On December 20th 2008, I went to the local mall in Humble, TX and bought a Casio Exilim Digital Camera from Radio Shack on sale for $199.99, reg. $229.99. I was looking for one in a particular color (plum) and when the sales associate told me that they had the last one, I opted to purchase it right then and there.

Well, when I got home I opened up the package to insert the SD card, I noticed that the camera was black, not plum. Thinking that this was a simple mistake, I called the store and told them what happened. The sales associate then checked her computer and found that they didn’t have any plum colored cameras in stock.

So I went ahead and went to another Radio Shack on 1st Street and informed them of the situation. They looked at their inventory and found that they only had one left in stock, but it was a display item. I looked at the display camera and surprisingly it was in good condition. So I decided to go with that.

In my mind (or anyone else’s for that matter) this transaction would have been a simple exchange, right? Wrong. The sales associate told me that he was unable to give me the sale price because the sale was over. When I asked him to clarify he just stated, “the system won’t let me and I will have to charge you for the difference.” (an extra $30 + tax) Right then and there, I should have just asked for a return, but I was thinking that it was Christmas and my mother was really looking forward to getting a camera and blah, blah, blah. So I caved, but not before asking if they would give me a discount because if was a display item and of course, they said no. So I bit my tongue forked up the $30 and went home.

Funny thing… the more I thought about it, the more I felt I got scammed and the more I felt scammed, the more pissed off. Why should I pay an extra $30 for an employee error? It doesn’t make any sense. What it all comes down to is that Radio Shack took advantage of my situation and made an extra 30 bucks off of it.

So I returned the camera and found a reputable retail store that is offering the same item for much less, in stock, and brand new. As far as my return experience, the Radio Shack manager was rude and very short with me, slamming the keyboard keys with his fingers as he did the return. I was treated like as if I was a huge inconvenience and after it was all over with, the manager said to me in a degrating demeanor, "Here, you can have the bag."

Merry Christmas Radio Shack! We know where your heart is!