My grandpa's old crowbar outlived three hammers and he never once tried returning it.

Plywood trick worked for my wobbly workbench, same idea.

Man, I was the total opposite for years, I'd just grab the display copy every time because I figured if it's out front it must be fine. Then I paid eight bucks for a cookbook at a flea market and got home and every single page was stuck together with rubber cement. Now I open and flip through the actual copy before I hand over any cash, even if it means asking the person working there to pull one from the back. You live and you learn, sorry your brick cost forty five instead of eight.