William thought he had bought a WiFi-only Kindle from Best Buy, only to bring it home and discover he’d actually gotten the pricier version that accesses the 3G network.
Now he’s asking for input from the hive mind on whether or not he should exchange the device for the model he thought he bought. He writes:
I went into Best Buy today to purchase a Kindle for myself because Amazon.com is backlogged for a couple of days in shipments. Strolling over to the eReader section, I find a stack of Kindle DXs and a single lone standard Kindle. I quickly snatched it up hoping that it was the WiFi model that I was looking for instead of the more expensive Kindle 3G. It said Kindle Wi-Fi on the outside slip cover and had the correct Kindle Wi-Fi barcode. The Kindle itself was locked in a plastic security box. When I went to checkout it rang up as the $139.99 Kindle Wi-Fi.However, upon arriving home from the store, I notice a second barcode on the actual box inside the slipcover that says “Network: at&t” and has a different barcode than the slipcover. I quickly google the barcode on this box and it is for the Kindle 3G, not the Wi-Fi model as the barcode on the slipcover would show. The two were sealed together with a clear sticker that if removed would either break or tear the cardboard and the Kindle was still sealed in its original box with the tear strip. Both were sealed with no of tampering.
When I opened the box, there was indeed a Kindle 3G inside. There is a price difference of $50 between the $189.99 Kindle 3G and the $139.99 Kindle Wi-Fi. Do I spend the hour round-trip to go back to Best Buy and make things right by notifying them of their error or do I just keep my mouth shut and enjoy the deal I got?
Tell William what to do through our poll:
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Why should Best Buy customers be more ethical than Best Buy company?
(Best Buy is a really sleazy operation.)
Are you an idiot? Keep it.
My question would be, does the serial number on the box match the serial number on the unit? If so, keep it. If not, no use trying to return it. Either way, call Amazon, maybe they’ll give you a free book. From what I’ve seen, they’re fairly cool about things.
I think you should return it.
I don’t think I would have the strength of character to actually do so, however. Years ago, my dad was involved in a situation that was almost the reverse of yours, but in Best Buy’s favor. He bought a receiver at a Best Buy in what appeared to be a factory sealed box. He didn’t open it until he got home. Turns out that at some point, the new receiver he expected to be in the box had been swapped with a used and broken one of a different model. Best Buy refused to take it back. He finally had to contact the manufacturer, who was more agreeable. So, the me that would probably prevail in your situation is the sauce-for-the-goose, two-wrongs, revenge-seeking one.
Do we know for sure that the 3G is even working on the model he has? The OP mentioned a second barcode labeled AT&T; in my experience with pre-paid phones, 3G mifi units, etc., usually the vendor must scan a barcode in addition to the item’s sku to “activate” the wireless item. It could very well be that the Kindle is operating on wi-fi only at this point and would be impossible to get onto the 3G network absent a subsequent “activation.”
Also, screw Best Buy. If he did return it, odds are they would try to have him arrested for attempting to return an item that doesn’t match what they believe was originally sold to him.
Call up Best Buy and tell them if they bring you a WiFi model you will exchange it. It wasn’t your fault they screwed up, it shouldn’t be your burden to rectify it.
Why would you even ask this question. If you tried to return it, the employees will be mind boggled. Their system will put it in as an even exchange and the one you returned will go right back on the shelf with the wifi UPC still on it or they will have to send it back to amazon to be refurbished.
In the end, the item will either be sold as a wifi model, or will be sent back to amazon and much more than 50 bucks will be wasted to refurbish it.
William didn’t get the item he paid for. The fact that the item he received is more valuable is irrelevant. If William wants the wifi only version, then he may return the 3G Kindle, or he can keep the 3G Kindle if he is happy with that item. The fact that William will have to drive an hour to return the Kindle makes it a pain to return. William should keep the 3G kindle.
Keep it, as long as you actually want the 3G version. If you were to accidentally get free sprinkles on an ice cream cone, you wouldn’t return it, you’d have an awesome day cause you just got some free freaking sprinkles.
keep it, frame the receipt, and gloat to all your friends. Best Buy’s a big corporation, and definitely will not miss $50
If you paid by credit card AND Best Buy in any way can trace what you bought back to you -for example they scanned the 3G version- they will probably go back and hit the credit card again, probably for the full amount of the 3G, not just the difference.
Failing that, they will eventually report it as lost or presumed stolen and ATT will lock it out (if they are lazy) and maybe hunt it down (if they have nothing better to do).
There’s a lot of ifs.
I’d take it back to the store and try to swap for the right one. Worst-case, you get what you paid for. I am not sure getting to keep it is even the best case because eventually it WILL cause a problem with ATT and your 3G will go away. So I’d rather not even get hooked on it, if it was me. ymmv
Enjoy your new (nicer) Kindle.
So long as best buy shows a receipt for it.
Not his fault, but I would call Amazon to make sure there are no activation and/or warranty issues. Their customer service is awesome and they won’t make you return it.
Best Buy didn’t lose out on anything in these circumstances, but would be more likely to question you, so don’t even involve them.
Correct. Amazon.com is most likely the injured party here.
I actually tried to buy a Kindle at Target as a present for someone, and the guy there told me that they had had to ship all of their WiFi Kindles back to Amazon because there were packaging screw-ups- this was exactly what he described, although he said that in their case, people were trying to ring up packages that said they contained a wi-fi-only Kindle and it was ringing up at the 3G price. Sounds like it’s not just Best Buy.
If this were Amazon, I’d say call them and see what they tell you. Because it’s Best Buy, I really don’t know what to say. I’d be afraid to just waltz in and try to return it for fear they’d accuse me of having stolen it or switched Kindles around or something. Maybe give the store a call, ask to speak to a manager and explain what happened? They might just tell you to keep it (I’ll bet that they paid Amazon whatever the wholesale price is for a WiFi version, themselves), and that way you’ll have done the right thing by trying to return it and letting them know that their packaging is screwed up.
You f’n tards are ridiculous!
You rag on Best Buy all the time, sometimes deservedly so, if they mess something up in their favor and not the customer’s, and DEMAND that they make it right or you’ll go to corporate or some nonsense.
When a customer has the error in their favor, all of a sudden it’s no big deal.
Bunch of f’n hypocrites
Their error, their problem, their loss.
The same thing happened to me with my iPhone 4.
I paid for a 16GB, and it ended up being a 32GB.
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This sounds like a factory error that would be a nightmare to correct. It would probably be close to impossible and the guy would likely be suspected of stealing the device. I wouldn’t even bother trying.
But I thought he wanted the cheaper, lesser model anyway for some reason. So why keep this one?
I don’t think he should exchange it or is obligated to unless he makes the choice to do so because it’s really the other model that he wants.
First off.. why can’t we see the results of the poll? This is no fun!
Second.. this is Best Buy we are talking about. Think about all the people they rip off. And people are right, there is no way for BB to make it right. If you return it, it will only scan as you purchased it.
In the end it will end up being written off / clearanced as a open box or wholesaled out to places that buy the open box stuff for resale (like me)
Keep your Kindle and enjoy it.. and know BB will try to rip you off one day.
In Quebec, Canada, if you want to be really mean, you could bring the 3G model back to the store, and ask for $10 because of the exact price policy: when there is a mistake in the price, the lowest price prevails AND in the case the item costs more than $10, the vendor has to give you a $10 immediate indemnity. The packaging error is the vendor’s problem, and if they charged you the wrong price, it is their own fault.
Best Buy error in your Favor. You collect $50 bucks!
why are these considered news worthy? sick of seeing the ‘they screwed up and i got a better deal, what should I do’ stories. why brag… why?
I know. Why the faux ethical dilemmas? Just be smug about your slick deal and move on.
He should let the FBI or Homeland Security know about this!
This could be just one of thousands of misprinted/misbarcoded(!) boxes…in the end this could cause the shareholder value of any number of companies to decrease, thereby allowing the terrorists to win.
I’m scared, won’t anyone think of the corporations!?!?! What about the CORPORATIONS?!?!?!
Keep it, its their error not yours. The headache and time you need to spend trying to inform them of their error isn’t worth it. It isn’t worth losing sleep over. Your imortal soul (if such a thing exists) isn’t in Jeopardy, just enjoy your gaget already. They don’t give a damn (even if they noticed) so why the hell should you?
The store wasn’t charged for the more expensive version either besides they can just write it off.
.
Kramer : They just write it off .
Jerry : Write it off what ?
Kramer : Jerry all these big companies they write off everything
Jerry : You don’t even know what a write off is .
Kramer : Do you ?
Jerry : No . I don’t .
Kramer : But they do and they are the ones writing it off .
Jerry : I wish I just had the last twenty seconds of my life back .
No, because:
1.) The packaging error is not his fault
2.) It’s very likely that the error is Amazon’s, not Best Buy’s. Amazon packages the Kindle, after all. So Best Buy probably spent the 3G price themselves on it. Amazon will not see that Kindle, except possibly as a byte of data marked as defective.
Now, two things may happen to that Kindle after you return it, neither of which is desirable:
1.) Sometimes management at stores like Best Buy will take returns, cut a notch off the barcode, and ruin it so it can’t be used, then returned to the warehouse as defective. This is obviously a serious problem in retail stores and it should be done away with, but unfortunately, often times a store gets a better return value from returning a defective item they would from the next option.
2.) Sold as an open box item for a little above the cost of a Kindle WiFi. Someone else will end up benefiting from your problem, and nothing will have actually been fixed.
While you can argue that this is wrong, I don’t believe it to be. Honesty is important, but practiced blindly, you are at best appearing insecure about things and at worst being honest to the point of causing additional hardship.
When making the most moral choices possible in situations such as these, I try to ask myself a few simple questions: whether anyone has been hurt by my hand, whether any effort to make amends (by my own fault or the fault of others) will genuinely help anyone hurt, and whether any effort to fix the problem will cause more suffering than the problem itself has caused.
In this case, nobody has been hurt by your hand. The only one who suffers here is Amazon, and the problem is an internal one. The best effort to make amends in this case you could offer would be to call Amazon and anonymously let them know that there was a packaging error in your favor. This way, they can identify whether there is a recurring problem and make an effort to rectify it. This is as far as it should go. If you paid to return the Kindle to Amazon (with tracking, as they require it) and got the version you paid for, you would have caused both yourself and Amazon undue hardship in order to fix this. The amount of money spent total on shipping by you and Amazon would nearly be equal to the upgrade to the Kindle 3G anyway, so it’s pointless to let them know about the error and attempt to return it.
See, while thing most definitely are not simple to identify as “black and white” “honest or dishonest”, it’s still easy to make the most beneficial choice for all parties involved.
P.S. If I see my advice in a self help-book, especially sold on daytime talk shows, I’ll want a portion of the proceeds.