question: SEAL OR NO SEAL?

[iJamie]

Recently, I just bought an iPod touch from an appliance store, and for some surprising reason, it was opened (merely sealed by a sticker that mentions the distributor's name).

The salesperson said that it was protocol for the said distributor to open the products and inspect it. Is this normal proceedure? Or was the iPod tampered?

Help is greatly appreciated. I saved a lot of my daily allowance (And OJT suweldo!) for this iPod. Thanks.

[neilc]

It's always safe to get a sealed one. The store must just open the package for inspection if the buyer wants to.

[cubee]

it's always 'safe' to get a sealed one... when I wanted to buy an ipod, the store owner said that I can open it after paying... so I payed and opened it in front of them to check it and made sure it was working...

[itnetad]

some stores they do open things just to attached some warranty stickers etc. as you mentioned "merely sealed by a sticker that mentions the distributor's name". This is a standard procedure for an appliance center

[rvaph]

I agree with the post above that some appliance store do open their items for inspection purposes and in-store warranties. If it is a reputable appliance store, I believe the item wasn't tampered with.

[morphine]

for me I don't really care, I would even go for the display unit as long as it has all the peripherals and 30 percent cheaper.,

[neilc]

Guys, remember that this is an Apple product and if the store knows the kind of warranty that Apple has, they don't have to open the unit before someone buys it.

[NoisyCricket]

As long as they honor the warranty if ever in the future there is something wrong with it.

I actually got my iPod video 2nd hand from a Philmugger few years back... still works fine until now.

[kentamayo]

This varies from store to store, I WOULD buy an opened unit if it was from say... a big electroincs chain... I WOULDN"T buy however from just any stall or small shop, UNLESS I'm buddy, buddy with the store owner.

That being said, IMO Apple does encourage you to buy sealed items for your own safety.

[Mocha.Frap]

To be safe, open it in the shop after purchasing it. That way, when there's problems with your purchase, you have proof

There was an incident posted at macrumors forums that when the poster opened up his "sealed" iPod video, instead of getting an iPod video new gen 160gb, he got a 30gb one with scratches on the iPod. He was termed as a scammer when he tried to explain the incident to the store.

So to be sure, open it up in the store