In case you haven't heard about this one already, CompUSA sold some guy an empty camera box for $269. Even though the guy spent almost $3,500 that day (including the empty box), he was initially given the 'All sales are final' speech. After the story got a little press, CompUSA stepped up and sent the guy a $300 gift certificate.  Terry writes:

Another lesson is how the web is changing the nature of authority. Businesses have black and white rules, but the public isn't black and white. This mentality is fostered by a top-down, modernist culture that needs absolute adherence to rules in order to function. But nobody consulted the people on this. In fact, the reason we have judges in a free society is so that rules can be considered on a case-by-case basis. In the retail world, however, the onus is entirely on the consumer to find someone to function as judge, and the trouble generally isn't worth it. Retailers know this, and so it goes.

I say this, because I've been taken aback by the number of people, especially on Digg, who were adamant that I was some sort of con artist trying to steal a camera from CompUSA and get away with it. People, really.

Another group of people sided with the belief that I should've opened the friggin' box at the store. These well-intentioned onlookers weren't there as I bought 12 items for $3,339.99. Was I supposed to open each? If the answer is yes, then we've got a bigger problem than even I thought.