Anyone else inadvertently invalidated the iPhone 5 30-day return privilege after a warranty swap?

Bought a Verizon 32GB black iPhone 5 at the Apple Store in Stanford, CA on 11/16. I noticed excessive backlight bleeding upon initial power on. My phone was finally activated on 11/18 due to the SIM aging delay when doing a swap upgrade from 3G to LTE on Verizon. I then decided to report the display issue to Apple Care. They told me to drop by for a Genius appointment back at the store that same day. I was offered a white box, warranty replacement on the spot. The repair order, which I ended up signing willingly, stated that the replacement unit may be new or refurbished. Since the replacement took care of the display defect and appeared to be in pristine condition, I had no concerns about the replacement itself, I also noticed the model is now an ND122LL instead of the retail MD658LL. However, neither AppleCare, the Genius or the paperwork ever stated that such warranty replacement would invalidate my 30-day right to do a retail return or exchange. I'm having another potential issue with the replacement phone (Bluetooth sound quality) and during an Apple store visit today (11/30), I learned that a return or retail exchange is no longer an option for me due to the fact that my iPhone is not a retail model. I also found out that even signing up for AppleCare+ within 30 days, is handled as a repair order for non-retail model phones, I paid the $99 tonight and all I have is a repair order, I can't confirm the extended coverage yet. I'm very concerned about this experience and the way some policies are well documented and others are not, not even in the fine print. So despite the Geniuses assurances that the replacement phone was a new one, apparently even Apple considers it second hand.

I'm glad I have no intentions to return the iPhone 5 and cancel my contract extension with Verizon to go back to my iPhone 4. Nor I have the need to swap for a different color or capacity. However, learning that I inadvertently lost the right to a 30-day "no questions asked" return, due to the lack of verbal or written policy disclaimers in the AppleCare and Genius Bar communications, is making me feel like I was a victim of consumer fraud. And now that I know what Apple thinks of these warranty replacement units, I really wished I would have kept the defective retail phone for longer. So the 30-day return policy is stated in my original retail receipt. The Genius Bar work authorization documents the part swap and carry over of the original 1-year warranty to the replacement, no mention of the 30-day return being invalidated.

Anybody out there in the same boat? Any suggestions on how to claim my right to a retail exchange in the remaining 15 days of the 30-day period?