Crooks at Walmart

[mperdu]

I didn't know what else to title this message but I wanted to post this and maybe see what people think of this:
I stopped in at Walmart in Porter Ranch, Calif. yesterday and noticed some 1/32 scale King Tigers in the green boxes. As I looked closer, the tanks were actually the King Tiger made by "New Ray", at least that's the brand I think I remember from when I bought mine a few years ago.
One tank was brown and green camo and the other was two shades of gray. The bottom line is that all the boxes were labeled as different tanks..Wirbelwind, PZIII, Jagdpanther, etc. In all, I counted six boxes that someone had switched out tanks. I've seen the occasional switch of the 1/6 scale figures from time to time and felt bad for whoever ended up buying the bogus figure but this really pissed me off for some reason. This was someone's deliberate attempt to defraud and it took some effort.
I think that we all pretty much know what we're looking at as we search for these tanks and it's because of that, these will probably now sit on a shelf and the guys at Walmart maybe won't be too eager to re-order now.
Anyone else think this is something only a punk would do?
Mike

[tmanthegreat]

That certainly is! It is one thing to return a damaged product (assuming you found it that way) and it may even be safe to say you can return one item for a repaint of the same so long as you include all parts and re-insert the item carefully. However, switching out a quality product then replacing it with an inferior one - in the wrong box - is just plain wrong. Sorry that had to happen to you and hopefully you will find the new tanks elsewhere.

[immeww2]

WM has a very lenient return policy which makes it very easy for incidents such as switching products to happen. Also, the clerks who are at the return counter probably don't know one tank from another so as long as they see something new in a returned box they'll accept it as a legit return. It's nice to have a store that readily accepts returns without asking too many questions but on the other hand you get incidents such as switching products when the return policy becomes too lenient.

[od1each]

I found years ago at TRU, when I was collecting 1/18 diecast cars, I more expensive model missing from the box and a different car altogether in it. Sometimes it is an employee stuffing a car in a box that was empty that someone stole, but from conversations with the store manager, he told me people open the boxes, slide out the one, slide in the other, cashiers do not know whats really supposed to be in the box.
They swipe it........ah a 39.99 dollar car is now.......12.99

[EnemyAce]

You should report this to the store manager. They have records which will show excatly who returned these when, and at the very least, will be able to "ban" this person in the system from ever making returns to Walmart in the future.

[hworth18]

You should report this to the store manager. They have records which will show excatly who returned these when, and at the very least, will be able to "ban" this person in the system from ever making returns to Walmart in the future.

I agree..

[mperdu]

Maybe I'm being too cynical but as usual in my experience in Walmart, there was nobody working anywhere near the toy section and it didn't look like anyone had been "on duty" for quite awhile. The usual mess of toys laying on the floor of the aisle and most stuff in disarray. As a matter of fact, the last time I was in that particular store, I had to tell a couple of kids to stop riding a bike down the aisles. If a couple of kids can help themselve to a bicycle and ride it around for awhile...(I did ignore them for at least 10 minutes) my assumption is that nobody on staff cares about what is on the shelves.
I didn't look for any kind of a manager but I am doubtful that Walmart has a system that can ban anyone from returning merchandise...or at the very least, someone would actually check the system. As was posted above, if the staff sees a toy tank in a box, one looks like another.
The fantasy would be that these "toys" that are collectible would at least be behind a counter and the staff would know what they are selling. They put 94 cent cans of spray paint behind lock and key. Of course, the rest of the fantasy is that there would be a decent supply and selection of this stuff.
I kind of enjoy the "hunt" for new releases and I've been at Walmart at the right time as well. I think I was just shocked at the extent of the deceit and the evidence of how low some people can get.
Mike

[c44]

Actually, there is a new service available to retailers that is essentially a database of customers that do a lot of returns...some big ticket retailers of products such as consumer electronics will actually decline to sell you merchandise if you have a history of frequent returns...low-rent retailers such as wal-mart may not want to alienate customers over nickel & dime items, but this is a new concept that may be established at all major stores in the future...can't say it's necessarily a good thing for consumers, but there are apparently more than a few professional "returners" out there...
c44 aka currahee44

[EnemyAce]

Walmart does have such a system to fight fraud in place. Their computer system is the most advanced in the industry, and they do in fact keep a record of who is returning what, and can and have banned individuals from making returns. I read an article about it a few months back. That's why they're starting to ask for driver's licenses or ssn with a return.

[vmf214]

Enemy Ace is right, if you report these fraudulent items they'll track it back to the dirtbag who did it, if they want to expend the effort that is... It's obvious it's the same dusche-nozzle doing it....(if I mispelled dusche please excuse me, never used one before... )

[c44]

Tee hee hee...I can see it now...the geniuses at CSI Wal-Mart send out an APB for a perp by the name of Ray New returning panthers & tigers to the pet department in Hello Kitty boxes...with the trouble WM has tracking shopping carts in the parking lot, I'm not hopeful they'll be bringing Law & Order to the Customer Service desk any time soon...

[vmf214]

I don't know, have a relative been with MW since the 70's...you'd be surprised what they're capable of when they want to expend the effort. This guy gets carried away they WILL sting the bastard. They're not totally unconcerned about writeoffs from theft, fraudulent exchange and the like.

[immeww2]

I know TRU has some sort of tracking system when a customer returns an item especially if it's a big ticket item or numerous items. A friend of mine once returned 18 1/18 soldiers and a 1/18 plane to TRU (all new and sealed) and they were reluctant to take them back. They finally agreed but they took his name and address and entered it into their computers.

[OnWu]

Are you saying that some of WM's clientele may be a tad dishonest? Oh, say it isn't so!

[WGP Klaus]

Are you saying that some of WM's clientele may be a tad dishonest? Oh, say it isn't so!

actually, this type of behavior isn't exclusive to Walmart, I've noticed "repackaged" items at Target, Best Buy and even FAO Schwartz for that matter. Most stores have a policy where they issue refunds/store credit, as long as there is an item in the box with the proper upc on it, and 95% of the CSR's don't even look in sealed boxes that are being returned. I'm sure most mass merchants have their fair share of "shady" returns, it's just magnified by Walmart because of their sheer size, and numbers of stores.

[wm69]

yeah, I saw a 1:18 P47 razorback (WM clearanced these things everywhere) in a P47 Bubbletop box (new model that is rarely marked down) a few weeks ago in Memphis. Walmart DOES keep track of stuff that is being returned to some degree. I agree you should point it out to the manager. Couldn't hurt anything.....