UPDATE: As more details begin to emerge, it would appear these figures were returned by a collector who ordered a case and simply did not want the other figures in the assortment. What’s the old saying? When something seems to good to be true…
We apologize for any broken hearts. Yeah, we wanted it to be true too.
ORIGINAL STORY:
We have a report from 2005 Boards member Sidecutter that a new case of Reveal the Shield Scouts – sans Windchargers – has been found in a Walmart in Louisville, KY. On the pegs were a pair of Chopsaws, together with the other toys in the case, in the correct numbers to be the Windcharger case. Windcharger himself was absent though.
Take this report with a pinch of salt of course, because it is possible this is someone purchasing the entire case online, then returning the rest of the toys to Walmart to recoup costs. Although, as Sidecutter himself points out, “the idea that someone returning ten other toys, with numerous duplicates and no receipt, wouldn’t raise some eyebrows even at Walmart doesn’t really seem plausible. Also, it wouldn’t help the person doing it much, at $5 a figure.”
Of course, with mere days remaining until Dark of the Moon is unleashed upon the world, it is questionable just how plentiful these toys will actually be at retail – if this isn’t a return.
Foster
We're done here.
megatroptimus
Except people do it all the time with other figures regardless of if they're in demand or not (usually not). If the guy had done the same with a bunch of ROTF Tuner Mudflap, I don't think the reaction would have been the same.
videriant
Done, done and done.
1) In 2008, I brought in two TFTM voyagers and asked them if I could exchange it for Universe voyagers. They said as long as it's in their system and the same price it was okay.
2) In 2009, I brought in a fire extinguisher I received as a white elephant and as if I could return it. They said as long as it was in their system it was okay. Note, I SPECIFICALLY told them it was a white elephant so it was obvious i did not buy it from them. All I got was a quit wasting my time with your stupid stories look.
3) The same year, unlucky me, I also got a portable car emergency kit as a white elephant. It was not a brand they carried so they could not take it back. STRESS, the could not take it back because it was not in their system. That was the only reason.
Walmart DOES not care if you return an item you did not buy from their store as long as it's in their system. They have rules and policies in place to prevent people from abusing it and as long as you operate within those rules they are fine.
Quad Laser
This is laughable that this discussion has gone this far.
I talked to the guy who made the returns earlier today to inform him of the horrible crime that he unknowingly committed.
This is the gist of what he told me.
When making the return, this was the conversation.
friend "Hi, I need to return these."
clerk "do you have a receipt?"
friend "no"
clerk "Is there anything wrong with them?"
friend "no, I just didn't want them."
clerk "ok, i can return them for store credit for a maximum of $50"
friend "that's fine"
They came up at $5 a piece on clearance. and he got a gift card for around $47.00 after the tax was factored.
He was never even asked if the toys came from there, and was explained the policy which they were happy to accommodate.
He then took the gift card and bought around $150.00 worth of groceries.
Now let's do the math
-Case of 12 Scouts $110.00
-Take out the two Windchargers and one of the scouts so it would come out under $50
-That's 9 scouts for a return at $5 a piece. With 6% sales tax= $47.70 gift card
Then he spends $150 in groceries on the same visit.
Two of those figures were sold almost immediately.
The other figures are going to sell regardless.
So that credit went right back into Walmart, plus the additional that was spent.
Also, considering the trailer park horrors and the never ending lines that he had to suffer through, I think Karma has evened this one out.
brittap
Ok, so let me get this right. It's not wrong to lie and steal from a store, it's not only alright but it may even be good for the store to lie and steal from them…… next time I go to the trading forum I'll have to come back here to see everyone who said it was alright to screw people over.
TrueNomadSkies
Plus, you could always say that you got it as a gift or something & they won't care.
I've done this a few times before when people bought me sealed stuff that I already had or whatever, I just ended up using the store credit to buy something else. Wal-Mart doesn't gain for this because it's sort of a fictional inventory turn, but they're not really losing either because they're creating a positive experience for somebody who'll often become a repeat customer. Along with that, the stuff you buy is often more than your credit, and the fact that you're going to the store when you didn't plan to could also mean that you're buying something you wouldn't have bought in the first place.
Also, it's not like Wal-Mart has any legit trouble selling these toys for the most part, and they likely even have safety & consignment contracts with suppliers to hedge against unexpected shelf warmers. Heck, the store credit might even expire or be limited to non sale items (many stores do this), so that case would be in their favor anyways.
NothingHead
Exactly. If I walk up to the counter and ask if I can return an item, any item, for store credit, and the item exists in their system then they're going to say yes. If the item is damaged or misrepresented in any way, then they may decline but more often they will accept and just not restock it. Not only is it not immoral, but it's also almost a complete non-issue.
Pete Sync
AGAIN. There store policy DOES NOT REQUIRE THAT.
Toys R Us has a very strict return policy. Only items that were purchases at the store and you must have a gift receipt. Wal-Mart does not have this policy. They do not require you to state where you received the product.
You can call it whatever you want, but Wal-mart has an open return policy as long as the item is in their system. That really is the end of story…
Scorpion
Why does it require that?
Just say
"I didn't buy these here, but I would like to return/exchange them here"
NothingHead
Yes, what I'm saying is that I think the clerk at Walmart is very interested in the long, tedious, and circuitous fable of how somebody came about possessing the product that they're trying to return for store credit.
Scorpion
"He sold off his extras" that means cash….not exchange
Scorpion
So you would happily tell Wal Mart that you didn't buy it there and that you wanted to return it? I do call out repackers, repackers are even worse. Also, learn to spell.
brittap
Not shady? When you take something into Wal-Mart for a refund which you didn't buy from Wal-Mart then you're lying and that's shady.
primenemesis
store credit, and its not shaddy or theft. deal with it, i will do it over and over and mabee you should call out the people who buy something from walmart take out the figure and put something else in it, thats wrong and shady
like i said pay attention
brittap
Ok, then next time someone trys this they should just be truthful " Hi, I bought these on line from another store and want to return them here for cash" and let's see how far that gets them. Hell doesn't this work if someone buys a repaint they like better and retrun the first one they got in the newer ones box, it's the same toy so no victim. There is right and there is wrong. If you owned a store you would be pissed if someone did this to you and would say it was wrong ,maybe even theft. But if you're doing it to some else it's ok?
NothingHead
How could it possibly be wrong? If you return it for an amount in your pocket, and they now have an unadulterated item on the pegs that they can sell for the same amount and completely recoup the loss, and if it's actually an item that is slightly more in demand than the items they already have and is therefore more likely to sell, then who's the victim, and how have they been victimized?