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Girl gets iPod for birthday, finds rocks inside.

arstechnica.com — You unwrap your gifts fervently and you hit pay dirt. The iPod you wanted —no, you needed! You open the packaging with great anticipation, only to discover that there is no iPod. Only rocks. Not even good rocks, or iRocks, just rocks.

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  • bigkm, on 10/20/2007, -10/+320was hoping for a devastating video
    • EBFoxbat, on 10/10/2007, -53/+6They wouldn't accept Target store credit? ***** 'em. Should have just taken the store credit and gotten another one. That's what you get for being dickheads.
      • otakugeek, on 10/14/2007, -2/+68They did get the store credit to buy another one, the second one also had rocks in it.
        • btgoss, on 10/10/2007, -2/+11Does anyone know enough statistics to determine what the odds of this happening are? I mean, obviously someone at that distribution center is rocking a bunch of brand new iPods, but what are the odds the same person would get rocks each time.
          • DocHoliday22, on 10/10/2007, -1/+10There were probably other cases but this one came to press.
          • HOOKSTER1231, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Ok when i worked at compusa( yes cry for me) we had a woman com in with a monitor with phone books inside, after long arguments with management she said she just wanted a monitor, we brought her another one to exchange for it, she demanded that we open it there in front of her. we thought she was putting on a show for us to believe her more, and this one had more phone books inside! in all 4 of the 5 monitors of that model had nothing inside but concrete or phone books.
      • towlie, on 10/10/2007, -1/+28RTFA
      • uremomsnitemare, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4DIRL
      • ramcosca, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1In related news: some Target store manager gets to PITA of employees.
    • converge, on 10/10/2007, -3/+16Damn, what are the odds of getting not one but TWO iPods replaced with rocks?
      • gcauthon, on 10/10/2007, -1/+19They're not lottery tickets. If someone is stealing iPods then its very likely that they will get the whole batch.
      • humperdeath, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8What are the odds of buying rocks at home depot, and finding iPods instead?
        • LeeSoong, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1i went to home depot to buy bricks, but all they had were locked out iphones.

          the genius at the apple store said i could try building a wall out of ibricks - but he couldn't provide tech support for it.
    • Nerfdude, on 10/10/2007, -20/+2i'd say those odds are "non existant because this chick was just scamming for a free ipod". seriously, nobody from target watched either box opening. the consumer isn't always the innocent.
      • anotherabyss, on 10/10/2007, -1/+14did you miss this part when you "read" the article:

        "The Grand Prairie store's employees, perhaps unforgivingly after hearing the sob story, insisted that the new iPod had to be purchased before opening it. The family finally agreed, purchased the iPod, and opened in in front of Target employees. Again, the box that should have contained an iPod contained rocks."
      • andycr512, on 10/10/2007, -1/+12"The family finally agreed, purchased the iPod, and opened in in front of Target employees. Again, the box that should have contained an iPod contained rocks."

        Reading is good for you.
        • ramcosca, on 10/14/2007, -4/+3This applies to you also. Read just over your post...
          • andycr512, on 10/14/2007, -0/+1He posted after I had begun to write my comment.
    • timusca, on 10/10/2007, -7/+2Rock and Roll, baby!
    • Dylan47, on 10/10/2007, -14/+2i think the family staged this and got away with two ipods and some store credit, pritty shifty.
      • Konstantino, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8I hope you realize that they still had to BUY the rock-filled iPod box...
        • Dylan47, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1and then get another one from another branch, then again exchange their rocks for store credit.
      • rexbron, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8rtfa, the second ipod was opened _in front_ of the Target employees.
        • Dylan47, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1it doesn't say that thats how it happened.
      • yeshuadoom, on 10/10/2007, -2/+5you're a ***** dumbass.
    • canUdi9it, on 10/10/2007, -8/+5They should have bought her an IRack instead.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rw2nkoGLhrE
      • uremomsnitemare, on 10/10/2007, -2/+10dude.. you're on digg
        we all know about the iRack
    • wburglett, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2In my tabs bar, it looks like "Rocks found in place of Girl." Now that would be a lot more difficult...
  • digitallysick, on 10/11/2007, -16/+281Maybe it was running rockbox? ;)
  • roominator, on 10/10/2007, -42/+84PWN3D
    • MtheoryX, on 10/10/2007, -6/+34From the article, it actually appears to be (PWN3D) ^ 2
      • kingkilr, on 10/10/2007, -2/+21... pwnage is additive not multiplicative.
        • rrasco, on 10/10/2007, -0/+16Yeah, but as pwnage is summed, it has an exponential growth on the pwned. So in this case (PWNED)^2 is entirely appropriate.
        • MtheoryX, on 10/10/2007, -0/+14The reason I used exponential is that for one, there was pwnage when the first package was opened, then adding the fact that they had to take a store credit, travel to another store, and then purchase another one before the ensuing pwnage again took place is not additive. It was pwnage on the first pwnage.

          For two, additive would have been them taking the money, and then going to a different store and purchasing a different product entirely only to find it was filled with rocks. Meaning, the same people experienced two separate instances of pwnage.

          In this situation, the second instance is clearly derivative of the first.
          • doctechnical, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4I beg to disagree, in that the latter pwnage targeted Target, not the family. Since the second box was opened at the store in front of employees when the second batch of rocks was discovered, clearly the fault (and therefore, pwnage) lay at the feet of the retailer.
          • schoate09, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2This debate is going too far...
        • HonoredMule, on 10/10/2007, -4/+1Who said it was multiplicative? I see exponential.
          • redmaxx, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5What happens when you square something? You get something times something which is...wait for it...multiplicative.
        • kodek, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1God, people. Exponential growth is k^x, not x^k.
        • CCmachined, on 10/10/2007, -4/+3dont you mean (PWN3D)² ?
          get a proper keyboard layout... DEADKEYS FTW xD
          • shawnz, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2you don't type ² with a dead key. it's alt-gr+2.
    • Biznack, on 10/10/2007, -11/+4Rockzor
    • CCmachined, on 10/10/2007, -7/+2MtheoryX: dont you mean (PWN3D)² ?
      get a proper keyboard layout... DEADKEYS FTW xD
    • JLecker, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6ROCKED
    • ophello, on 10/10/2007, -5/+1I can has Irocks?
  • Cubedude04, on 10/14/2007, -34/+238Apple is in for a rocky relationship with that customer
    • nunofgs, on 10/12/2007, -9/+38Oh, SNAP!
    • Shurikane, on 10/12/2007, -12/+30I see what you did there...
      • Opiate, on 10/10/2007, -2/+15I hope this saying doesn't catch on outside of the digg parrots .. it really makes the poster look dim.
        • Mike89, on 10/14/2007, -0/+1Well, it didn't originate from digg anyway.
          (Yeah I know, Rules 1 + 2)
    • adidax, on 10/12/2007, -7/+35In Soviet Russia, iPod rocks you.
      • subliminalurge, on 10/10/2007, -12/+3Who the ***** is still digging soviet russia jokes up?
        • shawnz, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7in soviet russia, soviet russia jokes dig up YOU
    • huwy, on 10/10/2007, -4/+1if you were a duck, you'd be lame
  • yosempai, on 10/14/2007, -21/+503Are they sure it wasn't just bricked?
    • rikwakefield, on 10/10/2007, -28/+3LOL :-)
    • Trax91, on 10/10/2007, -38/+2Bricks are made of rocks. So I guess they bricked the brick.
      • rullingen, on 10/12/2007, -4/+41dont you just hate it when 12 year olds are let on the internet's?
        • Akaji, on 10/10/2007, -0/+15The internet's what?
          • MadOtaku, on 10/10/2007, -4/+2The internet's self.
          • andycr512, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1class internet:
            def __init__(self):
            self.leton(Trax91)
        • goodfellaNW, on 10/16/2007, -1/+17finish your sentence... im sitting here in suspense
        • mattn, on 10/16/2007, -0/+15It's just a cliffhanger ending. We've gotta wait for the sequel.
      • PersonX2, on 10/12/2007, -6/+30wow, has public education taught you nothing? Bricks are made of CLAY!
        • SteelFrog, on 10/12/2007, -3/+17Because in private schools, you spend an entire session learning about bricks and their fabrication. /sarc.
    • allioupe, on 10/10/2007, -2/+0http://macslash.org/article.pl?sid=03/11/16/135233
    • canUdi9it, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2The only solution is to use clear packaging on expensive/popular items. And then open it in the store just to be sure.
  • flamingmb, on 10/10/2007, -12/+66They probably had someone buy an ipod at both stores and then return it with rocks inside. Its not that uncommon. I have heard of people returning expensive under counter lcd tvs with bricks inside.
    Now its an entirely different story if the ipods were factory shrink wrapped though. I guess lead wouldnt be the only thing china is exporting.
    • fridx, on 10/10/2007, -21/+7Did you actually read the article? They open the second iPod box IN STORE
      • noreturn, on 10/10/2007, -3/+25Did you even read his comment? It's a perfectly valid theory.
        • igyigyigy, on 10/10/2007, -1/+9Shame there isn't a way to shrink wrap items yourself...
        • flamingmb, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3"Shame there isn't a way to shrink wrap items yourself..."

          Yeah, thats why I said FACTORY shrink wrapped. You can usually tell a home wrap job from a factory one.
    • objectcode, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3and they don't open the package before giving a refund? that always happens to me anyways
    • electricmba, on 10/10/2007, -2/+10A similar thing happened to a friend of mine. He bought an iPod at Walmart, brought it home and discovered a block of wood inside the box where the iPod was supposed to be. We quickly brought it back, and after some discussion with the store manager, she actually gave him a new one. Turns out it wasn't the first time at this store - some guy had bought a few iPods, taken them out of the box, put wood back inside, and used a "home shrink-wrap kit" to put the cellophane back on the outside. He then returned it, and the clerk apparently didn't give it a second glance as it appeared it still had the wrapping intact.
      I believe this store now has a policy of opening and inspecting all returned items, even if still in the packaging. Pretty serious problem for the consumer if you think about it - if my friend hadn't purchased it at a large retailer like Walmart, I'm sure he'd be out his $400 bucks with nothing but an instruction manual and a block of wood to show for it.
      • Eizz, on 10/10/2007, -0/+10That's so sad to hear. People like that are ruining the return policies for all the other customers. What's next? X-ray machines at every return counter? Or high precision scale to match the weight of the product prior to sale and after return? Wouldn't additional labor and fraud prevention equipment just drive up the cost for all consumers in general?
        • StarlessKnight, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8Yes, but those stealing things in this manner don't care. Prices go up, they'll just steal more.
        • fridx, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Or a bit of manual open-the-box-and-check method, that might work.
        • mrurc, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1How is it ruining the return policies for non-scammers? If you return a product, it should be in the same state in which the product was purchased, and that means that all of the parts are in the box. Even if the box it sealed, all the parts should be in the box and employees should be checking for that. Sorry if that puts a cramp in your style, but it prevents stuff like this.

          When I buy an expensive item like that I do check the shrink wrap to make sure it doesn't look like a home/in-store shrink wrap. I don't want to buy a returned item only to find that it was returned for being defective or was returned missing parts and the return agent didn't notice. But a smart enough criminal is going to get around things like that.
          • zdiggler, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Smart thieves got the technology and know how to put the repackage like new. Actually some places do use x-ray machines unopened wrapped returns. Some people will buy new one to replace their broken one and returned saying they don't want it any more, at lest tell them it doesn't work.
      • bobartig, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6If you know what to look for, you can tell a machine shrinkwrap from a hand shrinkwrap kit, but I guess the CSR at Walmart didn't know what to look for. Machine shrinkwrapped products have a particular seam with a "T" or "I" (capital I with serif), which is all but impossible to reproduce by hand. The shrink wrap is also considerably thicker plastic and has a higher consistency than hand shrinkwrapping produces.

        But yeah, this happens in retail a lot, by crooks who happen to have access to a shrinkwrap machine.
        • rebump, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1You can recreate the capital I (eye) style seem with most shrink wrap machines. The perpendicular lines will still be a bit less straight than a machine shrink wrapper. You can also buy the thicker shrink wrap. Finally, you will want a clean shrink wrap cut wire for cutting the shrinkwrap material with the cleanest edge possible. Don't overheat when shrinking.
        • rebump, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Sure, Digg down my comment. I never returned rocks or dirt. Just returned video game cartridges for games that sucked arse back in the day - back before the "we buy/sell video game" businesses came about. Nothing like paying for a 2600, 5200, and NES game that sucked ass when you are like 12.
          • qualish, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Dude... let it go... that was ~25 years ago.
        • mrurc, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1If the product was previously returned, the store will probably shrink wrap it with a home shrink wrapping machine. They need to check all boxes.
      • ccanni1028, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Was the wood at least carved to look like an iPod??
    • Cyber_Akuma, on 10/10/2007, -12/+2Are you are telling me they had someone buy an iPod from a store 20 miles way and return it with rocks without Target noticing, then the original Target ordered an iPod from that other Target and they just happened to pick up the one with rocks inside it?
      • antich, on 10/10/2007, -0/+9No, that's not what he's telling you at all.
    • Synthetik, on 10/10/2007, -1/+16I opened Final Fantasy VII on Christmas morning and to find that someone replaced the game with half a phone book. They could have at least put a burnt copy back in the box for me!
      • OrangeTide, on 10/10/2007, -0/+13Almost makes you want to mail order everything.
    • modifiedbears, on 10/10/2007, -0/+14Could've easily been a store employee too. I worked at a store that had a shrink wrap machine anyone could access. It takes all of a minute to bag, cut, and use the hot air gun to seal it.
      • Acqua206, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0Its pretty hard to do if you work at any kind of major retailer. They usually take you to loss prevention so your discouraged to steal. Stores have some casino level cameras with insane zoom. You could real someones credit card number, no joke. Places with high value items such as electronics have even more eyes in the sky.
    • Nar1117, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3You shouldn't really buy something that expensive and sought-after from Target/Circuit City/Best Buy. Whenever you buy something like an iPod, buy it directly from an Apple Store (of you live near one), or offline.
    • HOOKSTER1231, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Ok when i worked at compusa( yes cry for me) we had a woman com in with a monitor with phone books inside, after long arguments with management she said she just wanted a monitor, we brought her another one to exchange for it, she demanded that we open it there in front of her. we thought she was putting on a show for us to believe her more, and this one had more phone books inside! in all 4 of the 5 monitors of that model had nothing inside but concrete or phone books.
  • haentz, on 10/10/2007, -23/+6It was props for some Flintstone movie...
  • RidersOfLohan, on 10/10/2007, -43/+26Yes, but were the rocks DRM free?
    • BiggestAl, on 10/10/2007, -2/+11Nice way to try to take credit for other people's witty comments...
  • scrappyvintage, on 10/10/2007, -25/+12Anyone wanna buy some ipods, dirt cheap?
  • scrappyvintage, on 10/10/2007, -28/+5Hi Friends! It's Crazy Vinny with a ***** packed van full of IPODs!!!!!! Dirt Cheap!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    • hellotyler, on 10/10/2007, -0/+12a ***** packed van? uh.... i'll pass
  • crazybugger, on 10/14/2007, -21/+147pic or did not happen ?
    • QueEsAmor, on 10/14/2007, -0/+99There is a very helpful picture of a bunch of rocks, to illustrate exactly what was in the box in case there was any uncertainty...of what rocks look like.
    • pwnies, on 10/10/2007, -3/+25Your syntax is all off man. First off, its "Pics", not pic. One pic alone could mean photoshop. Due to the plurality of the preceeding noun, the rest of the sentence will be, " or it didn't happen". However, this is not a question. So there's no need for your space-to-question-mark-c-c-c-combo. It's an order and a statement. Thus, an exclamation mark is needed. Like so:
      "!"
      See now that wasn't hard at all was it? (Note how since this was a question we used the question mark. Stunning, I know). Feel free to garnish the end of the statement with extra "!!" or "1111" after it.
      Now for the finished product:

      "Pics or it didn't happen!!!111"
      • ikickass, on 10/10/2007, -9/+2"Pics or it didn't happen!!!111"

        you forgot your question mark. way to go.
      • nhprm, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1Good one, but the plurality crap is.. well.. crap..

        To use your patronizing tone, watch:
        The moon landingS did not happen
        The moon landings didn't happen

        Not a statement I believe, but there you go..
        You should have said, given the attempt to stick with an internet meme, please conjoin or form a conjunction out of did not.
    • TheZorch, on 10/10/2007, -5/+2All you pic or it didn't happen jerks are really getting on my nerves.
    • OsiVert, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2"It's time to embrace the contraction."
    • shawnz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2http://img45.imageshack.us/img45/6630/ipodrocksad6 ...
  • foxhaze, on 10/14/2007, -7/+175That's what she gets for doubting Santa Claus.
  • r00tus3r, on 10/14/2007, -17/+138I bet those rocks were still loaded with a bunch of DRM crap.
    • DuneChild, on 10/10/2007, -24/+2Why does everyone bitch about Apple's DRM? Just burn a CD in iTunes, then rip the songs back in MP3. Wallah, no more DRM! Plus, you now have a back up of the music when your hard drive dies! Come on, people, it's just not that hard to get around it!
      • AlmostEvil, on 10/10/2007, -2/+24And behold the massive loss in audio quality of converting from lossy -> lossless -> lossy again.
        • MacParrot, on 10/10/2007, -0/+10And imagine how much people would complain if Microsoft created one or two different forms of DRM...oh wait
        • DuneChild, on 10/10/2007, -10/+3If you're one of the few that can actually hear the difference, then you're still buying your music on vinyl at a real record store. True audiophiles don't buy electronic music, or use electronics to play it for that matter. I've talked to some who spend thousands on tube amplifiers to get the truest sound possible. Me, I can't tell the difference, so MP3s are just fine. It's not like I'm listening to the London Symphony. Most rock bands don't play more than three chords anyway.
          • sacherjj, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Well, I'm not an audiophile, but I do have very good studio monitors for video editing and the difference is easily apparent. Besides that annoyance of burning 100s of CDs just to rip them again. Oh, the music doesn't get labeled correctly, because there is no CDDB entry for your burned CD. Yeah, that is convenient. Just because the music you listen to sucks doesn't mean mine does. The sound system in my car is nice and my home theater is decent. I prefer to have music that sounds good.
          • ikickass, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2"there is no CDDB entry for your burned CD."
            open itunes preferences and enable cd text for burining.
          • aaronm67, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4You must be pretty close to deaf if you can't tell the difference between 128 kb/s AAC (or whatever iTunes sells at) and 128 kb/s AAC encoded twice (the default encoding in iTunes).
        • daza, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5The difference is perceivable. I have a cheap set of speakers (like, less than $100 for a 5.1 system) and I can quite easily tell a transocde when I hear one. Plus, the more people don't care about transcodes, the worse they get, because you end up transcoding a transcode.. try copying a VHS tape over multiple generations and tell me if the quality is the same as it was on the master.
      • underthelinux, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6its about principle, not about circumventing the (copyright/law/DRM).
      • godmode, on 10/10/2007, -0/+15Voila, not Wallah.
      • andycr512, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Who will pay me back for all the CD's I would have to use and the time I would have to spend if I had a large collection? Why should I suffer with the DRM scheme if it is so easy to circumvent anyway, and pay extra for not having it?
    • Murdats, on 10/10/2007, -1/+7yay, nothing says 'it just works'like having to dig up a blank disk, burn it, rip it, throw it out, and do it again however many times
      seeing as its ~20 songs per disk, and most people have at least 1gb of music, 5mb per song
      thats 10 cd's per gig, burning then ripping and then buying/throwing out disks.

      as opposed to say not having to do anything at all.
      • Outdoor83, on 10/10/2007, -8/+2Ever hear of a CD-RW?
        • wordsofwisedumb, on 10/10/2007, -2/+9Ever had a CD-RW that lasted more than 4 full burns?
        • msgyrd, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Plenty of times.
        • andycr512, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Ever heard of "I don't have time for that bullcrap"?
    • ikickass, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2is it possible to write to a disk image instead of a cd? that would make it alot easier to rip the drm out.
  • t2t2, on 10/10/2007, -17/+3It rocks
  • barroni, on 10/10/2007, -7/+41Like bigkm said I would be doing video of my 14 yr old crying her eyes out on her birthday
    And posting it to you tube ASAP
  • danjal, on 10/14/2007, -7/+132As a shop owner, I would have given her the cash back, and ripped my suppliers a new one!
    • joel2600, on 10/10/2007, -2/+16most likely this was probably done 1) by a worker at the place of purchase or 2) someone making a purchase and then returning the box with rocks and asking for a refund
      • danjal, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2thats why it pays to check the contents in the delivery stage..
    • imsteve22, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1would you really return someones money for a opened box of rocks? has anyone other than me thought they might be trying to get a free ipod?
      • theMetalEdge, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Apparently, the customer had the employee open the 2nd iPod box (after purchase) at the counter and found that it too contained a bunch of rocks.
  • honeymustardn, on 10/14/2007, -6/+73Rock pun.
  • kuek1991, on 10/14/2007, -4/+65It's obviously the Zen Stone.
    • forddorr, on 10/10/2007, -11/+3Or the Zune Stone.
    • cyx7, on 10/10/2007, -7/+2Buncha stoners.
      • PIPBoy2000, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Stoners? Thats fine i still make more money than you! 18/hr and i work for myself

        you can too with iRocks!
  • steveoco, on 10/12/2007, -40/+353If Apple sold 'iRocks' at $150 i am sure the fanboys would buy them...
    • stellarceltic, on 10/10/2007, -53/+13I'm sure the fanboys would pay $150 to see you jump off a bridge...
    • keyboardduder, on 10/12/2007, -5/+78And even though it would be a rock, the fanboys would defend it to the very last keystroke.
    • Kelmon, on 10/10/2007, -11/+1But what about the girls? Surely it should be fanboys/fangirls? Sort it out
      • lobasuu, on 10/10/2007, -1/+12Fanboys don`t have (a) sex.
      • cyberoidx, on 10/10/2007, -7/+3*****.
      • NoahK, on 10/10/2007, -1/+11What are... girls?
      • Hoogs, on 10/10/2007, -10/+1STFU, I'm sick of people like you.
        • shawnz, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1you're sick of people that question the ambiguous gender of the word fanboy?

          ...you're right. ***** 'em.
      • chugger1992, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2NO GIRLS ON THE INTERWEBZ
    • shinedout, on 10/10/2007, -7/+2Good article,
      but even if it was bad I would've dugg it solely for "iRocks"
    • HUKI365, on 10/10/2007, -8/+1No: MacRock Pros.
    • SteelFrog, on 10/10/2007, -6/+3They'd have to be white, glossy rocks though.
    • Billions, on 10/10/2007, -4/+6Or conversly, joke about how 'Apple fanboys will buy anything' and watch how the 'Apple non-fanboys' dig you up!
    • djoel2010, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0Sadly, this is very true.
    • TnTBass, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2They can't sell Rocks... see, a company years and years ago sold "Pet Rocks" and still contain the patent on rocks.

      Seriously though, people bought a rock to use as a pet. You may mock apple fanboys for buying anything apple, but really, they are still a notch above the sucker that will buy a rock.
    • ThreeDee912, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Hey, don't any of you remember pet rocks back in the 70's or whenever it was?
    • atonement, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1"They can't sell Rocks... see, a company years and years ago sold "Pet Rocks" and still contain the patent on rocks." they beat God to the patent? he needs better lawyers.
  • Zoltair, on 10/10/2007, -14/+5Maybe that last owner liked listening to the Stones.........
    I call BS, once maybe twice, NFW....
  • STKD, on 10/10/2007, -17/+4I'd have rather had the rocks.
    • Kelmon, on 10/10/2007, -3/+8Certainly. At what speed would you like those rocks thrown?
    • AROZ, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1That's exactly the kind of customer Target is looking for.
  • bubba9999, on 10/10/2007, -19/+11On the plus side, at least the rocks will work with more than just itunes.
    • ours, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6Yeah, they would work great thrown on the store manager for not refunding after selling the customer yet another box full of rocks and not having any real iPods in stock.
    • 89vision, on 10/10/2007, -4/+1so would the ipod...
  • Jayg28, on 10/10/2007, -25/+9I can't believe anyone still shops at Target.
    • digitallysick, on 10/10/2007, -2/+19Id rather shop at Target than walmart
    • MASTERPL, on 10/10/2007, -0/+20Have you seen the women that shop there? That's reason enough.
    • PersonX2, on 10/10/2007, -1/+9Target is vastly better than Wal-Mart...even if only for the clientele you have to share space with.
    • themcman, on 10/10/2007, -0/+14Wal-mart's great for wife beaters.
      • Nickbc87, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3Oh, you meant shirts!...well, I dugg you up anyway.
    • mattn, on 10/10/2007, -3/+2Shopping at Target is definitely out of style. Last year's hip stuff. Or something.
      Seriously, it's a store. You give them money, they give you stuff (well, theoretically). Is the shopping experience so vastly superior at X store that you can't go to Target for your miscellaneous junk needs?
    • solid12345, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I used to work at Target, great place to work whereas I have heard so many horror stores about Wal-Mart.
    • MagicCake, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Huh? Why?

      It's not like I have much of a choice, anyway. I live in the middle of nowhere and Target is the nearest store. Well, there's a Wal-Mart across the road from it, making them roughly the same distance away, but yeah...
  • runningIDIOT, on 10/10/2007, -17/+3the best part is that she found the rocks inside the box TWICE for two different ipods :) After all, all rocks are better than Zune.
  • ripple123, on 10/11/2007, -1/+66Doesn't the law require them to be offered a repair, replacement or a refund in the result of defective or nonexistent goods?
    • parkamark, on 10/11/2007, -0/+23I would have thought that too, as there is such a thing as consumer rights. I just read the article and if I was in that same shop, I would be making a scene and wanting to speak to someone higher up - and I would be wanting a full refund, as, at the end of the day, they've sold me something which is blatantly not what I want or indeed expected to get, for my money - which in some people's eyes could be classed as fraud. I'm no lawyer but if she hinted on taking this to court, I think they would start to rapidly resolve the rock problem and get the girl a proper iPod as, legally, they have no grounds to stand on, regardless of their own terms and conditions or store policies.
      • DuneChild, on 10/11/2007, -0/+9Actually, at the first mention of lawyer or lawsuit, the manager would immediately ask them to leave the store and refer them to the corporate office. Big chains do not mess around when it comes to lawsuits. I worked at one, and we were told that if either of the above words were mentioned, that ends the conversation.
      • iichigo, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Since Target did not have other ipods in stock they would have told them that they would take return and ship another new ipod directly... Nothing about the second store though.. didnt they try getting another ipod from the same store or did they just have the last one again?
  • mek11, on 10/10/2007, -2/+63I never though I'd say this about Target... But that's some bull *****. If that was me, I'd totally be making a scene in the middle of the store. Give me my money back or open the iPod before I buy it. You'd think either of the store managers at those stores would bend the rules a little in this situation. They should be fired.
    • goodfellaNW, on 10/10/2007, -2/+5"I never though I'd stay this about Target"... why? because Target is one of those "GOOD' corporations?
    • Ericular, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4Target has changed. They are total return Nazi's now. An item they still sell on the shelf, still in the package, with no receipt used to get you store credit. Now it gets you nothing. An item with a receipt or gift receipt used to get you a monetary refund. Now it gets you store credit.

      My wife had a baby shower and got several gifts without a gift receipt. Many were duplicates due to Target's complete incompetence in properly keeping a gift registry current. She just wanted store credit. Bzzzt... nothing without a gift receipt. Never mind the fact that Target caused the original problem, or that her gift registry contains the item. She finally started yelling her complains and urging others to shop Babies-R-Us instead.... and they finally caved in and gave her store credit. What a joke.

      Target has nothing to lose by taking back a product that is unopened that they still actively sell on their shelves, receipt or no receipt. It's especially a win-win for Target if they give you store credit, since it guarantees they will profit again from you in the future. Still, they refuse to do so. Instead, they have lost two customers for life over a $20 bucket that holds dirty diapers.

      Good riddance...
      • darkbunny, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Target actually will let you return things without a receipt for store credit, or you can use the gift registry as your gift receipt even if you didn't bring one with you. But they do ask for your driver's license number when you make a return without a receipt, and they will cut you off after a certain amount, supposedly to reduce fraud, and so for that situation you'd be out of luck unless a manager was willing to help.
    • JessicaChrono, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Yeah. I worked at a Target all through HS and through some of my undergrad. I did returns. The store policy is that you can return anything "new and unused" withing 90 days with a receipt. If that's the case, it comes back to you in the method it was paid for (Whether back on your credit card, cash, etc...) Gift receipts are a bitch sometimes because they automatically give you store credit as they can't be linked to the original payment method. (Basically, if somebody paid for your gift on a VISA, you sure as hell don't want it to go back to the buyer's card.) If you don't have a receipt and the product is still on the shelves, they do need that drivers license and they cut you off after three returns. (But... A123451234512345 is an acceptable number for the computer.) If it's not in the computer, you're out of luck because the product doesn't register... Which leads me to my next point of, unless you are without receipt, having not purchased it on a credit card, debit card or check (which they are able to look up) AND it's not in the computer, there is always a way around the rules.

      I do understand the fraud though... People would find crazy coupons for $15 of a Swiffer Wet Jet, buy 10 of them... and then return them without a receipt... They would make $150 in profit because the computers can't deduct the coupon.
  • TotalHalibut, on 10/12/2007, -10/+37That gift rocks.
  • rikwakefield, on 10/10/2007, -11/+0*****
    • Kedyn, on 10/10/2007, -1/+10I agree.
      • rikwakefield, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4I typed a message, how did it manage to type absolutely nothing? Is that even possible? Digg is broken.
  • PFinn, on 10/12/2007, -5/+28The rock jokes and puns on the articles comment section were ridiculous...
  • GreatWhiteShaky, on 10/12/2007, -0/+59Lol had a similar thing happen to me once. When I was younger I bought one of the lego pod racers and upon opening found it to be full of cashews.
    • jcaino, on 10/10/2007, -1/+14thats a great find!
    • BiggestAl, on 10/12/2007, -0/+49At least you can eat the cashews
      • LoopyChew, on 10/12/2007, -1/+21You can eat rocks, too!

        Incidentally, does anyone know a good dentist in the northern New Jersey area?
      • GreatWhiteShaky, on 10/13/2007, -0/+3Well I'm deathly allergic so no such luck there.
    • n3demonic, on 10/12/2007, -2/+34That's nuts
    • defy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8What a delicious discovery!
    • biff198, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5But you were perfectly alright with that, because cashews are awesome!
    • Shandooga, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Roasted? Salted? I need details!
    • ChromaVita, on 10/31/2007, -0/+13If you were really crafty, you would have built the pod racer out of cashews.
    • yfguitarist, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2This cashew story and following comments = fastest I've ever laughed myself to tears
      • coviecarbine, on 10/13/2007, -0/+2and the rest of us read it with barely a smile....
        • yfguitarist, on 10/13/2007, -0/+3Maybe it's because I'm emotionally unstable right now
  • adude, on 10/10/2007, -1/+21What are the chances of that happening to one person in such a short period of time from two stores? I find it impossible to believe.
    • aussieNickuss, on 10/10/2007, -0/+17They were both Target stores, that both used the same wholesale warehouse. Probably some iPod stealing sting where they take the iPod and replace it with rocks....shrink-wrap it back up, put it on the pallet and send it off to the stores.
  • Browncoat, on 10/11/2007, -1/+102I can understand only offering store credit for a replacement after the first one, but when they opened the second box of rocks infront of everyone they should have offered a refund right there.
    • ronaldinho, on 10/11/2007, -1/+12It's infuriating what Target did there. Basically they are sayng that you are not going to get your money back; you have to spend it there. WTF? I would be so ***** if they just hamstrung my wallet for no good reason
      • coviecarbine, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2cant buy weed and pussy with target dollars.
    • TnTBass, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I agree completely with your comment that was exactly the same as the comments on the article itself.

      Buried for duplicate post.
    • hobbers, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1No, because the 2nd iPod was bought with store credit. Therefore, they can only give them store credit back.
  • DiggDuggDunn, on 10/10/2007, -3/+22Maybe the iPods were from the future. After one year of use, the rock is better performing anyway. And the rock will never be stolen, need service or expensive batteries.
  • danasghar, on 10/11/2007, -1/+44Its not *****. Last week I bought a Ipod classic (which i have since returned and got the Touch instead) from Circuit City. Got it home and opened it only to find a bag full of dirt. Took it back to Circuit City and after horrible customer service the manager alerted me that there is a sting going around the east coast with new Ipods, he had recieved an email from his corporate office.
    • BiggestAl, on 10/11/2007, -0/+12But that's the fancy store-bought dirt...it's awesome!
    • Kelmon, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Yeah, I've heard of this before but I can't remember if it was iPods again. Definitely a genuine article.
      Link to another article on the same subject and it seems this girl should consider herself lucky: http://www.engadget.com/2005/12/29/boy-finds-myste ...
    • sexybobo, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2at least with dirt it would be hard to tell it isn't an ipod in the box. how was some one able to buy and wrap a Box with out noticing the rocks rolling around?
      • danasghar, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1yah, to be honest when i first opened it, it was so tightly packed in the baggie and also due to the lowlight in my office at first glance i thought it was some weird packaging foam. Also the plastic wrap was really well down. I used to manage a CC along time ago and ive seen the some ***** rewrap jobs. This one was quite good. The dead giveaway however (after comparing) was the that box of dirts wrapping was so tight i had to use a sharp point to break a seal...the good ipod box could be pulled off and felt more like saranwrap.
    • samkumar, on 11/27/2007, -0/+0I bought an IPod classic during Thanksgiving week end from BestBuy.com and picked it up at a near by store in Alpharetta, GA (Store # 516). But to my horror I found a bag of dirt in a zip lock bag instead of an IPod inside the box. After 4 hours of relentless arguments with best Buy, I finally got another IPod. I hate BestBuy and I will never ever buy anything from them.
  • JohnnyXmas, on 10/11/2007, -7/+29WHAT?!
    No "Rock Music" puns? Who are you, and what have you done with the REAL Diggers?
    • DiggDuggDunn, on 10/10/2007, -7/+2DOH! You're right! Shoulda beat you to that one. Hmm.....Sounds like the girl got "stoned"........Twice!
  • NeoCortex, on 10/11/2007, -2/+38The pet rock was a great idea. The guy made a million dollars!
    • tyzent, on 10/11/2007, -2/+20there's this mat, with different conclusions written on it, that you can jump to!
  • mlvassallo, on 10/11/2007, -1/+20WTF? Seriously. Two boxes of rocks? And Target doesn't have a PR department that can right an issue like this right away?
    This story smells funny...
    • SomeImagination, on 10/10/2007, -15/+2Sorry about the smell, I took a dump in your shirt pocket when you were looking the other way
  • Archer007, on 10/10/2007, -11/+4Damnit Apple, you brick iPhones, not replace iPods with rocks! Get it right!
  • SomeImagination, on 10/10/2007, -9/+1I thought the title was refering to crack rocks...now that wouldn't of been so bad. She could of bought ten ipods with the money she made
  • licnyc, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5This use to happen all the time on the new york city subways. Someone around harlem would jump onto the subway with a giant stereo box all happy - tear it open and bull out a brick. Everyone on the subway knew exactly what happened. They thieves are very good with shrink wrap. I also had a camera stolen last year that was being delivered- it was clever since they cut a slit exactly on the one corner of the box and pulled out the camera so it wouldn't be detected. Lucky for me I was returning a broken camera to be fixed and got a new one.
  • Antixian, on 10/10/2007, -11/+2that ROCKED her like a hurricane!
  • mikehill33, on 10/10/2007, -10/+1no pic, no Digg.
  • hardcorerikki, on 10/10/2007, -14/+1If THAT happened with a 700 dollars PS3, you could bet someone could've gotten himself stabbed over it ;)

    PS3 rocks ?? (pun intended)
    • stevenvh, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6"(pun intended)"

      You're only making it worse...
    • loneBoat, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I don't like how you winked there after talking about someone getting stabbed... Creepy...
  • Skorme, on 10/10/2007, -9/+1Dugg for rocks.
  • SignorDildo, on 10/10/2007, -16/+2Americans will buy anything.
    • mhuggins, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Oh come on people, this one was funny.
  • mapkinase, on 10/10/2007, -10/+1Target became a target.
  • smoger, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6how likely is it that so *many* of these ipods contained rocks that it would happen to the same family twice in a row, and yet so *few* of them were being sold that they were the first ones it happened to?

    answer... not very.
    • diplo, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0well given that there were witnesses to the second one in the store, your suspicions seem unfounded: read the original newspaper article.
  • thebigsix, on 10/10/2007, -5/+0the way to handle those "rock brains" at Targets is to give them some free and unwanted publicity from the local TV outlets.
  • fridx, on 10/10/2007, -4/+3Why the hell did they not let them open the box until they'd payed? Its not like they were going to say "No, I don't want it, its opened." I wouldn't stand for that *****, open the ***** box and prove this doesn't have rocks in, or no sale. And am I right in thinking they get payed commission?
    • orithidon, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2no commission, just would reduce the products value...
    • vulapine, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Target employees get the same commission as Wal Mart employees.
    • snotrokit, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1This happens all the time, someone buys it, jacks the product, returns the shrinkwrapped package with rocks in it. The TargetWalMartCostcoetc. employees don't bother to check the box, it's still shrinkwrapped, they just blindly return the money and toss it into the return cart. This has gained a whole bunch of press lately, including national media coverage, so I can't imagine that they are not moving towards better return policies, secure shrink wrap, etc. etc.
  • coolsteve, on 10/11/2007, -3/+40Once I saw this title, I knew that this was about Target.

    This happened to a friend of mine before. But instead of rocks, he got pennies wrapped up in packaging tape. Unfortunately, he wasn't even given store credit for his purchase though.
    • mavedatthews85, on 10/10/2007, -8/+3That's incredible. I would sue Target if they didn't even give me store credit; and ***** store policy. I hate how companies are always so goddamn insistent on sticking to their retarded policies, completely disregarding ethics and moral values.

      "I just got completely ***** over - TWICE - after I bought a product at YOUR store. I would very much like my money back, please."

      "But paper say we no give money back. Paper say store credit only."
      • imsteve22, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1well, actually she only got ***** over once. also, would it have been soo terrible to wait a week or 2 for the next shipment?
    • enginbeering, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Oh man that's infuriating. If it were me, I think it would warrant a Heat-style armed robbery of said Target.
      • thermus, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1You must work in Hollywood because that's going to be next summer's blockbuster, isn't it?
      • coviecarbine, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2The van was supposed to be here!
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