?

I walk into a local variety store (there are about five of them, interconnected, family-owned). On the counter is a display of flashlights, about three inches long, with a very bright LED beam. This type of light can cost $10 or $20 at least, so I've found a 'bargain model' for only $3.50. A few days later, it stops turning on, even with brand new batteries. I take it back, cashier offers an exchange for another new one. He admits that a few other customers had the same problem.

I bring it back a few days later and the manager is behind the register. I give him the whole scenario. He allows me a replacement this time only, he says, because the lights are an "at your own risk" item. (They're made in China, so caveat emptor. Okay, I get that.) He won't be reimbursed for failed lights, he says, so he can't offer returns for them. I didn't see a sign reading "at your own risk". I've never, ever had a problem with the variety stores' goods before. And I don't have time to pursue this issue any further, which is actually part of the manager's job.I've never bought pure junk like that before, in U.S. Here's the question: Is there a law (like in the Universal Commercial Code, perhaps the 'implied warranty of merchantability') that prohibits selling pure junk to unsuspecting buyers? And, legally, is the manager required to post a sign saying ‘as is’? Perhaps management should refuse wholesale goods made in China that don't offer reimbursement to the store, hence to customers.

There used to be a tab offering answerers a choice of what country any questions were coming from. Is the option still available? A lot of possible answers are location-relative, like PayPal ones or law-related ones.