# Idiot Tries To Buy iPod With Bogus $4.99 Barcode **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 2, 2005, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804 "2005-12-02T20:33:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/41 "2005-12-03T15:00:49Z")
> [@Portia](#): > > He’s an idiot AND an EE student - just what do you suppose his breeding options are going to consist of? He’ll need a schematic to find his way. He needs a schematic to find his own penis, much less knowing where to put it should he ever get a chance to breed. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2005, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/42 "2005-12-04T02:12:57Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > Maybe he was hoping to bluff his way through with the “That’s what the sticker price says, you have to sell it for that – it’s the law!” tack. Is that one right next to the law that says “the customer is always right”? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/43 "2005-12-05T18:09:28Z")
More details, from another account: > [@](#): > > Baldino’s alleged holiday caper actually worked - once… But Baldino’s alleged scam was thwarted Wednesday when he returned to Target and was recognized by the store’s security specialist, according to police… > > Baldino told police that he didn’t have an accomplice at Target. “He looked for female checkers that he thought did not know enough about electronic items to catch the switch,” Schuler wrote in his report… ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2005, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/44 "2005-12-05T18:46:17Z")
From the same story: > [@](#): > > Baldino could not be reached for comment Thursday. In a follow-up statement to police, he wrote: “I am extremely sad now, and I just want to go to bed,” he wrote. “Please let me sleep in my own bed tonight.” This loser is 19 years old?! Someone needs to advise him to stop making statements to the police. :rolleyes: They’re not making him look sympathetic, just pathetic. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2005, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/45 "2005-12-05T18:51:48Z")
Let’s recap, shall we? 19-year-old student who begs and cries like a little girl when caught stealing, who thinks he can get a $150 piece of electronics for $5, who scopes out female cashiers who he thinks are too stupid to tell the difference. How much you want to be there’s an inflatable doll somewhere in his dorm? Cuz dude ain’t never going to get a date with a real live woman if he doesn’t show her the money first. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2005, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/46 "2005-12-05T18:59:36Z")
> [@TellMeI'mNotCrazy](#): > > He’s not saying he didn’t know how serious the offense was - he’s specifically saying he didn’t know how serious the penalty was. In other words - he probably thought the worst that would happen is a slap on the wrist and an ejection from the store. No matter what, he had to have known what he was doing was wrong, and illegal. And he still did it anyway. Exactly. He figured out that it was technically possible to fool the scanning equipment but it was morally wrong. [EE student nerd voice] But jeez guys! Wouldn’t that be cool? You could, like, make up some tags and go to Walmart and, like, do your whole Christmas shopping list for under $5.00. Man if only we could use that technology to git **girls** to talk to us! [/EE student nerd voice] ---
**Author:** ![Borborygmi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/borborygmi/32/217_2.png) [@Borborygmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Borborygmi)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2005, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/47 "2005-12-05T19:05:48Z")
> [@](#): > > the electrical-engineering student admitted making phony bar codes… I’m shocked at the frequency of this sort of thing. Hopefully his punishment really hertz. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2005, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/48 "2005-12-05T19:14:52Z")
> [@](#): > > Baldino told police that he didn’t have an accomplice at Target. “He looked for female checkers that he thought did not know enough about electronic items to catch the switch,” Schuler wrote in his report… Ah. [He’s one of those.](http://www.queenofwands.net/d/20051109.html) The more I hear about this kid, the more I hate him. ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2005, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/49 "2005-12-05T19:25:41Z")
> [@Borborygmi](#): > > I’m shocked at the frequency of this sort of thing. Hopefully his punishment really hertz. I laughed at that joke way more than I should have. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/50 "2005-12-05T19:27:10Z")
I knew a guy in college who did something like this as well. He made the fake barcodes (possibly with the same software, and knowing him, used a cracked version to go more than the 15 day trial period.) Instead of iPods, though, he bought the large, $100 DVD sets for things like Star Trek and X-Files for ~$5, then sell them on eBay. He said the trick was to go to the register that had the old lady at it, sicne they never know what things should cost. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2005, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/51 "2005-12-05T20:01:07Z")
More importantly, what ipod is Target selling for $149? That’s $50 less than any price I’ve seen for the Nano and $50 more than the shuffle. I thought Apple wouldn’t let retailers sell the Nano for less than $199? He was getting a good deal even without the scam! I want an ipod for $149! ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2005, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/52 "2005-12-05T20:26:25Z")
> [@Velma](#): > > More importantly, what ipod is Target selling for $149? That’s $50 less than any price I’ve seen for the Nano and $50 more than the shuffle. I thought Apple wouldn’t let retailers sell the Nano for less than $199? $50 more than the 512 MB Shuffle, yes, but that’s the spot on price for the 1 Gig shuffle, I think. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2005, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/53 "2005-12-05T21:08:48Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > I knew a guy in college who did something like this as well. He made the fake barcodes (possibly with the same software, and knowing him, used a cracked version to go more than the 15 day trial period.) Instead of iPods, though, he bought the large, $100 DVD sets for things like Star Trek and X-Files for ~$5, then sell them on eBay. He said the trick was to go to the register that had the old lady at it, sicne they never know what things should cost. :rolleyes: Did he get caught? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2005, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/54 "2005-12-05T21:12:44Z")
> [@gazpacho](#): > > Did he get caught? And, if so, did he try the “I’m just a kid” defense? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2005, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/55 "2005-12-05T21:35:23Z")
Those guys at the door at Best Buy that check your receipt at the door even though you just came from the register that everyone likes to bitch about (including people on this board) check for just this type of thing. When you hire 30 seasonal cashiers you can’t expect them to know models and prices of everything. The guys at the door check for this type of fraud. ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/56 "2005-12-06T01:17:58Z")
FYI,a 1-gig shuffle goes for $129.00 on Apple’s site today, with free shipping. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/57 "2005-12-06T20:44:43Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Those guys at the door at Best Buy that check your receipt at the door even though you just came from the register that everyone likes to bitch about (including people on this board) check for just this type of thing. I dunno, all the receit-checkers I’ve ever encountered just do a quick count of stuff, then swipe the receipt. I can’t imagine they’d do the totals in their head in a split-second. My understanding is that the receipt-checkers mark the receipt so it cannot be re-used by an unscrupulous employee to “return” a shoplifted item back to the store…? ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/58 "2005-12-06T21:01:36Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > I dunno, all the receit-checkers I’ve ever encountered just do a quick count of stuff, then swipe the receipt. I can’t imagine they’d do the totals in their head in a split-second. My understanding is that the receipt-checkers mark the receipt so it cannot be re-used by an unscrupulous employee to “return” a shoplifted item back to the store…? My experience has been that they look at the obviously higher-priced merchandise in the cart, and then look for a corresponding entry on the receipt. If you have an iPod in your cart but the highest item on your receipt is 5 bucks, they are probably going to catch it. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/59 "2005-12-06T21:40:41Z")
> [@gazpacho](#): > > Did he get caught? Unfortunatly, no. It probably would have been good for him to get caught and learn his lesson. I doubt he still does this, seeing as he is now in CA working at a nice paying computer graphics job, but he did it for at least two yuears in college, on average of one DVD set a week. It’s actually a miracle he didn’t get caught. Oh, and he had a “fool-prrof” plan if he got caught…claim ignorance. “Gee, I had no idea this DVD set should be $100 and not $5! Someone else must have put the sticker on there!” :rolleyes:. Yeah, I’m sure the security guard will buy that. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/60 "2005-12-07T17:09:04Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > My understanding is that the receipt-checkers mark the receipt so it cannot be re-used by an unscrupulous employee to “return” a shoplifted item back to the store…? How does that work? If an unscrupulous employee gets hold of a receipt and then shoplifts a corresponding item, the mark isn’t going to invalidate the return – a legitimate return would use the same marked receipt, after all. In any case, the marking process is such a slap-dash application of a pen stroke that I can’t see any difficulty in reproducing it on a bogus receipt generated by an unscrupulous employee. I suspect that the true purpose is simply to confirm that the bag was checked on the way out for any discrepancies (of the sort created by Our Hero’s bogus barcode scheme). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804.md?page=4)