Fake IPad 2s Made of Clay Sold At Canadian Stores

SpuriousLogic writes in with a link to a story about some Canadian consumers who thought they were getting an iPad 2 but instead got the makings of the world's oldest tablets. "As many as 10 fake iPad 2s, all made of slabs of modeling clay, were recently sold at electronic stores in Vancouver, British Columbia. Best Buy and Future Shop have launched investigations into how the scam was pulled off. The tablet computers, like most Apple products, are known for their sleek and simple designs. But there's no mistaking the iPad for one of the world's oldest 'tablet devices.' Still, most electronic products cannot be returned to stores. For the the stores and customers to be fooled by the clay replacements, the thieves must have successfully weighed out the clay portions and resealed the original Apple packaging. Future Shop spokesman Elliott Chun told CTV that individuals bought the iPads with cash, replaced them with the model clay, then returned the packages to the stores. The returned fakes were restocked on the shelve and sold to new, unwitting customers."

Comments

Returns

[Formalin]

Still, most electronic products cannot be returned to stores.

Huh? I've never had a problem returning electronics. Software, on the other hand...

Re:Returns

[jschen]

Furthermore, the store acknowledges that returned iPads appears to be the way the clay fakes got there in the first place. It says so right in the summary.

Re:Returns

[danomac]

Future Shop specifically will allow returns up to fourteen days after purchase. It doesn not say anything about rejecting a return that's opened.

However, it sounds like the [thieves?] just re-shrinkwrapped it and returned it, so they didn't open it to check.

This news is disturbing, I just bought eight of them for work (although not at one of the listed stores), tomorrow morning first thing I'm going to open them all to make sure they're legit!

Re:Returns

[perpenso]

He was being sarcastic. The sticker says something like "returned product" and displays a modestly lowered price. The interpretation by customers is often "do not buy".

Re:Who's missing the obvious?

[phantomfive]

Except this one from the summary:

But there's no mistaking the iPad for one of the world's oldest 'tablet devices.'

Re:Organized trolling campaign by GreatBunzinni

[TheVelvetFlamebait]

I think you might be confused about the definition of the word "shill".

Shill n. A person who extols opinions and viewpoints that cannot be sufficiently easily refuted by their opponents

I've heard that there is another archaic meaning to this word, but I haven't seen it used in any sense other than the modern sense.

Re:Organized trolling campaign by GreatBunzinni

[superdana]

Where did you find that definition? I've never know "shill" to mean anything like that. The definition I have is "an accomplice of a hawker, gambler, or swindler who acts as an enthusiastic customer to entice or encourage others." They work with con men to give them an air of legitimacy.

Re:You Asshole

[Anonymous Coward]

The reason she asked is because by using it it becomes a health hazard to anyone else and therefor the store has to return it to the vendor for refund where one assumes it is destroyed. By not admitted you had used the product you've put someone else's health at risk. Congrats, you're an asshole.

Re:Advice from above ("upstairs")

[tgd]

Note: a "poke" is a bag. Apparently, people would sell a cat in a bag, and tell you it was a baby pig (which you could then fatten up). If you "let the cat out of the bag", you were showing everyone what a fraud the merchant was.

See http://xkcd.com/325/ (when the SOPA blackout ends).

An interesting theory, yes ... but not actually true. Thats been very thoroughly debunked for decades. (Heck, Snopes has a whole page on it.)