Bad Best Buy: Broken Shredder ... "New" In Box

Like every other American with a credit card and mortgage, I get lots and lots of (paper) mail I don't really want. I'm offered a new credit card at least three times a week. If I go to the doctor or dentist I get insurance statements for the next couple months. Most of this is information I barely need and sometimes don't even read. It's all mildly sensitive, though, so I'd prefer to shred it before tossing it away.

So I got a cheap 5 paper shredder from Best Buy. Well, I thought I did. I thought it was a little suspicious that the top had been taped shut - but didn't think much about it. When I finally opened it up this weekend, though, the shredder had a large gash in the middle of it, scratches up and down and more to the point - it didn't seem to want to shred anything.

I can get the notion of placing returns back on the shelf if they're in like new condition. This one, however, clearly didn't even have a cursory glance before restocking. Whoever returned it could have made a quick $20 by returning a small rock instead of the shredder since I'm guessing nobody even bothered to open it.

So lesson learned - if there's tape in sight ... find another box.