A gamer received an excessively large delivery from Amazon but is allegedly allowed to keep the valuable goods.
The featured image is a symbolic representation.
This happened to the gamer: A gamer reports on Reddit that he received a wrong delivery from Amazon. He had ordered two “Samsung 9100 Pro” SSDs with 2 TB of storage each from the online marketplace but instead received 2 packages of hard drives.
In photos he attached to the post, the Samsung SSDs are shown stacked next to the user’s gaming equipment. One picture shows the extent of the delivery: a total of 20 brand new hard drives are on the user’s desk.
A single “Samsung 9100 Pro” SSD with 2 TB of storage costs 279 euros on Amazon (in Germany, prices may vary regionally). Thus, the user received hard drives worth 5,580 euros.
Amazon gives the happy gamer a free pass
To what extent is he allowed to keep the hard drives? In the comments under the post, the Reddit user explains that he is allowed to keep the erroneous delivery (via Reddit). He had spoken with Amazon’s customer service, and they told him he doesn’t have to return the extra delivery.
However, one user advises him to document everything and to get written permission that he can keep the hard drives. He should prevent that customer service reassures him over the phone that he can keep an erroneous delivery, only to then demand that delivery back weeks later. And in the worst case, he would have no proof that it was previously stated that he didn’t have to return anything.
The user’s own statements should be viewed with a healthy dose of skepticism, but similar mistakes do happen from time to time. One possible reason is that an entire box is mistakenly scanned and shipped as a single unit at Amazon. Various posts in the forum Amazon Seller Central show how this looks from a seller’s perspective.
What is the legal situation in such a case? We at MeinMMO asked a lawyer about this issue in 2024, as we regularly report on similar cases. He stated concerning German law that while you do not have to independently contact the seller, they do have a claim to the return of the goods or the payment of the purchase price for three years.
If you receive a similar delivery, it is best to talk immediately to the seller and a legal advisor before selling the excess goods and sitting on the costs months later. What exactly the lawyer we consulted said about the topic can be read here: What to do if Amazon sends you additional items by mistake?
