Zenithian Legend
Banned
I would've posted this awhile back, but that just wasn't possible:
My mom decided to get my youngest brother (14) a ps3 for Christmas. She was very excited about this, as this was probably the biggest Christmas gift either I or my two brothers had ever received. Mind you the gift was specifically for the youngest, and my mom was worried that this would cause my other brother (21) or me (24) to be jealous. I assured her it would not as both of us make a good salary working and could buy a ps3 if we wanted to, heck my brother just bought a house! She wouldn't listen to me and on Christmas morning insisted that my brother open the ps3 first, before my other brother arrived, tragedy and hilarity ensue...
My brother gets the large box, comments on how heavy it is, and absolutely has no idea what he is getting. He may have expected a Wii, but definitely not a ps3. He pulled back the wrapping paper and was just stunned. He gleefully hugged the box like a toddler would a teddy bear, and sat there in a state of elation and pleasant surprise. That would not be the end of his surprise, unfortunately the story goes downhill from here.
I can remember getting the Nintendo, The Super Nintendo, The Nintendo 64, and the Playstation for Christmas during various years, with the exception of the Nintendo 64, I don't remember ever immediately pulling the system out of the box to check it out. Well, my mom wanted him to open the box right away for some reason, and here's where the story gets interesting.
He opened the box carefully, as we all watched in anticipation of the ps3. I later got a pocket camcorder, an absolute shame that I didn't get to open that first so I could film this all. Anyhow, he opened up the first box, and pulled out a slim ps2 box. My heart sank as I immediately realized something was dreadfully wrong. I glanced over at my mom who still seemed exhilerated and filled with anticipation for the big unboxing, maybe she saw Cheapy's video on youtube. I, on the other hand, knew that this wasn't right, because my mom had specifically forbidden me from altering the contents of the box as a good joke. I wanted to wake up a few minutes prior to my brother and replace the ps3 with the cat, figuring that'd be really funny. Anyhow, I knew something was wrong, as a slim ps2 box has no place in a ps3 box and my mom had no desire to play a practical joke that morning, yet for some reason I was the only one who had already figured out what was going on.
The rest of the "box opening" was almost surreal, I already knew there was going to be no ps3 that morning, and as my brother opened the slim ps2 box, he found yet another box. I finally said something, and everyone else got on the same page as me realizing that something was definitely not right. The second interior box was a blank USPS shipping box, and inside it was a weight carefully wrapped in a cloth. The ps3 had been stolen.
The thief was kind enough to leave behind Talladega Nights though, pretty much a slap in the face. The morning was pretty much ruined for my mom, as she was extremely hurt and heart-broken over the whole ordeal. She refrained from breaking down, and my little brother laughed off the whole ordeal. I'm not sure if he genuinely saw humor in such an unfortunate event, or if he just tried to react positively to keep my mom from losing it.
The theme for the rest of the day was certainly a fairly somber one for my mom and brother, as they were the ones that were truly hurt by this event. I wasn't hurt, but was definitely disturbed to know that an individual could be so sick, and villianous to swap a ps3 out of the box and put in a weight, knowing that the item he returned to the store would likely end up under some kid's Christmas tree. I was also very disturbed because the ps3 was purchased from the Target that my college roommate of 2 years is a manager (ETL) at. I would like to know how anyone on Target's staff could have been so careless as to let someone return a ps3 and not check the contents of the box before accepting the return. I know there are untrained seasonal employees at Target this time of year, but such blatent disregard for an item that is such a hot commodity at the moment, seems unfathomable to me.
Well, the next day my mom contacted Target over the phone and spoke with a few managers, and they apologized and agreed to give her a ps3 as soon as they got them in stock. Additionally, Target refunded her 20% of the $600 purchase price, $120 for those who hate math. Target's corporate office was less willing to make ammends though, as they only offered a $20 gift card, which my mom declined to accept, feeling that was more of an insult on Target HQ's behalf.
The whole ordeal prompted me to do some research about this matter. While I didn't find any ps3 stories, I did find several other stories about people who had purchased items only to find that they weren't in the box. The practice is far more common than I had imagined, and most stores simply don't acknowledge this is going on. In some cases the items were replaced with weights, in others with objects of equal weight, and in some cases with older models of the same object. After reading those stories, I was very thankful that my mom didn't buy the ps3 from Best Buy. I'm sure this will come as a surprise to no one, but Best Buy generally won't take the customer's side, and will treat them like criminals instead of the victims that they are.
So, the lesson to be learned from all of this is: Buyer beware! You would do well to check the contents of the box of any expensive item you purchase before you leave the store. I know if I ever find a Wii in stock, I'll be opening that box right up to make sure that everything is there before I pay for it.
My mom decided to get my youngest brother (14) a ps3 for Christmas. She was very excited about this, as this was probably the biggest Christmas gift either I or my two brothers had ever received. Mind you the gift was specifically for the youngest, and my mom was worried that this would cause my other brother (21) or me (24) to be jealous. I assured her it would not as both of us make a good salary working and could buy a ps3 if we wanted to, heck my brother just bought a house! She wouldn't listen to me and on Christmas morning insisted that my brother open the ps3 first, before my other brother arrived, tragedy and hilarity ensue...
My brother gets the large box, comments on how heavy it is, and absolutely has no idea what he is getting. He may have expected a Wii, but definitely not a ps3. He pulled back the wrapping paper and was just stunned. He gleefully hugged the box like a toddler would a teddy bear, and sat there in a state of elation and pleasant surprise. That would not be the end of his surprise, unfortunately the story goes downhill from here.
I can remember getting the Nintendo, The Super Nintendo, The Nintendo 64, and the Playstation for Christmas during various years, with the exception of the Nintendo 64, I don't remember ever immediately pulling the system out of the box to check it out. Well, my mom wanted him to open the box right away for some reason, and here's where the story gets interesting.
He opened the box carefully, as we all watched in anticipation of the ps3. I later got a pocket camcorder, an absolute shame that I didn't get to open that first so I could film this all. Anyhow, he opened up the first box, and pulled out a slim ps2 box. My heart sank as I immediately realized something was dreadfully wrong. I glanced over at my mom who still seemed exhilerated and filled with anticipation for the big unboxing, maybe she saw Cheapy's video on youtube. I, on the other hand, knew that this wasn't right, because my mom had specifically forbidden me from altering the contents of the box as a good joke. I wanted to wake up a few minutes prior to my brother and replace the ps3 with the cat, figuring that'd be really funny. Anyhow, I knew something was wrong, as a slim ps2 box has no place in a ps3 box and my mom had no desire to play a practical joke that morning, yet for some reason I was the only one who had already figured out what was going on.
The rest of the "box opening" was almost surreal, I already knew there was going to be no ps3 that morning, and as my brother opened the slim ps2 box, he found yet another box. I finally said something, and everyone else got on the same page as me realizing that something was definitely not right. The second interior box was a blank USPS shipping box, and inside it was a weight carefully wrapped in a cloth. The ps3 had been stolen.
The thief was kind enough to leave behind Talladega Nights though, pretty much a slap in the face. The morning was pretty much ruined for my mom, as she was extremely hurt and heart-broken over the whole ordeal. She refrained from breaking down, and my little brother laughed off the whole ordeal. I'm not sure if he genuinely saw humor in such an unfortunate event, or if he just tried to react positively to keep my mom from losing it.
The theme for the rest of the day was certainly a fairly somber one for my mom and brother, as they were the ones that were truly hurt by this event. I wasn't hurt, but was definitely disturbed to know that an individual could be so sick, and villianous to swap a ps3 out of the box and put in a weight, knowing that the item he returned to the store would likely end up under some kid's Christmas tree. I was also very disturbed because the ps3 was purchased from the Target that my college roommate of 2 years is a manager (ETL) at. I would like to know how anyone on Target's staff could have been so careless as to let someone return a ps3 and not check the contents of the box before accepting the return. I know there are untrained seasonal employees at Target this time of year, but such blatent disregard for an item that is such a hot commodity at the moment, seems unfathomable to me.
Well, the next day my mom contacted Target over the phone and spoke with a few managers, and they apologized and agreed to give her a ps3 as soon as they got them in stock. Additionally, Target refunded her 20% of the $600 purchase price, $120 for those who hate math. Target's corporate office was less willing to make ammends though, as they only offered a $20 gift card, which my mom declined to accept, feeling that was more of an insult on Target HQ's behalf.
The whole ordeal prompted me to do some research about this matter. While I didn't find any ps3 stories, I did find several other stories about people who had purchased items only to find that they weren't in the box. The practice is far more common than I had imagined, and most stores simply don't acknowledge this is going on. In some cases the items were replaced with weights, in others with objects of equal weight, and in some cases with older models of the same object. After reading those stories, I was very thankful that my mom didn't buy the ps3 from Best Buy. I'm sure this will come as a surprise to no one, but Best Buy generally won't take the customer's side, and will treat them like criminals instead of the victims that they are.
So, the lesson to be learned from all of this is: Buyer beware! You would do well to check the contents of the box of any expensive item you purchase before you leave the store. I know if I ever find a Wii in stock, I'll be opening that box right up to make sure that everything is there before I pay for it.
Buddy, we all know Best Buy would send us all to jail if they could. I owned them twice though... they're not gonna make a bitch out of me.
