Ever mailed out the wrong coin to the wrong buyer?

As a seller, I've done this a few times over the years.
1. The first time, the buyers were kind enough to mail them back to me so I could get them right. There was a delay, of course, but I compensated both with some free silver coins.
2. The second time, I switched an 1892 Barber Quarter with a 1892 Barber Half Dollar. So each buyer recieved the wrong coins, as they were auctioned on the same night. The buyer who received the half dollar, which was valued higher, decided to ignore my messages, keep the half dollar and capitalize on my mistake. I ended up letting the buyer who mistakenly received the quarter keep it for free to make up for my mistake.
3. It had been a long time, but I recently auctioned an 1803 Large 3 Draped Bust Half Dollar in PCGS VF20 for $585. I mistakenly mailed him my 1803 Small 3 Draped Half in PCGS VF20. The small 3 is worth around $400 more than the large 3. So I messaged him and explained my mistake, asking him if he would do the right thing and open a return and I would compensate him with some silver for his trouble. He responded, "To be honest, no, I don't want to do this. I want to keep the small 3 Half. But I guess I wouldn't want it to happen to me, so yeah, I'll send it back..."

Sort of a disturbing response to my brain... openly admitting that his initial response is to take advantage of my mistake. But in the end, if he follows thru, then I consider myself VERY lucky.

Incidentally, I've been on the other end of the situation before. A dealer mailed me 3 graded notes worth about $1500 and mailed another buyer my coin, which was worth about $700. We both did the right thing and immediately shipped the wrong notes/coin back, and I recieved my coin in due time.

 

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I did that once, I shipped a set of snap on wrenches to the wrong person, My gosh the problems. like your buyer they ignored me (liked the wrenches), I finally pulled a fast one, said, Since im not sure if your getting my messages, I contacted your local Sheriff to visit your address to make sure everything is ok. and got a response and resolved the issue. I haven't made the same mistake since. I did compensate both parties.

 

I think any seller that does volume and doesn't have a packing and shipping facility of their own (Big Dealers), have made this error.
I think I had an extraordinary circumstance that is worth mentioning - I ended up with 2 really nice people (the switched two), who after I compensated each for shipping said they would drop ship to each other. Come on ...really … I was in shock both got their coins and I was given good feedback by both.
Who would have thunk it there are actually honest understanding people left in the world.

 

I’ve not sent someone the wrong coin, but in my last round of auctions earlier this month I got to the end of the list and could not find one of the coins. It had fallen behind a desk and luckily immediately after a quick prayer I found the thing.

That same week I received a $10 PCGS 1944 Lincoln Cent instead of a $100 Seated quarter I ordered. I was bummed about it, but the other customer ended up doing the right thing and it all worked out. Hope yours does as well.

 

I once was in a three way mix up.....three 4 reales cobs from the Atocha were being sold.
All 3 did sell and the seller sent the wrong coin to each of us buyers. We all returned the cobs and the seller did get it right the second time.
It was a bigger mess for me as mine was a gift for my wife birthday ,her 50th and I needed to have it mounted in a bezel with an emerald from the Atocha.
It all worked out but it was almost a bust for getting her present on time.

 

I have one recorded sale on eBay, so hard to mess that up, but frankly I think the buyer was just being overly honest. My mother used to ask me if I wanted to help clean the house when I was a kid. My response was always something like “no I don’t want to, but I’m sure I don’t have a choice”. She didn’t appreciate the answer, but it was honest. I think it’s a natural instinct for people to want to take advantage of situations, and even turn them to their benefit. We are all concerned about ourselves first and foremost. I’ve personally seen a few dealers, for example, that crack out problem coins and sell them as problem free, taking advantage of a situation. I no longer do business with such folks. If you’re really bothered by the seller’s response, you can always block him/her once the sale is complete.

 

Not to name names, but one or two very influential figures in my childhood taught me that you take what you can get -- if someone makes a mistake in your favor, you cling to that favor, and it's their problem for making the mistake in the first place.

As a result, I still have that little voice in my head telling me "shut up and take advantage of it" when something like this happens. It's an ongoing struggle to overcome it, but I do the best I can.

As another result, when someone doesn't want to do the right thing by me, I understand in a way, even though I'm angry and disappointed.

But I don't want to make other people feel that way, so I do what's right, to the best of my ability.

 

I've been on the receiving end of getting a mixed up coin twice. One time the one I received was much more valuable than what I bought, but of course I returned it without issue and so did the other buyer. The other time, the dealer couldn't get back the coin I had bought and so told me to keep it and he refunded my money as well. That was a relatively cheap coin though.

 

I've gotten the wrong coin meant for someone else. I contacted the seller and asked him what he wanted me to do. I mailed the coin to the right buyer and he mailed me my coin.

 

Sometimes you get very honest people of which is great to see. Most honest coin collectors are that way. There are many dishonest people out there that will take advantage of you as well. Cheers to the honest people. I have had great dealers send me extra coins as a thank you for waiting a little longer to get the coin I paid for.

 

I've had a couple of mix ups that were my fault. Thankfully, not of great monetary value and I gave them what I sent and corrected by sending the right items. But this past Christmas season I did some shopping through Groupon. I ordered a bag of 18 pairs of ankle socks for my son from one vendor. What I got was 18 packages of 18 pairs. I did not send them back as it would have been a big hassle so now I have socks for life. This was a very large company and their process should have been better. They had tens of thousands of sales. Do I have some guilt? Yes, a bit but not enough. I kind of get in a funk on holidays and just was not up to going through all the hassle. But I don't think I could do this again.

 

You could always donate them to Goodwill or a thrift store.

 

I've had sellers send me the wrong coin twice, both times they sent coins worth more than the coins i ordered. Being completely honest, i have to admit i briefly thought about keeping them, then decided against it and contacted the sellers and made arrangements to return the coins. I thought about how I'd like it if i were on the other end of it, and got coins worth less than what I'd ordered. Also, i know that i have to hold myself to the same standards i expect from others, or else I'd be nothing but an honorless turd.

 

@C-B-D I actually did already give 3 packages to my local Goodwill. Most thrifts around here are private for profit. Looking for a church thrift or something similar but I have to look outside my area so might take awhile. I should have said "Had socks for life". My guilt will eventually be appeased. I was raised correctly so I'll do the right thing.

 

I own a business that has a similar name to another area business. Several times we have received checks that belonged to the other business. Never for an iota of a second would I think of depositing them. I wouldn’t be able to sleep nights. I can’t understand for the life of me how so many folks these days seem so bereft of any semblance of moral standards. Sorry that happened to you @C-B-D .

 

A couple of years ago I received the coin I ordered just fine, but when I opened the package with scissors a wafer of paper drifted down to the table. It turned out that the envelope also held a Canadian note, and I sliced right through it.

I assumed it was a thank-you gift and was disappointed that I ruined it. I set it aside.

A few days later I got an email from the seller asking if he had accidentally slipped another customer’s order into my envelope.

Oops.

I sent him back a photo of the two parts of the banknote. I was embarrassed, but he wrote back that the item was not very valuable and he would send a better one to the other buyer to make up for it.

I still feel bad for permanently destroying it, even though I had no way of knowing it was there.

 

I cant think of the name right now but there is a military charity where they send care packages to troops overseas and the #1 item requested is socks, I believe.

 

Yes, I seem to remember this also. My niece is in the Army and I will ask her. Thanks for mentioning it.

 

Yup

 

I’ve had it happen twice. Both were due to putting the wrong labels on the packages. Both times the buyers were willing to make it right (the cost of the coins were luckily quite low).

The second time, USPS just happened to temporarily lose one of those coins for a month which screwed absolutely everything up. The end outcome was agreeable to both buyers.

Keeping something that was not intended for you (aka sent in mistake) in the hopes of profiting and ignoring all attempts to have it returned is illegal. It falls under “found money”.

https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/found-money-what-are-my-legal-obligations-31615

It is different from receiving unsolicited items because those are intentionally sent by a company expecting something in return (as a relevant example, Littleton’s Coins On Approval program). Those are legally interpreted as gifts. But if you receive something due to a company’s/individual’s error, then you are obligated by law to return it; otherwise it is considered theft.