Fake IPad 2s Made of Clay Sold At Canadian Stores 265
SpuriousLogic writes in with a link to a story about some Canadian consumers who thought they were getting an iPad 2 but instead got the makings of the world's oldest tablets. "As many as 10 fake iPad 2s, all made of slabs of modeling clay, were recently sold at electronic stores in Vancouver, British Columbia. Best Buy and Future Shop have launched investigations into how the scam was pulled off. The tablet computers, like most Apple products, are known for their sleek and simple designs. But there's no mistaking the iPad for one of the world's oldest 'tablet devices.' Still, most electronic products cannot be returned to stores. For the the stores and customers to be fooled by the clay replacements, the thieves must have successfully weighed out the clay portions and resealed the original Apple packaging. Future Shop spokesman Elliott Chun told CTV that individuals bought the iPads with cash, replaced them with the model clay, then returned the packages to the stores. The returned fakes were restocked on the shelve and sold to new, unwitting customers."
Returns (Score:5, Informative)
Still, most electronic products cannot be returned to stores.
Huh? I've never had a problem returning electronics. Software, on the other hand...
Re:Returns (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Returns (Score:5, Funny)
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Everything except neutronium and vacuum is electronic.
Re:Returns (Score:5, Funny)
(In other words, you missed one.)
Re:Returns (Score:5, Funny)
(In other words, you missed one.)
Are you positive?
Re:Returns (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Returns (Score:5, Funny)
I'd understand that there might be a restocking charge.
And clay iPads... (Score:5, Funny)
But who says that this is a result of people buying iPads, taking iPads out of box, putting clay in box, resealing and returning?
It could just be 14 associated people bought iPads, then went back and said "Hey, I bought this iPad and all that was in my box was this piece of clay!"
Either way, if you have recently bought an iPad in Canada, and you have some clay around, bring your clay in for a refund!
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It could also be some art project, like that artist who actually draws hundred dollar bills that look exactly like the real thing but end up being worth far more because of their artistic value.
Still, if it were such a project, it would be dishonest and a form of theft unless they eventually come clean and admit it and offer to compensate the store.
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It could also be some art project, like that artist who actually draws hundred dollar bills that look exactly like the real thing but end up being worth far more because of their artistic value.
Still, if it were such a project, it would be dishonest and a form of theft unless they eventually come clean and admit it and offer to compensate the store.
It's illegal to even make a counterfeit bill. The copy has to be much larger than normal or else you can goto jail even if you have no plan to use it.
Re:Returns (Score:5, Funny)
Not to mention that the product being returned is not electronic.
Wait. Hold on for a second. This could be big.
You could sell these to frequent flyers - they don't have to turn them off during takeoff and landing.
Might fly....
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Not to mention that the product being returned is not electronic.
Wait. Hold on for a second. This could be big.
You could sell these to frequent flyers - they don't have to turn them off during takeoff and landing.
Might fly....
Yeah, try taking a half pound of clay through security and see what happens.
Better yet, stick a couple wires in it, and leave a watch in your bag, too!
Re:Returns (Score:5, Funny)
It's not my fault! The flight attendants are just too attractive.
Re:Returns (Score:4, Funny)
It's true, last time I flew I was carrying the FT and they ripped the crossword out.
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Nah, just make sure you miss the ground, should keep them airborne.
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Not that I would call the store a bunch of deceiving ass hats but never in my life have I seen a store accept a product return without opening the box.
C'mon seriously, a labelled box. When I buy stuff from the store of this kind, I always get them to open the box at the check out, always.
Inside job, likely the transport company delivering to the retailer, no ones looking and they know the store will just count boxes.
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I can just picture the perpetrators putting the fake tablets into the boxes and reapplying the shrink-wrap while humming "Oh iPad, iPad, iPad, I made it out of clay..."
Re:Returns (Score:4, Informative)
Future Shop specifically will allow returns [futureshop.ca] up to fourteen days after purchase. It doesn not say anything about rejecting a return that's opened.
However, it sounds like the [thieves?] just re-shrinkwrapped it and returned it, so they didn't open it to check.
This news is disturbing, I just bought eight of them for work (although not at one of the listed stores), tomorrow morning first thing I'm going to open them all to make sure they're legit!
Re:Returns (Score:5, Interesting)
I returned an un-opened set of sockets to Canadian Tire once. The sockets were still in the original shrink wrap, and the clerk cut it open in front of me before she gave me a refund. When I asked her why, she said that they've had people return socket sets full of rocks.
Not surprised really.
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Sucks to be the victim of a thief who returned garbage and got you stuck with it.
It's like the thief gets away with it and the store doesn't get burned for accepting it.
Re:Returns (Score:4, Insightful)
It sucks for the store too. So you get a socket set and find it's full of rocks rather than sockets. You go back and complain. The store has too choices.
1: they assume you are telling the truth. This means they are stuck with the loss and for all they know you may be the one trying to screw them.
2: they accuse you of lying. This means they will likely lose you as a customer and may well get badmouthed all over the internet
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It sucks for the store too. So you get a socket set and find it's full of rocks rather than sockets. You go back and complain. The store has too choices.
1: they assume you are telling the truth. This means they are stuck with the loss and for all they know you may be the one trying to screw them.
2: they accuse you of lying. This means they will likely lose you as a customer and may well get badmouthed all over the internet
i vote for #3
3: do both 1 & 2, just as futuresop did in this case.
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I returned an un-opened set of sockets to Canadian Tire once. The sockets were still in the original shrink wrap, and the clerk cut it open in front of me before she gave me a refund. When I asked her why, she said that they've had people return socket sets full of rocks.
Not surprised really.
I returned a car floor jack to Sears once - after I explained to the sales clerk that it was missing a key hinge pin that I didn't notice until I tried to use it and bent several support struts making the jack completely unusable, she put a "Clearance - used" tag on it. I pointed out again that it was broken and she said "uh-huh". I stopped by the next weekend and sure enough, it was sitting on the shelf - with a price marked 20% off. In theory it's fixable if you have the tools to disassemble it and straig
Nothing new really (Score:3)
This happens all the time. I have heard of floor tiles being returned rather than xboxes etc... When stuff like that happens it is either one of two things:
1) Staff that are lazy, inept, untrained, overworked that do not bother to check product. I would hazard every story has a policy that says they should.
2) The product was actually stolen by lazy, inept, untrained, overworked, and underpaid staff in the first place, and blamed on an "unchecked" return.
More common is that staff at best buy, futureshop, etc
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What bothers me is:
Still, most electronic products cannot be returned to stores
followed by:
...individuals bought the iPads with cash...then returned the packages to the stores
So, which is it?
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Most electronic products. Specifically the iPads were returned. The writer is making people aware of the potential danger not that it happened in this instance.
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And in other news, the X-ray apps on the iPhone are seeing skyrocketing sales, as shrewd Canadian consumers learn to X-ray their shrink-wrapped iPad boxes before taking them to the checkout.
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Wait... who's putting that sticker on? You or the store?
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Better than Wal-mart. They just throw it up for the same price as new - often with packaging tape holding together the chopped up clamshell packaging.
It's particularly bad trying to buy a universal remote. Almost ALL of them are opened returns. Idiots buy them not understanding that they have to be programmed. They try them, find out they don't work out of the box (duh), assume its BROKEN, and so they take it back, then get another one, and repeat this cycle a few times.
Personally I don't think a store s
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Personally I don't think a store should legally be able to sell anything that's been opened and returned as a new product.
They can't. At least not in the UK. If it's not new then they can't sell it as new. They can sell it as 'used' or 'refurbished' but aren't allowed to sell it as new.
Hammurabi (Score:2)
Re:Hammurabi (Score:4, Funny)
I hear Adobe is working on this.
future Shop is best buy and they don't test retrun (Score:5, Insightful)
They don't have real techs only sales people.
They used to have real techs but they where passed over for people who can sell and up sell / rip people off no you don't need the laptop setup, $100 HDMI cable or that $30 USB cable. But the people who do push that carp get more hours then the people who know what they are doing and tell people that on line you can find much cheaper cables that are just as good.
Re:future Shop is best buy and they don't test ret (Score:5, Interesting)
I used to work at Futureshop.
They definitively 100% care more about ramming a 30$ printer cable down your throat with a $60 printer then they do about customer service. Everything about their training program is designed to make you seem friendly and build customer trust right before you start hitting them over the head with the extended warranties and Monster cables.
I once got pulled into the managers office for a compliment from a customer. I sold him a Ben-Q burner that was cheaper and better then the Sony equivalent (which cost $100 more and was slower), and said so plainly when I did it. After I rang up the burner he asked to talk to the supervisor, so I paged him up to the counter where the customer proceeded to tell him how awesome of a salesman I was for saving him that money and ultimately deciding to sell him WHAT HE NEEDED rather then what could have potentially made us the most money (we got massive kickbacks on the Sony shit).
The moment the customer walked out of the store, my ass got hauled into the store manager's office and shafted like you wouldn't believe. No extended warranty this. No accessories that (accessories? like a $35 IDE cable?). Suddenly my good-to-great rating numbers are shit and they're threatening to can my ass if I don't start playing scum-ball with the customers, like everyone of their other salesmen.
I quit 2 weeks later. I only ever applied there to help people with technical shit, and I couldn't even do that.
-AC
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Well, I also once worked at Future Shop. In one year I made it from warehouse helper to merchandiser to #2 salesman in the Computer Department (That was when we all waited to get the first Pentium class PC's in). I was the #2 salesperson because I took my time with the customers and told them to call me at the store if they have any questions about the product. Sure enough, a few months into this I got hauled into the managers office, told I was not selling enough extended warranties and that I spend too mu
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and $60 on a $149 extended warranty.
Which really tells you what a $149 extended warranty is worth - $90 cash to the store, probably $50 cash to the insurance company, who probably spends $25 administering the program and taking profits. Average payout on a $149 extended warranty $25. Your odds are better in a Mafia run casino.
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Most fun salesman I ever dealt with at Futureshop offered to give me $80 off a device if I would agree to buy the $60 protection on it, since despite the overall savings, he gets no grief for discounting the item if he sells a protection plan.
Sad.
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Thats why in the UK the store HAS to deal with it - and that early in would be a straight swap, or a refund - your choice.
Later on you can have repairs but if it fails a number of times you are again given a new one or a refund.
Re:future Shop is best buy and they don't test ret (Score:4, Interesting)
Well, I can't speak for Future Shop in general, or for this specific location, but I can say with certainty that your statement as a general sentiment about Best Buy's practices is false.
You see, I happen to work at Best Buy, and funny thing...I'm one of the people tasked specifically with testing every piece of returned electronics to make sure:
1) Whether the unit functions, so we know whether it's defective and needs to be repaired, or was simply unwanted and can be resold,
2) If it doesn't function, if the problem is a hardware defect or accidental damage,
3) If the unit inside the box matches the item sold (you wouldn't believe the number of people who will try to pass off a cheap dvd player as a more expensive model, and there are occasional knock-off items)
4) Ensuring all accessories are included.
And when corners are cut, it's always for the sake of the customer. For example, during the holiday season when there are huge lines and we're just trying to get everyone handled as quickly as possible. Most of the time, though, we try to check out every device that comes through the Customer Service counter. Just earlier today, I had to have one of the CS reps decline a retrun because the customer was trying to return a DSLR without the included battery.
One odd, only tangentially-relevant bit: you'd also be surprised how many people lie about why they're bringing products back, even when they don't have to. If the device works and you're within the exchange period, you can return it for absolutely whatever reason you want, but many people seem to think that you have to have some sort of reason to bring it back. All too frequently, the items are being returned simply because the user does not know how to operate them.
Really, though, it's easy to hate Best Buy. I used to hate it before. I mean, why not just get stuff cheaper online? It's not that painful to wait a few days for shipping. But after working there, I came to realize something: the store doesn't target people like me as customers. The true target are for people who don't personally have enough knowledge about electronics, and want some sort of guidance (even if it's from a salesperson). Prices aren't that far off places like Wal-Mart, but the difference is that in Wal-Mart, all you get is a checkout teller, and you're lucky if they know the first thing about electronics. Best Buy salespeople might try to push accessories on you, but at least they have to know the products in their department and can offer at least a little insight into purchases for those who are less technologically inclined.
Specifically, I work in Geek Squad. You and I might be well-informed computer nerds, but there are an astounding number of people who come in, not to try to get repairs, but simply to ask easy questions. "What do you think of this software?," "Is this a good brand?," "Can my device do this?," "What does this mean?," etc. These people are the reason we exist. Not every family has a convenient daughter/nephew/grandson who's a nerd that they can go to for all their tech inquiries.
Oh, and don't blame Best Buy for Monster Cables. We're not the only ones who sell them, we're not the ones who set the MSRP (though, I suppose we could always choose to undershoot the MSRP for something closer to the store's cost), and we do offer alternative brands at more reasonable prices. But if someone comes in, who already associates the high-priced Monster brand with high quality, it's not like we're going to refuse to sell it to them. If you insist that you have to have a technician come to your house to hook your blu-ray player up to your HDTV with that single HDMI cable, why should we argue? Personally, if anyone asks about in-home PC service, I usually try to steer them into bringing the unit into the store (I'm sure my boss would throw a fit if he knew that), but some people are downright afraid of disconnecting and reconnecting all the cables on their desktop and are willing to pay hundreds of dollars to have a repair tech come to their home and fix everything. If that's what you want, we're not going to argue, and if it's really that helpful a service to offer, then we'll gladly help out.
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This! Consumers have a responsibility of due diligence - I'm fine with selling a drive at and alarming mark-up if a consumer is happy to pay for it. Likewise, retailers using true predatory practices, such as telling a consumer that a 100 dollar power cable will give sharper DVD playback than a kettle lead would, should be actionable under consumer law.
Advice from above ("upstairs") (Score:5, Insightful)
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In the days of old when knights were bold ... they called it "don't buy a pig in a poke".
Re:Advice from above ("upstairs") (Score:5, Interesting)
Note: a "poke" is a bag. Apparently, people would sell a cat in a bag, and tell you it was a baby pig (which you could then fatten up). If you "let the cat out of the bag", you were showing everyone what a fraud the merchant was.
See http://xkcd.com/325/ [xkcd.com] (when the SOPA blackout ends).
Re:Advice from above ("upstairs") (Score:4, Informative)
Note: a "poke" is a bag. Apparently, people would sell a cat in a bag, and tell you it was a baby pig (which you could then fatten up). If you "let the cat out of the bag", you were showing everyone what a fraud the merchant was.
See http://xkcd.com/325/ [xkcd.com] (when the SOPA blackout ends).
An interesting theory, yes ... but not actually true. Thats been very thoroughly debunked for decades. (Heck, Snopes has a whole page on it.)
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It's hard to do that nowadays with Apple's packaging and the store's anti-theft procedures! They basically unlock the iPad for you and then escort you to the purchase counter.
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A game some people I knew when I was younger was to figure new ways to rip Walmart off. They would buy a car radio, install in the car, and attempt to return the box with the old radio in it. Managed to work pretty well. A safer scheme was to use a razor blade to cut the plast
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Only excuse is laziness... (Score:5, Insightful)
The staff should have been checking the boxes upon return, to make sure that everything was OK. Add to that, they should have definitely been checked before outting them back on the shelves for other poeple to buy! It's either useless staff or really sloppy company policy.
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And what were they supposed to do? It was (as far as they could tell) still in the original shrink wrap, and weighed the same as a box containing a true iPad.
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Given that this isn't the first time someone has pulled a scam like this, they should have opened the package.
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From the summary & article I understand that the boxes look like they had not been opened before returning to the shop. So the staff in the shop had no reason to believe it had been tampered with.
When customer returns an unopened product, they can just restock it and sell it to someone else instead. Yet when the staff opens the as-yet unopened product for checking, they may not be able to sell it at full price again. So there is a clear incentive for staff not to open an as-yet unopened product.
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In the US, and so I assume Canada is similar, it is perfectly legal for a store to re-shrinkwrap otherwise new merchandise and sell it as new. Re-shrinkwrapping used and selling as new is illegal, but merely opening the package does not disqualify a product from being new.
It is almost certain that a store like futureshop has a shrinkwrap machine. Therefore it is either a failure of corporate policies or a failure of local staff to follow corporate policies that resulted in them not verifying the returned
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The staff should have been checking the boxes upon return, to make sure that everything was OK. Add to that, they should have definitely been checked before outting them back on the shelves for other poeple to buy! It's either useless staff or really sloppy company policy.
Reminds me of the time I bought an electric shaver at London Drugs a couple years ago. Got it home, turned it on, then found out it was used. Well used. It was a return.
People are fuckers. There's no single person to blame anymore.
Re:You Asshole (Score:2, Informative)
The reason she asked is because by using it it becomes a health hazard to anyone else and therefor the store has to return it to the vendor for refund where one assumes it is destroyed. By not admitted you had used the product you've put someone else's health at risk. Congrats, you're an asshole.
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And this isn't the first time that they have had complaints of selling items which didn't have wha
Sounds like (Score:2)
2012 B.C.
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Apple shipped the new unreleased iPad classic by accident.
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Obligatory joke: "New Adobe Tablets"!!!!!!! (Score:5, Funny)
Yeah, I stole it from the comments over at the article source. Too good not to share.
surprisingly (Score:2, Funny)
The battery life was better.
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You're talking about the battery life of the real thing I assume?
The battery of the fake sounds pretty dead to me.
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LOL, I see what you did there, by insulting the iPad and all. ANDROID RULES!!!!!1
That's hardly an iPad insult since it applies equally well to any tablet. Relax, not everyone is trying to make fun of your iPad.
EULA (Score:3, Funny)
Which is why used should only be sold as refurbs (Score:2)
This is precisely why packages should only be sold as refurbished and/or repaired items, not full-price "new" items. You never know why a device was really returned -- it should ALWAYS be opened to inspect the contents and verify that there are no missing parts or pieces.
I blame the stores for a bad process designed to maximize profits.
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Read TFA. The packing was, from the face of it, not opened. This product was returned as if it were unused.
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True, but then again, is it fair to the store that has to lose basically the profit off the sale because they have to market it as "open box"? Think about it - they have to s
What get's me... (Score:2)
Is that "The returned fakes were restocked on the shelve and sold to new, unwitting customers". How'd that logic go?
Customer: I paid for an iPad and got some clay
Clerk: Ok thanks. I'll just put that back on the shelf
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1. Crook buys real iPad with cash.
2. Crook takes iPad, replaces clay in box, re-seals box to appear unopened.
3. Crook returns new-looking tainted box, receives cash from store.
4. Tainted box returned to shelf.
5. Innocent buys tainted box
6. Innocent discovers clay, goes back to store.
7. Store stuck with clay and packaging.
The sentence you quoted was for Steps 3-4, not 6-7.
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Tech support? (Score:5, Funny)
Hello. I think my iPad has been bricked.
Serial # on the box... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Serial # on the box... (Score:4, Insightful)
Couldn't they trace the serial number on the returned box, match that up to the iTunes account used to activate the missing iPad, and nail the perps that way?
More than likely they'd nail someone who bought it off eBay.
Not all lawbreaking justifies prosecution (Score:2)
It's illegal to accept stolen property, knowingly or not.
And just how many prosecutors would nail someone who paid a fair price on eBay for an iPad?
It's illegal to accept stolen property unknowingly only because the police, rightfully, got sick of hearing: "I didn't know it was stolen! I swear! I just thought it was a really good deal! The fact that he sold his stuff out the back of a box van with no retail packaging seemed totally legit to me!" Those laws are meant to inhibit feigned ignorance as a defense, not to promote prosecution on every single Receiving
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From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fence_(criminal) [wikipedia.org]
the receiver must have accepted it with knowledge that it was stolen
So, ahem, yes, bullshit.
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Sounds like work to me.
iDreidel (Score:2)
These weren't fakes -- they were iPad shaped dreidels
Should be easy enough to track down (Score:2)
Undoubtedly knowing apple each tablet has to have a hardware id/serial number. They will undoubtedly be able to deduce the ipad id's from the boxes. Then just track down the missing iPads and find out who sold it to them. Just follow the money. I would also wonder if the tablets/packages had any fingerprints.
Really no cause for return (Score:3)
Come on, you DID get a tablet.
You didn't see Moses returning his now did you?
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Flintstones (Score:2)
They are not "fake", just old-school....really old school.
Safest way to buy. (Score:2)
I'm thinking you should open electonics boxes at the register, before you leave the store; to avoid being the victim in such a scam, and having the store claim you're the one who switched it.
Or packaging with clear windows, at least.
Come on at least get creative. (Score:2)
Looking at the photo of the clay tablet just makes me think I would have at least tried to get creative with the scam. You know, like trace a scene from Angry birds onto the clay before putting it into a box. Or maybe something like words with friends. These scammers are way too lazy.
This reminds me of a scam a friend's brother used to pull where he'd go to Best Buy, purchase a video game, open the little fold in the plastic with a razor, take the disc out, then return the game. I'm sure he's not the only p
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Failure on the stores (Score:2)
I used to steal crap and return fake stuff. I'm talking along time ago though.
TurboGraphix 16 games came in a CD case. We'd buy a game, put in a empty cd case, shrinkwrap the game back up, and return it for another game.
While what we did was wrong, the store should of check it to make sure it was there.
Fast forward 20+ years, and people are doing this still?
Listen shit for brains retailers. If someone returns something, you need to check it out and make sure it's actually there. Shrinkwrap machines w
Re:Who's missing the obvious? (Score:4, Informative)
But there's no mistaking the iPad for one of the world's oldest 'tablet devices.'
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I think you might be confused about the definition of the word "shill".
I've heard that there is another archaic meaning to this word, but I haven't seen it used in any sense other than the modern sense.
Re:Organized trolling campaign by GreatBunzinni (Score:5, Informative)
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shill [shil] noun 1. a person who poses as a customer in order to decoy others into participating, as at a gambling house, auction, confidence game, etc. 2. a person who publicizes or praises something or someone for reasons of self-interest, personal profit, or friendship or loyalty. verb (used without object) 3. to work as a shill: He shills for a large casino. verb (used with object) 4. to advertise or promote (a product) as or in the manner of a huckster; hustle: He was hired to shill a new TV show. Origin: 1920–25; origin uncertain Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
World English Dictionary shill (l)— n slang a confidence trickster's assistant, esp a person who poses as an ordinary customer, gambler, etc, in order to entice others to participate
etc.
Wow, actually your definition is the one that is incorrect. Perhaps you are shilling for someone...
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Byron used "myriad of". So did C.S.Lewis.
Re:Organized trolling campaign by GreatBunzinni (Score:4, Funny)
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However they can tell by the serial number whether that iPad is fresh from the factory or restocked after a return.
It would be odd if 10 iPads shipped in different shipments, some used and returned without the customer before claiming it was made of clay all happend to be returned for being made of clay at once.
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You wish.
The reality is that they will call you a scammer and not give you a refund, exactly as they did to the guy in the article (until he went to the press with it).
The reason these stores don't crack the packaging and check to make sure it's legit is because it costs them money to do so. It's far easier to simply accept the returned item easily (good PR), toss it back on the shelf and sell it again (minimize cost and loss), and blame it on the person who really gets screwed later. They'll only stop doin
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Get 10 people together, everyone buy an iPad on the same day (maybe over 2 days). 2. Take the iPads home, remove iPads, replace with clay. 3. Return the iPads claiming you found clay in the box when you bought it. 4. Receive new iPads, sell on eBay. Same net effect, 10 iPads. But this way you don't have to try and reseal the box in a convincing way, and you don't have to get the store clerk to take back a box of clay.
Here's the problem: A crime has been committed, without any doubt. And they have your name, so now you are a known suspect. With many crimes, the difficult step in solving it is to find a known suspect. You've just down the hard work for them.
If you want to become a criminal, do it in a way that nobody knows who you are. Otherwise all you do is improving the solved crime statistics.