Wow, if this happened to me...I would be FLAMING mad. I have a feeling this did not come from Apple, Best Buy needs to refund that money/give computer back. No scam has ever happened to me, thank goodness.

I have to be honest, if that happened to me at first I'd probably laugh (and take a picture too). but then I'd be right to Best Buy and b*tching. I'd also fight the payment through the credit card company until the store/company exchanges my "brick" for a real product.

This was happening to some of our friends that have Mac shops like us. They narrowed it down to the shipping company which is a brand name shipping company (don't want to say their name as one bad employee shouldn't spoil their image).

Wow, there is absolutely no way that Bestbuy should be blowing this guy off. I mean, I guess it would be hard for the guy to prove but sending him to Apple is just not the way to handle it. I just got a new computer. I can't even imagine if my lappy had just been a brick.

That sucks. I would have tossed a fit!!! But then again, I wouldn't be buying a computer at best buy. . .

Good point Leila! I can't remember the last time I've made a purchase at Best Buyl.

I have heard of this happening before with Best Buy. Someone went to buy an ipod and they opened it up only to find a bunch of rocks. It was a friend of a friend so I don't know what happened in the end but I am sure they were absolutely furious!

This product was most likely a return and the original purchacer was the one who "exchanged" the product for a rock. The store probably thought the box had never been opened. Unlike the comments (on the consumerist), Apple does not srinkwrap laptop boxes , the factory seal is simply a round, clear sticker which could carefully be peeled and placed back. Fail on the stores part for not checking the return the 1st time.
Someone at Apple could have ripped off the laptop and factory sealed the box, sure.
The person posting this story could easily be the one trying to rip off the store. There is no way for anyone to know who's fault it really is... someone made out with a free laptop...no one knows who.

when i made my mac purchase the first thing i did after i got it was open in the store to make sure everything was all right. i would be furious if i found a brick..cause it's no macbook. i think the last time i made a purchase at best buy was years ago...this probably shows why others haven't been buying either.

open stuff in the store.

OMG!! This happened here in florida at a walmart. a women bought her son a psp and got rocks. apperently the women tried to return it and walmart fought with her. They found out that THE SAME PSP box had been returned 2 weeks earlier for rocks as well and it went back on shelves! that is crazy. I always check boxes for big ticket items

Don't they open the box before purchasing? Just to check if there's no defect in the merchandise.

that's why you need to open your box in the store. i totally don't understand why you would drop that kind of cash and not check it out in the store. whatever, i start my stuff up and ask questions if i need too.

Yes....always always have them open it up in the store. They will bitch and complain about unsealing it but it's your right to see it. I went to bestbuy and bought a $400 canon camera and when I opened it the whole screen was smashed and cracked and had knicks all over it. I took it back in and Best Buy said I could have dropped it. Yeah....if i had repeatedly dropped it off my balcony 5 times. The only reason we got it fixed was because the woman at canon helped us replace the screen. Thank God for human kindness. I will never buy anything at Best Buy again. Fry's electronics is great.......pricey but worth it.

Everyone getting mad at bestbuy shouldn't first of all. They are not responsible for what's IN the box. The company who shipped it is. Bestbuy normally opens the box to check it, but recently i believe their policy changed, I bought a vaio last friday and they didn't check but 2 years ago with my toshiba they did.

call apple, it's sad it happened but with this economy i'm not supposed there was a story about that with a kid and a dsi that was a box full of rocks.

i'm not going to blame bestbuy it's not their fault and i don't think you should put negative imagery on them either.

after all they purchased it from whoever thinking it was a computer too, so they are just as shocked as you are.

call apple and tell them like they said they are responsible for checking their shipments before they go out

Some people are just too trusting and thieves know this, and that's why people are being scammed all the time. Would you buy a car without test driving it first? Of course not! What about buying clothes don't you try them on before buying? And of course no one buys shoes without trying to squeeze their big foot in two sizes too small first. So what's the difference with electronics? I recently went to Best Buy to buy a small LCD screen TV and had the sales person open the box and plug it in, and would you believe it didn't come on, nor the second one. I ended up going to Wal-Mart to get that same TV. Now buying from mail-order or online is really 50-50!!!

I would NEVER open up my gadgets in the store. As an über geek that needs to he done at home... Slowly. Some call it geek porn

I wouldn't be buying a mac from best buy...and this is why!!!!! i am fortunate enough to have a store close by but if i didn't i'd order it directly from apple.

but yes, i'd be raising hell and putting a hold on payment until the issue is resolved.

This was also happening around Christmas time with Wii boxes. It's such ashame. I love taking time to open things at home with a glass of wine by candle light like macgirl, but these days you can't trust anyone. I'd be steaming mad too.

Like some of the above posters, I usually wait until I get home to "savor" the moment. But with an uprising rash of these incidences occurring...Curses!

djkatscan makes an interesting point...

YEARS ago when discmen were just coming out, my mom got me one for hannukah, and when i opened the box (months after she bought it) it was empty. it was horrible! we went to circuit city where we bought it and had to argue/debate with them for hours to get them to give me a new one. it's horrible when things like that happen.

i can't believe a company like best buy is seriously going to give the guy that much trouble. THEY should just take care of it and give the guy a new computer.

I agree that the best way to avoid such a thing is to open the product in-store, but it shouldn't be up to the associate to do it. There are a lot of stores that will not take back opened product for anything other than an exchange, so opening the product kills the possibility of a full refund. This isn't a problem if you're a smart shopper and know exactly what you want before you buy it, but it's a bit of a financial risk if you're buying a gift for somebody who might end up not wanting/needing it.

I used to work at a place that absolutely could not refund any opened electronic item unless the item was defective and we couldn't replace it due to a lack of backstock, so my advice is if you're getting something that *might* need to be brought back for anything other than an exchange due to a defect, read the full return policy FIRST and/or ask the associate if you can return it if it's opened (be sure to remember the associate's name, in case they give you wrong info - it's happened to me). Also, if you're going to be opening packages in stores, please PLEASE be a considerate customer and either ask the associate to do it for a super quick check (open box, glance in, good to go, leave) or step off to the side and out of the way to do a closer inspection - especially during the holidays. Nobody wants to get ripped off so it's a smart thing to check, but nobody wants to wait in a line of people in which every customer has to take out every item and inspect it before leaving, either.

I got scammed by sprint. Sort of. I got a new phone and they had said I could keep my same plan. But they changed my plan without telling me. So I got billed 20 bucks more a month, and got major fines due to my using minutes I didn't have. In the Subscriber Agreement book, it says that opening the package of the phone is equal to agreeing to the plan...apparently even if you don't know what the plan is. THANKS Sprint.

I don't understand people who read this story and think it is better to not open the box in the store.

you could be stuck with a computer that you can get an exchange or stuck with a brick that you can hit yourself in the head with.

GirlOverboard: even with a return policy like that, or things like restocking fees, you may be able to get around it by getting some sort of paperwork. I know that Best Buy offers, at least on computers, a "functionality check" that is free, and can generate a work order for you so that you have "proof" that you bought it new and *they* opened it. Plus they seal it back up with Best Buy tape.

I've never been scammed nor have I opened a gadget box in the store.

@ Macgirl - I did that with my black DS Lite and my new Canon Powershot, haha.

But as far as the article goes, I've been reading about stories like these for months, and they each just seem to get steadily worse/ridiculous. From the kid who went to unbox his new PS3 at Christmas and found a bunch of phone books inside (seriously, who uses those big massive things anymore?) to the little girl in DC who opened up her iPod Nano and found not only a rock, but a note inside basically scolding her for wanting an iPod in the first place/being just another crazy Apple fan, it really makes you wonder about people. I know that money's tight for everybody right now, but come on folks, is it really worth it to rip someone off like that?

"Everyone getting mad at bestbuy shouldn't first of all. They are not responsible for what's IN the box. " - That is simply NOT true. When the buyer made the purchase, he entered into a contract in which Best Buy, in exchange for the purchase price, was to provide the Apple Mac Book Pro - plain and simple. It is their responsibility to deliver otherwise it is considered a breach of contract. That is the law. Whether it was Bestbuys's fault is a differnt story, as it might have been shipped to them that way. However, THEY are responsible for recitifying the situation, NOT the consumer. Bestbuy needs to take it up with Apple or their distributor. Bestbuy is still responsible to provide the item that the purchaser paid for! The fact that they are not issuing a refund is absolutley horrible. THIS IS JUST ONE MORE REASON NEVER TO BUY FROM BESTBUY!!

There was also an article lately about rocks in the boxes of Wii's sold at Walmart. I think Walmart eventually gave into the consumer when another case showed up at the same store and gave her a full refund and a gift card. They originally pulled the same "you need to deal with Nintendo". Ridiculous! Makes me want to open the package at the store for sure!

The box has the serial number, MAC address and other identifying information. It should be relatively easy to find out who has that machine.. Right?

Technically you are 100% right Candera. Speaking from first hand experience when we had three PowerBooks worth $10,000 at the time paid for with a bad cashiers check Apple won't do much about it. We had all the serials but at the time they said there was nothing they can do. Seems to me if you put it in the database that they are stolen it should red flag when that serial is registered or if they bring it in for service.

most of the time, where i buy my stuff, the staff opens it for me, to show and check at the same time if there are defects. to protect their asses. i rather they do that, cos at least if there is a defect (cosmetically as well), i don't have to make another trip down and exchanges are just messy especially if they're expensive items.

i don't buy stuff online, ebay or yahoo auctions etc etc...cos you'll never know.

Lol, my friend works at futureshop, he was gonna buy a new linksys router that was shrink wrapped, but felt weird... He opened it up since he was going to buy it anyways, inside were some poker cards, dominoe flyers, and a rock too.... It was all shrink-wrapped too, so it's easy for people to scam retailers with their return policies if they return the box like it was never opened....

From then on, I always ask for it to be opened before I leave the store...

this happened to me but it was a 42inch sony Bravia and it was full of boulders i quickly called my laywer and started a Law suit and Fought my wasy through and ended up with 80,000 dollars Dont let this happen to u and take no actions quickly fight back for what seems right!