ULPT if your broken/not working item is still available on Amazon or in a big box store, buy it, replace your item and put the broken one (cleaned up) in the box and return it.

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alwaus@reddit

Ill admit i once bought a new pc from walmart and swapped everything between my case and the new one then returned it to the store.

They opened the box, saw it looked the same and gave me my cash back.

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dnt4gt2brng4Twl@reddit

My friend bought an open box PC and someone swapped the GPU SSD RA, pretty much any valuable part. Was a bummer on the other end of this.

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alwaus@reddit

Everything thats returned like that goes back to the manufacturer in this case dell.

It was a xps 420 so quite a long time ago.

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dnt4gt2brng4Twl@reddit

Idk about that. I also bought a Samsung G9 OLED monitor brand new from Amazon and got sent a clearly used one someone returned.

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nachomydogiscuteaf@reddit

I bought ram and sent my old ram back. I should do bigger next time

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ChronicBedhead@reddit

I immediately imagined a Dodge Ram by accident as was blown away that you managed to do it lmao

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Fun-Possibility-2027@reddit

I thought I was the only one to think that 😅 😂 🤣

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ChronicBedhead@reddit

Lmaooo I was like “shit, a whole truck? And you wanna do a bigger one? You gonna return a house next or something?!”

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Owl-Live@reddit

This dude got conned. He didn’t download his ram. Everyone laugh at this sucker

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metalflygon08@reddit

I'm surprised you managed that.

Back when I worked at the big W we were not allowed to process returns on things that had hard drive storage built into them.

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Can confirm, it wasn't always this way. When I first started as an hourly, it was well known I was the "computer nerd" as I was working part-time while pursuing my IT degree. Our store just started selling desktop towers by themselves, and not part of a monitor keyboard package. Customer returned one claiming it didn't work, management called me up to check it out. Discovered that the hard drive, CPU, and RAM were all gone. Warranty sticker on the back of the case was also cut. We initially denied the refund, but the guest appealed it to the local district office and we were told to take care of the refund. I'm not sure exactly when the no refund policy took place on things with hard drives, I think it was in the last 10 years.

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M7BSVNER7s@reddit

I was in line behind someone returning an Xbox controller. They opened it, took off the battery cover, and checked the serial code on the inside of the remote against the serial code on the receipt. It was a different serial number so the worker said so and then stared down the customer for 30 straight seconds waiting for them to admit their cheat unprompted. Customer said nothing so the employee gave a big eye roll and huff, and took the return. I assume it was a long day and the employee just didn't want to deal with the issue but clearly knew they could reject it if they wanted so this isn't a guaranteed outcome.

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Parulanihon@reddit

I can feel the sweat trickling down your back as you pulled this one off. Lol. Love it.

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Curious-Football-415@reddit

Or buy a cheap/malfunctioning one on eBay/offerup/facebook marketplace first, buy the new one, then return the used one.

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SolarPowerHour@reddit

When I was a young broke college student I did this a few times with TVs, Xbox, and once a PS3

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Damn_Fine_Coffee_200@reddit

The thing for folks to be aware of - high value items often have a serial number on both the box and the item. Be sure you assess before trying this as the fraud will be obvious.

Alternatively - learn to switch the casings on the electronics so the serial numbers match. Boom. Profit.

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SolarPowerHour@reddit

The thing is, people at Walmart don’t care. At least not 15 years ago. My biggest “sweaty” moment was when I was an idiot and had a normal PS3 and did the return thing with a PS3 Slim. They had to call someone from electronics and had me sitting and waiting for 20 minutes before someone came up.

The lady opened the box, looked at it, and said it’s good to go.

Never been more nervous than that in my life.

Point being, most of them don’t look and don’t give a shit. You’re not dealing with the CEO, you’re dealing with someone that’s annoyed they had to walk up front and has no financial stake in the business.

If you act like everything is fine, most people will follow suit.

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theguineapigssong@reddit

My motto when I worked retail was "I'm paid enough to be there; I'm not paid enough to care."

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SD_haze@reddit

The difference between now and 15 yrs ago is fraud alert is much more automated with computer vision and such. The cost of merchandise loss is becoming greater than the cost to develop more automated auditing systems

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RedneckTrader@reddit

Wouldn't work today, and did not work 15 years ago. To return a PlayStation you have to scan the serial number. Walmart logs the serial number of every PlayStation they sell, even going back to the PS2. If it's not one they sold, and it's over 90 days, no exchange no refund no soup for you.

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disco_spiderr@reddit

Damn levels to the game lol

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Fun-Possibility-2027@reddit

I used to do that with boxes fans every other summer.

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Max_Powers-@reddit

I did this on a counter top nugget ice maker that I bought from Amazon.......4 times. The ice maker would last just over 90 days before it would start acting up.

They finally discontinued the model I had so I had to buy a different one.

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system32420@reddit

Honestly return the old one in the new one’s box. They never check

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_n3ll_@reddit

I'm pretty sure they check by weight

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GardenerSpyTailorAss@reddit

Exactly this. I think it was Nile Red on youtube tested this by sending back sand in the exact weight of the item he was returning.

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notislant@reddit

Some guy in the uk did this with cold patch and gave them back sand lol.

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MarathonRabbit69@reddit

As it turns out, unique serial numbers are a thing… this could turn out very wrong for you and it’s pretty easy to check.

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Humans_Suck-@reddit

Take a hair dryer and blow it at the serial number sticker. Heat makes glue soft. Peel and swap them before returning.

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Doublestack00@reddit

Real LPT in the comments.

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Humans_Suck-@reddit

I've done that with a broken TV before and it worked. Bought a replacement of the exact same brand and model online and had it shipped to me, swapped the serials, stomped on the box, sent them a pic and said it showed up like that. Full refund.

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executor-of-judgment@reddit

If I could do this, I would, but I don't live in America anymore. These companies are selling electronics that are designed to fail after warranty. They get no sympathy from me.

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hung559@reddit

Username checks out

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Humans_Suck-@reddit

You have a problem with stealing from billionaires?

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RipeBirdies@reddit

No. But do you understand economics?

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hung559@reddit

This type of scummy shit is part of the problem. Not to protect billionaires but to protect your own moral compass. Where does it end? But hey do you buddy 🤷🏻‍♂️

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troyv21@reddit

Dont forget to throw a couple of piss disks in there for good measure

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Nodebunny@reddit

Unless they're etched right on

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MarathonRabbit69@reddit

That’s actually…. Really good.

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joule_thief@reddit

Fun thing about Amazon. They don't store items by seller, they group by item. The chances of them knowing an individual serial number are not zero but they aren't high either.

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bangzilla@reddit

Amazon FC’s use random stowage. Similar items are not grouped together.

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system32420@reddit

But then you just say that the one returned was the one they sent you. For all they know someone else did the scam before the item got to you

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btfoom15@reddit

Last year, bought a TV from Walmart. Picked it up, took it home, and it didn't turn on.

When I returned it, they looked at the serial number on my receipt and the one on the TV before they exchanged it.

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ClaudiuT@reddit

Just take the guts out of the new one and replace them with the guts from the bad one.

Then return the new one with the bad guts. Be careful when doing so not to leave traces that you opened the thing.

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MarathonRabbit69@reddit

And… electronics at least, often have a seal on removable items. Lol and we’re both getting downvoted? Gotta love this sub.

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TwoMoreMinutes@reddit

You underestimate how much the minimum wage worked behind the counter gives a shit

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TurboSleepwalker@reddit

Also smiling & being friendly to them when you go to the returns counter goes a long way

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MarathonRabbit69@reddit

That’s probably true

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disco_spiderr@reddit

Yea lmao. Amazon drone scans it and doesn't look at shit or ever even opens package

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rcuadro@reddit

People at Amazon don't have the time to check and they are not paid enough to care

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Nodebunny@reddit

Unless it's an apple product

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ComanderInCheif@reddit

Anyone done this with Airpods? My left earbud recently started to blast static noise, and of course its out of warranty. I've been looking to get a new pair for a while but I wonder if they're more strict with apple products.

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Natural-Chemical-806@reddit

You can get them replaced by Apple even out of warranty, I got a few of my mates to get theirs replaced outside of warranty by telling them the headphones are making static noises

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qnqp@reddit

Also asking for a friend. 👀

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jakegotjokes@reddit

I sell on Amazon and the number of times I've had this happen is crazy

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AnxiouslyPessimistic@reddit

What is the result as a seller? Are you reimbursed cos Amazon let it happen? Or you’re screwed over?

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Natural-Chemical-806@reddit

Screwed over, that's why you always go for items sold and dispatched by amazon

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elanmast@reddit

I usually advice my friends to do this with big brands because small sellers do not deserve this.

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RexMundi000@reddit

Congrats you invented stealing.

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Baddie9@reddit

Ok Susan

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inkslingerben@reddit

I only do this with umbrellas from Mall Wort. I expect these to last more then a couple of months and when they don't, I 'exchange' them.

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Boopy7@reddit

people still buy umbrellas?

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wildkitten24@reddit

I haven’t used one since I was a kid

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little-pianist-78@reddit

Well many other people use umbrellas when it rains. You just happen to be the outlier. Congrats, I guess?

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rtmfb@reddit

Hats and my melon don't get along and I hate water on my glasses, so I use them.

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Copperhead881@reddit

Yeah, why would I want to get wet?

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Phyraxus56@reddit

Don't forget the sun. Uv radiation burn a mf

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Copperhead881@reddit

I see even fewer parasols out here sadly.

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Buck_Slamchest@reddit

I just got a free treadmill from Amazon last week. I told them it wasn’t working properly and that it was super heavy (over 15 kilos) so there was no chance of me returning it myself.

The operator offered to arrange collection so I agreed and advised that they send two people as it was so heavy.

Next thing I know the operator is telling me “as a one time exception I will arrange a full refund and you don’t have to return the item” :)

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Voyager5555@reddit

TIL 15 kilos is "super heavy."

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Buck_Slamchest@reddit

Maybe show me the part where I explicitly wrote that the item was 15 kilos ?

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Agreeable-Candle5830@reddit

15 kg? Two people? What?

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Buck_Slamchest@reddit

Are we just yelling random things then ? Did you have a stroke ?

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Wavycheeseballs@reddit

Are you disabled? That’s 33 pounds? I lift that constantly at work alone. Why would you need two people?

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Buck_Slamchest@reddit

Ask yourself, slowly, what I got for free. Now ask yourself why I said what I said.

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zamundan@reddit

You're level of condescension is weird given that you made the mistake.

You could just say, "Oops, I meant to say 150."

I already know your response will be something about, "If you're too dumb to figure out...." So I know my words are wasted. But maybe someone else will read this and think to themselves that this is not a good way to be.

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Buck_Slamchest@reddit

What mistake is that then ?

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zamundan@reddit

Your mistake was that you wrote it was 15 kilos.

It was a simple typo. Maybe obvious to some, maybe confusing to others.

You could have said "oops, typo". Two words. Done.

Instead of just two words, you're continuing to write reply after reply after reply deflecting and projecting as though your self worth relies on absolutely not accepting any error. Some therapy might be the answer. I'm not saying that to troll. It genuinely might help.

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Buck_Slamchest@reddit

Well that's clearly peak Reddit so ..

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GoodGame2EZ@reddit

You said it was "super heavy (over 15 kilos)" did you mean to put 15?

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Buck_Slamchest@reddit

Answer me this then, if you can.

I got a brand new treadmill that’s retailing for a couple of hundred bucks for FREE from Amazon after i sold them a story about how it was faulty and I live on my own and how super heavy this thing was so there was no way I could return it by myself.

I. got. a. free. treadmill.

Why in the name of all that is holy are so many people obsessing over the fucking weight that I put when I got the damn thing for free ?

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GoodGame2EZ@reddit

Because you said it was super heavy then provided a weight not super heavy and said it would require 2 people, they took the bait, then you start flipping out on people questioning the description. It's an interesting interaction.

Kudos for getting it for free, but you could've been like "yeah 15kg isn't that heavy and doesn't require 2 people. I'm surprised they went for that". You could've also said whether you meant 15kg or not, and whether that's heavy for you or not, but you choose to not answer a single question. THATS WHY. ANSWER OUR QUESTIONS. DID YOU MEAN 15KG AND IS THAT HEAVY FOR YOU? HOW HARD IS THIS!? WE GET IT. IT WAS FREE. COOL. lol Jesus christ man dodging so much. If it's heavy for you fine, you're just making this weird.

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Wavycheeseballs@reddit

Because you refuse to acknowledge that you made a mistake. No treadmill weighs 15kg and any person without a disability would be able to pick it up. Amazon isn’t fucking stupid, you’re not gonna convince them 15kg is too heavy. So either you made the story up, or you made a mistake and triple downed on it. Either way you come off as an idiot.

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Mr-Escobar@reddit

Oh nooouu.. he IS disabled

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secretmillionair@reddit

What do you mean you can't just hoist the treadmill above your head with one finger?

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Buck_Slamchest@reddit

I know. I’ve got a long way to go to before I can get close to the beef in this thread who could probably lift one in each hand.

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Agreeable-Candle5830@reddit

I'm confused how something weighing only 15 kilos needs two people. That's like two grocery bags.

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catinatank@reddit

Thats gotta be a typo, a treadmill can weigh over 150kg, but OP wrote over 15kg so thats’s still technically true.

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Double-Parsley-6809@reddit

Send the link to the treadmill lol

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bryanisbored@reddit

Yeah figured this out on my own because I was just outside the warranty and hardly used some headphones to leave any marks so I just returned them after buying another pair. The. Did that with an Xbox controller and a cheap watch and a chainsaw.

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Junior_Ad_3301@reddit

Similarly, you can get free rentals of lots of things at wallyworld. Need something just for the weekend? Buy it on Friday and return it on Monday.

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RedneckTrader@reddit

This happens more than you know. Especially with barbecue pits and swimming pools.

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Think_Western2633@reddit

That’s one way to game the system, but just remember that karma might have a way of catching up with you, especially when it comes to returns!

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HehroMaraFara@reddit (OP)

If Trump has taught us anything, it’s that karma ain’t real.

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CrossfitJebus@reddit

So a lot of times they scan serial numbers now upon purchase and return in the box stores so this won’t work in most places

Had a buddy who used to buy high end security equipment ,weigh the box then take out the stereo and replaced it with whatever didn’t move and weighed the same. Did this shit for years until they started asking for id when returning things

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saltyclam13345@reddit

I’ve returned a TV and a monitor by carefully peeling off the serial number stickers and swapping them. The only way they would catch this is if they actually booted the device up and went into its settings to check the serial number, but I highly doubt whatever Amazon employee checking over things would be that thorough. Obviously this method won’t work for etched serial numbers, or any serial numbers that aren’t on a sticker/removable.

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astanix@reddit

That's why you swap the internals of the item instead of just swapping the item.

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cheztk@reddit

I know people who do this! It works

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AngryMillenialGuy@reddit

This tip gets reposted all the time

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HehroMaraFara@reddit (OP)

Give me that sweet sweet karma

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hongkongfuey@reddit

Unfortunately, you're not really screwing over Amazon. You may actually be screwing the seller who is just a small business owner. Or, more likely you end up screwing other consumers.

I got bit by this. Apparently some jerk returned a broken tent to Amazon which was then resold by Amazon and given to me for Christmas. Fast forward 6 months to when I went camping with my kids and found out one of the tent poles was broken when we went to put it up. When I got home I checked the box carefully and found the LPN sticker confirming it was returned. Unfortunately it was too late to return to Amazon and Colman could care less.

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DEVOmay97@reddit

Did this once with a 45 inch 4k Sony android TV. Bought a broken one at an auction house for $25, ordered a new one, swapped the serial number stickers, and sent the broken one back. If daddy bezos is rich enough to go to space for funsies he can buy me a damn TV.

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LevriatSoulEdge@reddit

The real tip would be how often you can do this without get flagged and account cancel by suspicions activity...

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HehroMaraFara@reddit (OP)

Don’t do it a ton

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LevriatSoulEdge@reddit

Got it, only 999 times then

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system32420@reddit

100 is a ton

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LevriatSoulEdge@reddit

Language barrier I guess, for me 1Ton is roughly 1,000 Kg

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VixenTraffic@reddit

Costco is getting really picky about this. They used to be great with returns, but after returning one (different) item three years in a row, they started questioning my returns.

The last time was a protein drink mix. I hadn’t tried it before and It was gross so I returned it. They would only give me store credit.

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crujiente69@reddit

Thats fraud and is more illegal than unethical on the off chance you get caught

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system32420@reddit

It’s not fraud. It’s just returnsy-wurnsies

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Poullafouca@reddit

I have a bloody Dyson hairdryer that broke. It was within warranty. Dyson have done jack about it. It is such a bother to contact customer service, each time I have done so it takes an hour minimum. And there is never a resolution. I am sooooo tempted.

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system32420@reddit

Do it. They don’t care / aren’t going to check for something of that value

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goteamventure42@reddit

This was how you fixed the red ring of death on the OG Xbox

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system32420@reddit

Aka the Amazon lifetime warranty

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DrNukenstein@reddit

I worked with a guy that did that once. Bought a house phone from Walmart, it died after 10 years. Bought another, got it home and, aside from visible signs of age, the design had not changed in all that time.

So he cleans up the old one, puts it in the new box, takes it to Walmart and gets his $10 back.

He gets home, plugs in the new phone, and it didn’t work. Couldn’t take it back, had to go buy another.

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HehroMaraFara@reddit (OP)

So basically nothing bad, just evened out

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The_Sensual@reddit

I've actually removed serial number stickers from one item and placed it back on the non-functioning item and sent it back. If you take your time, it's easy to remove and transfer

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VixenTraffic@reddit

I just return it to where I bought it.

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Boopy7@reddit

hilarious to me and here is why: I bought a simple coffee grinder at Walmart. Took it home, out of the box, ground some beans. It worked one time then died. I cleaned it and returned it and bought another. This one did not work even the first time. Cleaned it, returned it, bought another one (making sure it wasn't the previously returned one.) This one worked TWO times then died. Cleaned it and returned it and bought another one. I still have that final one. It broke after working a few times. I wonder how common this is? Is there some shelf of constantly returned and useless items out there, is this most store shelves? And are we all pawns in some enormous "return - use - rebuy" scheme in the universe?

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urbackup@reddit

Stop giving away my secrets

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SpindriftRascal@reddit

I think of that as more criminal than unethical, though of course it’s both.

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Centrinouk@reddit

Done this with a faulty 4060 gaming laptop from eBay. Bought a new one from Argos, opened from the bottom of the box to keep seal intact. Swapped guts and returned for refund. All went smoothly and now have a £1,000 laptop for £300

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boxedwinedrinker@reddit

I may have done this at a big box store with an appliance that was still under warranty and no longer functioned. I had the receipt, but they wouldn’t exchange or return because I no longer had the original packaging. So, I bought a new one, put the cleaned non-functional one in the new box and returned it without issue. I don’t feel bad at all.

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Accomplished_Chain_8@reddit

FYI, They recently started issuing refunds only after return has received. It used to be refund processes when ups has the package.

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PacoMahogany@reddit

I did this with expensive sunglasses once. Same the current pair while closing the trunk, went and bought a new pair, a month later exchanged the smashed pair under the warranty.

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digdog69@reddit

Very loosely, sort of had this done to me. Bought the Lego UCS Millennium Falcon off Amazon refurbished. Opened it, things looked at first inspection. Pieces came in 4 separate boxes inside the main box. Opened up the first sub-box and found the packets contained the chinese knock off version of the kit.......

Fair dues to the culprit - he'd obviously opened the outer box but managed to open and seal the inner boxes so carefully it looked they hadn't been opened. I guess to pass cursory inspection when he/she returned to Amazon.

And in all fairness Amazon were decent in handling the return.

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Efficient_Feline@reddit

I did this with a car part that kept going bad about a month after the warranty ran out. Bought new one, went back a couple of weeks later and returned the old one under the new one's receipt. Said it didn't fit. Did it three times then sold the car.

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slimecounty@reddit

Had terrible luck with ps4 controllers back in the day. I've done this many times.

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mardusfolm@reddit

Back in the day you could rent a Sega genesis from blockbuster video...this is exactly what we did with my buddies Sega.

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Jwzbb@reddit

Very unethical. Also very parasitic.

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AestheticSalt@reddit

Are you 12? This is an old tactic…Old

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ICEMANdrake214@reddit

I did that with a series X. I had notifications set up trying to snag one after Covid. Finally got one and a month later a lightening storm hit my house and fried my new Xbox and sound bar. Fried the “surge protector” too.

Bought a new one, returned the fried one and said it was dead on arrival and got my money back. Went out and bought a high end surge protector after that too.

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ImInterestingAF@reddit

I once returned a used automatic litter box to target.

I didn’t take the litter out.

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