Amazon Sent Me a $339 Item I Didn’t Order…What Happened Next is Crazy
Have you ever had something show up at your door from Amazon.com, or another site, that you didn’t order? If you have, it can be a bit of head-scratcher. This happened to me last week when we received an item that Amazon sells for a whooping $339.
I knew I couldn’t just keep it without contacting Amazon first as I figured someone had paid for it and was wondering when it would be showing at their front door. Here is how the whole thing went down and what Amazon told me to do with the expensive item…
Huge Box Shows Up at My Door
So last week, a big ol’ Amazon box shows up at our front door and my son tears it open thinking it’s his new school backpack.
To his surprise, and disappointment, the box contained a VERY expensive BIG brown comforter set for a full-sized bed.
We all scratched our heads and tried to figure out if my wife ordered it, or maybe it was a gift from someone?
We don’t have a full-sized bed in our home so we were quite perplexed. Once my wife got home, she was equally confused and had no idea why it showed up.
See Also: 6 Brilliantly Slick Ways to Get Amazon Prime for Free
Amazon Has No Record of the Order
So I took to the inter-webs and logged into our Amazon account to see if there was any record of the comforter set. Nada.
So I hit up Amazon live chat and explained the situation to the operator.
The only record of the order I had was the UPS sticker on the front of the box as it showed up without a packing slip.
After snapping a pic of the label and getting it to the Amazon rep, she could not find any record of the order anywhere in their system.
What Amazon Told Me To Do
“Keep it.”
Yes, Amazon told me to keep the $339 comforter set.
Since they had no record of the order, and thus couldn’t create a return label so I could return it, they simply told me it was mine.
But I was like, “I didn’t pay for it” and they were like, “Nothing for you to worry about, I will going to leave a note on your account” in case someone claims the bedding set at which point they’ll offer a refund or replacement.
I figured they’d thank me for my honesty and politely ask me to return it.
I guess that’s more of a pain-in-the-ass for them than it’s worth.
I wonder at what price point they’d ask me to return the item? $500, maybe $1,000? Anyone know?
The most amazing part of this whole dealio? A quick Amazon search shows this comforter set is being sold for $339. I guess I’ll put it up for sale on eBay unless you know someone who may be interested?
I plan to donate the money earned from the sale to charity.
Below is the transcript of my chat session with Amazon and details how the whole thing went down…
(Update 1/11/20) – According to this LifeHacker article, scammers could be sending you stuff you didn’t order as a way to steal Amazon boxes from your porch once they get delivered.
Apparently they use your old credit cards on your Amazon account to make it happen then swipe the stuff before you get home from work or brazenly take them while you’re home.
This could be worth a look if you think your account has been hacked recently.
See Also: Did Your Amazon Account Get Hacked? 6 Things To Do Immediately
Ask the Reader: Have you ever had a package show up at your front door that you didn’t order? How did you handle it, and if you contacted the company, what was their response?
By Kyle James
I started Rather-Be-Shopping.com in 2000 and have become a consumer expert and advocate writing about out-of-the-box ways to save at stores like Amazon, Walmart, Target and Costco to name a few. I’ve been featured on FOX News, Good Morning America, and the NY Times talking about my savings tips. (Learn more)
We once received a refurbished sewing machine from the same company we had bought a new one from – I guess they confused our address with the person getting their machine repaired. Took FOREVER on the phone to convince them they had sent someone else’s machine to us. They were practically argumentative. They had UPS pick it up.
I ordered a $20 solar light from Sears and received a $75 sander. Called them and they said they didn’t know what I was talking about, they had no record of it. The next day my light arrived. Umm ok …Thanks Sears!
I just received a bunch of items for a Samsung s5 phone, the package was addressed to me but I never ordered it. There is no record of the order on my amazon account and my bank account was never charged for it. Amazon told me I could keep the stuff or get rid of it. I hope someone isn’t sitting around waiting for their stuff to show up.
I just received two things from Amazon (in one package) that I did not order. A face peel and facial cleanser, together they cost about $50. This is the second time this has happened. My daughter once received two silicone baking mats inside her box of stuff she did order.
I just received two packages from Amazon I didn’t order. On the first day, I received a large buck knife and a portable DKnight2 Speaker (about $75 together) then a day later I received an Xbox 360 video game and I don’t even own an Xbox! I wasn’t charged for this anywhere, but I sell stuff on Amazon and I know if a seller sends an item that wasn’t described correctly or they didn’t order, Amazon will not help the seller get it back. So, I guess this is a little bit of Karma as Amazon ripped me off royally about a month ago!
I ordered a ssd for my laptop and received a box of 10. I crap you not. I was so confused.
I just received a package from Amazon that I did not order. It was a Nikon D750 camera. When I checked my Amazon account, it did not show up in my orders list, nor did I ever receive the usual email confirming an order. However, when I checked my credit card statement online, I was charged for the camera’s cost of $2,400.00!!! I contacted Amazon and explained the situation, and my conversation with them went almost exactly like Kyle’s (above) except that I won’t get a refund to my credit card until they get the item back. The customer service rep (Indian accent) was able to locate the order number and issue a return label, but she wasn’t able to tell me who had originally placed the order. She was going to send it to “Investigations” so that they could look into it. You can bet that this camera will be going back to Amazon this week!! I wonder if I’ll ever hear anything from “Investigations?”
That is crazy Darcy! Guessing it was an honest mistake…you’d think that if someone hacked your account they’d have the item sent to them, not you. Best to change your Amazon password anyways. Thanks for coming by and commenting.
I’m just wondering why you mentioned the rep you spoke to had an Indian accent. Seems irrelevant and a bit of a strange detail to add :S
No it’s not irrelevant because it shows that Amazon uses poorly trained personnel who work for peanuts on the dollar
Peanuts can get expensive
Online chat people are outsourced by Amazon, who live outside USA
Plus their knowledge of English could be inferior
Because they are usually unhelpful and it is stressful dealing with a non-American at times.
I work in a call center and guess what? The non americans have better metrics than the americans. When are you, americans, going to understand that the job that the quality of the job that one does has to do with the integrity of the person rather than the nationality? Be humble and accept others can be better than you.
Ignore the ignorant people. Most of us do not think this way.
Obviously, she mentioned that the rep was Indian, because sometimes their English is not great at all– therefore can misconstrue the issue being called about! As I’ve experienced many times so don’t get all bunched up about the comment.
the fact is it is often a matter of being able to understand the accent of the person on the other end of the line. it is extremely frustrating when trying to resolve an issue that involves money and frankly if get a call from a telemarketer that I have difficulty understanding, I just hang up.
Sometimes?
Not irrelevant at all. Anybody knows that the quality of customer service from Indian, or Filipino call centers can be terrible. Not racist. Just true.
You should probably change you’re card number to stop it from happening again.
If this ever happens again, call your credit card issuer and file a dispute. Law says that you are under no obligation to return anything that you’ve received but did not order. It would be easy to prove that you had not placed the order since there was no record of it in your Amazon account and the bank would issue a credit, plus you would keep the camera.
Hi, Kyle. I am the Darcy who left the comment above on April 4th. Guess what? I just went into my Amazon account to check things out, and there sat a pending order from April 8th for a $2,500.00 Canon camera! The only reason that it hadn’t shipped yet was that it was waiting for updated payment information. Needless to say, I did not place this order! After the first fiasco with the Nikon camera, my credit card company closed my account and issued me a new credit card. I have not yet received that card, so the information on my Amazon account is now invalid. Since the new order (shipping to me and again with no confirming email) was pending, I was able to cancel it online. But now all of this makes me afraid to update my payment information when I get it so that orders do not automatically ship. I changed my Amazon password after the first issue, so I am completely at a loss as to why this is happening. I just thought I would share. Thanks for listening!
Don’t link your account/card. I know its a pain in the butt and all, but that’s what I do manually when I order something.
One thing i never do is have my card linked to my amazon account just in case.
This literally just happened to me! Lol I ordered like 4 different things from Amazon Pantry and ended up receiving cans of Cat food lol they too let me know that I can keep the item but I don’t have a cat! I’ll ask around at work hey free cat food!!
If you still have the cat food, see if you can donate it to a local shelter. I’m sure they could use it.
That’s a great idea, they are always in need of donations♡
The reason they don’t demand it back is because they can’t per FTC law. They are out and the person who ordered it gets refunded or replaced items. Personally, if I were to get a package I would be a “good guy” and attempt to return it . When I received a book from Amazon, I’ll trade for that comforter, that I didn’t order they told me the same thing.
They wouldn’t even give me a return address. It was crazy.
I ordered a showerhead/massager from Amazon a while back, and the spa beads were missing from the order. I contacted them to have my beads sent, and they ended up just crediting my charge card for the entire purchase! They said it was due to the fact that they could no longer get that specific item. At least they are honest, and don’t give you a hard time, like some other companies would. I really appreciate that.
Major props to Amazon!
Last week we received a packaged addressed to our 7-year old son. We didn’t order anything and definitely didn’t address anything to him. Opened the box to find 4 laser toner cartridges. Yesterday, I got another package addressed to me and it was a book of Knock Knock jokes. No packing slip, no info other than the shipping labels. The toner appears to have come from a third party associated to Amazon. Nothing in the order history and no odd charges that we can see in our banking. Head-scratcher for sure. On to Amazon, but I imagine they will say keep it like all these prior posts.
Now you gotta buy a new printer. 😉
I just received a $375 Armani watch from Amazon which I did not order. There is no record of it on my Amazon account or on my credit cards. I was worried about identity theft so I did an online check and everything looked fine. Left me wondering how this all happened. So glad to find I’m not alone here. PS – I was given the option of keeping the watch or returning it and receiving a $10 gift certificate for my troubles. No brainer there. Anyone want a watch?
Wow – will this ever end? Received a VM from India lady from Amazon saying she’s sorry I never received my watch and that she will credit my account. As far as I can see this has not happened. Must have my name crossed with someone else’s account?
I ordered a camera at Amazon for $429. I wanted the next level up so much but it cost double the price so I went with the lower model. The two cameras look pretty much identical at first glance but upon closer inspection, the more expensive one has an additional dial and the model # is embossed on the top in tiny print. I received the camera yesterday, and lo and behold, Amazon sent me the camera that cost $799!! Unbelievable, but the manufacturer’s packaging can easily be mistaken for the other. The side of the box says the model # but the front which the merchandiser sees when he or she pulls it from the shelf, does not. The camera’s instruction manual shows the model # clearly but this is inside the box and merchandiser probably doesn’t look at this. Of course, I’ll keep it, its the one I’ve been dreaming to own! :DDD
This just happened to me today. I came home to a package addressed to my husband. No packing slip, just a gift receipt. It was a $250 robe…not something either of us would ever have ordered. I checked my Amazon account…no orders remotely like that. My husband called his bank (we have a Kindle FreeTime account for our niece, so we have to have a card connected) and he did get charged for it. The bank is reversing the charges. cancelled the account and reissued a new card and number, but I’m super angry about this. After reading this thread, I’m not sure I’ll bother contacting Amazon. I did change my password and took that card off. But I still have to have a card connected to the account, so who’s to say it won’t happen again?!
Wait, Amazon sells a $250 robe?
Yes, and they sell a $350 alligator skin card case. This came to us a month ago and we’ve been fighting Amazon to get our money back. We tried to get a return label, but they never emailed it. In the meantime we spoke to someone else at Amazon customer service so we could close our account. She couldn’t tell us why this happened but recommended we cancel our credit card number and close our account, which we did.
Since we never received the return info, we tried disputing this through VISA. They investigated through Amazon who told them it was all fine me dandy, so VISA would not credit our account.
Going back to Amazon for the umpteenth phone call, we tried again to get return info. Now they say they can’t do anything because the account is closed. They offered to escalate it to account services and we would receive a call within 24 hours. We’ve tried this twice and have not received a return phone call.
SERIOUSLY? What a nightmare. We are at a total loss as t how to resolve this.
So they actually charged you for it on your Visa? Did they say you could return it for a refund, yet never emailed you a return label? I would’ve called them everyday until I had the return shipping label in my hands.
Yes, we were charged. And it came with a card that said ‘Happy Birthday’. ( No, not even close to anyones birthday!). First conversation they said they would email a return label. Never received it. Called back, they said they would escalate. Never heard back. Called again, no help. FInally requested to cancel account, and that’s the person who said cancel your credit card and account (some sort of fraud going on) and dispute the bill with VISA. After hearing back from VISA, which took a couple of weeks, we started calling again. Someone was supposed to call back…right! The last time we called, (yesterday) we were told that because our account was closed they couldn’t help us. So we go online and reopen account. Tried to RETURN item through online, and they find the order now, but say it’s too late because 30 days are past.
If this ever happens again, don’t waste your time with the dispute department at your credit card bank. Instead, find the email address of the bank’s CEO (websites such as rocketreach.com or ceoemail.com). Press releases also can have this information. Write to them and explain what has happened. The actual CEO will not respond, but he will delegate this task to someone in the executive office and you will be contacted within a day or two by a person who has the power to resolve the issue for you. It will save you the time and grief of dealing with ineffective customer service people who are working with antiquated computer setups and have no idea how to help you.
His mistress sent it to him…
Just happened to me as well! I received a package addressed to someone else about 20 miles away from me. There are no similarities between our names or addresses. It came in a separate Amazon box to the package that I actually ordered.
It ended up being a $60 Steelseries Stratus XL bluetooth controller. Amazon told me to keep it or donate it if I wasn’t comfortable keeping it. It’s actually super high quality and more comfortable than the Xbox One controller I use for my PC. Too bad I don’t have bluetooth support. I might have to buy a bluetooth adaptor. 😀
Maybe that’s their long-term goal…send out free stuff that requires you to buy more stuff. 🙂
Hi I received an email saying about an item I was to receive which I didn’t order,I rang them with no joy as I don’t have an account with them,their was a section saying click here if this was not ordered by you but it asked for my Email password so I didn’t bother as I have been a victim of fraud a few times this year
Happened to me yesterday. I ordered $30 dinner set but received $159 Tent. When I called amazon to return this and get dinner set, they said they will send dinner set but I can keep or donate the Tent as they treat such products hazardous to take back. I don’t understand this. Hoping to get my dinner set asap. I need that more than a Tent 🙂
I also received a package I didn’t order from Amazon and it arrived the same day I was getting another package and I was like “why are there two?” (of course I checked my account right away and nothing) The second package contained something I did not order – a used Scholastic workbook for math for grade K.. Haha, I have no kids (i am super bad at math so is someone trying to tell me something?).
It has a ISBN code so I was able to search of it and Amazon has it but only through third-party sellers. The sticker on the package says it came from Amazon Fullfillment in KY which doesn’t make sense if a third party seller sent it??
It is only $5 so I will probably just give it to Goodwill or put it in the reading book libraries that we have in my town that has free books etc for folks to just take.
There are a zilllon codes on this thing so have no idea which one to go to look up – sounds like from the other comments that these odd items that show up at our doorsteps aren’t ordered by anyone and if they are Amazon isn’t going to tell us who!!! Ghosts?? I keep thinking it is joke from someone from my past..
Amazon fulfillment centers store and ship merchandise that is sold by third party sellers. In addition to selling items owned by Amazon, the company also allows third party sellers to sell and ship their own items or ship them in bulk to Amazon and allow amazon to handle all the legwork for additional fees.