In what I can only describe as a warning to buyers of all consumer electronics, just because the item you purchase is sealed does not mean that it has never been tampered with and returned.
Over the past three and one-half years, I've enjoyed a love-hate relationship with the XBOX 360. Love with the games, features, and all around enjoyment. Hate with experiencing the dreaded RROD and E74 errors on a system well out of warranty.
As it turns out, my previous system was out of warranty when it first experienced the Red Ring of Death as is so commonly experienced. With nothing to lose, I successfully performed the X-Clamp modification and had given new life to a dying console. Unfortunately, this was short lived as 6 months later my system came down with a rough case of the E74 blues. Unable to implement an "easy" fix this time, I boxed the console up and waited for a good deal on a new system. Luckily, this happened rather soon as Microsoft dropped the price of the Elite to $299 and the Pro to $249. In addition, to kick-off the new pricing structure, Target was including a free wireless controller if either of these systems was purchased last week.
After doing an online inventory search, I was off with my son to the nearest store, giddy to get a replacement, and not only that - an upgrade. There were two units left that included the free combo package, so I carefully inspected each to see the manufacturing date and condition. Both dates were the same, but one looked as if it had been returned, so I chose the "nicer" one. Big mistake.
Upon arriving home, I opened the box. Strangely enough, one of the side flaps was sticking and required me to slit the opening to get in the box. What happened from there was part surprise, and part anger. Someone had purchased this console, and returned it - I was one hundred percent sure, for two obvious reasons. First, the difficulty in opening the box was because the previous owner had carefully cut the side opening and tucked it back in, leaving the cut off piece of cardboard in the box. No big deal, as long as it worked and the warranty sticker was in-tact. That was, until I discovered the second and, based upon the article's title, somewhat predictable issue. The aspiring thief that cut the box so slyly and returned it had taken perhaps the most important item from the box - The 120GB Hard Drive.
I immediately looked at my receipt, from only 20 minutes earlier and called up Target, voice quivering in anger. I explained the situation, from what was missing, to how I knew the box was tampered with. The girl at customer service had a response ranging from a best skeptical, to at worst, accusing me of lying, saying that they inspect every return and that the hard drive cannot be removed. Ideas ran through my head if they would not let me exchange the system - Should I dispute the charge on my credit card? File a complaint with Target Corporate? Perhaps with the Michigan Attorney General, Mike Cox? Adamant, I insisted that I was coming back to the store, that there was one other system on the shelf and that I would be exchanging it and that they would open it up in front of me to verify all parts were included before leaving the store.
When I got to customer service, we looked at what was missing. In addition to the hard drive (which was really my only concern, since that is the purpose of buying an Elite) the bundled games (Lego Indiana Jones and Kung Fu Panda) were also missing, as was the HDMI cable. They had me go to electronics and bring a new system up to them for inspection. Luckily all parts were there and in good condition. At this point we ran in to somewhat of a snag though as they forgot the controller was a promotional deal and forgot to return that as well. Somehow in the commotion the clerk lost the original receipt, which required now waiting around for about 15 minutes while they called corporate to get it resolved. The best they could do was not refund it, but issue me a gift card, but as long as I could swap systems, I didn't care. Well the giftcard issued was exactly $18.01 short. At $299.99 with 6% Michigan sales tax, it was easy to see that the gift card didn't cover tax. Another call to corporate by the clerk and it was straightened out. For my troubles, I was given a coupon for three dollars off any purchase in the store. Yippee!
The original receipt was eventually found - it turns out when the clerk inspected the new system box, she put the old receipt in there and sealed it up. While three dollars seemed like a joke considering the time wasted, it was better than nothing and customer service didn't give me a hassle when they saw how the previous owner was able to fool them by not removing the stickers.
This article is mostly a warning to consumers and retail employees that deal with returns. Make sure someone didn't pull a fast one. I can only imagine what would happen if the customer service staff wasn't as friendly or if the system was purchased as a gift and not discovered until months later, after the 90 day return policy, leaving someone to have to try and explain to Microsoft what happened. I also wonder what would happen if this was purchased from an online retailer like Amazon, Buy or Newegg. Luckily, my story had a happy ending.
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