Let Me Tell You Why I Disagree

“Make yourself sheep and the wolves will eat you.” ~Benjamin Franklin

I’m responding to a “Daily Dot” post that raised my blood pressure. (It’s normally low, so I was in no danger.) I need to qualify this by confessing my age… without revealing my age. If I were a cat, I’d be in my sixth life. The person who wrote the article below is likely living life two. I win by default. It is not my intention to be dismissive or ageist, as some of the more bitter Gen Zs are. Experience gives me prudence. I acknowledge Gen Z babies have valuable information to imbue. Mind you, my adult children have shared untold Gen Z wisdom: my son taught me how to execute a “dap me up,” and I thank my daughter for my appreciation of the Taylor Swift song “Why’d You Make Me Do That?” I’m hip to the jive. Let’s get to it.

The gist of the article I am disputing: Target tip, “choose the damaged box from the front of the display, rather than the pristine box from the back. Take the item to customer service to get a 10% discount because the package is damaged.”

I’m all for saving money, but no, just no. Every time I’ve grabbed a box from the front of the display crushed corner, curled tape, or anything similar, thinking I’m going to throw the box away so what does it matter, I’ve ended up returning it. Example: a hairstyling wand, a drier with a round brush attachment. I took it home, excited because it was going to make me beautiful. When I opened the package I saw there was no plastic covering on any of the parts. The cord twist tie had been re-twisted. That’s okay, I tell myself; it doesn’t defile the product. (Sometimes denial is more than a river.) Then I took out the brush and… Horror, there was hair in it, and it was not mine! Some stranger’s tresses were in the curling drier that I saved and waited to buy until I could afford it. Revolting? Yes. Returned? Oh, Hell, yes. Would I have kept that for a 10% discount? Hell to the no.

This is a recurring event for me with any package that is not carefully inspected before purchasing. In my experience, there are always missing pieces, broken parts, and many other blatant clues that the item was used. Was the return sold a second time without an inspection? Yup. “The man” is raking in profits, and they want to sell me something that has been returned for who knows what reason, without my knowledge.

Other experiences with different items with damaged boxes: Last month I bought a weed removing stick on Amazon. I waited longer than normal for it to arrive, and when it did, it was in an unmarked brown box, no instructions or plastic, just the broom length device with dirt on the end. Someone had used it and decided it was shit (it was) so they returned it. Amazon sold it to me at full price and shipped off with a delay. Yes I returned it, but I had to lug the thing to UPS. And flip you Jeff Bezos for wasting my time.

If I want to buy something used, I will go to a resale shop and make the purchase there. I do shop at Goodwill, so I’m not being facetious. I will not bow to the man’s big-box retail establishment or Amazon. These items should not have re-shelved.

Hey, “THE MAN!” Pay your employees a living wage, maybe they’ll care.

‘You’re going to grab that damaged box’: Former Target worker shares why you should always go for the damaged box in the store

I took pictures of all of the items listed above but recently deleted them all because Google is extorting me to buy space. Flip you too, Google! All I can show you is the unaltered photo below.