Has Sansa changed packaging?

I begin to doubt the sansa clip+ I just bought to be fake. The inner plastic box is not sealed and looks different. The packaging the data connector is in is even pink. And there is no CD.

Wanted to contact the customer serivce but live chat is closed today. Could anyone shine some light on the situation? Thanks a lot in advance!

Depends on where you bought it from and whether it was sold as new or refurbed.

Clips often come without a CD, as no software is needed for the Clip apart from your computer.  In the past, all the CD has contained is a free trial offer for the paid subscription Rhapsody music service (also available online) and, possibly, the player’s manual (available here, in a sticky thread above). 

I can’t really see anyon going to the effort to counterfeit a Clip. Why don’t you try it and see how it works?

Thanks guys. I did not word it clearly enough. The Clip+ was bought as new, and by “fake” I meant that though billed as new I suspect it might actually be refurbished. The crux of the matter is that I think I might have paid the price of a new Sansa for a refurbished one.

Reasons that I termed it “fake” other than already posted is that the outside packaging is the same as that sold as new and the box includes everything from a quick start to a data connector to earphones. I don’t think I would need the promotional CD very much; I mentioned the lack of it only because I think it might be an indicator of the Clip+ being refurbished.

As Sansa is not officially sold in the country, the local vendor I bought it from claims they were shipped in from US. So even if I should do a return of sorts, I have to deal with the local vendor. And to keep the Clip+ in a condition that I would be able to return it under, if it comes to this, I have not tried it yet.

Appreciate your reponses. Posted here since I’d like to know it ASAP because of the return factor. Don’t know if I had to go through the customer service to have some “officialness” for the Clip+ being refurbished if it had to be returned?

If SanDisk products are not “officially” sold in your country, it sounds as though you bought it from a (lack of better term) “black market” vendor and I doubt SanDisk will be likely to give you any support, warranty or otherwise.

It looks like you’re going to have to fight it out with the vendor.  

Assuming it’s already open, not sealed in a package, you might as well try the unit itself. You probably have other headphones and a connector cord, so you don’t need to open them to find out if it’s working. You can always Format it back to empty after you’ve added some music to see how it plays, tested the FM radio, etc. 

Then, if it’s working, contact the vendor,  tell them it looks like they sold you a refurb and see what they offer. Maybe a partial refund for the diference between refurb and new. And if it’s not working, then demand a full refund. 

Thanks for the moral support! I do not really need “support” per say or other things from SanDisk, as I said I would only deal with the vendor. It would be quite a stretch to get SanDisk “offically” involved in this transaction.

I just need to know if it has changed the sealed inner plastic packaging into an unsealed kind, or if it has changed at least the packaging of some of its units from the sealed to the unsealed.

I doubt it is black market per say. But the vendor is certainly not authorized. Private importers (of products of murky authenticity)?

I do not begrudge SanDisk for not selling here at all. I just think for such a big market (biggest in the world), SanDisk may be missing out a little. Get moving.

SDFSansa wrote:

 

I doubt it is black market per say. But the vendor is certainly not authorized. Private importers (of products of murky authenticity)?

 

This sounds pretty much like a textbook description of “back market vendor” to me. :confounded:

Btw, what “biggest market in the world” is SanDisk missing out on?

I guess any textbook def of blackmarket has to be that it is illegal. But what they are doing is certainly not illegal, meaning not contravening any law. Not in their country. Nor in any country SanDisk has presence in. I guess this has to be my argument.

Biggest market? well that is an easy one. Use your imagination.

Just got an offical response from the CS. Posted here so that anyone having the same question can have reference:

“Regarding your inquiry, please be advised that as far as we know, all the plastic case inside the box should be sealed. In this case, we recommend you to contact the retailer or distributor from where you purchased the product to have a further inquiry on why the plastic case is unsealed.”

Thanks for all the input. Problem solved, by no other than SanDisk itself.

I guess any textbook def of blackmarket has to be that it is illegal. But what they are doing is certainly not illegal, meaning not contravening any law. Not in their country. Nor in any country SanDisk has presence in. The units are imported from these offically selling countries afterall. If the importers are breaking the law, then the exporters would first have to be willing to break the law to sell to them. Since they all break the law, then all markets would become “blackmarkets”, meaning no one could claim the legal or moral highground. I guess this has to be my argument.

Biggest market? well that is an easy one. Use your imagination.

Just got an offical response from the CS. Posted here so that anyone having the same question can have reference:

“Regarding your inquiry, please be advised that as far as we know, all the plastic case inside the box should be sealed. In this case, we recommend you to contact the retailer or distributor from where you purchased the product to have a further inquiry on why the plastic case is unsealed.”

Thanks for all the input. Problem solved, by no other than SanDisk itself.