The crooks strike again.

sluff · Post by **sluff** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 4:25 pm

I was at the Hodgekins Il. Walmart today and I did my recon , from a distance I saw the boxes, FW 190a, yes! below that the Hetzer and Marder, yes again! I finally have them. I got closer and to my now angered surprise the FW 190a was not in the box, someone returned the box with a FW190D, the Marder was fine but the Hetzer box had an M5 Stuart inside, I also saw a new P-51D Ms Bonnie box with a still dusty Flying Undertaker inside. I have seen this happen before with Star Wars an GI Joe figures but now it is happening with our hobby, Walmart takes anything back without checking the contents

kimtheredxd · Post by **kimtheredxd** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 4:50 pm

Well if it is anything like my friends.. a tank is a tank and a airplane is a airplane. So as long as one appears in the right type box i doubt they give it a second glance.

ostketten · Post by **ostketten** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 5:02 pm

Yeah, the old switcheroo,

I've seen it a few times in WM stores around here, and I always inspect the box and contents carefully now.

a tank is a tank and a airplane is a airplane. So as long as one appears in the right type box i doubt they give it a second glance

Very true, the zit faced teenaged kids working the returns counter at most Walmart stores wouldn't know the difference, and that's how unscrupulous people get away with this. Interestingly enough, this is a phenomenon I have not encountered at TRU thus far.

Light.Inf.Scout · Post by **Light.Inf.Scout** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 5:05 pm

Have seen this at a couple Walmarts and at TRU as well.

jlspec · Post by **jlspec** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 5:18 pm

One Walmart near me had 2 Dogfight 2 packs with 2 Macchi and No Stukas. Same WM also had a Dogfight 2 pack with 2 Me 262 and no P-51.
These will sit forever and block any new stock

[CAT]CplSlade · Post by **[CAT]CplSlade** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 6:27 pm

I gather the reason for doing this is so people can rid themselves of worthless extras and get a new vehicle for free? That's pretty cheap and very lame.

Rowsdower · Post by **Rowsdower** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 6:39 pm

Yup it's BS and WM could give a crap so don't waste your breathe pointing it out to them. For example, just yesterday I saw one of those Washington Mint big scale die cast car boxes which was supposed to hold a '49 Buick but instead had a 2006 Yellow Dodge Ram truck that was obviously a smaller scale stuck in it. I pointed it out to the drone who was in the aisle and got a chuckle and a shoulder shrug as they walked away.

Ever notice the people in the returns line bringing back SHOPPING CARTS FULL of food and other stuff? WTF!?!?!?! The "ol' switcheroo" happens in every department with everything from toys to vacuum cleaners and electronics.

mikeg · Post by **mikeg** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 7:10 pm

pretty damned annoying isn't it?? I noticed here in Atlanta (only once- but I had to see them repeatedly at the store) and bitched about it, too. You wonder if it's one of us or just some 40-something squirrel who lives in his parents house in the basement. But ya know, what average person would go through that much trouble unless he fancied himself a determined collector. Don't be an ass (If its one of us)-between tainted medicine, lead in toys, cyber attack against our military,etc.etc.; at least let us enjoy the fruits of our current and future adversaries labors without adding more insult to injury. OK, i'm done...

immeww2 · Post by **immeww2** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 9:06 pm

This is nothing new for returned items to WM. It's sad to see, but I have observed all sorts of odd items in boxes on the toy shelves a WM.

olifant · Post by **olifant** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 11:21 pm

I don't get this. It's not like these 1/32 pieces cost that much, and the time, effort and gas make me think it would be a zero sum game.

Plus, I try to make sure the flow of collectables is one way at the Olifant household.

Every time I make a trade with someone I get trader's regret and wish I had sent money instead. God knows I can't do without one of my many dozens of Shermans, especially the FOV dayglow green!

Fox Tare-28 · Post by **Fox Tare-28** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 11:30 am

schizuki wrote:Hmmm. What are the chances someone might take a Panther playset back to my Wal-Mart with a first-series FoV T-34 stuffed in the box?

My guess is slim to none.

Panzer_M · Post by **Panzer_M** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:21 pm

well I did something similar once for a friend.

He pays me to paint 1/35 scale figures for him, but also if I find something in :32 scale he's looking for I'll send one or two off in the mail.

Well he had no luck with Opels, and I had a glut of them here in the area, so I sent one off..to my luck with one track missing on the opel.

So I went to WM, found the last HT, got it took the track sent it to my friend, and returned the HT to WM the next day, explaining to the Customer Service Clerk it was missing a tread when I got it..well got the cash back and the Opel went back on the shelf.

Wasn't happy with it...but figured mailing a track would be faster and cheaper than mailing 2 trucks with USPS

dfoos · Post by **dfoos** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 6:45 pm

This happens all the time in my AO, Wallmart, Target, TRS. Every time I bring it up to the manager's attention and show them that it's the wrong item. 90 percent of the time, it's back on the shelf the next time I come in there. Happens alot with ppl replacing the corgi Matchbox sized tanks with Forces of valor 1/72nd and for a while Crappy New Ray tanks for 21st or Forces of Valor 1/32nd.

Tambo · Post by **Tambo** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 1:44 pm

Today I found a bunch of the Star Wars titanium figures in a Walmart... all returns. I scanned one figuring these were all marked down months ago to nothing...it scanned at 19.98 and said SW Spacecraft. It had a barcode decal covering the original decal. What a scam!