The power of social media.  Tiger Direct just sent me a message:

“Thank you for the email. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. We understand that you do not have the original shipping box. We processed request so we can send you the replacement item and you may use the packaging of the replacement item to send the defective item back to us.

Thank you for visiting our website.  We  appreciate your business.  If you have further inquiries and reply to this email, please make sure to include your entire message, so we can address it appropriately.  Please feel free to contact me at the phone number below should  you require any further assistance.

Sincerely

Thanks! Not exactly the point I was making, and I will still end up paying for the shipping and insurance, but nevertheless, the effort is appreciated. My blog post, and me pointing to it, apparently helped. I’ll keep you all in the loop.