Rachel thought she would never see her stuff again. Someone had stolen the Christmas gifts she left on the backseat of her car parked in front of her house overnight, along with her iPod. It was $460 out the window. But when she went back to Macy’s to replace some of the gifts, her Spidey-sense started tingling. [More]
Apple Debuts Overhauled Line Of iPods
By September 1, 2010
As many predicted, Apple used its much-anticipated press event today to show off the latest development in their iPod devices. And though some had hoped Big Chief Fanboy Steve Jobs would be unveiling a new version of the iPod, it was really just updates — ranging from the blah to the significant — to the existing line. [More]
iPodmeister Takes Used CDs, DVDs, Gives You iPods
By November 16, 2009
A New York-based company called iPodMeister swaps out new iPods and portable hard drives for used CDs and DVDs, covering shipping costs. The business has been around since 2004, but it’s new to me.
Apple Store Manager Gives iPod To Soldier Who Mangled His In Afghanistan
By October 22, 2009
Remember Aaron, the Marine who wrecked his 120GB iPod Classic in Afghanistan by accidentally letting it get run over by a Humvee, then slamming it in a Humvee door?
Skullcandy Lifetime Warranty Means You'll Wait Your Lifetime For A Replacement
By July 31, 2009
There is a guy at Skullcandy named Joe, and he is in charge of their warranty fulfillment program. He is overworked. Why, just on this one warranty replacement story, he’s had to deal with the same customer over and over and over, and the customer still hasn’t gotten a replacement earbud set for the one that broke last November. Wentao writes, “I am also moving out of the country in 10 days, so I will probably never see the headphones I paid for ever again.”
Need Your Apple Product Fixed? Try TechRestore Or iFixIt
By June 10, 2009
I’ve always relied on TechRestore for cheap upgrades or repairs on any Apple products I’ve owned, but if you prefer DIY repairs, try the new iFixit website, which will sell you the parts and then provide detailed guides on what to do with them.
Sony Adding All Songs Over Two Years Old To EMusic; EMusic Raising Prices
By June 1, 2009
Although eMusic is a great service—for a flat monthly fee, you get a set number of downloads per month of DRM-free music tracks—it’s about to get better. Or maybe worse, depending on the breadth of your musical tastes. Today eMusic will announce that Sony is adding its back catalog of songs to eMusic’s library. The bad news is that eMusic also plans to slightly raise prices and/or drop the number of downloads per month. Even if it works out to between 50-60 cents per track, though, that’s still far less than iTunes Music Store or Amazon, and probably the cheapest way to grab music from Sony artists without resorting to piracy.
iPod Mechanic Stole Over 9,000 iPods From Apple, Feds Say
By March 21, 2009
An iPod repair shop, that we ripping Apple off for 9,000+ iPod shuffles. The feds charged Nicholas Woodman with jacking iPod shuffles from Apple by guessing shuffle serial numbers from a shuffle replacement site without actually ever buying the original shuffles himself.
Geek Squad Decides Your Clearly Broken iPod Is Fine, Dares You To Pay 3rd Party To Prove Them Wrong
By February 7, 2009
Geek Squad told reader Dave that he didn’t have the “technical expertise” to diagnose his clearly-broken iPod. The 30 GB unit wouldn’t play when docked or connected by USB cord, something Dave though might be covered by Best Buy‘s Product Service Plan. Geek Squad first tried replacing the hard drive. This solved nothing. Dave brought the still-broken iPod back and asked the agent to write into the notes a request to call him if the problem was misunderstood. Without calling, Geek Squad again returned the iPod with a note saying that the agent “could not duplicate the problem.” With this firm diagnosis in hand, Geek Squad decided they were done and wouldn’t perform any additional work. When Dave objected, he was told that his ‘only option was to pay for a third-party to test the iPod and prove the Geek Squad technician wrong.’
Update: Woot Customer Demands Non-Existent Black iPod Headphones
By October 20, 2008
Last week, Woot asked Consumerist readers what it should do about a customer who was irate that their black iPod came with white headphones, despite the fact that Apple does not make them. The post was notable for several reasons. One, I think it might have been the fist time we posted a complaint from a company. Two, with over 477 comments, I think we broke a new comment record on a single post. After carefully evaluating your responses, Woot has said they’ll offer Millard a full refund and send a box with a pre-paid shipping label to send the iPod back in. This is acceptable to me. As I’ve said in the past, it’s all about the money. Once you have your money back as a customer, there’s nothing to complain about.
Woot Customer Demands Non-Existent Black iPod Headphones
By October 14, 2008
In what is probably the second-worst consumer complaint we’ve received, Millard is mad at deal-a-day site Woot because he bought a black iPod from them and it came with white headphones. He demands black headphones. Woot needs your help in solving this consumer crisis.
By September 17, 2008
Update: Here’s how you can exchange your PlaysForSure code for an iTunes redemption code. Movie fans over at forum.blu-ray.com say Warner Bros’ new release of “Speed Racer” promises a digital copy of the movie that will work on iPods, but there’s no such thing on the disc—only protected WMV files. [blu-ray.com] (Thanks to Sabler!)
Guitar Center Adds $100 Premium To iPods
By September 11, 2008
Update: Guitar Center has fixed the pricing error and offered refunds.
Quick, get out your throw-away cash and head to Guitar Center! Their website sells the iPod Classic and both sizes of the iPod Touch for $100 more than what you’ll find pretty much everywhere else. (We guess there’s extra rock-n-roll in them.) You know what makes us crazy? We bet people still buy them.
Apple Agrees To Replace Exploding First-Gen iPods After Japan Demands Action
By August 19, 2008
In what should have been a no-brainer, Apple today agreed to replace any iPod Nanos that unexpectedly explode. The announcement came as a response to the Japanese government, which yesterday asked the computer-maker to “take some measures” to warn consumers of the potential danger of their little pocket rockets. Apple blames a single bad battery supplier for the spontaneous fireworks.
Class Action Certified In Suit Against Citibank Over IPod Mini Promotion
By June 5, 2008
When Citibank offered free 4 GB iPod Minis to new customers in 2004 and 2005, the product was retailing for $249, and Citibank indirectly acknowledged the value of the product by saying they’d substitute an mp3 player of “equal or greater value” if there were fulfillment problems. There weren’t, but by the time Citibank got around to passing out the iPod Mini, it had dropped in price and a new 6 GB version was now on the market for $249. Citibank chose to take the savings and distribute the now cheaper 4-gig versions. Now there’s a class action lawsuit against Citibank in California, where it seems all class actions are born. You can read the ruling for the certification here (PDF).
By May 23, 2008
After a successful pilot program, Macy’s is putting fancy Japanese-style vending machines in 400 of its stores. They’ll sell things like iPods and cameras. Looks like Macy’s will have to add another list of things excluded from its not-very-valuable coupons. [Reuters]
"Free iPod" Claims Cost Spammer $2.9 Million
By March 21, 2008
The FTC slammed nuisance advertiser ValueClick with a record-breaking $2.9 million fine for littering the internet with deceptive ads for free iPods, PS3s, and plasma TVs. Instead of providing freebies, ValueClick tricked people into signing up for useless services and then failed to safeguard their personal information.
