I think the federal rules dealing with unordered merchandise don’t apply to this case. This is a case where an order was misfilled. The FTC rule is aimed at totally unsolicited merchandise.
Bad Karma can come to the nicest persons. I would ask that my coins come with prepaid mailer, insurance and signature required card and then photo and return. I would return them.
Yes, doing the "right" thing is returning things that aren't actually yours. I agree. However, doing the "right" thing in this case carries substantial risk to the buyer. Doing the "right" thing is also standing up to a shooter, or a bank robber, right? Of course it is. But you're not "wrong" because you don't want to risk your own safety doing the "right" thing. Similarly, doing the "right" thing in this case carries a similar but much smaller risk for the buyer (as described above) and it wastes the buyer's time without any guarantee that his time will be compensated, as he is entitled.
I've been on the opposite end and switched up two buyer's orders. Both gladly sent it back, which was refreshing and validating of what little faith in humanity I still have. One of the coins was a lot more expensive too, but the buyer who purchased a $12 coin and received the $40 one contacted me to return it even before I was aware of the error. In my experience, ethical people would not even consider doing anything besides making things right.
Obviously there's no such thing as karma. If karma existed, we would all always do right in order to perpetuate rewards for ourselves.
I understand the whole big faceless company thing, but as others have mentioned behind that is a face of a person that is deep in it
I'm not sure it's that, for me anyway. I have no problem with big business. The reason I would treat a company sending me extra stuff differently than I would treat a private ebay seller sending me stuff is, again, due to the risk I would assume. The big company likely deals with a much larger volume, which increases my risk of sending the item back to them. That risk is that my return has a higher likelihood of getting lost or mishandled by the big company dealing with a higher volume of orders than the smaller, private seller who is dealing with a much smaller volume. The other reality is that in considering whether we are doing the "right" thing or not is to consider the consequences of our actions. The consequences of a big company making a mistake and losing a few hundred dollars hurts them far less than it could hurt a private ebay seller who makes a similar mistake. Again, this is not a matter of it being right or wrong to return the package. Obviously, returning the items that don't belong to us is the right thing to do. But, you need to factor in these two considerations of risk and impact in deciding if it makes sense for you to assume the possibility of any harm coming to you when deciding to return the package. The impact of not doing the "right" thing when a private seller sends you the wrong item is much worse than the impact of not doing the right thing when a bigger business makes a mistake. So, if the impact of my action is much greater when it involves a private seller, then that will impact my decision in whether to assume extra risk or not.
I actually had a vendor send ME payment for an item that I bought, and immediately shipped out the product. After some head scratching as I bought a bunch of various stuff at the same time from various vendors, I informed the vendor that he payed me, instead of sending me an electronic invoice. It was funny.
I know this is gonna sound corny but do what you are most at peace with. They screwed up and if they want them back make darn sure they compensate you for every penny. I know for a fact you can be prepaid for a return. They just refund your money for approximate shipping. You should be out of pocket NOTHING! It was their mistake and they need to make it very easy for you to send them back. If you keep them just make sure YOU are sure it’s the right thing to do in your opinion. No judgement intended at all. You know the situation, and company better than anyone here
Yeah I guess it's OK to be insulted. And just sit here and take it. I guess it's OK not to fire the first shot, but get blasted when I respond. Stick up for the person who thinks it's OK to steal. Yeah, that's the ticket.
A moral argument shouldn’t be complex. What’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong. At times I have stood on my high horse and “virtue signaled” as someone once called it, but I guess I was just raised differently. I can’t say that i’ve never been on the wrong side of morality, but I try to do my best and do the right thing. I was taught that conscience is what you do when people are watching and character is what you do when nobody’s watching. Do what you feel is right, the only person you need to answer to is the man in the mirror.
I should add, is it ok to keep something not intended to be sent to you? No IMO. I’m Just saying make sure you aren’t out of pocket for their mistake.