NationStates Jolt Archive

Seems Santa left a little too much behind on his deliveries this year:

Link (http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/071228/koddities/oddity_x_rated_mp3_player)

By The Associated Press

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - It's not what Santa intended.

A man in Cookeville, Tennessee, is thinking about suing Wal-Mart because the MP3 video player he gave to his little girl for Christmas turned out to be loaded with explicit tunes and porn videos.

Daryl Hill says the 10-year-old child burst into tears when she saw it. He says he just wishes he could get those "thoughts and images" out of her head.

Hill figures the player must have been returned by somebody who had loaded it with sex clips and songs about drugs.

Wal-Mart says it's investigating because returned items that have been opened are not supposed to be resold.

In the meantime it's offering Hill a replacement. But he says he's going to hang on to it until he talks to a lawyer.

Clearly one of the oddest news stories I've read this year...I personally don't blame Wal-Mart, the corporation, since I doubt they put this single MP3 player on the shelf- seems to have been a random fluke that it got there. The store itself, however, is another matter- they should have known the return policies, and if it's "defective" (as I believe was the case here, since I don't think you can return an open item if it's not defective) then it shouldn't have gone back onto the shelf.

As for the girl...I feel sorry for her. Must have been bad porn if she started crying because of it :p (although I wonder if she really did cry- that's her father stating that she did and the wording of his testimony suggests he's the "easily offended type").

Thoughts?

How do we know daddy did not put all the stuff on it himself so he could sue ?
Or perhaps he hoped his little princess would be willing to play with his magic wand after getting in the mood...

Brr...

If she had been a male, perhaps she would had been happy for the gift :p

sounds like pops is trying to make a few bucks on the deal

I work in an electronics store, and that's happened twice that I know of...fortunately the first one was actually bought by another staff member, so we just had a good laugh about it, and the second was noticed before it was put back on display...as since the first time we check all of them, carefully :P

The store itself, however, is another matter- they should have known the return policies, and if it's "defective" (as I believe was the case here, since I don't think you can return an open item if it's not defective) then it shouldn't have gone back onto the shelf.

It's not uncommon for things to be returned 'resealed.' When I worked at the record store people would try and return CDs that they had shrunk wrapped themselves. With CDs it was generally easy to tell, but I had some friends who would re-wrap video games and systems all the time.

Then there was that culture jam a while back where people cracked the sound bits to talking dolls and switched them (Barbie with GI Joe like, but I don't remember the details.)

So it could have been re-sealed and the store never knew. Especially during Christmas when there are tons of people in the store and product is shifting like crazy.

Seems Santa left a little too much behind on his deliveries this year:

Link (http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/071228/koddities/oddity_x_rated_mp3_player)



Clearly one of the oddest news stories I've read this year...I personally don't blame Wal-Mart, the corporation, since I doubt they put this single MP3 player on the shelf- seems to have been a random fluke that it got there. The store itself, however, is another matter- they should have known the return policies, and if it's "defective" (as I believe was the case here, since I don't think you can return an open item if it's not defective) then it shouldn't have gone back onto the shelf.

As for the girl...I feel sorry for her. Must have been bad porn if she started crying because of it :p (although I wonder if she really did cry- that's her father stating that she did and the wording of his testimony suggests he's the "easily offended type").

Thoughts?

A 10-year-old doesn't burst into tears when seeing porn. Why would it? That would mean that the kid knows what porn is and find it tearworthy. Otherwise it's just nude people.

A 10-year-old doesn't burst into tears when seeing porn. Why would it? That would mean that the kid knows what porn is and find it tearworthy. Otherwise it's just nude people.

nude people wrestling and dancing :)

yeah, it sucks, but it's quite insignificant, I don't even think it warrants a news story tbh

ehh, well if the guy wants to get something out of it, I guess I might buy it,.......

haha, he probably found it and was royally pissed (as he's entitled to be), but I suspect the only reaction from his daughter he could publicly state was "burst into tears". it just doesn't pack the same punch if he said "and she cocked her head inquisitively to the side, and took it to me to ask what they were doing", which is more likely what happened.

haha, he probably found it and was royally pissed (as he's entitled to be), but I suspect the only reaction from his daughter he could publicly state was "burst into tears". it just doesn't pack the same punch if he said "and she cocked her head inquisitively to the side, and took it to me to ask what they were doing", which is more likely what happened.

Or he doesn't want to admit to 'and she vanished into her bedroom for the next four hours and came back out with a funny smelling hair brush and a very relaxed look on her face'.

Seems Santa left a little too much behind on his deliveries this year:

Link (http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/071228/koddities/oddity_x_rated_mp3_player)



Clearly one of the oddest news stories I've read this year...I personally don't blame Wal-Mart, the corporation, since I doubt they put this single MP3 player on the shelf- seems to have been a random fluke that it got there. The store itself, however, is another matter- they should have known the return policies, and if it's "defective" (as I believe was the case here, since I don't think you can return an open item if it's not defective) then it shouldn't have gone back onto the shelf.

As for the girl...I feel sorry for her. Must have been bad porn if she started crying because of it :p (although I wonder if she really did cry- that's her father stating that she did and the wording of his testimony suggests he's the "easily offended type").

Thoughts?

Wasn't there am almost identical story last year? Maybe someone is cashing in on copycat fraud...

Wasn't there am almost identical story last year? Maybe someone is cashing in on copycat fraud...

Last year it was a DVD player. All hail the march of progress.

How do we know daddy did not put all the stuff on it himself so he could sue ?
Or perhaps he hoped his little princess would be willing to play with his magic wand after getting in the mood...

:eek: :(

Or he doesn't want to admit to 'and she vanished into her bedroom for the next four hours and came back out with a funny smelling hair brush and a very relaxed look on her face'.

I just choked on my tea you bastard

Best. Present. Ever.

I once found a dvd in a supposedly brand new dvd player. It wasn't porn.. I was bitterly disappointed

I once found a dvd in a supposedly brand new dvd player. It wasn't porn.. I was bitterly disappointed

Better luck next time :D

PS I'd complain if I was you ;)

Brr...

If she had been a male, perhaps she would had been happy for the gift :p

It'd probably suffice if she was older :)

I work in an electronics store, and that's happened twice that I know of...fortunately the first one was actually bought by another staff member, so we just had a good laugh about it, and the second was noticed before it was put back on display...as since the first time we check all of them, carefully :P

What, electronics stores being dishonest?

Like the Best Buy in Columbia Maryland, where their Geek Squad Employee did not install the 2GB of RAM I paid for, replacing it with 1GB of crap from another machine, and then the manager refused to correct the problem, saying that somehow magically the chips were changed after I left the store (but not by me, no siree, that's not what they're saying, just that the chips were changed). Then when I took it to a second Best Buy, their manager and their Geek Squad person checked the system event log and found the machine had NEVER had 2GB booted in it and installed the chips from their inventory. And when I reported it to corporate as the first store sneered I should, corporate backed up the lying sacks of crap at the first store and said the 2GB of RAM the second store put into my machine was as a "goodwill gesture" and that I had no right to complain?

Yeah. Nothing EVER gets put back on the shelves as if it were still sealed, and employees NEVER steal from the company or the customers. Seriously, it happens all the time, and so long as the company is not humiliated publicly and losing money because of it, they don't give a shit about the customer. Oh dear, did I say that out loud, I wouldn't want to embarass anyone about that... I mean gee whiz... it's not like implying a customer is a liar and a thief both publicly and in print, right?

Last year it was a DVD player. All hail the march of progress.

It's also happened with computers sold as new, too.

Well I kind of agree. Why would she cry unless she knew what it was? Unfortunately because we do not know the nature of the pornography we cannot say; As you all know there are some pretty nasty, violent and incredibly grotesque pieces out there; And anyone who loads it up on an Mp3 player and returns it is worthy of being the type that views it.

--The Father-daughter/"Cheapskate" looking for money angle is possible too... And I kind of agree; If I was a father and this happened, I would sit my little girl down, figure out something to say on what she saw; Tell her the store was giving us a brand new one because they gave us someone else's broken one by mistake-- Then I'd get the free one from the store.

I think he's taking it too far really; They're offering you a new one for your trouble. It's like people on the ferry here; They get a pretzel from the shop, eat it up, tell the guy he's trying to kill them because it's uncooked and then refuse when he offers a brand new pretzel or her money back (prolly 'cause she was a single mom-- even if a bitchy one.)

--True story.

I dunno. Hope all works out for both Walmart and the father-- provided he's not as much of an ass as he seems from this article.

A friend of mine bought a "new" PS2 game from EB games, only to find it was rather scratched from extensive use.

Luckily, we have another friend who worked there at a time, and he got it replaced. Turns out, they would put copies of the games into the consoles they had set up-- and then after doing that, put them back on sale, but still labeled as new. My friend (the employee) hated that the other people did that, but it was apparently store policy that being played in the store doesn't count as being used.

What, electronics stores being dishonest?

Like the Best Buy in Columbia Maryland, where their Geek Squad Employee did not install the 2GB of RAM I paid for, replacing it with 1GB of crap from another machine, and then the manager refused to correct the problem, saying that somehow magically the chips were changed after I left the store (but not by me, no siree, that's not what they're saying, just that the chips were changed). Then when I took it to a second Best Buy, their manager and their Geek Squad person checked the system event log and found the machine had NEVER had 2GB booted in it and installed the chips from their inventory. And when I reported it to corporate as the first store sneered I should, corporate backed up the lying sacks of crap at the first store and said the 2GB of RAM the second store put into my machine was as a "goodwill gesture" and that I had no right to complain?

Yeah. Nothing EVER gets put back on the shelves as if it were still sealed, and employees NEVER steal from the company or the customers. Seriously, it happens all the time, and so long as the company is not humiliated publicly and losing money because of it, they don't give a shit about the customer. Oh dear, did I say that out loud, I wouldn't want to embarass anyone about that... I mean gee whiz... it's not like implying a customer is a liar and a thief both publicly and in print, right?



It's also happened with computers sold as new, too.

I know it's too late for it, but you should've asked the second store to print out and save the event log. Then plaster it on the internet, giving Kudoes to the Honesty and integrity of the second store while lambasting the first.

yeah, alot of stores offers those perks... up to a point that is.

I know it's too late for it, but you should've asked the second store to print out and save the event log. Then plaster it on the internet, giving Kudoes to the Honesty and integrity of the second store while lambasting the first.

Naively, I believed that with a well-written letter and the second store to support my claim that corporate would have seen their way clear to apologize, at least, for 12 hrs of inconvenience and having store employees announce that the chips had been changed after I left the store. Apparently, they believe that COMPLETE STRANGERS would risk their jobs to give me free chips. CONSPIRACY!

Seriously, I wouldn't trust Geek Squad or Best Buy with a burnt out match after that one -- and it's so fucking stupid. I've bought three computers, a GPS, countless printer supplies, USB drives, videos, games, etc over the years.... dropped $1500 on the computer in question -- and they think I'm trying to jack them up over $80? Does that even make sense?

Apparently, admitting your people fucked up either intentionally or unintentionally is out of style.

Spending money at Best Buy is out of style for me now, too.

Naively, I believed that with a well-written letter and the second store to support my claim that corporate would have seen their way clear to apologize, at least, for 12 hrs of inconvenience and having store employees announce that the chips had been changed after I left the store. Apparently, they believe that COMPLETE STRANGERS would risk their jobs to give me free chips. CONSPIRACY!

Seriously, I wouldn't trust Geek Squad or Best Buy with a burnt out match after that one -- and it's so fucking stupid. I've bought three computers, a GPS, countless printer supplies, USB drives, videos, games, etc over the years.... dropped $1500 on the computer in question -- and they think I'm trying to jack them up over $80? Does that even make sense?

Apparently, admitting your people fucked up either intentionally or unintentionally is out of style.

Spending money at Best Buy is out of style for me now, too.
... me I would patronize the second store and boycott the first. even to the point of learning who was on the Geek Squad at the first store and avoid them at all costs.

After all, the second store did research and solve your problem (without cost from you I hope) which showed their competence.

Looks like a returned or repaired MP3 player to me.

I didn't find any Anime or Manga on my Sony MP3 when I got it!

"In the meantime it's offering Hill a replacement. But he says he's going to hang on to it until he talks to a lawyer."

I don't believe that for a second...Why dosen't he just admit he wants to keep the porn?

... me I would patronize the second store and boycott the first. even to the point of learning who was on the Geek Squad at the first store and avoid them at all costs.

After all, the second store did research and solve your problem (without cost from you I hope) which showed their competence.

Yes, the folks at the second store ended up actually giving me more expensive chips by a couple bucks at no charge because they didn't have the same brand as the first one. They clearly told me they were making up for the fuckups at store one because they had not given me what I purchased -- and corporate said all they did was do it as a goodwill gesture which I was not entitled to.

I suppose you're right... it's just that when the guys at the head office are bastards too, I don't have a lot of confidence, you know?

Unfortunally this guy has really hurt his creditablilty since he went to the media before even talking to a lawyer. personally I didnt know that Walmart doesnt sell returned materials, everythign goes right back onto the shelf from the customer service department.

What 10 year old in 2007 bursts into tears at seeing porn, especially on a MP3 Player, you can barely see anythign on those screens, and I have looked very very thoroughly.

I suppose you're right... it's just that when the guys at the head office are bastards too, I don't have a lot of confidence, you know?

True dat.

Didn't say what kinds of MP3 player it was either. If it was one of those portable ones with crappy screens, then it would not have been able to video. Might have been one of those newer ones with colour screens and video support.

Naively, I believed that with a well-written letter and the second store to support my claim that corporate would have seen their way clear to apologize, at least, for 12 hrs of inconvenience and having store employees announce that the chips had been changed after I left the store. Apparently, they believe that COMPLETE STRANGERS would risk their jobs to give me free chips. CONSPIRACY!

Seriously, I wouldn't trust Geek Squad or Best Buy with a burnt out match after that one -- and it's so fucking stupid. I've bought three computers, a GPS, countless printer supplies, USB drives, videos, games, etc over the years.... dropped $1500 on the computer in question -- and they think I'm trying to jack them up over $80? Does that even make sense?

Apparently, admitting your people fucked up either intentionally or unintentionally is out of style.

Spending money at Best Buy is out of style for me now, too.

:eek: (*shocked to see a Mod use the "f" word*)

Where DO you do your electronics shopping, if no longer at Best Buy?

:eek: (*shocked to see a Mod use the "f" word*)

Where DO you do your electronics shopping, if no longer at Best Buy?

Not sure yet. There's Circuit City, but I'll have to find out about their reliability first... and since I am in NY, there's B&H Photo. They have an absolutely solid rep and their prices are pretty good. Just don't expect to do business Friday afternoon, Saturday all day, or during any Jewish holiday -- they are ultra-Orthodox Jews and the store (even the website) is closed during those times. Still, for solid service and reliability, I am willing to be inconvenienced a little.

The only way a 10 year old would burst into tears upon seeing porn is if they knew what the people were doing and had a previous bad experience with it. Sounds to me like Daddy has already gone a couple rounds with her.

A 10-year-old doesn't burst into tears when seeing porn. Why would it? That would mean that the kid knows what porn is and find it tearworthy. Otherwise it's just nude people.

well, "porn" is a general term. for all we know it might have been Child rape, Beastiality, BDSM, Simulated Rape, or a myrad of other things.

also it might have been someone she knew... a friend, relative, teacher, etc...

add to that it might have been labeled differently... say "New Brit Spears Vid" or something... and it can be quite a shock.

well, "porn" is a general term. for all we know it might have been Child rape, Beastiality, BDSM, Simulated Rape, or a myrad of other things.

also it might have been someone she knew... a friend, relative, teacher, etc...

add to that it might have been labeled differently... say "New Brit Spears Vid" or something... and it can be quite a shock.

Even worse... it could BE a Britney Spears video! :o *throws up in mouth*

Even worse... it could BE a Britney Spears video! :o *throws up in mouth*

well, that wouldn't be porn... rape of the mind, eyes and ears yes, but not porn.

Even worse... it could BE a Britney Spears video! :o *throws up in mouth*

Could be both, has Brit had a sex tape yet?

Could be both, has Brit had a sex tape yet?

Oh merciful Zeus, one has to hope not!

Even worse... it could BE a Britney Spears video! :o *throws up in mouth*

Now, that would be enough to make any human cry. :eek:

Seems Santa left a little too much behind on his deliveries this year:

Link (http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/071228/koddities/oddity_x_rated_mp3_player)



Clearly one of the oddest news stories I've read this year...I personally don't blame Wal-Mart, the corporation, since I doubt they put this single MP3 player on the shelf- seems to have been a random fluke that it got there. The store itself, however, is another matter- they should have known the return policies, and if it's "defective" (as I believe was the case here, since I don't think you can return an open item if it's not defective) then it shouldn't have gone back onto the shelf.

As for the girl...I feel sorry for her. Must have been bad porn if she started crying because of it :p (although I wonder if she really did cry- that's her father stating that she did and the wording of his testimony suggests he's the "easily offended type").

Thoughts?

I worked for Wal-Mart from March 1995 to July 1999, from sales associate (first in electronics, then sporting goods), to department manager (first in automotive, then sporting goods), finally to receiving (second shift unloading part time after I started working at a better full time job). I've seen many times where people have spent a great deal of effort to reseal an item's package in an attempt to make it look like it had never been opened (the returns that infuriated me the most were electronics and ammunition, as the service desk NEVER checked with us first before accepting it).

I just choked on my tea you bastard

If it was hot tea, I apologize. Otherwise :D.

The store itself, however, is another matter- they should have known the return policies, and if it's "defective" (as I believe was the case here, since I don't think you can return an open item if it's not defective) then it shouldn't have gone back onto the shelf.
Maybe someone is a very good box-opener so they returned the product as unopened.

Ho's Ho's Ho's! Drugs, pot, and booze! Merry XXX Mas!


Sorry I had too...