[Head Creep]

I ordered a watch online, one that cost $20 (I personally can't justify spending more than $20 on a watch), and waited for it to be delivered. When I got it, the outside box had the label for my house, but inside was a different watch, complete with a sales reciept for a man in Georgia. Now, this mistake isn't exactly a disappointing one, seeing how the watch I recieved is worth $30 more than the one I paid for.

Now I understand that, morally, I should either send back this watch and recieve what I paid for, or pay the difference. However, legally, what should I do? Am I under any obligation to notify them and let them know that they made a mistake? Or should I just sit back and wait for them to contact me?

And just for reference, what I ordered:

What I got:

 

[zotjen]

Legally, you may be under no obligation unless the company you ordered it from contacts you and proves they sent you the wrong item. Morally, you have the obligation to contact the company and let them know of the mix up. I'm sure they'll even pay for the return shipping and you'll feel good about yourself for doing the right thing.

 

[terrymx]

i'm gonna buy a px100 and hope they ship me a hd650.

 

[jagorev]

Meh. Forget about it. You're not under any moral obligations to big companies - they'll do everything they can to screw your wallet. And a minor $30 loss isn't exactly going to hurt them - they're prepared to write off such errors.

 

[ricardo diaz]

Yeah! Damn The Man!

 

[hciman77]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jagorev Meh. Forget about it. You're not under any moral obligations to big companies - they'll do everything they can to screw your wallet.

That is a bit of a sweeping generalization. I have had some exemplary service from some big companies - Rotel fixed my out of warranty CD player for nowt and shipped it back for free. Of course to balance that Sony were rubbish - took three attempts to fix our phone and charged shipping each time.

To me the question would be what happens to the punter who ordered the watch you received ?

 

[PhilS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jagorev Meh. Forget about it. You're not under any moral obligations to big companies - they'll do everything they can to screw your wallet. And a minor $30 loss isn't exactly going to hurt them - they're prepared to write off such errors.

Nice attitude.

 

[jagorev]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhilS Nice attitude.

Sorry. My limited experience of working in a corporate environment has been rather disillusioning.

Think of it this way: when a corporation makes a mistake in their favor, they rarely feel the need to correct themselves, out of their own initiative. They'll usually wait until the customer has called them out on it.

 

[rsabo]

Just think of how you'd feel if you were that guy in Georgia - expecting your fancy new sport watch and getting either 1) nothing or 2) some $20 calculator watch.

Or think about what happens when you get a phone call from some (irrational, ticked-off) guy in Georgia ready to bite your head off because you had the tenacity to receive his watch.

 

[mrarroyo]

I would contact the company for a return. Heck they may let you keep it, shipping it back plus shipping you a new one cost money. Specially since they already paid to have the one you have shipped to you.

 

[lan]

It looks like this was somebody else's watch. This isn't getting something for "free" but looks like it was at somebody else's expense. Don't think of the company who sold you guys the watches but the other person.

I only like getting things I wanted and I maybe ticked getting something else. Even if I got a HD650 instead of PX100 maybe it's not good for me because it's not portable and requires an amp. Even if I got a BMW "free" instead of Toyota, I'd have to pay more insurance.

I prefer the look of the calculator watch instead of the Gshock.

Anyway, if you have to ask yourself what to do, it's probably on your conscience. I'd just settle this fast and take initiative.

 

[gsferrari]

Contact the man who paid for this watch and let him know what happened. You will earn his respect.

Believe me - it is small actions like these that will define how you behave when you get a job in a large corporation.

I have a $10,000 corporate credit card - my values control how I spend it and how I justify the expenses. I went for a trip to see a customer last week, stayed an extra weekend. Now I could have expensed those 2 days as well...but I paid for them out of my private credit card.

The result - my stock with my manager has just gone up to another level.

Do the right thing...this could happen to you - ever think about that?

 

[Gigabomber]

I had an extra pair of 20 dollar IEM's sent to me from audiocubes and my first inclination was to turn them around and make thirty bucks, but I sat and thought about it for a bit and remembered that shoplifting and errors are a big part (statistically speaking) of why our goods cost more and decided to ship it back.
While it did take a whole lot more effort to do, I think it was worth it.
Is Audiocubes really a huge corporate beast trying to steal all of my money any way possible?
Not everyone cooks the books like Enron.
Legally speaking (at least in my train of thought) you are obligated to return it as claiming ignorace is no excuse (such as claiming you thought it was the right watch).
You really have no defense in the matter considering you even recieved a reciep. I think that waiting for the guy in Georgia to put two and two together won't take long and won't be worth it as your situation is considerably more complicated than mine and the guy in Georgia probably has your name on a reciept that mirrors yours, and he certainly isn't going to decide to keep his cheap watch as you have considered keeping the expensive one.

 

[greenleaves]

I had a rather similar experience about a month ago when I bought a Rio Forge MP3 player off ebay. This time the seller sent me an extra one in a separate mail a day after I received the first one. I was a bit annoyed as I had to deal with the mistake the seller had made. I contacted the seller two days later and told him about the mistake. After two email exchanges I decided to keep the extra one as a gift for the future, and the seller agreed to waive the shipping charge. I was happy about the deal, and felt good about it too. I feel good about it because the seller didn't lose his money in this transaction.

In many ways we can spin the matter in the ways we like to hear and feel good about it. What matters most to me is a clear sense of what is right, and what is wrong in our judgement. I'm sure we'll feel no regrets in the end.

 

[gaijin]

You should return the G-Shock. The 20$ Casio with the calculator is so hip.