What would you do?

You ordered a ukulele from Amazon and got sent 5, you paid for one. would you

  • return the extra 4

    Votes: 66 86.8%

  • keep them

    Votes: 10 13.2%
  • Total voters
    76
  • Poll closed .
I haven't real all replies but if it was 5 in a huge box they must be overstocked. That's no mistake. :D
 
I would call customer service followed up by an email, and let them know about their mistake. But I'd insist on being compensated for my time and trouble in sending them back, i.e. shipping and handling, just like they do. That would probably encourage them to tell you to keep them and forget the whole thing.
 
strumsilly said:
ordered a ukulele from Amazon and they sent 5 ! only paid for one. what would you do. just curious.
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No brainer. I'd send the extras back....
 
One time I ordered a couple of dozen mugs from Cafe Press. After 4 weeks they hadn't arrived so I contacted them. They told me they would send me a duplicate order free of charge and that they would sent them first class mail this time instead of parcel post. Three more weeks went by and when I still hadn't received any of the mugs they told me that they, again, would send out a duplicate order free of charge. As luck would have it, all 6 dozen mugs showed up the next week. I called them and they insisted that I keep all the mugs. I felt better and they gained a life long customer. It pays to be honest.
 
Many years ago the United States Postal Service had an advertisement on TV that said "If you receive something in the mail that you did not order, it's yours to keep." Technically, the seller made the mistake and sent you five times what you ordered and only charge you for the one. Legally, they are yours to do with as you please (if you live in the U.S. that is).

However, Karma is not a very nice lady at times, you don't want to make her mad. Contacting the seller in an attempt at sending them back was definitely the right thing to do.
 
LloydAZ said:
Many years ago the United States Postal Service had an advertisement on TV that said "If you receive something in the mail that you did not order, it's yours to keep." .... Legally, they are yours to do with as you please (if you live in the U.S. that is).
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I wonder if that is still the law. If I recall correctly, that ad (and the corresponding law) was a response to unscrupulous mail-order practices. My recollection is that shady businesses ran magazine ads that enticed people to call and request more information, then in response to the call, the company would send unordered merchandise along with an invoice. I'm guessing a lot of mail-order laws have been re-written with the advent of online shopping, and I wouldn't be surprised if that sort of protection doesn't cover an obvious error.

Regardless, I would definitely return the ukuleles. What goes around comes around.
 
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twentytabby said:
Email customer service, hoping they won't ask them back. I wouldn't want to pay for shipping them back.
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Amazon will issue a call tag. You would not have to pay for shipping.
 
Ukejenny said:
Yeah, I would have to let them know that extras were shipped. What is amazing to me is that someone accidentally packed up and shipped 5 ukuleles instead of one. I mean, how big was that box?
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That was probably either a manufacturer carton or a distribution carton.
 
Pippin said:
That was probably either a manufacturer carton or a distribution carton.
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And the way Amazon is, I can bet that whoever they thought was responsible got fired when it was caught.
 
cantsing said:
I wonder if that is still the law. If I recall correctly, that ad (and the corresponding law) was a response to unscrupulous mail-order practices. My recollection is that shady businesses ran magazine ads that enticed people to call and request more information, then in response to the call, the company would send unordered merchandise along with an invoice. I'm guessing a lot of mail-order laws have been re-written with the advent of online shopping, and I wouldn't be surprised if that sort of protection doesn't cover an obvious error.

Regardless, I would definitely return the ukuleles. What goes around comes around.
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The law is still the same, but, I would rather have Amazon fix the issue rather than feel guilty about it. Human error costs companies money all the time. It is always better to be honest.
 
consitter said:
And the way Amazon is, I can bet that whoever they thought was responsible got fired when it was caught.
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Scott, I would hope not. Amazon has been trying to improve the way they deal with employees since the acquisition of Zappos. The CEO of Zappos wrote a book titled "Delivering Happiness" and his philosophy is now working its way through Amazon. Jeff Bezos is actually a good guy, but the company had issues through management ranks over the years-- the result of growing into what they are. Human error will occur. The difference in how I would handle it would be determined by whether or not the person who made the mistake actually cares.
 
Pippin said:
Scott, I would hope not. Amazon has been trying to improve the way they deal with employees since the acquisition of Zappos. The CEO of Zappos wrote a book titled "Delivering Happiness" and his philosophy is now working its way through Amazon. Jeff Bezos is actually a good guy, but the company had issues through management ranks over the years-- the result of growing into what they are. Human error will occur. The difference in how I would handle it would be determined by whether or not the person who made the mistake actually cares.
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I hope so too. From what I've heard about Bezos, he has a nice public exterior, but is nearly emotionless when it comes to treatment of employees. I'm glad to hear that Amazon is taking on a better attitude.
 
Here is a link to the book at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Delivering-Happiness-Profits-Passion-Purpose/dp/160941280X

This book chronicles the ups and downs of Zappos and how Tony Hsieh's attitudes and ideas created one of the "best places to work" in America. Now, Bezos is big into the idea of following Tony's lead on this. I hope it works. The logistics business is filled with grumblers and gripers. That is common among warehouse workers. What Tony did was create a culture of satisfaction and enthusiasm.
 
Update: sent the extra 4 back and thought it was done. I just got an email that Amazon refunded the money to my CC for the returned item. good grief!
 
strumsilly said:
ordered a ukulele from Amazon and they sent 5 ! only paid for one. what would you do. just curious.
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I'd call customer service and tell them they made a mistake. I wouldn't pay to ship them back, I'd expect them to pay for that.
If I was told to keep them, great. I'd put them to use.
 
Ukejenny said:
Yeah, I would have to let them know that extras were shipped. What is amazing to me is that someone accidentally packed up and shipped 5 ukuleles instead of one. I mean, how big was that box?
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Jenny you would be surprised at the box sizes things are shipped in. It makes no sense. The other day we received 5 boxes (regular sized one too) of pasta elbows in a box that was bigger than an 18 gallon tote.
 
Yukon Cornelius said:
Jenny you would be surprised at the box sizes things are shipped in. It makes no sense. The other day we received 5 boxes (regular sized one too) of pasta elbows in a box that was bigger than an 18 gallon tote.
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We aren't going to complain b/c Amazon is one way we do our shopping (90% of our shopping is done online).
 
strumsilly said:
Update: sent the extra 4 back and thought it was done. I just got an email that Amazon refunded the money to my CC for the returned item. good grief!
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Too funny! Sounds like straightening the whole thing out is a lost cause. Maybe consider donating the money to a good cause?
 
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