Walmart Sells A Denver Man A PlayStation 4 Box Of Rocks

Returned item scams are notorious around Christmas, and one man in Denver has apparently fallen victim to one such scam. Igor Baksht claimed he purchased a PlayStation 4 from a Walmart and received a box of carefully-wrapped rocks instead of the latest video game console from Sony.

KMGH of Denver reported on the story of Igor Baksht, who went to his Stapelton, Colorado, Walmart to purchase a PlayStation 4 for his niece. According to Mr. Baksht, the Walmart employe who unlocked the glass case where the expensive console was stored informed him that the console had been returned by a previous customer. He later would comment that the employee who took it out for him said the box was also a bit heavy, which should have set off more warning lights.

Perhaps it did not occur to Mr. Baksht to check it right then, since he did not know the weight of a PlayStation 4 or think to compare it to another box before taking the unit home. While he was preparing to wrap the console for his niece, Baksht opened it just to make sure. Instead of a PlayStation 4, he found two bags of rocks wrapped in a style similar to what one would expect to find during a drugs bust, which is ironic considering the PlayStation 4 bundle he purchased came bundled with Grand Theft Auto V.

“Just to make sure everything was inside, that all the contents were inside, all the games were inside,” said Baksht. “When I opened it, I said, ‘Oh my God.'”

Mr. Baksht discovered the problem once he had already left the store, and the Stapleton Walmart had already closed for the night. This made a return the same day impossible. He then went to a 24-hour Walmart, where he was told he would have to return to the store where he made the original purchase. So he went with his box of rocks to the store the next morning, only to find that the Walmart would not be able to help him because he could not prove he received the box in the same condition.

“He said they cannot do anything about it because they don’t have proof, how it came in, nothing,” said Baksht.

The Walmart store manager reached out to Mr. Baksht, after he repeatedly called the store. He was told to bring the box back to the store, where upon the manager received the box back and gave Mr. Baksht his money back. A spokesperson for Walmart told KMGH that they decided to give Mr. Baksht the benefit of the doubt in this instance.

Sadly, a PlayStation 4 box of rocks is not a new idea, and it is one Walmart is aware of after a series of similar scams in 2012. A Talladega boy received a Nintendo 3DS, and the box was full of rocks instead of the Nintendo handheld according to WBRC. The Inquisitr has also shown how iPads have also been scammed in similar fashion, with unscrupulous people returning the iPads with notebooks inside rather than the expensive tablet. After these incidents, Walmart stated that employees would now be checking returned electronic merchandise.

Mr. Baksht’s PlayStation 4 box of rocks story had a happy ending, with the return of his money. But the lesson to be taken to heart is that you should always check your merchandise before leaving the store, lest you end up with a box or rocks for Christmas.

[Image Source | Ken Wolter/Shutterstock.com]