A player bought new hardware on Amazon for his gaming PC, but he was in for a nasty surprise. Instead of the purchased hardware, he received cat food and tissues. He then contacted Amazon’s customer service.
A player reports on Reddit that he ordered hardware for a new gaming PC. He already has his Ryzen 7 9800X3D and a GeForce RTX 5080 at home, but the rest was supposed to arrive in two Amazon packages. He was quite astonished when he accepted the packages and opened them.
Cat Food and Tissues
He explained that the packages were delivered by Amazon itself. To accept the packages, he had to provide a one-time password from Amazon. This is supposedly an additional security mechanism when ordering very expensive items.
However, the player explained that the first package already looked damaged, and when he opened it in front of the driver, he found expensive cat food but not the motherboard he had ordered. The second package also contained incorrect items.
When I gave the driver the code, he noticed that I was looking in the box. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have given him the code before I expected the contents, but in 99% of the cases I’ve used Amazon, everything was fine. This box was supposed to contain the motherboard and the power supply but contained cat food and tissues.
What’s next? The player has contacted Amazon. After the first employee was not very helpful, the second employee was more accommodating. At least they are now processing his case, and he was able to send his proof photos to Amazon.
The player now hopes that he will either get his money back or receive the correct hardware after all. Because without the missing components, he cannot build his PC. He mentions that he has saved for months for his new PC, and this is all quite frustrating.
Amazon itself shows in its app that both the RAM and the motherboard have been successfully delivered. After all, he successfully accepted the package with the code. However, the app does not check what was in the package.
Player only wants to order when he can monitor the purchase
What is the user’s conclusion? He states that he has never had such a bad experience with Amazon and will probably not order hardware through Amazon anymore. And if he does, then only with controls and photos of every single step:
I have been using Amazon for 15 years, and this is the worst experience I have had with them. Normally, customer service is quick and helpful, but I think the nature and value of the items mean they have to ‘investigate.’ I still remember ordering my first PC components on Amazon in 2016. I have no idea what will happen, but I have learned my lesson and will probably not buy things on Amazon anymore without recording the trip while I open the box, or at all, depending on how it goes.
Scams and Fraud with PC Hardware are becoming more frequent on Amazon
What is the problem with such fraud? At first glance, the purchased product and the seller also look reliable. The exchange in the box is noticed at worst by the next buyer. Or they might not notice, and they only wonder about the performance of their new GPU, which turns out to be much weaker than expected. Other fraudsters use different tricks to lure buyers away from Amazon.
Can you protect yourself against it? Many people now suggest making a video when unpacking particularly expensive hardware:
- If you then hold fake goods or just a wrong product in your hands, you at least have the proof on your side.
- Moreover, you can prove that you did not swap the goods, but that someone must have been in the package before you.
Such evidence, however, does not always help, as shown by the story of a family father. For he also received a fake GPU on Amazon, but Amazon refused a refund: Gamer buys graphics card on Amazon, receives fake product – seller refuses refund until the return of the ‘correct’ item
