Kick Rocks? Shopper Claims Best Buy Shipped Stones Inside An RTX 5080 Box
Somewhere out there, somebody is having a good laugh, we're just not sure if it's the person who returned a box of rocks inside a $1,200 ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5080 graphics card box, a delivery person who may have made the stone cold swap prior to delivery, or someone at Best Buy's return department. And that's all assuming that a poster on Reddit is being truthful about having received rocks in place of a graphics card purchased from Best Buy.
Reddit user GnarDead claims they ordered the GPU on Best Buy's website on November 25, but when the package arrive a few days later, they were "blown away by irresponsibly" it was shipped. Among the several grievances were shipping labels slapped on the actual GPU box (a minor gripe overall, though to be fair, removing labels from a retail package can mar the printed graphics and potentially hurt the resale value), a lack of a generic brown box to conceal the pricey purchase, and a "clearly tampered with" seal.
The biggest disappointment, however, was allegedly finding four large rocks where the GPU should have been. Things only went downhill from there, according to GnarDead.
"I filed a claim through customer service within the hour of receiving the package and was assured a replacement was on the way. Here we are now on Tuesday 12/2 and I receive an email now stating that BestBuy will not be replacing or refunding my $1,200 purchase after their 'investigation'," the user states.
GnarDead goes on to explain that they "don't make tons of money" to absorb a loss this substantial, and they now feel "absolutely robbed and defeated." We would feel the same way, assuming things went down as stated.
The post has generated over 10,000 upvotes and nearly 1,000 comments, several of which offer bits of solicited advice, such as disputing the charge with the user's credit card company and filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.
While too late now, some users advise recording an unboxing video for items like this, though the safest option is to do an in-store pickup and/or having the item shipped to the store instead of a home address. Those are not always options, though, and even then you'd have to open the package in the presence of an employee to avoid suspicion of foul play.
As it stands, not everyone on Reddit believes the user's story. Among the several follow-up comments, the user states, "I can assure you I didn't put them there" when another poster alleged that either GnarDead or the delivery guy did. And in response to a poster flat out saying GnarDead is lying, the user replied, "I wish I was. Then I wouldn't be on Reddit asking for advice while getting mocked and called a liar."
You can check out the Reddit thread embedded above (as spotted by the folks at Videocardz) to form your own opinion and/or follow the saga to what we hope is an eventual conclusion.
Top Image Source: GnarDead via Reddit
