the Mylar and checked the card... EVEN the TI info sticker was re-attached to that card (with glue). The circuits on the board clearly stated that the card was a Ge-Force 2!!! I told the guy that we could not accept this and he just quietly gathered everything and left the store.

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Anonymous
April 11, 2009 6:47 AM
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Why is it that of the millions of transactions that take place in a best buy weekly we only see maybe one or two that is really bad on Best Buy's part? Could it be perhaps that they're not actually the big bad jerks they're made out to be? Could it be that humans make mistakes and there are a few stupid managers out there?

You never really hear when Best Buy or anybody else does something really awesome for the customer. If you did I can assure you that the good storys would probably outweigh the bad.

Not saying you shouldn't protect yourself as a consumer, but, c'mon..

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halfs
April 11, 2009 6:49 AM
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i will say this is a big problem within the comany; I work for BBY and they harp on the idea of what they refer to as \"rocks-in-box\"; People go to great lengths to repackage items that are old or not a similar item at all in an attempt to return for the purchase price and keep the item; I personally see at least one attempt a day.

So the big bad empire may not be out to get you; It very well could be a pure mistake in that the person ripping of BBY did a good enough job that nobody noticed until the box was re-opened.

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rworne
April 11, 2009 6:55 AM
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At least he didn't buy a Linksys router with a bag of dirt in the box and \"puto\" written on the bag with a Sharpie.

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WhiteGuyOnWebCam_GitEmSteveDave
April 12, 2009 4:22 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@rworne: You got that one? Sorry, but the one I tried to DDWRT bricked, so I needed to buy a new one and put SOMETHING in the box of a near equal wait. Please bear in mind I meant puto in the nicest way. ;)

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cupcake_ninja
April 11, 2009 7:09 AM
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This is the 3rd story of the same kind I've read about Best Buy on here, and yet they're losing the WCIA battle against Walmart? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

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Blinky987
April 11, 2009 7:23 AM
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Is this easily remedied by having someone pull the data off the hard drive to see the most recent date on some of the files, as well as have information pulled on to who formerly owned the drive?

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humphrmi
April 11, 2009 5:01 PM
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@Blinky987: The problem is that the drive probably didn't belong to whoever pulled the scam. The age of the drive hints that the scammer just did some dumpster diving to come up with \"replacement\" hard drives (because if he/she just removed the drive from the package and didn't replace it, the customer would of course never buy the package). In fact, I'd be more willing to bet that you'd find some Best Buy customer's data on the drive, and if you were able to track it back, more than likely it was a customer who brought in his old PC to have BB copy his files to a new PC he purchased.

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Andrew Mussey
April 11, 2009 3:36 PM
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@Blinky987: Forgiven, you got the point across. :P

That was going to be my comment as well. If someone registered the drive, check that out. If the drive is operational, plug it in and run through the \"My Documents\" folder for any info. Resumes would be the best (name, address, phone number, etc.).

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Blinky987
April 11, 2009 7:37 AM
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@Blinky987: I'm sorry that I type like a buffoon on here approximately twenty percent of the time. I'm a lazy commenter. =(

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warf0x0r
April 11, 2009 7:26 AM
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www.newegg.com

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Quill2006
April 11, 2009 5:50 PM
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@warf0x0r: Yeah, so far Newegg has been great; I've bought all the parts for my desktop through them and repair parts for family members and they've been great. The only thing I've bought at Best Buy in the last year was a video game, and after these stories I think I'm going to stop doing that.

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Wubbytoes
April 11, 2009 8:07 AM
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@warf0x0r: I get all my hard drives at Newegg too. After reading that bathroom tile story I stopped making any major computer related purchases at Best Buy.

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gman863
April 11, 2009 7:32 AM
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This is a redoux of the old \"brick in the box\" trick which - if BB kept halfway accurace records - could be traced through inventory, sales and security video records.


Someone (either a BB employee or a dishonest customer who had access to a shrink wrap machine) took out the new drive, replaced it with a clunker, rewrapped the box and it ended up back in stock.


The clue is the serial # printed on the box. BB should be scanning and recording it at the point of sale. If the drive had been previously sold and returned, BB's loss prevention staff needs to put the person who returned it on their watch list. If not, they'll pull the same scam at the same location as long as they can get away with it (technically, BB can't have them arrested; they'll claim they accidentally placed their old hard drive in the box instead of the new one).


If the serial # did not show the drive as being previously sold, BB should have at least one CCTV camera recording everything that happens around their shrink wrap machine. Loss prevention needs to review the video archive for this camera - if it's a dishonest employee there will be more old products showing up in new boxes at that store (I've seen this happen).


Finally, BB's return staff should be opening EVERY returned item and verifying the model and serial #s match the box. Speaking with 10+ years of retail experience, an old product that \"accidentally\" ends up in the new packaging happens more often than most people realize.

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Anonymous
April 11, 2009 8:49 AM
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Anyone with some shrink wrap and a hair drier can cause this and I guarantee thats what happened. Buy the thing you want in Best Buy, box up some weighty trash and shrink wrap it. The clerk doing the return won't even bother to think twice about it and it goes right back on the shelf. Its illegal of course so don't try it.

The only reason to buy from a Brick and Mortar store instead of sites like newegg is customer service and local presence. Unless Best Buy wises up to this scam, or at least stops treating their real customers like the criminal, I fear they may end up with old C. City in the big box grave yard. People simply won't tolerate poor service, no mater what.

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Brian Mariotti
April 11, 2009 9:34 AM
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I am just curious how many people here open their purchace in front of the cashier? And what if you are buying four or five big ticket items at once. Do you stand there and open everything?


It is definitely a good idea, but it sure seems like it would take a while. I have never done it, but I would be interested to know how many of you have.

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philpem
April 11, 2009 8:03 PM
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@Brian Mariotti: H*ll yeah. Anything over a hundred or so pounds (British pounds, that is) gets opened and checked in-store. I'll step off to one side to avoid blocking the queue, but until I'm sure I've got what I paid for, I won't leave.

On the other side of the coin, I also work retail part-time (everyone has their crosses to bear). I usually end a sale (after the \"exchange of payment\") by asking the customer \"Right, here's the [x], would you like to open the box and check it over before I bag it up?\" Some people ask, some people don't, but almost all of them appreciate having the option.

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MyPetFly
April 11, 2009 3:48 PM
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@Brian Mariotti:

I'd probably go to customer service straight from the cashier station in order to free up the line - for the customers' benefit, not Best Buy's.

But then again, I won't shop at Best Buy.

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ColoradoShark
April 11, 2009 1:21 PM
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@Brian Mariotti: If it's something I can't see, like it is in an opaque cardboard box, I do open it.

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SomeoneGNU
April 11, 2009 12:38 PM
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@Brian Mariotti:

Pretty much anything that I buy that costs more than $50 I expect to be opened at the cashier. A few times they've called the manager to \"make sure what I was asking was ok.\". The manager usually seems shocked but once I explain my stance they understand and think it is a good idea.

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Hoss
April 11, 2009 12:23 PM
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@Brian Mariotti: If the box isn't sealed, I'll take a look inside in the store -- no problem there. But i can't see opening a sealed box at the register.

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Michael Belisle
April 12, 2009 1:48 AM
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@Hoss: If the box isn't sealed, I'll take a look inside in the store -- no problem there. But i can't see opening a sealed box at the register.

That's exactly the opposite of what you should do to protect yourself against the situation Jon is in. His box appeared to be sealed. That's what makes the scam that screwed him over possible:

Let's say you're at Best Buy. If the box isn't sealed, then (in theory) it's Open Box and it's been inspected by customer service and priced with consideration given to what parts are present. Sure you should still open to make sure everything is correct, but my point is that someone has looked at it and it's not a bag of dirt.

But when the box is sealed (or appears to be), then if it was previously returned nobody in the store opened it up to make sure that the actual item was inside. The scammer put extra effort into making the box look unopened precisely so that he can sneak it under the customer service radar.

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Anonymous
April 11, 2009 10:06 AM
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What I don't get is WHY people keep shopping at Best Buy and similar places. After all the negative stories about people being burned there (and Wal Mart and other places) other people continue to shop there. Why should BB make it good - it appears there are 10 customers to replace the one who got burned. I had a very, very bad experience with BB 10 years ago and haven't been in one since. Jeepman

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108Reliant
April 11, 2009 11:48 AM
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I've never shopped at Best Ripoff since the late 90's after I went in an bought 2 CD's that were cracked and they wouldn't take them back because \"I opened the package\". I've been getting my computer parts at [www.newegg.com] or at [www.microcenter.com] or [www.tigerdirect.com] or even [www.amazon.com.]
Say what you will about ordering online or from any of these companies, I've never had any problems with the parts I get from them.

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LetMeSayThisAboutThat...
April 11, 2009 8:35 PM
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@108Reliant: MicroCenter has the additional advantage of having some brick and mortar stores in a few big cities.


If you live in one of those cities, they are a great place to shop. A MicroCenter store is like crack for nerds.

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Psychodad1961
April 11, 2009 12:10 PM
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Did that when I bought my Eee PC1000HD at Xmas. Stopped at the Loss Prevention podium and opened it right in front of the loss prevention officer just to be sure I was getting my laptop and not a book about cooking or something.

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Consumerist-Moderator-Roz
April 11, 2009 1:05 PM
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@Michael Stanley: Please give the customer the benefit of the doubt unless you have evidence otherwise.

@carthis: Let's not call names.

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LetMeSayThisAboutThat...
April 11, 2009 8:02 PM
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@Consumerist-Moderator-Roz: But he is not OUR customer. Why should we readers be obligated to give the consumer the benefit and not Best Buy? I have as yet read nothing that would be considered hard evidence of shenanigans by either party.


IMHO It's pretty safe to leave Western Digital in the clear.


So what we have here is either a crooked customer, or a crooked employee at Best Buy. Both seem equally likely to me.


I suppose the bottom line is it would be easier for Best Buy to bite the bullet for the sake of saving some negative press.


What is Best Buys take on this story?

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amuro98
April 13, 2009 6:10 PM
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@LetMeSayThisAboutThat:
Why assume WD is in the clear?

If the HDD had WD's factory seals on the package, then obviously someone between the factory and WD's warehouse managed to swap out the real drive replace it with the Quantum, and reseal the box to make it appear as it was an unmolested drive.

Not that this matters.

The customer bought an item from BB - not WD.
He didn't get what he paid for.

He's a customer of BB, so BB should have just swapped the item for him and sent him home happy. Then BB can go after WD to find out why they were shorted one drive.

Telling the customer to go after WD directly is horribly incorrect because WD doesn't have the customer's money.

I had something similar happen to me at another store. In retrospect, I should have known better - the box had been clumsily resealed with shrink wrap even though the other boxes weren't shrink wrapped at all. In this case the store had me sign an affidavit that I had not swapped the item, then they gave me the proper item. I'm pretty sure the swap had either happened with the previous customer, or someone in customer service. I didn't care either way. I just wanted the item I had originally paid for.

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PunditGuy
April 11, 2009 1:46 PM
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@Consumerist-Moderator-Roz: Occam's Razor doesn't apply to The Consumerist?

I even have a suggestion for figuring this thing out: Run some data recovery on the old drive. If it has any of the customer's information on it, he should be prosecuted.

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Andrew Farris
April 12, 2009 8:21 AM
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@PunditGuy:
Do you really have any idea of the true cost of 'running some data recovery'? You're talking about requiring a professional to spend time recovering data from a drive, in a professionally equipped and certified laboratory... with a legally solid chain of custody paper trail... in order to prosecute a guy for wanting a $250 refund?

You are nieve, to say the least. The cost involved in that is VERY far above paying the guy and absorbing the loss and assuming he has a legit complaint.

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xsmasher
April 12, 2009 7:48 PM
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@Andrew Farris: We're not talking about a drive caught in a flood or fire - we're talking about a drive that *maybe* had its files erased, probably wasn't even reformatted. A free-trial \"undelete\" program will pull up some data, I'll wager.

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PunditGuy
April 12, 2009 1:21 PM
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@Andrew Farris: Plug it in and see what happens. I'm not talking about extraordinary measures. Hard drives don't automatically self-destruct on a schedule.

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wastedlife
April 13, 2009 3:00 PM
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@PunditGuy: While this would work informally for Best Buy to prove a point or to just call the guy out, doing so would void any chance of it being admissible in court. By connecting it to one of their machines, any evidence on the drives would be considered tampered because they had write access. In a situation where data needs to be presented in court, the drive is connected using a special read-only cable, and the data is extracted bit-by-bit to an image on another drive. There is a strict audit trail during the entire course of the investigation, and there is likely a hash made of the image before and after investigation to prove that tampering is not done to the image. And that is only what would need to be done if the drive works. If it does not, then the work and cost increases exponentially.

Offtopic, but this is a reason to backup your data. A second drive might double your initial cost, while professional data recovery in the future will likely be about 10 times your initial cost.

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LetMeSayThisAboutThat...
April 11, 2009 8:08 PM
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@PunditGuy: Dude, that is a good thought. If it was previously owned and used, it will take some actual effort to clean it to the point of no recovery. While the crook (whoever he is) may have done this, it would be one option to pursue.


What a craptastic dilemna to be in.

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Ann O'Dyne
April 11, 2009 4:57 PM
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@PunditGuy:
does it not also make sense that if the OP were the scammer that he would have had the drive in his car, so that he could just walk out, \"find\" the problem, and walk back into the store? Instead he had to make TWO 2-hour round trips to the store, instead of one.

As far as the manufacturer is concerned, an employee switching a drive in order to take one would be sure to attract attention when it was sold, whereas merely taking it would not. However, a possibility is a disgruntled/immature employee with an agenda.

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PunditGuy
April 11, 2009 8:23 PM
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@Ann O'Dyne: Assuming he's a liar, you expect me to take the \"TWO 2-hour round trips\" at face value? Please.

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Inglix_the_Mad
April 11, 2009 2:43 PM
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@PunditGuy: This is an example of where WD and other high dollar manufacturers should follow the idea of placing a product window (with SN visible) on their packaging. There's no way for BB to prove this, IF it were a scam by the OP. Odds are the QF won't work, so data recovery by normal means will be useless and a clean-room will cost at least US$1000.

I blame WD for having crappy packaging.
I blame BB for being such doinks about something they can't prove.
I blame the OP for not opening the product.

I really don't blame any of them, it just sounds better if I do. This is a combination failure. Granted that most of the onus now falls on BB, but them's the breaks.

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highmodulus
April 11, 2009 1:20 PM
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A few interesting responses, and it might explain why Best Buy hasn't been awarded worst company in America despite all these stories (and the fake internal websites ect).

Looks like someone paid for a reputation defender service firm. . . .

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HalOfBorg
April 11, 2009 1:36 PM
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I bought an Acer Aspire One netbook from Walmart, but before I got to the door I figured I better open it. A few people looked at me a little funny.

Took a couple minutes to get through the outer/inner boxes, and it was there, but I left feeling good.

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Feminist Whore
April 11, 2009 2:00 PM
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Wow. I'm having a rough morning. I read almost half of the post, and the entire time I was thinking - \"a 9-year-old wrote this? That's really impressive.\"


I'm serious, this is not a snarky dig at the phrasing of the headline...


Wow.

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Feminist Whore
April 11, 2009 2:02 PM
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@♥♥♥: ... From now on I'm going to save the bong hits until after I have TWO cups of coffee...

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chrisinnh
April 11, 2009 2:04 PM
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Big box retailers invite this problem because of the way they handle returns of \"new\" merchandise.

They have shrink wrap machines on site, don't track each returned item, don't track the subsequent sale of those returned itmes, and don't track use of the shrink wrapper.

Until they change those things, benefit of the doubt belongs with the consumer.

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Anonymous
April 11, 2009 2:18 PM
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That is one of the reasons I will miss Circuit City. I ordered a Lexmark printer from them online. It arrived without the software and a cable. I took it to the nearest store and they took it back with no trouble.

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Anonymous
April 11, 2009 2:20 PM
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This reminds me of something that happened to me years ago when I was working at a camera store. A customer returned a box for a $1000 camera saying it contained a $200 motor drive instead. I examined the box, feeling kind of skeptical...until I realized the serial number of the motor drive matched the serial number on both the box and warranty card that was supposed to be for the camera. Of course, we exchanged the camera and dealt with the manufacturer ourselves.

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Psychosocial
April 11, 2009 3:22 PM
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Best Buy is famous for this type of scam (employee THEFT). I don't doubt this happen @ all. I have prayed for the day they go the way of Circuit City. They are the WORST retailer on the planet.

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jpdanzig
April 11, 2009 3:39 PM
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I apologize for shouting, but we've heard so many variations of this story, that it needs to be said:


DON'T BUY ANYTHING FROM BEST BUY!


DON'T DO IT!


WHY AGGRAVATE YOURSELF?


Order from Amazon, B&H, J&R, NewEgg -- you'll get a great price, delivery within a week -- and you'll actually get the factory-sealed produce you bought!!!

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jedsa
April 11, 2009 3:44 PM
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Was this a Best Buy in Maryland?. If so, I'll take on the case free of charge. Best Buy's response moved from the ridiculous to the appalling.

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Anonymous
April 11, 2009 4:10 PM
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You know, I remember that expensive consumer electronics used to come with a little clear window in the box through which you could verify that you were actually getting what was on the box. They still do that with CPU boxes. How hard would it be for them to do that with other expensive components that frequently get ripped off?

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madanthony
April 11, 2009 4:45 PM
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@undefined: @Inglix_the_Mad:

I blame whoever switched the hard drive. The problem is that we don't know who it was. And since nobody else does, either, the best anyone can do is point the finger at who is going to end up holding the bag while the hard drive thief runs away with his Raptor...

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b612markt
April 11, 2009 4:53 PM
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\"Opening the box inside the store is the only the way to guarantee that you have the right product.\"

Another great thing to do is to never shop brick-and-mortar again and shop online. Other commenters in the thread have recommended newegg.com and I totally agree, I love newegg!

Best Buy is rancid.

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Anonymous
April 11, 2009 5:51 PM
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One thing to point out is that (at least of the 7-8 BBYs I've been in) the shrink wrap they use on a day to day basis, and the plastic shrink that manafacurers use, is different. Straight from the MFG is more of a 'soft' plastic, whereas what the store uses is a 'hard' plastic. Easy to tell the difference even just by sight.

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Tyler Travis
April 11, 2009 5:58 PM
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Wow. As a Best Buy employee, I can totally understand why this wasn't allowed to be returned. We get so much fraudulent activity in our store, that it's gotten to the point where we have to check the serial number on the box to the serial number on the product for electronics items like this.

What I don't understand is how a SEALED ITEM didn't have the correct part in it. The bad part is that the guy can't really prove one way or another that he did or didn't swap out the items.

This sounds like it's Western Digital's fault if the item was truly factory sealed.

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Nighthawke
April 13, 2009 12:18 PM
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@Tyler Travis: An HONEST BBY employee? That'll be the day!

Oh, sure, there'll be some out there, but are few and far in between due to the factors involved, such as quotas and bonus bucks for bigger sales numbers.

Get a life, get out of there and get a REAL job.

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SudhamayiKabong
April 12, 2009 2:42 AM
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@Tyler Travis: Yeah, you folks should have been checking the serial numbers against one another the entire time. That's just, you know, common sense. And maybe if Best Buy one the whole adapted this practice, you'd hear about far less issues like this one. Seriously, that you folks only got around to doing it after fraud became such a huge issue at your store is pretty telling of Best Buy at large. You might be an outstanding individual, but the company you work for is clueless.

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Michael Belisle
April 12, 2009 2:33 AM
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@Tyler Travis: It's gotten to the point where we have to check the serial number on the box to the serial number on the product for electronics items like this.

Exactly as you should do. But do you do that if the box is \"sealed\"? Surely you don't open it, because then it'd be an Open Box.

This sounds like it's Western Digital's fault if the item was truly factory sealed.

Remember that all we have is a reader report here. The operative phrase is \"it was sealed.\" Sealed with what? A little tamper-friendly clear tape circle like Western Digital is known to use? Nobody knows.

What I don't understand is how a SEALED ITEM didn't have the correct part in it.

That said, this part is easy. All a scammer has to do is Quantum Fireball in a VelociRaptor box that has the appearance of being sealed. Customer service, none the wiser, will trust the seal and put it back on the shelf without opening it.

And before you say \"that's not possible\", I'll say that I also used to work at Best Buy. Perhaps the store should check their return log for any recent VelociRaptor returns. If there's just one, I bet I know who might be enjoying a wicked-fast 10,000 RPM VelociRaptor at home, having a serial number that might match a particular box containing a worthless Quantum Fireball. Maybe the police would be interested to paying the individual a visit.

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crazydavythe1st
April 11, 2009 6:27 PM
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@Tyler Travis: I think the main argument is that unless Best Buy can prove without a doubt that Western Digital is responsible or the OP is responsible, they have to allow the return or face a credit card dispute (or ultimately lose in small claims court).

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lilspooky
April 11, 2009 6:08 PM
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When will every one learn? DON'T SHOP AT BEST BUY! Let it DIE! give you money to Newegg.com they at least care about there business.

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turkeyspam
April 11, 2009 7:04 PM
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Circuit City gone is good. Now if we can just get rid of Worst Buy. I bought a PC game in there once. I checked the box for minimum specs. There were not listed. I bought it and went home. Ooops. My video card is not supported. I took it back and went to their excuse for customer service. The idiot at the desk said \"you should have the specs on the box.\" I said, \"Fair enough. Show me where that is.\" He snatched up the box and low and behold, no specs. I waited a minute foe suspense. \"Seems there are no specs on the box...\" He frowned and said it is store policy to not return opened pc games. I said \"I think this situation is going to escalate...in other words get your mananger.\". This was said very loudly and othe customers where looking. Shortly there after a manager appeared and told me \"We don't give refunds on opened pc games.\" I said \"That's fine, I just want a different title for the same price.\" After himming and haawing, he agreed. I left the store with the new game and have never returned. Granted, I probably should have done more research on the game and video card compatibilty, but why does it have to be a such a big deal to return something? There is no such thing as customer service in shitholes like that. Sad. That's ok, Newegg or Tigerdirect from now on, even if I need the item today...

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andybarlow01
April 12, 2009 11:59 PM
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@turkeyspam:

Most retailers have this policy in place for software. I had the same thing happen to me after purchasing \"Command & Conquer: Generals\" at Wal-mart, except the specs were on the box and I just didn't read them close enough. They were willing to exchange it for another game, but that did me no good at the time.

I'm with you on Newegg.com though...that's about the only place I buy computer gear, consumer electronics, etc.

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Anonymous
April 11, 2009 7:33 PM
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sue them for breach of contract; they have breached insofar as the contract(your receipt with price, name, and quantity of goods) explicitly describes the goods and is therefore binding. The suit should be filed under UCC § 2-601.

If you have suffered other financial or physical damages because of their mistake, you may as well sue for punitives as well as legal fees.

Hope some of that helps

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christopherscott
April 11, 2009 7:47 PM
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There is some confusion that needs to be cleared up here.

First off, factory seal does _not_ equal shrink wrap. A factory seal is a tamper-proof sticker that seals the box closed. All expensive retail items have these stickers, especially computer hardware. Shrink wrap on the box, which can be replaced easily by a machine or a hair dryer, does not equal a factory seal. This is knowledge that every consumer should know.

It is the buyer's responsibility to make sure that the factory (sticker) seal is always intact when purchasing a product. If the seal is broken or missing, then it's the buyers responsibility to check the contents of that item before leaving the store. If the box contains the wrong drive, with the sticker INTACT, then it's a packaging problem with Western Digital. Best Buy is not responsible.

I'm calling BS on this article for several reasons. First off, there's no way a Best Buy employee could have stolen the drive without breaking the factory seal. If the buyer didn't check the seal on the box before leaving the store(even if it was shrink wrapped), then it's the buyers fault for buying an opened product. You can't possibly expect Best Buy to take your word for it, and discount the fact that you possibly stole the drive yourself.

Second point. I worked in retail electronics stores, and swapping drives out of boxes is one of the worst ways to steal them. Not only are they factory sealed and shrink wrapped, they are wrapped in security locks or industrial strength box ties. Even if you manage to get the drive out(without getting caught), it's impossible to put the box back on the shelf. It's much easier to trash the box itself, than package another drive in the box, and place it on the shelf(with broken seals and ties). The same thing goes for the employees at Western Digital, who would never be stupid enough to risk such a great job over a hard drive anyway, especially when they probably get HUGE factory direct discounts.

This story only has two conclusions. Either the original author is a liar and thief, or he is a ignorant buyer that(hopefully) learned his lesson. While I hate evil companies like Best Buy, they are definitely not in the wrong here. This is a bogus consumer complaint, highly suspicious of fraud, and it gives all consumers a bad name.

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SudhamayiKabong
April 12, 2009 3:43 AM
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@christopherscott: @christopherscott: Wow.

Here's the deal. Your common-knowledge? It's irrelevant, given that the item was sealed.

Look, very rarely do I buy a factory-sealed electronics item that doesn't have a simple, non-descript sticker on it. Just a couple of those little clear circular stickers on there to hold the box together. Given how generic the stickers have appeared to be in my experiences, I could see how someone might be taken in if someone were to have replaced the factory seal with one of their own.
I can likewise see how the returns clerk at Best Buy would be bamboozled, given their seeming refusal to open packages in order to check the serial number on the unit against the one on a person's reciept. Which, by the way, is the sort of idiocy that puts people in unfortunate situations such as this one in the first place.

So maybe the OP fulfilled his responsibility to the best of his ability. Maybe he saw that it was sealed, and lacking an encyclopedic knowledge of the materials WD uses to seal their boxes, justifiably assumed that all was well. Sure he could have checked every box on the shelf against the one he grabbed in order to check for abnormalities, but it can be difficult to think about that sort of thing unless you're in that mind-set. And you usually only find yourself in that mind-set after you've been screwed. Besides, what if his efforts had turned up no abnormalities? He still would have been screwed.

Now the drive in the box was not only NOT a WD drive, but it was a drive that hasn't been manufactured for nearly a decade. That would suggest that ultimately Best Buy is responsible, whether it was due to employee theft, or because an inept employee screwed the pooch and let some sly thief play them like a steel drum. One way or the other, I'm siding with the OP here, given that this very sort of thing isn't unheard of.

As for your experiences in retail electronics, they are largely irrelevant to the matter at hand. The swap was likely made outside the store by a fraudster. As such, they probably didn't run into any of the troubles that you're on about.

And really, that's what your post boils down to for me. You appear to be so eager to blame the OP that you've disregarded any possibility that would make it difficult for you to do so. Or is it that you can't see beyond your own nose? Sort of an \"If it didn't happen to me, it didn't happen at all!\" sort of deal? Meh. Whatever the case may be, I think I've illustrated that there's at least one more conclusion. A conclusion that you didn't bother to consider.

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Anonymous
April 11, 2009 8:12 PM
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The simplest solution if they refuse to accept a return of an incorrectly packaged item is to dispute the charge with your credit card company, something I've found works 100%, and I would follow that up with a Better Business Bureau complaint, which I've also found highly effective in getting due recompense.

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Outrun1986
April 11, 2009 8:13 PM
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The problem is that this could theoretically happen at any retailer, so I think its unfair to single out Best Buy here. For everyone saying not to shop at BB the same thing could happen at Walmart, Target or even Newegg or Amazon. So you shouldn't shop there as well :) Although the latter 2 are more likely to help you out with your problems.

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Anonymous
April 11, 2009 11:06 PM
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Similar thing happen to me 12+ years ago... I bought what I thought was a top-of-the-line late-model cordless phone, open the box at home to find an off-brand cheap one, not what was on the box.

Took it back, expecting a quick swap and was accused of trying to cheat them. I thought it was obvious that a someone in-store had put the $60 phone in the $10 box and vice versa, but no, I was the one trying to swindle them. I got kicked out for yelling at the managers... brilliant customer service that. Even wrote the CEO, but nothing.

Best Buy is the sleaziest of the sleaze, and I plus 10 friends/family haven't been back since.

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drdom
April 11, 2009 11:46 PM
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From a legal standpoint, this is a very simple situation. The customer paid for a Western Digital VelociRaptor, in what appeared to be an original factory sealed package. The fact that it was an in-store pickup is where my suspicions start. The customer did not select the product from the shelf. He took the one handed to him by an employee of Best Buy.

The package contained something other than what the label indicated. That is an issue between the seller, and the seller's supplier.The buyer did not receive what he paid for.

Absent any proof of fraud on the part of the customer, the store is liable to make the customer whole. Remember, a Best Buy employee handed the package to the customer.

I looked at this same product on the shelf at a Best Buy. If it was a sealed box, the packaging will have identifying information which will aid in determining what happened to the drive that belonged in that box. Chances are the drive is being used by someone, and they probably registered it with the manufacturer. Even if they didn't, there's a way to tell if that drive is out there, down to the IP address of the machine it's running on, provided it has connectivity.

Further, a simple examination of the drive and/or it's contents should be able to ascertain whether there's any fraud involved on the customer's part.

All of that aside, unless Best Buy can prove that the customer switched the drive, the credit card company should do the chargeback. Another good reason to use a card, even if you have cash.

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chrisinnh
April 12, 2009 3:41 PM
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@drdom:

Chances are the drive is being used by someone, and they probably registered it with the manufacturer. Even if they didn't, there's a way to tell if that drive is out there, down to the IP address of the machine it's running on, provided it has connectivity.

Huh? Care to elaborate on that?

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F*ckingPlushroom
April 11, 2009 11:48 PM
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And to add insult to injury, those Fireballs were pieces of shit.

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dealminded
April 12, 2009 12:50 AM
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Jon should get some off-the-shelf data forensic software and see if they can recover some of the (almost definitely) deleted content from the drive. As long as the previous owner wasn't computer savvy, it will surely have something left on it. Then, with the names/emails/phone numbers/credit card numbers/social security numbers/employee info/etc, Jon would have proof and someone to a point a finger at.

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MooseOfReason
April 12, 2009 12:51 AM
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Nice title. Why not just end the sentence after \"nine-year-old\"?

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Ryan Stone
April 12, 2009 2:16 AM
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Anyone else think there is a possibility that the guy bought a hard drive to replace his 9 year old Fireball and things got scammy from there?

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drdom
April 12, 2009 3:39 PM
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@Ryan Stone: It's not that hard to prove, if either side does a little checking.

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mockidol
April 12, 2009 2:43 AM
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For about a year now Best Buy has stopped selling used hard drives. Even unopened returns of hard drives are sent back to the manufactur. This was started to protect data privacy and avoid issues like this. So, not a previous return. It'd have to be a scam by OP, a jerk at WD, an amazingly sneaky employee, or a totally different customer who managed to sneak the drive into the store and swap it with one on the shelf.

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SudhamayiKabong
April 12, 2009 3:48 AM
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@mockidol: Really? Someone ought to get around to telling my local Best Buy then, because I was able to return one last week. It was a DOA external HDD. They took it back no problem. @_@

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mockidol
April 13, 2009 3:09 PM
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@SudhamayiKabong:


I didn't say they didn't retirn HDDs. I said they stopped reselling returned ones as open item.

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Bill Moffatt
April 12, 2009 3:48 AM
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Wow, coming from Best Buy I am not the least bit surprised!

RT
www.web-privacy.us.tc

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Tanya Dempsey
April 12, 2009 5:18 AM
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HAHAHAH. This man doesn't think that there aren't dishonest people out there who buy shrink wrap machines, buy expensive merchandise, swap it out for their old parts, and then re-seal and return the product? It happens all the time. I have seen a hard drive be returned to a Best Buy and re-sealed by a consumer and actually returned the box with potatoes in it. Since then Best Buy has been opening all open and non-open hard-drives to help resolve the issue and catch those people. A multi-billion dollar company doesn't need to scam people of a few hundred dollars, it's dishonest consumers.

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Tanya Dempsey
April 12, 2009 5:26 AM
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Oh yes. I also forgot that it's very believable to imagine a Best Buy warehouse employee bringing a sack of potatoes to work with the intentions of swapping it out for a new hard drive as well. Hahaha.

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Anonymous
April 12, 2009 6:29 AM
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I used to work for best buy and I bought a raptor drive as well. Turns out the same thing happened to me. It took me a month of complaining and pissing people off and they still didn't do anything. A few weeks after it happened to me it happened to a customer and he complained, luckily my geek squad manager ended up opening all the raptor drives and all of them had used and old drives in them. I ended up getting my replacement but it was hell dealing with this company. Make sure you open all merchandise in store before you leave so this shit never happens to you. I feel your pain brother.

Regards John Q.

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Anonymous
April 12, 2009 9:21 AM
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Interesting. I very very recently bought a video game that was sealed, and to my surprise, found a random software cd from microsoft.

I went back and told customer service what had happened, expecting a story like this. But instead, after them checking my credit card to see any other past transactions (and probably flagging it in their system, which I guess is somewhat reasonable), they exchanged it for a brand new game.

Worst buy is still worst buy since this shouldn't happen in the first place, but it really does seem like the manufacturers fault (how else do you explain a SEALED product)?

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Anonymous
April 12, 2009 10:26 AM
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hmmm... If I was best buy I would not take it back either. sounds to me like the ole buy a product and return your last years model in the box and hope they don't check serial numbers scam..free upgrade..woot. popular on stereo equipment.

not that it was necessarily a scam of course. but I could see how it could appear that way. Now if it was returned sealed, and they opened the box and found a wierd old hard drive the op would have a better case.

If your best buy is in a black/high crime area you are more likely to have someone question something like this

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Anonymous
April 12, 2009 6:02 PM
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Any item sold at at a store involves a contract between the buyer and seller. If the buyer is below the age of 18 it is not a valid contract. Go to court, the minor will win every time, even if they destroyed the item in question. It is no legal to enter a contract with a minor. So, that means every sale to a minor can be reversed no matter what the case. Business law 101. Tell Bes Buy To Show It!

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technopimp
April 13, 2009 12:04 AM
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I am the OP in this tale (I am Jon). I appreciate those of you who are supportive of my issue. To those of you who have been repeatedly suggesting to only shop for items such as this online, I do 95% of my shopping at sites like Newegg and Amazon, but there are times when you want/need something the same day, and the \"convenience\" factor outweighs the potential cost savings (although when I bought this drive because of a sale BB was actually cheaper than any of the online stores).

To those who do not believe me or have taken to accusing me of being the one pulling the scam, you are certainly entitled to your opinion, and all I hope you get out of my experience is to

a) avoid stores which take this sort of position in treating a customer like a criminal who is guilty until proven innocent,

b) if you do shop there, be sure to open everything in the presence of an associate, and

c) ALWAYS pay with a credit card. Had I used cash, I would be in an even worse position than I am now.

I am still awaiting a response from my credit card company. I will provide the editors with an update as soon as I know more.

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Winteridge2
April 13, 2009 1:30 AM
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When I saw the headline, I thought BestBuy was trying to dupe a 9-year-old.

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Anonymous
April 13, 2009 2:09 AM
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I work at a store that is like best buy, we have people try return fraud a lot. I would not call it return fraud unless I looked into all the details of your sales on the item. We still have people that will call your home office to complain and win, when we know 100% had not sold an open box item on the self or had any returns of that item before. I have seen a big jump for months in people trying to scam us on just hard drives alone. Early last month a person tried to scam us on two NAS that they had just got the day before. They had replaced all the hard drives with old ide drives. It was easy to turn them down because, of that item we only sell new and all returned open boxes are RTV of that item. The two items totaled just under $600.

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anonymousagent
April 13, 2009 2:15 AM
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No.

This would've had to have been a problem at the MFG end. Best Buy's POS system doesn't allow opened, returned hard drives to be resold. They automatically go back to the manufacturer after being wiped in-store.

Also, there's no way a renegade employee, working alone, would've been able to pull that off. There are way too many policies in place for that to work.

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Aaron Gopen
April 13, 2009 3:08 AM
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People still buy peripherals in stores? why? I can understand Commodity goods like PC games (not even) and things that should be seen in person (keyboards, mice, controllers) but I would never ever buy anything that connects to my motherboard from a brick and mortar store, EVER! the price fixing is outrageous! why would I buy a nvidia 8400 from staples for almost 100 when I can get it at newegg for 50 or less?

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cerbie
April 13, 2009 4:46 PM
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I'd like to see some clear packaging on reail drives. Have a nice windows stamped out of the cardboard, exposing the labels on the HDD you are buying.

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Android8675
April 13, 2009 5:25 PM
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Velociraptors, what pieces of crap, I love selling these to people, there's so much markup on them, they burn out/fail more often than other HDs and the data rate increase is negligible. pretty much guarantee's return business inside of a year.

drive was probably mixed up in packaging. no mention if the drive was in the original static ESD sleeve or anything of that nature.

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Anonymous
April 13, 2009 9:48 PM
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A few months a go I purchased a bluetooth headset from my local Best Buy. I bought this brand and model specifically because it came with a car charger. Upon opening the box (at home) I discovered that it contained everything BUT the car charger.

I took it right back, and the girl at the CS desk went to the mobile phone department, and came back ten minutes later to tell me that I couldn't return the unit because--wait for it--the car charger was missing. The following conversation went something like this:

\" I know it's missing, that's why I want another one.\"

\"Well, we'd be happy to exchange it for you if you brought it back with the car charger.\"

\"If I had the car charger I wouldn't *need* to exchange it. I brought this back because the car charger WASN'T IN THE BOX.\"

\"Well, sir, we have no way of knowing that it wasn't in the box.\"

\"So you're accusing me of lying?\"

\"No sir, we just...\"

\"Oh, then you think I'm some kind of nut case?\"

It kinda went downhill from there. I went to the \"mobile communications\" department myself and got the same run-around from the department manager, so I said I wanted to see the store manager. Mr. Mobile Manager told me the store manager was out for the day, but gave me his number.

Once I got home I called the store manager WHO WAS IN THE STORE. I told him my story and he said, \"That's ridiculous. Bring it in and I'll exchange it for you right now.\"

Once the exchange was done I let him know I'd never shop at BB again, and on the way out I let Mr. Mobile Manager know that I found out he was a lying piece of...well, you get the idea.

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Anonymous
April 14, 2009 1:12 AM
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As a former retail wage slave, my guess is that probably some scammer customer bought the WD drive, put the old obsolete Quantum drive back in the box, sealed it up and returned it to the store for a refund, ending up with the Western Digital for free. The overworked folks at the return counter probably never checked the contents of the box (this happens a lot, and lots of retailers get nailed by this scam), but rather just put it back into inventory as new, where it got out to Jon. Best Buy is more than likely at fault twice here: once for refusing to take care of its customer, and also for not having procedures in place to keep unscrupulous scammers from swapping out the contents of boxes and returning them for refunds.

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Mr.Tom
April 14, 2009 6:18 PM
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True story, my roommate from about 1995 went to Circuit City and purchased a Western Digital HD brand new in the box. He opened it at home and found a really old drive with cut pins and it looked like the board had been sliced intentionally from some type of old refurb. I almost think it was some type of Fireball drive.


You can tell the antistatic bag was formed around the old drive and can see that's what was inside the bag inside the box. But ofcourse CC did not take it back since it was not a Western Digital that he was bringing back.


I totally believe Jon and believe this can happen. It must have happened at the manufacturer's warehouse somehow. It's a shame people have to steal this way from big companies. Too bad the old drive couldn't be traced somehow to see its origins.

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RvLeshrac
April 15, 2009 9:04 AM
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(Work for a competing electronics store, etc etc.)


We don't take back product when the wrong product is in the packaging.


Here's why:


One month ago, someone returned an expensive MP3 player that we'll call the MyPod Feel. The MP3 player which was actually in the package was an older 30gb MyPod. We are out $290.


Last week, someone return-frauded another product, this one cost us $230.


Return fraud is a real problem and, unfortunately, yes, some people might be getting the shaft because someone else stole merchandise.


It is hardly the fault of the store if they refuse to take back the wrong product after the purchaser has taken the product home and opened the package.


If YOU sold an unopened product that you'd purchased to someone, would *YOU* return their money if they came back to you and said that a completely different product was in the package, if it was going to put YOU out a large amount of cash?


I didn't think so.

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serotoninzero
April 18, 2009 7:37 PM
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A while after the Xbox 360 came out, my friends and I stopped at Toys'r'Us to look at the games. I found that they had put all of the old xbox's 12-month Xbox Live kits on sale for only $25. I knew the codes still worked, so I bought all four of them. When I got home, I opened a box... and realized it had already been opened. And so had the other three. All of the cards were missing. Toys r' Us wouldn't believe me so I ended up paying $100 for some old headsets. Of course, I should have saw they were open before I left the store, and the fact that this was sealed is even crazier, but still it was definitely a shitty situation.

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stands2reason
April 26, 2009 1:45 PM
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I'm actually using a way more than 9 year old 2.5 GB (well technically a 2500 MB) Quantum Fireball. And there's nothing wrong with it.

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Anonymous
July 18, 2009 12:44 PM
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It's possible that geek squad swapped a customer's drive as a service they offer, and they (generally) put the drive pack in the box for safekeeping. Well-meaning (but silly) customer service reps take the opened box, slap a BBY sticker on it, and drop it onto the sales floor as a return so their station appears clean when the manager shows up. Since it's not sealed by a BBY sticker, they'll assume the item is new and just came open (or was returned and tested okay by the geeks) and sell it as such.

ALWAYS, and i mean ALWAYS open any BBY package that it not factory-sealed with a FACTORY-BRANDED seal.

this is the reason why those hard-to-open blister-packs are so popular. any signs of tampering are 100% obvious.

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actuatedpoodle
April 12, 2010 3:48 AM
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I bought two \"new\" Acer laptops from Best Buy, both of which had viruses on them and other indicators they were clearly not new. I finally got the message and went elsewhere. Still, no one is worse in my experience than MicroCenter.

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