Posted by iluvzlayur on 09/16/05 09:45

The plastic wrapping around most single cd's sold in stores like
Target, K-Mart, Wal-Mart and Fred Meyer ACTUALLY CAN be carefully
pulled off the case without ripping it, and then can be replaced, very
carefully, without damage, so when you return it for a refund, the
store clerk will think it is "unopened", enabling them to refund your
money.

Here's my secret:

I take two pair of pliers and take apart the head of a disposable
razor, to get one of the metal blades out of it.

Then I tape the blade to a pencil or pen, giving me a homemade "exacto
knife" (and it didn't cost me $15 dollars)

Then I cut the bottom edge of the wrapping, cutting the side that is
closest to the back of the case, making sure to keep the cut portion on
the bottom (no store clerk I've dealt with ever checked the bottom
edge).

Even if the UPC code, which they need to scan to refund your money, is
near the bottom, they will not actually look at the slim bottom edge,
unless of course the upc is actually right on the bottom edge. Screw
that one and find another store that carries that cd which has the upc
further away from the bottom. (It's gonna cost you about $15! Is it
worth the risk?!

Being very careful, I ease the case out of the plastic wrapping.

With care, the stickers that must be cut in order to open the cd case
can also be removed without cutting or damaging them. Use the razor
edge to peel back the sticker and preserve it whole in removal. Don't
touch it, as the adhesive attracts dirt and other stuff. You want that
sticker to look just as clean as it was before you opened it. It's
presence across the opening of the case is another sign that tells the
clerk "unopened". Stick them partially on a clean table, out of the
way 'till you need to replace them back on the case.

Open the case and put the CD into your computer.

Rip the CD to your hard drive (if you use Windows Media Player in
Windows XP to rip, make sure you are first connected to the internet,
so the WMP can assign the actual song name to the file, so you don't
get "track 1, track 2".

Place Cd back in case (pick up by edges only), replace stickers in same
location they were in before you opened it, wipe case with new paper
towel, and ease it, carefully, back into the plastic wrapping.

Use a glue stick or double-sided scotch tape on the bottom edge of the
case, then fold the edges of the wrapping onto it, keeping it taut
across the face.

If you used enough care, the part of the wrapping and case that the
store clerk will see when you take it back to the store (with the
sliced edge toward YOU), tells the clerk "unopened music product", and
thus qualifies for a cash refund. They simply do not inspect the cd
that closely. They see the wrapping still on the case and you are good
to go.

Other pointers:

1 - No, you can't purchase 10 cd's at Target at noon, then show up at
the returns counter two hours later asking for a refund for 10 cds that
were "unopened". They have all heard the "I bought them for a birthday
gift and she didn't want them" bullshit before, and such wanton attempt
to take too much at once will immediately excite the suspicion of the
clerk. You've never felt butterflies in your stomach, unless you've
attempted to return 10 "unopened cd's", only to have the suspicious
clerk start looking at them more closely and then tell you
"unfortunately I can see that the wrapping on each case has been cut
enough to allow the cd to be removed, so I can't give you a
refund"....especially when you used part of the rent money to try out
my freeloading bullshit!

2 - You've got about a week before my stupid shit little scam gets
popular after this posting to the net. After 2 weeks, store clerks
will have learned to be on the lookout because of the 50 stupid
bastards before you who got caught because they used a screwdriver
instead of a razor, and greasy hands instead of clean hands.

3 - I purchase 2 cd's from each of 5 different stores each week (10
cd's per week). I figured out how to maximize the number of times I
can return "unopened music" by noting who usually works the return
counters and which clerks don't. One weekend, I return 2 cd's to clerk
A, the next week, when I am back at that store to return a cd, I wait
until a different lady is working the counter. By oscillating back and
forth like this, you can eventually end up returning about 5 cd's per
store before they say anything. Store managers are smart, they know
people will try to scam too much too soon, so they like to have to same
exact 2 or 3 ladies working the "refunds and exchanges" counter every
day. That way they will remember you if you try to return similar
items more than once, and perhaps will become slightly suspicious
toward you.

4 - become best friends with somebody who works a "returns and
exchanges" counter......it could mean the difference between returning
2 cd's per week or 22. Hey, they have responsibilities, their manager
or supervisor is not always going to be there to watch them. I like
responsibility. Whenever anything goes wrong, I'm usually responsible.

5 - A rebuttal to my critics.....this scam is directed to people who
use WinMx and other p2p software to download songs instead of paying
for them. Call me a freeloading dishonest bastard, and so is everybody
else.

The key to making the scam work is to minimize the amount of times you
need to return items.

Do this by purchasing only "greatest hits" or "double" or "Box-set"
albums of your favorite artist.

Getting caught is not so bad since most stores instruct their clerks
that the customer is always right, and you should be able to think of
"I noticed it was torn on the bottom" if the clerk starts looking.
However, getting caught can be bad because at that point you are
marked. They will thus carefully inspect all future music items you
attempt to return.

But if you don't get greedy, you can end up with 5,000 of your most
favorite songs in a couple of months ;)

kiatty6 at yahoo dut commmm

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