in which honesty does not pay (Amazon content)

[fdrinca]

Amazon sent two copies of a book we'd ordered. I'm thinking it's just a packing error - the two books were shrink-wrapped together. 

 

I sent Amazon a message letting the company know about the extra book and assuming that they'd just tell me to keep it. 

 

Nope! They'd like it back. It seems like an inefficient use of scarce resources on both ends of this equation, but probably more for Amazon, as the book is only $13. By the time they've paid for shipping and processing, what profit could be left on the book?

 

(Aside, I'd just realized the book would make an excellent gift for an upcoming birthday, so I told them to just charge me for it and save me the effort of tracking down packaging tape and etc. and etc.)

[displace]

I had some Amazon returns to make. Four items from three different orders. Only two were on the same mailing label so three boxes were mailed. Wasteful!

 

To be fair- I probably should have contacted them to verify that they could not be shipped together, but I didn't have the time and I'm so bad at Amazon returns that I was taking advantage of my "let me just do this now" motivation.

Edited July 18, 2017 by displace

[hellen]

I would have been annoyed at the work too if it happened on the wrong day. Sometimes I don't have the time to take on any extra work in my day. I would have felt differently if the mistake was my fault but in your case it wasn't.

 

A company sent me license plates accidentally. I called them and they wanted me to pay to send it back. I refused. I told them they could come pick it up since they were local but they didn't.

 

Amazon has been better. They let me keep the $50+ item they accidentally shipped to me in October. I would have preferred to send it back because I have no use for it. They also sent me the wrong kind of peanut butter last month. They let me keep the wrong flavor.

[Guest]

I had a situation on eBay where they sent me the wrong battery for my laptop, the listing clearly said that it was the battery I needed,I had to agree to have my credit card charged to get the RMA, and it cost me shipping both ways because THEY made a mistake.

 

Sometimes you just can't win.

 

I'm not a fan of either Amazon or eBay but sometimes you just have to settle for the least of the evils and you wind up getting ripped off anyway.

 

It sounds like the best solution was just to keep the book for a gift.

Edited July 18, 2017 by Guest

[Amy in NH]

I had a situation on eBay where they sent me the wrong battery for my laptop, the listing clearly said that it was the battery I needed,I had to agree to have my credit card charged to get the RMA, and it cost me shipping both ways because THEY made a mistake.

 

Sometimes you just can't win.

 

I'm not a fan of either Amazon or eBay but sometimes you just have to settle for the least of the evils and you wind up getting ripped off anyway.

 

It sounds like the best solution was just to keep the book for a gift.

I would have appealed that with eBay and/or my c.c. company.

[Butter]

Sometimes they have you return it and sometimes they don't.  It seems kind of random.  Last year, my daughter canceled an order because what she needed the thing for fell through.  It was within the cancellation time, but it turned out they had already shipped it.  They told her to just keep what they sent no charge because it wasn't worth sending back.

 

Amazon's CS is still the best, though.  I ordered donut pans and the USPS says they were delivered and put in our box on Friday.  There was a package in our box, but it was JCrew and was the *second* time it was delivered to us even though it's for someone with the same street number in a totally different neighborhood.  Nothing from Amazon, though.  (I do wonder if the people expecting the JCrew box got my donut pans...)  I contacted Amazon Friday night and yesterday morning replacements arrived at no cost to me.  I hope they figure out where the package ended up and get it back, but I don't have to do anything about that.

[Guest]

The zipper broke on ds's Lands End backpack. They sent me a new one but want me to ship the old one back. Really?? Can't I just email a photo?? Silly.

[chiguirre]

 

(Aside, I'd just realized the book would make an excellent gift for an upcoming birthday, so I told them to just charge me for it and save me the effort of tracking down packaging tape and etc. and etc.)

 

You don't have to repackage it. You can take the item and the mailing label to a UPS store and they'll pack it for you. If you have a UPS store...

[bluemongoose]

I have shipped back stuff on Amazon that I thought was silly...but sometimes they changed their minds after I reasoned with them. Examples: I bought a case of canned food. The case came so squashed the cans looked like hourglass shaped. They wanted me to ship them back, but they were heavy and it wasn't something safe to use so why would they pay for shipping on it?

 

Another was a large coffee table size heavy book. It was listed as good used. It apparently had been used for a collage because many of the pictures had been clipped out. I called and asked for my money back. They asked me several times why I didn't want the book if it was the correct title. Uh... because the pages are not all there?!? They made me send that one back in before returning my money...again not something they can resell. I could have saved them money and time by just recycling it.

 

The last one is kind of funny. I ordered a box of 12 red erasable pencils. A single pencil arrived with a bar code sticker stuck on the pencil that said 12 pencils. I called Amazon and asked them to mail me the other 11 pencils as I'm not willing to pay $7 for one pencil. They wanted me to ship the one pencil back. I said that seemed silly when I want the pencil I just want 11 more. The guy on cs said he had to ask his manager. They ended up agreeing with me. A new box arrived with 12 pencils. I left it at that....bakers dozen.

[moonsong]

Your title doesn't make sense. Why should you get rewarded for being honest? Being honest is what you do regardless of the outcome. How hard is it to slap a label on a package and stick it in the mail our send it with the ups next time they come?

Unfortunately there are so many dishonest people they have to have people send ridiculous to send back things. Otherwise people would be lying about receiving damaged items just to get things for free.

[Reefgazer]

I don't think that's really an honesty doesn't pay thing; I think it's more Amazon not using resources wisely.

[JFSinIL]

Were the books from Amazon, or an outside seller via Amazon?  I have given up on anything from an outside seller via Amazon since returns are a pain and I usually get stuck paying return postage IF it was an outside seller.  Even if what arrived was poorly packed and BROKEN.  Grrrrr.

[JudoMom]

The zipper broke on ds's Lands End backpack. They sent me a new one but want me to ship the old one back. Really?? Can't I just email a photo?? Silly.

They probably want to see why it failed. Doesn't seem unreasonable to me.

[JudoMom]

You don't have to repackage it. You can take the item and the mailing label to a UPS store and they'll pack it for you. If you have a UPS store...

Really?!

[fdrinca]

Your title doesn't make sense. Why should you get rewarded for being honest? Being honest is what you do regardless of the outcome. How hard is it to slap a label on a package and stick it in the mail our send it with the ups next time they come?

Unfortunately there are so many dishonest people they have to have people send ridiculous to send back things. Otherwise people would be lying about receiving damaged items just to get things for free.

It's mostly a play on the phrase "does honesty pay?" I'm not doing what's right for the expectation of a reward, but I was surprised that they asked for the book back because it felt like a poor use of their resources. I agree that many could take advantage of Amazon, but with my 20+ years of being a customer and the dozens of boxes that arrive at my house monthly, Jeff Bezos knows I'm not trying to game the system.

[fdrinca]

Were the books from Amazon, or an outside seller via Amazon? I have given up on anything from an outside seller via Amazon since returns are a pain and I usually get stuck paying return postage IF it was an outside seller. Even if what arrived was poorly packed and BROKEN. Grrrrr.

From Amazon. The way the books were packaged together, I am guessing there is an issue on the fulfilment end; it's almost as if someone didn't fully unpack stock on the warehouse. I thought if it were an ongoing issue they might like to know.

[fdrinca]

I had some Amazon returns to make. Four items from three different orders. Only two were on he same mailing label so three boxes were mailed. Wasteful!

 

To be fair- I probably should have contacted them to verify that they could not be shipped together, but I didn't have the time and I'm so bad at Amazon returns that I was taking advantage of my "let me just do this now" motivation.

I've had similar lingering returns, although now that I know about the UPS store my life might be changing. I'm returning ALL THE THINGS!! Wrong headlights? Finally going back. Shoes too small? Send 'em home.

[fdrinca]

I would have been annoyed at the work too if it happened on the wrong day. Sometimes I don't have the time to take on any extra work in my day. I would have felt differently if the mistake was my fault but in your case it wasn't.

 

A company sent me license plates accidentally. I called them and they wanted me to pay to send it back. I refused. I told them they could come pick it up since they were local but they didn't.

 

Amazon has been better. They let me keep the $50+ item they accidentally shipped to me in October. I would have preferred to send it back because I have no use for it. They also sent me the wrong kind of peanut butter last month. They let me keep the wrong flavor.

We have oot guests now and are leaving for vacation the following week, so maybe my grumpiness is contextual.

 

I mostly was afraid the book would end up in my car for months gathering dust and guilt, like most UPS and USPS packages tend to do.

[fdrinca]

I have shipped back stuff on Amazon that I thought was silly...but sometimes they changed their minds after I reasoned with them. Examples: I bought a case of canned food. The case came so squashed the cans looked like hourglass shaped. They wanted me to ship them back, but they were heavy and it wasn't something safe to use so why would they pay for shipping on it?

 

Another was a large coffee table size heavy book. It was listed as good used. It apparently had been used for a collage because many of the pictures had been clipped out. I called and asked for my money back. They asked me several times why I didn't want the book if it was the correct title. Uh... because the pages are not all there?!? They made me send that one back in before returning my money...again not something they can resell. I could have saved them money and time by just recycling it.

 

The last one is kind of funny. I ordered a box of 12 red erasable pencils. A single pencil arrived with a bar code sticker stuck on the pencil that said 12 pencils. I called Amazon and asked them to mail me the other 11 pencils as I'm not willing to pay $7 for one pencil. They wanted me to ship the one pencil back. I said that seemed silly when I want the pencil I just want 11 more. The guy on cs said he had to ask his manager. They ended up agreeing with me. A new box arrived with 12 pencils. I left it at that....bakers dozen.

I pushed back little...I replied that it seemed inconvenient and wasteful for me to send it back, they may as well just charge me for it. Which they did. I'd rather have the extra book to give than the too-large father's day t-shirt that I returned and then was told to keep.

[fdrinca]

I had a situation on eBay where they sent me the wrong battery for my laptop, the listing clearly said that it was the battery I needed,I had to agree to have my credit card charged to get the RMA, and it cost me shipping both ways because THEY made a mistake.

 

Sometimes you just can't win.

 

I'm not a fan of either Amazon or eBay but sometimes you just have to settle for the least of the evils and you wind up getting ripped off anyway.

 

It sounds like the best solution was just to keep the book for a gift.

That sounds awful. I'd like to say I would have appealed, but navigating customer service can be mentally taxing for many...me included.

 

I often think of anything I've ordered as a sunk cost if it's less than $20, my arbitrary return point. If something is damaged or not as advertised, I might try to return, but it doesn't seem with the effort for most items. It comes with the online territory, I guess.

[fdrinca]

You don't have to repackage it. You can take the item and the mailing label to a UPS store and they'll pack it for you. If you have a UPS store...

That is good to know!! Definitely makes it easier.

[SKL]

I think it makes sense because if their policy was to just let people keep it, some people would "accidentally" order extra and keep it etc.

 

Sending it back is pretty simple.

 

I've had Amazon ask me to send broken items back before.  But usually their resellers will just say "keep it."

[Tanaqui]

This is why we say that virtue is its own reward. :)

[gardenmom5]

Amazon sent two copies of a book we'd ordered. I'm thinking it's just a packing error - the two books were shrink-wrapped together. 

 

I sent Amazon a message letting the company know about the extra book and assuming that they'd just tell me to keep it. 

 

Nope! They'd like it back. It seems like an inefficient use of scarce resources on both ends of this equation, but probably more for Amazon, as the book is only $13. By the time they've paid for shipping and processing, what profit could be left on the book?

 

(Aside, I'd just realized the book would make an excellent gift for an upcoming birthday, so I told them to just charge me for it and save me the effort of tracking down packaging tape and etc. and etc.)

 

this has been bugging me since I first saw it, but I was struggling to articulate why.(and still probably did a poor job.)

 

their minion made a packing error and shipped two items instead of one. . . . ok- that was their error.  yeah, it would have been nice (and less hassle) if they said "keep it", but  they wanted it back - that they might lose money on the deal is their problem - not yours.  their shipping cost is <$5. yeah, they might only make a couple bucks - but when you get into accounting - it's nickles and dimes that kill budgets. (or these days, those $1 here, $1 there.)

 

stores miss mark things (years ago, I caught one store where that happened - some stock clerk marked a set of six items as $25.  it was $25 PER item, but that wasn't how it was marked.)  I took it up to the desk so they could fix it.  not the first time I've caught that type of mistake - and not the most egregious either.  (and stores do reserve the right to correct those types of mistakes if caught when ringing up.)

 

it feels like a sense of entitlement that you should have been allowed to keep the extra item.   if you were on the other side - and you had sent a buyer two items, but you're only getting paid for one, would you automatically write it off?  what if the item was $20?  or $30? 

[heartlikealion]

Bummer.

 

We got two items from Targetdotcom around Christmas and they said I could keep it. I knew if I had to I could take it back to the store. I ended up gifting it to a boy in ds' class for the Christmas exchange. Sounds like he really liked it.

 

A few people on the Instant Pot facebook page said two IPs arrived at their door when they ordered one!

[gardenmom5]

I think it makes sense because if their policy was to just let people keep it, some people would "accidentally" order extra and keep it etc.

 

Sending it back is pretty simple.

 

I've had Amazon ask me to send broken items back before.  But usually their resellers will just say "keep it."

 

that "extra" would show up as an ordered item.  if you order two, and only want one and to send the 2nd item back - it counts as a return of an unwanted *ordered* item, not an extra unordered item. 

 

and sending stuff back isn't hard.  the stuff comes in shipping materials that can often be reused.  the only thing I usually need is packing tape - which I buy in bulk.  (cheaper per item)   I'm in the city so I can do UPS drop-off.   and amazon does have drop-off places too.  my son had them do a pick-up here yesterday.  but someone has to be home.  usually, but not always.

 

I've also send back broken items - I figured they wanted to be sure it really was broken and I wasn't just trying to get a second item for free.  

 

my biggest "keep it and we'll fix it" was two large frames . . . . the site was messed up so I put one in my cart, but a different one went into the order.  took a while back and forth to get everything sorted-  they finally just said "keep the wrong ones and we'll send the correct ones."  they were my daughter's christmas presents - so I was really upset over the whole thing too.  especially as until they understood why I was so upset - they wanted me to pay to return them. (shipping was $95 EACH)  but I hadn't gotten what I actually ordered.

[Southern Ivy]

This is the randomness of Amazon. 
I'm in an instant pot group on Facebook. Since Prime Day, people have been receiving 2 instant pots, instead of the one they ordered. They've checked and they haven't been double billed. So, they've called Amazon and Amazon has said to keep them. 

An Instant Pot!! yet, they want people to return 1 pencil or a book with pictures cut out. 
I don't get it. 

[heartlikealion]

This is the randomness of Amazon. 

I'm in an instant pot group on Facebook. Since Prime Day, people have been receiving 2 instant pots, instead of the one they ordered. They've checked and they haven't been double billed. So, they've called Amazon and Amazon has said to keep them. 

 

An Instant Pot!! yet, they want people to return 1 pencil or a book with pictures cut out. 

I don't get it. 

 

Yep, I found that funny. Maybe because of the weight of the item or something it's a bigger pain. :confused1:

 

[fdrinca]

this has been bugging me since I first saw it, but I was struggling to articulate why.(and still probably did a poor job.)

 

their minion made a packing error and shipped two items instead of one. . . . ok- that was their error. yeah, it would have been nice (and less hassle) if they said "keep it", but they wanted it back - that they might lose money on the deal is their problem - not yours. their shipping cost is <$5. yeah, they might only make a couple bucks - but when you get into accounting - it's nickles and dimes that kill budgets. (or these days, those $1 here, $1 there.)

 

stores miss mark things (years ago, I caught one store where that happened - some stock clerk marked a set of six items as $25. it was $25 PER item, but that wasn't how it was marked.) I took it up to the desk so they could fix it. not the first time I've caught that type of mistake - and not the most egregious either. (and stores do reserve the right to correct those types of mistakes if caught when ringing up.)

 

it feels like a sense of entitlement that you should have been allowed to keep the extra item. if you were on the other side - and you had sent a buyer two items, but you're only getting paid for one, would you automatically write it off? what if the item was $20? or $30?

Well, I did say that I view it as an inefficient use of scarce resources (time, money, packaging, fossil fuels...and my patience as I take 5 kiddos into the UPS store!), and that Amazon is probably on the losing end of this equation. I don't think I'm **entitled** to the free book, but was rather surprised that they wanted it back given the types of products we've been told to keep after I have returned them. I'm puzzled where Amazon draws the line. I'm sure there is an algorithm for returns, but given how little profit there is in books anyway, this feels like an unexpected position to take.

 

Many years ago I did sell used books and other products on Amazon, mailing dozens of packages a week. When I made mistakes - and I did on occasion - I would send a new replacement via Amazon to the recipient, and I never asked them to return the wrong book. It didn't seem appropriate to inconvenience someone for my mistake. I might have taken a different approach if this had been my main income instead of a way to clear my bookshelves and feed our vacation fund.

 

Maybe my attempt at a click-bait title colored your opinion?

[fdrinca]

I think it makes sense because if their policy was to just let people keep it, some people would "accidentally" order extra and keep it etc.

 

Sending it back is pretty simple.

 

I've had Amazon ask me to send broken items back before. But usually their resellers will just say "keep it."

I think it really depends on the type of Amazon customer you are. I've had this account for almost 20 years, and order way too much from them, so they could easily see I have a low return rate.

 

I'm sure there are many people who do shady things on Amazon. Is there such a thing as digital shoplifting?

[fdrinca]

Yep, I found that funny. Maybe because of the weight of the item or something it's a bigger pain. :confused1:

 

Or the inconvenience of restocking and having too many IPs taking up too much stockroom space.

[fdrinca]

that "extra" would show up as an ordered item. if you order two, and only want one and to send the 2nd item back - it counts as a return of an unwanted *ordered* item, not an extra unordered item.

 

and sending stuff back isn't hard. the stuff comes in shipping materials that can often be reused. the only thing I usually need is packing tape - which I buy in bulk. (cheaper per item) I'm in the city so I can do UPS drop-off. and amazon does have drop-off places too. my son had them do a pick-up here yesterday. but someone has to be home. usually, but not always.

 

I've also send back broken items - I figured they wanted to be sure it really was broken and I wasn't just trying to get a second item for free.

 

my biggest "keep it and we'll fix it" was two large frames . . . . the site was messed up so I put one in my cart, but a different one went into the order. took a while back and forth to get everything sorted- they finally just said "keep the wrong ones and we'll send the correct ones." they were my daughter's christmas presents - so I was really upset over the whole thing too. especially as until they understood why I was so upset - they wanted me to pay to return them. (shipping was $95 EACH) but I hadn't gotten what I actually ordered.

For me, sending back something that is broken - in cases where it was not requested to be returned - feels so wasteful and inefficient to me.

 

Dir

[Guest]

&nbsp;

This is why we say that virtue is its own reward. :)

&nbsp;

 

 

Exactly.

 

Also why I am still looking for alternatives to Amazon and eBay even though I'm not beating myself up over the fact that I haven't found them yet and am shamelessly posting in solidarity with those of you who love Amazon, don't care why I don't, and still feel bad when things like this happen.

Edited July 18, 2017 by Guest

[QueenCat]

The zipper broke on ds's Lands End backpack. They sent me a new one but want me to ship the old one back. Really?? Can't I just email a photo?? Silly.

 

That reminds me of the time a Pampered Chef clay piece warped. They had me mark it with a sharpie, with a specific word (can't remember what the word was) and send a photo of it. Then they sent me the new piece but all I had to send was the photo.

[Halftime Hope]

This is the randomness of Amazon. 

I'm in an instant pot group on Facebook. Since Prime Day, people have been receiving 2 instant pots, instead of the one they ordered. They've checked and they haven't been double billed. So, they've called Amazon and Amazon has said to keep them. 

 

An Instant Pot!! yet, they want people to return 1 pencil or a book with pictures cut out. 

I don't get it. 

 

I must not have been holding my mouth right.  I only received the one I ordered.  ;-)

 

[kesmom]

My funny one was with flossers. I have them on subscribe and save and once they shipped them with a couple of really heavy items. (detergent and peanut butter) The bag had burst open and at least 20 of the flossers were scattered in the box. They wanted those mailed back - a $2 item that they had to throw away. #eyeroll

 

 

[Mimm]

Huh, Amazon has always told me to keep the extra item. One time I ordered a water bottle and got a spice grinder. I didnt' even know what it was when it arrived. Of course, when I finally managed to look it up, I realized it cost less than $5

[Bambam]

Huh. I would tell them if they want it returned to send the UPS guy to come by and pick it up from my front porch. I'll put it back in the same box, stick on the return label or print one, tape it on, done.

 

[elegantlion]

Huh. I would tell them if they want it returned to send the UPS guy to come by and pick it up from my front porch. I'll put it back in the same box, stick on the return label or print one, tape it on, done.

 

That generally is one of the options they give you when you return an item. I drop my returns off at a shipping store (not a UPS store) because I don't want boxes sitting on my porch too long. 

 

As far as the honesty, perhaps Amazon has a deal with publishers where they must account for each of their books, otherwise they return them for credit - forget the term for that. 

 

I've had them tell me to keep items before, like the Amazon basics laptop sleeve that I ordered in the wrong size. They did want a return of the laptop my son ordered and they had accidentally shipped two. It was kind of pain to ship back, and they probably would have never known had we not contacted them, but honesty was all on my side - to contact them and do as they asked - as long as it didn't involve me spending more money. 

[Lanny]

We had an issue with Amazon last year and I sent an email to Jeff@amazon. His staff made us happy with their solution

 

Sent from my SM-G355M using Tapatalk

[Butter]

Huh. I would tell them if they want it returned to send the UPS guy to come by and pick it up from my front porch. I'll put it back in the same box, stick on the return label or print one, tape it on, done.

 

That's exactly what they have done every time we've had to send something back which was like twice in all these years ordering way too much from Amazon (things arrived broken).  The UPS guy brings the return label so I don't even have to do that part.

[Serenade]

 The UPS guy brings the return label so I don't even have to do that part.

I was once told twice by Amazon that the UPS guy would bring me a label to return a faulty product, but it never happened. I even called Amazon back once about it, but after that I let it go. I didn't think it was fair for me to have to spend my time and effort to return a product that was missing pieces. I never returned it, and I never got dinged for it, either, even though they sent me a replacement.

[nixpix5]

I think it is random. Everything about Amazon runs on algorithms and data mining to determine what is most cost effective. I have had times where I submitted a return request and it said "no need to return the item" and other times it was a cheap item and they want it sent back. Once I ordered Fiestaware and the cup and small bowl in the set was broken and they just sent replacements. Another time we received a pool that was torn and I had to ship it back. I did have an issue where a package was stolen and they replaced it. I was shocked and so grateful as it was a gift. Absolutely not their fault. I only called to have them help me verify it was delivered to the correct address. It was so nice!