MSI AEGIS RS 12TE-258US (i7, RTX 3070 Ti) (Open Box)

I purchased this product sold by Amazon during the black Friday sale.I usually build my own systems, but the price of this product on the black Friday sale was cheaper than I could build the equivalent system myself.When I received this system, the rear ports are blocked by the I/O shield. Either the motherboard is warped, not mounted properly in the case, or the I/O shield is not stamped properly, and cables cannot be plugged into several of the rear ports.I noticed that another Amazon customer had the same problem, and posted a photo before returning the system.The photo posted to Amazon looked so much the same as mine, that I thought it might be possible that the defective system had been sent back out to me, until I searched the web, and this appears to be a common defect and is happening a lot to MSI customers.Rather than rip this thing apart and diagnose the problem, I called Amazon to replace it.At first the Amazon rep said that, because this is a high dollar item, I would have to return it for a refund and repurchase it, effectively losing my black Friday discount. Then he called this a minor defect, and I corrected him that not being able use use some of the important ports of a new system (LAN, keyboard USB, mouse USB) is NOT a minor defect.He said Amazon could not replace the system because it was a high dollar item, and could only refund it. I told him that this was not acceptable, and he checked with a supervisor. He then said that they could not replace the system because they didn't have any more in stock. I am pretty sure I verified that they had some in stock before I called Amazon, but I checked and indeed it was out of stock.I asked if I could get it replaced by MSI since it was a new system shipped with a defect. He brought a MSI customer rep on line by the name of Hank to see if MSI could replace this defective system. Hank said that, since the system was sold by Amazon, MSI could not replace the system. I could send it in for warranty repair, but I would receive a refurbished system to replace my new, defective system, and that is not acceptable.We finally agreed that Amazon would replace the system if they got a replacement in stock before my return window closes. I offered that I would not boot or initialize the system to make it easier for MSI to process the return and repair the defect, and the Amazon rep thanked me for that.I am waiting for Amazon to get this product back in stock so I can keep my black Friday discount. I noticed that there is another vendor that has this product in stock for the same price as my black Friday discount with good reviews on Amazon, but searching reviews outside of Amazon I found many complaints, and I also found complaints with the Better Business Bureau, some of which seem to be unresolved, so I have decided not to purchase from them.