TSA checkpoint?

Question

My parents are planning to travel sometime this summer (probably by the end of July) and we're going to Oregon to visit my uncle and his family, I plan to buy a Sony Playstation 3 and a Sony PSP when I go there, but I don't plan to unbox my consoles anytime soon (Its usually hard to make things fit inside the box after I open), I plan to unbox and set up the system when I come back, will TSA open my consoles?

The last time I traveled I had my laptop with me and they told me to leave it in a basket to be scanned and they didn't touch my belongs with care, I got my laptop with a few scratches and the serviceTAG sticker (the one under my laptop) was half ripped, the way how they handle my laptop really pissed me off, and I don't want that to happen to my Sony PlayStation 3 and my Sony PSP so is there a way for me to avoid having my belongs damaged by these people? It seems like they don't care about people's belongs, they go throwing things.. ugh!

Answer 1

Pack it in your carry on bags and you should be fine.  The TSA screener may ask you to remove the unopend box from your bag and/or ask you to opent the box to prove that the contents is actually what the box says it is (but I doubt they will).

My husband has traveled with his PS2 in his carry on without a problem.  They've never asked him to remove it.

The damage you describe is odd.  I've never heard of anything like that.  The only liquid I can think they would rub on your computer would be to check for explosive materials, but even then I think it's usually a dry swab.  I've flown several times with my computer and never once had them do anything other than look at it on the xray screen.  They've never handled it.

Keep in mind that if you do ship your new PS3 home via UPS, FedEx or the US Postal Service you can insure the box against loss or damage.  The insurance only costs a few dollars but it worth it if you're shipping something that costs a few hundred dollars.  You can also protect the box by shipping it in a larger box surrounded by packing peanuts.

Off topic:

I flew to San Diego last week from Seattle and forgot to take my baggie of liquids out of my suitcase when I got to the checkpoint.  TSA either didn't catch it or didn't care.  (I didn't realize that I had forgotten until I was waiting to board the plane).  I forgot again when I left San Diego and the TSA there didn't say anything either.  Perhaps they noticed that I was tyring to deal with my bags and my service dog or perhaps they just didn't notice.  Either way, my little bag of liquids got by them twice.

Answer 2

First of all, they have the right to open your packages to inspect the articles you bring.  If you're not happy with that - don't travel with the articles.  Buy them at home and pay the sales tax.

That being said, I don't understand how the damage you describe happened to your laptop.  I've traveled with mine literally hundreds of times and have yet to have it touched by a TSA screener.  I load it in the bin, it passes through the x-ray, and I retrieve it on the other side.

Good luck.