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Has anyone ever done the old product return switcheroo?

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Ermac

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So I bought a Dualshock 3 on Amazon a few months ago. I only used it for maybe 50 hours, and the left stick is already pretty loose. Not shockingly so, but compared to my other controllers it's obvious it wore down much faster.

I can no longer return it to Amazon, so I was thinking of buying a new one from Best Buy and switching it, then returning it.

How morally reprehensible is this? Could Best Buy scan the box and see the controller doesn't match?

I contacted Sony and they want me to pay 10 bucks to ship to them to repair. Though I highly doubt it could be repaired. They might just give me a new one though.
 
Ermac said:
So I bought a Dualshock 3 on Amazon a few months ago. I only used it for maybe 50 hours, and the left stick is already pretty loose. Not shockingly so, but compared to my other controllers it's obvious it wore down much faster.

I can no longer return it to Amazon, so I was thinking of buying a new one from Best Buy and switching it, then returning it.

How morally reprehensible is this? Could Best Buy scan the box and see the controller doesn't match?
Click to expand...

Very. And illegal.

They have a one year warranty, contact Sony.
 
No, I can legitimately claim I've never had interest in committing fraud. I'd feel like so much shit it would make any physical or monetary gains not nearly worth it.
 
thats a dick move

besides,

the 50 hours spent on that controller could be different to the 50 hours spent on a different controller

don't do it brah
 
Morally? Well, I'm not gonna sit here and yell and scream at you about what a terrible person you are if you do it.

But it's still wrong. Contact Sony.
 
I think the worse I've done is purchase that PS1/PS2 memory card transfer accessory for PS3 back in 06 or 07, then I transferred my saves over and returned it the same day. I felt bad afterwards :/
 
I mean all you're doing is inconveniencing some other consumer who is going to buy the broken Dual Shock at some point and have to return it to Best Buy. Who will then just send it back to Sony. I'ts not "morally reprehensible" but it's sort of shitty to do.

I just bought new pendant lighting for our kitchen, opened one of the 3 I bought and the thing had 1. no wiring, 2. plans and blueprints handwritten all over the manual, and 3. a completely different casing then the other 2. Obviously someone did the switcheroo or even stole the parts out of it but I just took it back and got a new one in a few minutes.

A minor inconvenience.
 
Can't wait for OPs post after he does it. He'll probably feel he is still owed some compensation after getting a free, new controller.

Relevant:

mpuncz.gif
 
Will Sony replace it?

The worst I've done as far as game-related returns go is buying a game online because it's cheaper but getting impatient and buying it in store. Then when the online shipment comes I return it to the store.

That way I get to play it on release but still pay the cheaper price...at the expense of inconvenience, I suppose.
 
What you are doing is wrong, since you are returning used product, even defective product, to a store that you swapped new product from.

Now, buying a game at Walmart, and then playing it and then finding it's on sale at Best Buy and returning that one you just bought from best buy and left sealed to Walmart to get a return? That's seedy, but okay: You bought new product from walmart, and you are returning identical new, sealed product to walmart. Hell, you would have returned the same identical copy had you figued out the price difference just as you left.

But what you are doing is not this OP. You are using Best Buy as a return mule of sorts, and costing them money for it, and that is not right.
 
I always assumed each retailer has a sort of insurance policy with Sony in this case, so if you return something to a different store then you purchased it, at the end of the day you are not robbing the store. The store will give you a new unit, and then Sony will reimburse the store. Correct me if I am wrong.
 
Ugh, OP, I bet you steal the free demo discs packaged with magazines as well. Sigh.

I had a friend tell me he used to go find the most expensive basketball in the store and switch it out with a normal ball. When he went to check out, the clerk would never notice the switch.

Never knew if I should have felt impressed or disappointed.
 
When I was younger, ALL THE TIME

Whenever one of my disc-based games would get scratched, I'd rent the same one from blockbuster and switch them out. Best buy used to have a year-long warranty for playstation 2s where they would replace it no extra cost for like twenty bucks. When a controller would start falling apart, my uncle would return it for me, get a brand new console, and renew the warranty. We did that ad nauseum. Also we can't forget about "renting" used games at gamestop because FUCK GAMESTOP.

I sure hope the statue of limitations is up hehehehe
 
Never done it for three reason:
  1. It happened to me once and it made me really angry
  2. Come from a family that firmly believes we have terrible luck and would be found out immediately if we tried to pull a fast one
  3. Its tacky and its stealing
 
Contact amazon cs, they should mail you a replacement. They know that ps4 controllers are messed up from launch.
 
Would you consider it immoral to switch your bad controller with somebody else's good controller? Apply the same reason to businesses.
 
It's the wrong thing to do..
With that being said, it's also highly unlikely that you'll get caught doing it.
Don't do it, the $10 fee is probably less than it'll cost to drive to Best Buy and back anyways.
 
I did this once when I was younger

Xbox 360 got the red rings

Bought new 360 from Target, used it for the time it took for MS to replace my console, then returned it...with my original controller inside. I figured that no one would bother to check, and even if they did I could play it off as an honest mistake.

It's so easy to get away with little stuff like that.

But I've grown up since then and realized that people taking advantage of systems like that are the reason we can't have nice things. If everyone would just play by the rules the world would be a better place. So don't do it OP.
 
eh, for such a pitiful amount of money you're in the clear. work the system.
but be aware that the system works you
 
When I was like 14 my younger cousin peed on my Nintendo 64 and broke it. I bought a new one from Target and swapped out the N64 for the pissed one, returned it and got my refund. What did I care? I was like 14 and figured the world owed me something for my injustice. Now that I'm an adult and have my own money I wouldn't do this. But I was like 14.
 
Theft is theft. The fact you are asking about it on GAF is enough. I would highly recommend not doing it. Don't get me wrong, sucks ass that the controller is already fucked.

However, you are only fucking someone else down the road with it. That's the part that IMHO is ethically questionable.
 
Ermac said:
So I bought a Dualshock 3 on Amazon a few months ago. I only used it for maybe 50 hours, and the left stick is already pretty loose. Not shockingly so, but compared to my other controllers it's obvious it wore down much faster.

I can no longer return it to Amazon, so I was thinking of buying a new one from Best Buy and switching it, then returning it.

How morally reprehensible is this? Could Best Buy scan the box and see the controller doesn't match?

I contacted Sony and they want me to pay 10 bucks to ship to them to repair. Though I highly doubt it could be repaired. They might just give me a new one though.
Click to expand...
No.
But do it at Walmart just to make sure.
 
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