‘Beautiful scam, Best Buy!’
In a TikTok with over 228,000 views, content creator Shayne McKinney (@shayneisgreat) returns his Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and tries to see if Best Buy will allow him to keep the $200 gift card he received with it.
Featured Video
McKinney first explains that he bought the Samsung Galaxy S25 to use temporarily while he waited for his OnePlus 13 to arrive. He bought the Samsung phone at his local Best Buy and received a $200 gift card with his purchase.
McKinney recounts that the phone had a 14-day return policy, which would include a $45 restocking fee. “I’m expecting to pay $45 out of the total purchasing price for this phone, but I also expect to keep the $200 gift card. So, I’ll have a $155 profit if they let me do it,” he says.
At Best Buy, however, McKinney is quoted a return that reflects the original phone price minus both the $45 restock fee and the $200 gift card value. In order to have the $200 added back to his refund, he has to return the unused gift card.
“Looks like everybody was right. I will end up $45 in the hole for doing this. But still, I got to use an S25 Ultra for a week for $45,” he concludes as the video ends.
Viewers weigh in
In the comments section, viewers shared their opinions about McKinney’s experiment.
“So in other words you didn’t actually get a free gift card, you paid $200 more for the phone. Beautiful scam, Best Buy!” one user wrote.
“Tacking on $200 to the price without telling someone and then giving you a $200 gift card has to be a crime of sorts,” a second person added.
“Great example of how big companies trick us into buying things from them,” came a third comment.
“You can’t seriously think a company is going to give you a free 200 bucks,” a fourth person noted.
@shayneisgreat Will I get to keep the $200 gift card for Best buy from buying my Samsung Galaxy s25 ultra last week? I was using this until my OnePlus 13 phone arrived which is way better by the way than a Samsung and cost several hundred dollars less. will this hack save me money or will I end up having to be out of pocket the $45 restock fee? #samsung #giftcard #phone #cellular #deals #bestbuy #oneplus #bargain #shopping ♬ original sound – Shayne McKinney
What is return fraud?
A final user warned McKinney that his experiment could be seen as “return fraud.” “Hi! I love your content but this is actually considered return fraud (buying something with the intention of returning.) I don’t want to see you get in trouble! It is a criminal offense in Arkansas,” they wrote.
Seon reports that return fraud occurs when individuals exploit a retailer’s return policies by returning items for refunds or store credit under false pretenses. This could look like returning used or damaged items, using stolen merchandise, or manipulating receipts.
Online retailers are particularly vulnerable to fraudulent returns, which in 2024, accounted for 15.14% of all retail returns, and cost retailers $103 billion.
Mckinney refuted the claim that his purchase was an example of return fraud. He replied, “I literally told [Best Buy] what I was doing and said if I love the Samsung I will keep it and send the OnePlus back.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Shayne McKinney via TikTok direct message and Best Buy via email for more information.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
