A woman ordered a single pair of Apple EarPods from Amazon and was shocked to open the box to 10.
On Dec. 16, @lizardfish_ posted a TikTok revealing she had mistakenly received 10 Apple EarPods and was wondering how it possibly happened.
“I thought I ordered one, so I was wondering why the box was so big,” she says. “Y’all, what is this?”
She opens one of the pairs on camera to make sure they actually have EarPods inside, and they do. “Why do I have 10 of these?, she asked.
She clarifies that she only purchased one pair. “And they were only like $19 altogether,” she states. “10 of these for $19. Am I being bamboozled?”
The on-screen caption reads, “Amazon? Apple? Am I going to jail for this?”
She‘s Not the First Amazon Customer This Has Happened To
Commenters were quick to share that this is not an unprecedented experience, and it has happened with many of them.
“I saw a lady get 25 tote bags from Amazon,” wrote one commenter. “If only we could all get so lucky lol.”
“They did this to me when I ordered 1 of the nexus’s hair treatments and sent me a box full,” added another. “Let’s just say I’m still half way through the box.”
Why Did She Get 10 EarPods Instead of 1?
One commenter speculated what happened. “You got a master case,” they wrote. “That box was supposed to be opened and put away separately. Box got put away as 1 unit. This had to get past at LEAST 4 people [before] being shipped.”
There are many reasons this mistake could have happened, as Amazon’s fulfillment operations are large and complex. However, the previous commenter’s explanation is a very likely one.
What should have been a single pair of EarPods likely started its journey in a larger master case. This is a bulk box containing many identical units meant to be broken down into individual customer orders. If that case wasn’t properly unpacked at the warehouse or fulfillment center, the whole thing could have accidentally been scanned and shipped as one item.
Redditors familiar with Amazon’s system explain that these kinds of “master pack” mistakes do happen when the containers aren’t separated into individual units and slip through quality checkpoints, especially near the end of a shift or during peak shipping times.
Alternatively, simple system or barcode glitches can misassign inventory, or human error at the picking or packing stage could result in more than what was ordered being sent. Because these operations are automated and massive in scale, small mistakes can cascade into wild results.
Can She Get in Trouble for Not Returning the Items?
Legally, the situation is murky, but generally doesn’t lead to criminal trouble for the buyer if the item is addressed to them and they didn’t take any intentional steps to commit fraud. Under federal consumer protection rules in the United States, you don’t have a legal obligation to pay for or return unordered merchandise, and the seller can’t demand payment just because you received it in error. Essentially, it’s considered a gift you’re allowed to keep.
That said, there are nuances. If the package was addressed to someone else and you took deliberate steps to keep it without trying to correct the error, some state laws could treat that as theft or misappropriation of property. Many states make it unlawful to “knowingly take control of misdelivered property of another without reasonable efforts to notify the true owner.”
For Amazon specifically, its actual customer service policy around wrong or extra items is usually very lenient, as it often tells customers to keep the extra item and still receive what they ordered. Legally, you wouldn’t face fines or jail time simply for keeping a shipment sent to your correct address, especially if you contacted Amazon and followed reasonable steps to clarify what happened.
AllHipHop reached out to @lizardfish_ for comment via TikTok direct message and Amazon for comment via email.
@lizardfish_ 10 pairs of Apple headphones for 19 dollars?! What’s happening?!
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