Sometimes it happens that Amazon or other sellers deliver too many items. But what do you do with things you didn’t order at all?
We took the title image from the reddit thread.
A user recently bought a Samsung 980 Pro for his gaming PC (via reddit.com). But instead of receiving 1 SSD, he received 10 of them. He had only ordered a single model for his new system. However, the community is thrilled:
- Many in the comments call him a “lucky guy.”
- Others claim he won the “lottery” of PC builders.
- Still others explain that he could finance the rest of his PC by selling the excess devices.
But is the user even allowed to keep the 10 SSDs or sell them?
Update: 01/24/2023: Section on returns added.
If you keep too many delivered goods, it can quickly lead to trouble
Is it permissible to keep too much merchandise? The well-known lawyer Christian Solmecke explained to the Kölnische Rundschau that one can quickly get into trouble. He states (via rundschau-online.de):
If the seller mistakenly delivers too much, you are obliged to inform him. Otherwise, you may face legal issues.
If you are considering giving away or even selling the excess goods, the company can even claim damages from you:
If it is a mistake, you must proceed as described above. Selling, giving away, or disposing of the item can result in the company claiming damages.
It is also problematic when a package is clearly delivered to the wrong recipient, meaning that you receive a package that you shouldn’t get at all. You should return that as well, because another customer is waiting for their shipment.
It only looks different if the seller intentionally sends you too much. In that case, the seller cannot demand either storage or return from the buyer. According to the Civil Code, you officially become the owner after ten years.
Who is responsible for the return? Generally, you do not have to cover the return shipping or the costs. Ideally, excess goods are handled directly by the provider, who normally also has to cover the costs. Because Amazon or another provider cannot pass the costs of their mistake on to you. And you also don’t have to take the excess dishwasher to the post office in the neighboring village. This is regulated in BGB§ 241a (3) (via dahag.de).
By the way, the excess delivered goods do not constitute a purchase contract either, since you didn’t order the items.
Sellers Notice That Goods Are Missing
Do sellers find out? The argument of such “lucky guys” is often that no one would know that they received too much. So why report goods that no one knows about?
Oftentimes, sellers or service providers take precautions against such errors. Packages are weighed, and it can already be noticed that the shipped package is too heavy. Or sooner or later, the error will be noticed in the booking system. Especially expensive models are often protected.
By the way, there are also exceptions: In some cases of misdelivery or returns, Amazon has occasionally been generous. For example, businessinsider explains that Amazon waives a return for certain values of goods. Because according to the Consumer Advice Centre of North Rhine-Westphalia, returning would be more expensive than the actual item. The costs are said to be around 15 euros.
Therefore, these are often items with values of less than 20 euros, where Amazon or other sellers may be generous. However, often, the buyer cannot do anything with it because, for example, it is the wrong strap for a smartwatch or a spare part that didn’t fit after all.
However, with significantly higher values, it’s unlikely that Amazon will voluntarily leave you with an expensive processor or graphics card, even though the thought may please some.
By the way, we once reported on MeinMMO about such a case where a person received too much merchandise. Instead of SSDs, there were two Intel processors:
