This isn't the first instance of a brick-and-mortar chain coming under fire for questionable tactics. With and , it begs the question: Why don't these places start shaping up before they all earn headstones in the electronics graveyard?

Office Depot Allegations

The latest allegations, sourced to several current and former Office Depot employees, claim the company has widely told its workers to do things such as adding optional service plans onto clearance items without telling customers. One source says associates would accomplish this by altering pricetags in Photoshop to make the base price look a hundred dollars higher, thereby giving the store the credit for selling the add-on without the customer even knowing.

"My boss says, 'You have to do whatever it takes to get this price in it,'" an employee identified as Alex tells Laptop. "I go to Photoshop, do it -- he comes in and says, 'That's beautiful. I love it. Do it to all the other ones.'"

Even without the Photoshop trick, the associate claims it has been a common practice to increase "clearance item" prices so that extended warranties are quietly included in the costs. Laptop's investigation suggests the practice has extended across at least five states.