A player orders hardware on Amazon, but his package is lost. He is sent a replacement, but cancels his shipment in parallel. In the end, he has one CPU from AMD and one SSD too many.
An Amazon customer ordered an AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D and a 2 TB Samsung 990 EVO Plus for his gaming PC. In Germany, you pay nearly 500 Euros for both products combined: about 350 Euros for the CPU from AMD and 120 Euros for the SSD (via Geizhals.de).
After the package did not arrive as announced, he contacted the automated customer service and received replacements for both items. This was reported by the user on Reddit.
However, he exploited the customer service in such a way that ultimately both a replacement delivery was sent to him and the full purchase price was refunded. Two days later, the supposedly lost package was delivered after all, so the customer now received both orders. He paid nothing thanks to the refund, which is why he described the action as “free.”
Duplicate and lost shipments frequently concern buyers
Does this happen often? In fact, it happens frequently that users receive more goods than ordered. A player bought an OLED monitor on Amazon and also received a second one due to the report that the first package was lost.
He reported the error to Amazon, and the provider allowed him to keep the second device for free. Unlike this lucky fellow, the user in this case, at least at the time of the post, had not yet contacted Amazon and was even considering simply selling the excess goods.
However, he should definitely not do that, as his conduct could be viewed as a violation of Amazon’s terms of service and could potentially even be illegal. Furthermore, there is still a chance that Amazon will notice the error and request the return of the goods.
What is the best way to proceed in such a case? Simply keeping the goods without informing the seller is usually not legally permissible and can, in the worst case, be considered unjust enrichment or fraud. MeinMMO has consulted a lawyer on the topic of incorrect deliveries. Generally, the following steps are recommended:
- Immediately inform Amazon about the excess goods delivered.
- Safely store the excess goods until the matter is clarified.
- Obtain written confirmation if Amazon still allows you to keep the goods. You can provide evidence later should there be any issues.
How does something like this happen? Users on Reddit repeatedly report that Amazon allegedly does not clearly verify returns or lost packages. Often, it is also said that third-party providers are to blame for not delivering the package or for delivering it incorrectly.
Amazon has long been transitioning in Germany to deliver packages directly and no longer hiring DHL, Hermes, or other service providers for shipping.
On Amazon, you repeatedly find offers for graphics cards and other expensive hardware at excessively low prices. A player has now taken the liberty of visiting the address of a potential scammer. And was not very surprised to find that no company has their location there: Player secretly visits company selling graphics cards on Amazon for much too cheap – Absolutely wants to know what he finds there
