[Tenney]

Now I'm curious on what to put. For something as small as an iPhone, something small and heavy would suffice, but if I would ever go towards something like a bigger laptop, what would you suggest as far as replacement item?

As said, you can replace It with any Item you like, but be sure the weight matches.

The objective of the "sealed box method", Is to return It as though It hasn't been opened. As far as you're concerned, you've (for example) received the same Item as a gift, hence no longer need the purchased Item. The Intention Is for the company to simply put It back Into stock (ready for sale) and Issue you a refund thereafter.

It's extremely unlikely that they'll open and Inspect the goods when there's no reason to do so.

And as far as it goes, say something of this nature is eventually found out to be a false item. Would a company such as Apple / a reseller like a Best Buy / Costco etc. look into this and attempt to track the usage of said device?