Crummy cases, also seeking experiences from those who went up against "the man"

[colbypaperboy]

First, I'll give my two cents' worth on a couple of cases I tried with my recently-purchased 3G iPod. Seeking to have a case that I could use with my dock without actually removing the player from the case, I tracked down the Speck Skin Tight case at my local CompUSA store. A three-pack of the Kraton-plastic cases was $30. They're crap. The first case's flap on the bottom tore off while trying to put the iPod in it; the second I was able to get on, but the flap came nowhere near fitting neatly once the player was in. I returned them promptly, instead opting for a DLO PodFolio "leather jacket" (gave up on the docking-in-case option) which, according to the case, has a "velveteen lining [that] will not scratch your iPod". That is 100% FALSE.

The fit was very tight and required effort to get it on my iPod. But, when it was on, it was clear the player was not coming out, and it actually looked pretty sharp. The clear vinyl, in particular, was rigid enough to prevent the wet look effect on the display. But, the connector pass-through on the bottom was misaligned by maybe a millimeter or two...not enough to prevent usage of the dock connector, but enough to annoy me.

So I decided today to take it back, and upon removal of the iPod from the case (another tug of war), I was horrified to find a 1/2-inch-long scratch on the bottom right corner of the front of the player. And it definitely wasn't there when I put the player in, and I'm very certain there was no debris inside the case prior to iPod insertion.

I've e-mailed customer service for DLO (customerservice@everythingipod.com) and relayed them this information, and have asked for compensation "up to and perhaps including replacement of my iPod".

I would like to know if anybody else has had a bum experience with an iPod case, specifically one where the case has caused damage to their iPod, and has successfully negotiated compensation with the case's manufacturer. If so, can you offer tips or advice on how I might proceed if I encounter resistance? (which I'm sure I will)

Thanks all.

[lole34]

I got the kamono case and it scrached my ipod realy bad. I have a 20gig so I had to use the insert. And where the insert was there is tons of scraches. Its so bad it ruined my apple logo and ingraving.

[colbypaperboy]

bump

(sorry, posted early this morning during non prime-time, hope this will spur some replies)

[alienmeatsack]

I seriously doubt they will fix or replace the scratched ipod. When you buy the thing, you are acknowledging that regardless of what care you might take of it, that it could get scratched.

At best they might send you a new case and possibly a "we're sorry" kind of email.

Now, if the case caused your ipod to fly out of your hands and smack you in the head leaving you with brane damage, they might do something more.

But scratches. I doubt it.

However, you can photograph the evidence and post it so that others might avoid your situation. And if you help others, that is more important than helping yourself.

[Interpol]

Unfortunately, I doubt you have any recourse. There's no way to prove that your iPod didn't have the scratch BEFORE you bought the DLO case.

I would suggest looking into the Ice Creme scratch removal products to see if you can buff out the scratch yourself.

[colbypaperboy]

Good Mister Rogers impersonation there, alien...seriously though, thanks for your (and interpol's) opinions. I agree that my complaint to DLO will do little more than generate a couple of chuckles and a token offering to keep me from smearing them mightily to all my friends and relations. Still, they have yet to reply, and when they do I'll pass along their response just for S&G's.

I'll see if I can get my Wal-Mart special digital camera fired up and have a pic posted shortly.

[colbypaperboy]

Well, apparently nobody at DLO was even amused enough to extend me the courtesy of a reply. (shabby customer service...what's new?!?) Though I certainly can't prove it to anybody, I know damn good and well the case caused the damage. I'm sure they don't care as more and more people come on board the iPod bandwagon every day and buy DLO's products with ignorant glee, but I for one won't be spending any more of my hard-earned money on their garbage. (Which I probably shouldn't have done in the first place...reviews of other DLO products on this website have not exactly been exultant)

Thanks for the advice about the Ice Creme. I was excited to see that it has been reformulated and will be picking some up soon to see if it will help.

[Interpol]

Cool, good luck!