On Sun, 13 Sep 2009 16:55:43 -0700, "William Sommerwerck"
wrote:

I once bought a rather pricey video card that had been returned.
I had no way to inspect the contents at the store. When I got
home, instead of the expensive video card, a cheap junk
commodity video card had been substituted. The previous buyer
had done the swap, and the expert Fry's staff could not recognize
the difference between the pricey card and the cheap junk
commodity card when it was returned. Caveat Emptor.

Wasn't he one of the worst Roman tyrants?

There's a little more to Caveat Emptor than the usual "Let the Sucker
Beware". RTFP (read the fine print):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caveat_emptor

Had it been marked as returned?

Yep. Marked and sealed, so I couldn't look inside. I was tempted to
rip it open when I got to the cashier, but didn't.

I appreciate the warning. I generally buy only DVDs/BDs and parts at Fry's.
I'll keep this in mind if and when I buy anything "nice". Thanks.

Unfortunately, that's the risk one takes when buying something that's
obviously been resealed and inspected by the dealer, rather than
having the same thing done by the manufacturer, who presumably will
retest the product and make sure the nothing is missing. Also, I
can't realy blame Fry's for the board swap, as they were as much the
victim as I was.




--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558