| Saturday, March 6 2010 |

Newegg.com, one of America's leading online retailers of computer hardware and related sales, on its official Twitter page admitted to a botchup with one of its long-term partners that resulted in several customers who ordered Intel Core i7 processors receiving what it calls "Demo Boxes". These boxes probably are used to demonstrate what the boxes look like or weigh, or probably it's a case of "adulteration", forgery, and counterfeiting. Each of these so-called demo boxes contain a completely non-functional dummy of the processor, heatsink fan, and the instruction leaflet. When opened, the three don't really look like mockups, but when packed into the box, can easily pass off as the product.
Newegg swung into action after several customers got back to it reporting "fake Core i7 920" chips. Many of them were taken aback when their $290 investment yielded a big chunk of plastic, and a slab of metal on which is strapped on the processor's IHS. The chunk of plastic is molded roughly to the shape of an HSF, and a sticker of the HSF's top was pasted, so it could be visible from the little window on the box that lets you see the HSF. Newegg said that it has acknowledged that a number of "demo boxes" were shipped, and that its staff is working directly with each of the affected customers to resolve the issue at the earliest. It kind of begs the question: where did so many so-called demo boxes come from, and why are there so many of them?
Video of a disgruntled customer unboxing a "demo box", and statement from Newegg follow after the break.
Statement from Newegg:
Image courtesy: Overclockers.com community members dreadrok, nix. Video by YouTube member publicstunt
Newegg swung into action after several customers got back to it reporting "fake Core i7 920" chips. Many of them were taken aback when their $290 investment yielded a big chunk of plastic, and a slab of metal on which is strapped on the processor's IHS. The chunk of plastic is molded roughly to the shape of an HSF, and a sticker of the HSF's top was pasted, so it could be visible from the little window on the box that lets you see the HSF. Newegg said that it has acknowledged that a number of "demo boxes" were shipped, and that its staff is working directly with each of the affected customers to resolve the issue at the earliest. It kind of begs the question: where did so many so-called demo boxes come from, and why are there so many of them?
Video of a disgruntled customer unboxing a "demo box", and statement from Newegg follow after the break.
Statement from Newegg:
Newegg is aware of a shipping error that occurred with certain recent orders of the Intel Core i7-920 CPU. After investigating the issue internally it appears one of our long term partners mistakenly shipped a small number of demo boxes instead of functional units. Our customer service team has already begun proactively reaching out to the affected customers. In line with our commitment to ensure total customer satisfaction we are doing everything in our power to resolve the issue as soon as possible and with the least amount of inconvenience to our customers.
Image courtesy: Overclockers.com community members dreadrok, nix. Video by YouTube member publicstunt
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