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Wrong drive in box from Best Buy

Old 04-21-03, 11:54 AM
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Wrong drive in box from Best Buy

Many months ago I bought a 120GB Western Digital hard drive from Best Buy. I had intended to use it in a system I was going to build. I eventually bought a new system and opened the sealed box to add the WD drive as a secondary drive. I was surprised to find that the drive in the sealed box was not a WD drive but a Fujitsu 500MG drive. I emailed BB but they said that since it was longer than 30 days from the purchase date I was out of luck. Even if it was within 30 days I would probably have had a difficult time convincing them the WD drive wasn't in the box.

I am incredibly pissed that somehow a wrong drive was put in the box. Either someone bought a WD drive and put their old drive in the box and sealed the box and returned it to BB for a refund or returned it with the wrapper torn and BB resealed it. Or someone at BB, possibly a computer repair person, switched the drive and resealed the box. Either way I got screwed majorly.

If I can get the drive to work I'm going to search it for personal data from whoever had it before and go after the frucker.

Since clear wrapper sealers can be bought by anyone I wanted to post this thread to alert others of the possibility, though incredibly slight, of this happening to you. I guess the lesson is to open the box before you leave the store and make sure what you paid for is actually in the box.

Still I'd hope BB would investigate the issue as maybe they need to examine their return practices if someone let this switch happen.
Old 04-21-03, 12:18 PM
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I'd try to contact BB corporate.. not in email but on the phone. When i worked for CompUSA years ago, people would return things that we didn't even sell because they called corporate and corporate contacted teh store and OK'd the return just to keep a good customer. It can't hurt!
Old 04-21-03, 04:56 PM
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Originally posted by Ben732
I'd try to contact BB corporate.. not in email but on the phone. When i worked for CompUSA years ago, people would return things that we didn't even sell because they called corporate and corporate contacted teh store and OK'd the return just to keep a good customer. It can't hurt!
Thanks for the advice Ben. I really would like to know how this happened. They may not believe I'm telling the truth, but I'm going to do what I can to convince them. So far I can't get my system to read the drive.
Old 04-21-03, 08:45 PM
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Darn! It's outrageous! A used, bad Fujitsu 500MB drive in a brand new WD 120GB package?! I hope you can get it resolved with BB corporate.

Btw, did you buy it at the store or ordered it online?
Old 04-21-03, 11:27 PM
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Looking at it logically, why shouldn't they believe you?

If you were lying, wouldn't you have done it months ago, when it would have been much easier? Why would someone wait several months to try something like that if they were lying?

It is kind of unbelievable that someone would swap drives like that, though. I'm just surprised that someone would have the guts.

Hopefully you'll get it worked out.
Old 04-22-03, 05:08 AM
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Originally posted by eau
Btw, did you buy it at the store or ordered it online?
I bought it at the store. It was stacked on the shelf with a bunch of other ones. It was clear-wrapped just like all the others. Luck of the draw.
Old 04-22-03, 05:12 AM
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Originally posted by GoVegan
Looking at it logically, why shouldn't they believe you?

If you were lying, wouldn't you have done it months ago, when it would have been much easier? Why would someone wait several months to try something like that if they were lying?
True, but logic doesn't always apply when dealing with companies that don't really care. My first attempt was quickly brushed off by their customer service via email when they wrote it was more than 30 days since I bought it; end of discussion.

I'm not necessarily trying to bash BB, but I am upset by what happened.
Old 04-22-03, 07:23 AM
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You've got to look at it from Best Buy's POV. Do you know how many people try to get away with this kind of scam everyday? They'll come back in 20 minutes later with an empty box, claiming that the wrong thing was in the box...why should we believe them? Returns are checked thouroughly before being put back on the shelf. If you weren't telling the truth (like the many other scam artists), they'd be out another 120 gig HD.

Always open the box of whatever you buy while you're at the store, plain and simple.
Old 04-22-03, 07:35 AM
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Originally posted by Tarantino
You've got to look at it from Best Buy's POV. Do you know how many people try to get away with this kind of scam everyday?
I totally agree; that's why I don't think they'll believe me. But as GoVegan noted why would I wait so long to return it?


Originally posted by Tarantino
Returns are checked thouroughly before being put back on the shelf.
I can attest that returns are NOT checked thoroughly before being put back on the shelf.


Originally posted by Tarantino
Always open the box of whatever you buy while you're at the store, plain and simple.
And my original message was to advise people to open the box before they leave the store. I'm sure people don't think to do that.
Old 04-22-03, 07:38 AM
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UPDATE:
I received another email response from BB customer service. They are telling me that exceptions to the return policy are made at the local store's General Manager's discretion. So I guess I'll go there and see what luck I have.
Old 04-22-03, 12:03 PM
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Originally posted by Tarantino

Always open the box of whatever you buy while you're at the store, plain and simple.
As a BB employee, when would you suggest as the best time & place to open it (especially on weekends when it's crowded and there are long lines for every checkout lane)? Since there's no convenient place between the checkout lane and the exit to open and examine a package, I guess the best thing to do is to ask an employee if I can open it before I buy it (because I would think it would look suspicious if I just started opening up a package without asking someone first). Perhaps BB could eliminate these kinds of problems, if they would just put up a small table near the exit, so we would have a convenient place to inspect items before exiting the store.
Old 04-22-03, 05:44 PM
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I guess I'd better preface this by saying that Game Boy Advance games are roughly one inch by three inches.

A few weeks ago, I picked up a Game Boy Advance Castlevania game at Wal-Mart. I had a three hour class that night, so I left it in my car. While I was on a break from the class, I wanted to spit my gum out, and I must have used the receipt to wrap the gum.

That night, I got home and opened up the game. In the box, the game was missing. In its place was an eraser (roughly the same size as a GBA game).

I spoke to the manager and told him my problem, and he said I could bring it back in and exchange it. He looked up which register I had been on to prove that I'd bought it.

One of the clerks said that sort of thing happened all the time.
Old 04-22-03, 05:58 PM
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Originally posted by CaptainMarvel
That night, I got home and opened up the game. In the box, the game was missing. In its place was an eraser.

One of the clerks said that sort of thing happened all the time.
Geez, so many people without morals. Not to get preachy, but "THOU SHALT NOT STEAL". It's simply not worth the price.
Old 04-22-03, 06:41 PM
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Originally posted by spyzdope
As a BB employee, when would you suggest as the best time & place to open it (especially on weekends when it's crowded and there are long lines for every checkout lane)? Since there's no convenient place between the checkout lane and the exit to open and examine a package, I guess the best thing to do is to ask an employee if I can open it before I buy it (because I would think it would look suspicious if I just started opening up a package without asking someone first). Perhaps BB could eliminate these kinds of problems, if they would just put up a small table near the exit, so we would have a convenient place to inspect items before exiting the store.
I think a table near the exit to open and inspect items is a real
good idea. They seem to have room for a table as you come in for BB people to sign you up for a BB credit card.
Old 04-23-03, 12:50 AM
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Originally posted by ernestrp
I think a table near the exit to open and inspect items is a real
good idea.
EDITED: To Correct My Misspelling Of "Then."

Then you have to hire people to staff the table as well, and that's not making any money for the company now is it?

Last edited by dvd-fanman; 04-24-03 at 03:01 PM.
Old 04-24-03, 01:47 PM
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Best Buy stores I go to have security personel at each exit, so just stick one of those people at a table, so that the security person can see the store monitors and check receipts for big-ticket items (like TVs), while people check their purchases, if they please.
Old 04-25-03, 08:32 AM
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Originally posted by cupcake jesus
Best Buy stores I go to have security personel at each exit, so just stick one of those people at a table, so that the security person can see the store monitors and check receipts for big-ticket items (like TVs), while people check their purchases, if they please.
Heck, if you want to do it just use the security person's podium. If they can inconvenience me when I leave, I'll inconvenience them before I leave.

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