Amazon just let me keep a $200 item for free. They do not want me to return it with a full refund

[max2]

Thank you Amazon! I am shocked, surprised and stunned all at the same time lol. I love Amazon!



I went through live chat support when they told me this. They said to throw it away but in the email they sent me they said I could keep it, give it away or throw it away.



Amazon rocks and always will!

 

[C DM]

Was there something wrong with the item?

 

[max2]

Was there something wrong with the item?

No it works fine. I just didn't want it anymore and I was being honest. They told me to throw it away.

The email tells me though from Amazon that I can keep it, donate it, or throw it away.

 

[C DM]

No it works fine. I just didn't want it anymore and I was being honest. They told me to throw it away.

So they said just keep it and refunded the money for it?

 

[max2]

So they said just keep it and refunded the money for it?

Well in the live chat they told me to throw it away. Then refunded my money.

In the amazon email they said I could keep it, donate it or throw it away.

 

[willmtaylor]

Truly bizarre. Consumer electronics?

 

[max2]

Truly bizarre. Consumer electronics?

Kinda. It is a electric shaver.
[doublepost=1488404898][/doublepost]Do you all think I should return it anyway and Amazon can deny it if they still don't want it?

 

[JamesMike]

It would seem you should return it if they send you a refund.

 

[0388631]

Except they'd have to trash it. Amazon and other retailers are well known for taking the loss. It costs them more to create a label, get it sent back and put it back on the line or send it to the correct person than to write off the item.

If you get 2-3 repeats of the same item(s) you ordered, they also have you keep it or sell it or whatever you wish to do with them, except this is incredibly rare.

 

[0007776]

It would seem you should return it if they send you a refund.

Not if they told you to keep it.

 

[Nermal]

Amazon's probably done the sums and figured out that it's not worth the hassle of a return; a shaver isn't something you can on-sell to another customer without refurbishing it, and it's probably just not worth doing.

Amazon will typically try to keep things as convenient as possible too; when I had a defective DVD box set they sent a new one with no questions asked. After I got the new one, I was asked to return the old one - and upon Amazon receiving it back I was given a $50 gift certificate for the trouble

 

[C DM]

Except they'd have to trash it. Amazon and other retailers are well known for taking the loss. It costs them more to create a label, get it sent back and put it back on the line or send it to the correct person than to write off the item.

If you get 2-3 repeats of the same item(s) you ordered, they also have you keep it or sell it or whatever you wish to do with them, except this is incredibly rare.

I think that depends on the item, as it likely doesn't cost them more of a hassle to do that for something that is about $200 in general.

 

[0388631]

I think that depends on the item, as it likely doesn't cost them more of a hassle to do that for something that is about $200 in general.

They once sent someone two 780s or 980s a few years ago. Those cost more than $200 each, or did at the time. They were told to keep both, and were only charged for one. The one they ordered. As advanced as Amazon's package processing is, they still incur costs throughout the process, be it to send out to receive back.

 

[Roller]

Thank you Amazon! I am shocked, surprised and stunned all at the same time lol. I love Amazon!



I went through live chat support when they told me this. They said to throw it away but in the email they sent me they said I could keep it, give it away or throw it away.



Amazon rocks and always will!

Cool. Can you please order some stuff for me?

 

[Foggydog]

Agreed with another poster. Not sure if you used the electric razor but they would automatically think you did. And that is one of those items that cannot be restocked because of hygiene laws. Another example is depending on the place you buy, something like a pillow, a travel mattress ( for semis) or anything that comes in contact with a body would never be restocked.

 

[0388631]

Not to mention some states have laws on the books that allow you to keep an item you didn't order or if they sent more than one by accident. They can ask for it back and up to you to send it back, but they can't charge you for it, per FTC regulation.

 

[C DM]

They once sent someone two 780s or 980s a few years ago. Those cost more than $200 each, or did at the time. They were told to keep both, and were only charged for one. The one they ordered. As advanced as Amazon's package processing is, they still incur costs throughout the process, be it to send out to receive back.

Oh, they (and other companies) certainly do that here and there, and usually for different kinds of reasons. I was just saying that depending on the item (and perhaps if they could really resell it or return to manufacturer or something like that), when it comes to something that's a few hundred dollars worth, the cost of the return process itself in general is probably not really that much of a factor.

 

[Apple fanboy]

So you think Amazon did you a cracking deal.
Here's the truth though. They probably won't be out of pocket. It will be whoever supplied the shaver to them.
Amazon never end up out of pocket.

 

[0388631]

Oh, they (and other companies) certainly do that here and there, and usually for different kinds of reasons. I was just saying that depending on the item (and perhaps if they could really resell it or return to manufacturer or something like that), when it comes to something that's a few hundred dollars worth, the cost of the return process itself in general is probably not really that much of a factor.

Cost is one factor. Time is another. There's the cost of having to get it back, to restock it and pay everyone in between. Even the little robots moving the hardware cost money. Everything costs money once it's in play.

 

[C DM]

Cost is one factor. Time is another. There's the cost of having to get it back, to restock it and pay everyone in between. Even the little robots moving the hardware cost money. Everything costs money once it's in play.

Sure, and yet I've certainly had to return quite a few different items over the years, many that were only in the range of like $20, which I'm sure is the case for many others as well.

 

[Jnesbitt82]

They do that, especially if it's something that touches your body. They do it to stores too except they're obligated to destroy the items.

 

[0388631]

Sure, and yet I've certainly had to return quite a few different items over the years, many that were only in the range of like $20, which I'm sure is the case for many others as well.

As I said, there's plenty of states where you're not required to return anything, even if they ask. Any action the retailer then takes would likely violate secondary laws and a stern call from the states AG.

 

[C DM]

As I said, there's plenty of states where you're not required to return anything, even if they ask. Any action the retailer then takes would likely violate secondary laws and a stern call from the states AG.

Are you saying you are allowed to get a refund and then just keep the item you purchased (or now got for free)? Wouldn't there be huge ongoing operations of people constantly buying up stuff and then getting refunds and keeping what they bought pretty much on a constant basis using that "loophole"?

That also seems unrelated to it being cheaper for them not to bother with a return of some item, especially one that is worth a few hundred dollars.

 

[0388631]

Are you saying you are allowed to get a refund and then just keep the item you purchased (or now got for free)? Wouldn't there be huge ongoing operations of people constantly buying up stuff and then getting refunds and keeping what they bought pretty much on a constant basis using that "loophole"?

That also seems unrelated to it being cheaper for them not to bother with a return of some item, especially one that is worth a few hundred dollars.

No. Read the post carefully. If I order a Ryzen 1800X today, and Amazon send me two. I can keep both because they can't ask for it back per FTC regulations. I only ordered one, got charged for one, and got two. They can kindly ask to send it back, but that delves into grey law and they're banking on you not knowing about it. If Amazon decided to charge me for the second item later on, I can report them to the FTC and they will be asked to roll back the charge and they'll be fined for their action. The order page clearly stated I wanted only one, but if I got two, I cannot be charged once more for the second item. Thus it's up to my own good will to either send it back, sell it or give it as a gift.

They have been cases in the last few years where Amazon's accidentally sent people thousands of dollars worth of items with their measly order and were told to just keep it. Because the write off to them is always cheaper than sending it back and processing it.

I'm not sure how much clearer I can be to you. If you get unsolicited goods sent to your address, you are within your legal right as an American to keep those goods. You may not be charged for those goods either. If you are, you simply complain to the state AG and the FTC. Though these apply more to shady companies. In my prior example, if I ordered one 1800X and got two, I get to keep the second one. I only solicited one unit from Amazon, not two. The second is an unsolicited good. Amazon cannot charge me for the second unwanted good if they noticed it later on, and I'm not obligated by law to say anything to them.

If you're ordering from a questionable company, charge it on your CC that has decent protections, like AmEx. Your creditor will laugh in their face once you explain what happened and fax or email them proof of you only buying one item. The creditor will deny the second charge.

 

[C DM]

No. Read the post carefully. If I order a Ryzen 1800X today, and Amazon send me two. I can keep both because they can't ask for it back per FTC regulations. I only ordered one, got charged for one, and got two. They can kindly ask to send it back, but that delves into grey law and they're banking on you not knowing about it. If Amazon decided to charge me for the second item later on, I can report them to the FTC and they will be asked to roll back the charge and they'll be fined for their action. The order page clearly stated I wanted only one, but if I got two, I cannot be charged once more for the second item. Thus it's up to my own good will to either send it back, sell it or give it as a gift.

They have been cases in the last few years where Amazon's accidentally sent people thousands of dollars worth of items with their measly order and were told to just keep it. Because the write off to them is always cheaper than sending it back and processing it.

I'm not sure how much clearer I can be to you. If you get unsolicited goods sent to your address, you are within your legal right as an American to keep those goods. You may not be charged for those goods either. If you are, you simply complain to the state AG and the FTC. Though these apply more to shady companies. In my prior example, if I ordered one 1800X and got two, I get to keep the second one. I only solicited one unit from Amazon, not two. The second is an unsolicited good. Amazon cannot charge me for the second unwanted good if they noticed it later on, and I'm not obligated by law to say anything to them.

If you're ordering from a questionable company, charge it on your CC that has decent protections, like AmEx. Your creditor will laugh in their face once you explain what happened and fax or email them proof of you only buying one item. The creditor will deny the second charge.

What does any of that have to do with OP's situation or what I commented on in relation to the cost (money and effort) of a return being a meaningful factor when it comes to something that is with a few hundred dollars?