So, We went and bought a 360 elite at Target the other day. We set it up, and it crashed in less than half an hour, and started displaying the "Red Ring of Death", three red lights general hardware failure. So, naturally, we were upset. We tried a couple things, and it just did not work. So we called the XBox Customer service line.

The lady I got was very polite, and her Indian accent was only barely noticeable. As per the normal system first she took my name and the consoles Serial number. Imagine our shock, outrage, and then magical joy when we discovered that this XBox, Sold to us as New, was already registered to SOMEONE ELSE.

So, we looked closely at the box, and behold, the seal sticker shows signs of having been pealed back and replaced. Later, I realized that the console should also have been wrapped in the box. It was not. Someone (I suspect a target employee, like a night stocker) had broken their 360 elite, and had brought it back to the store, and swapped it with a new unit, and then resealed the broken one in a new box, and stuck it on the shelf.

Needless to say, we got a replacement from target the next day.

But seriously, nothing like having it be broken before you even get it home...

Oh that's a bummer, got me worried for when I get mine now lol!

HA!

Oh wow so the elite systems get the red ring of deaths as well?!?

Wanna hear a good one... My bro, my friend, my gf's brother, and 2 kids at work all already had their 360's die...

The UPS guy asked my friend how many 360's he has went to when he dropped his refurbished system off, my friend says 1... So they guy replies with "Many more to come my friend"... He said he has been to someones house 12 times already. could you imagine that?!?

Wow, by like the third time, my system would be packaged with a four page letter that was just obscenities, and badly photo shopped pictures of Bill Gates being like mauled by bears or otherwise abused.

12 times? Seriously? That's just disgusting. I'd sue for my money back. I think there's actually a class action suit against Microsoft because of this sort of things...

yeah microsoft obviously sucks at making hardware--hence why theyve made billions of dollars in the software industry and no where else.

As someone who works overnight at Target, Id like to say that its almost impossible that it happened from someone who works there. Our electronics are in a seperate room from other merchandise and is completely covered by cameras. Not to mention its always locked unless someone is in there.

Is it possible that it was sent back to microsoft to be fixed and got sent out again by accident?

That's what I was going to propose sugart.

Think of how many RROD systems they get EVERY DAY. (lol @ sov)

wow, 12 times.. i think id probably assasinate bill gates.

Possible. I don't really know about Target, I was basing my assumption off Walmart, where such a thing IS totally possible.

The upshot, however, is that the box was obviously peeled and sealed, not a new box with a new seal, and the console itself rewrapped, while the peripherals, cables controller etc, had obviously never been opened. This leads me to the inescapable conclusion that the defective unit was swapped with a new unit leaving the rest of the contents of the box untouched. It just seemed most likely to have happened in a stock room...

you never know what happens in these stores when you don't work there.