Thought experiment - Amazon sends you the wrong item. Something you have no use for, but is bulky to store, impossible to sell and costly to dispose of.
Of course it is their responsibility to take it back.
Suppose I order a watering can from the garden supply store. When I get home from work, I discover that instead of a watering can, they've delivered 2 tons of mulch in a giant pile in my driveway.
I'm not sure how you could make the argument that it's now my responsibility to get rid of the mulch that I didn't want or ask for?
I agree, but the argument is also bullshit. You've changed the [noun] specifically to create an example where disposal is onerous. If disposal is not onerous, it looks quite a bit different. Are we so inflexible in our thought that we require a strict rule to be applied all cases, without the bit of common sense that says: "If you created a massive burden on me, it's your responsibility. If you created a negligible burden on me, who gives a shit?"
If they delivered, instead of two tons of mulch, a single unit of scotch tape, would you still give a shit about whose responsibility disposal is?
We can go ahead and treat these cases as distinct, because they're distinct. You recognize that implicitly, which is why you made your example two tons of mulch, and not 2 ounces of plastic.
The customer will sadly always have to do something about an error... it's sad, but it's now in your property, there's a minimum of effort you'll need to do in every case.
Bare minimum effort:
1. Contact Amazon
2. a. Giving it back to a shipping carrier
b. Dispose of it
In the case of a server mother board, both giving it back to a shipping carrier and disposing of it is essentially the same effort (I would argue that giving it back to the shipping carrier will be more effort actually, but it's not worth the effort to argue that, so I'll say it's equivalent). That means complaining over it is petty.
In the case of "2 tons of mulch", or by definition anything "bulky to store, impossible to sell and costly to dispose of", the amount of effort isn't the same at all between disposing of it and letting a shipping carrier dealing with it. This make it complaining about it, not something petty.
He’s the customer (or she). If he doesn’t want the wrong item that was shipped, amazon should accept the return. I know this is HN but now this dudes gotta figure out what to do with a 12K server does he use it? Does he toss it? How much does it cost to dispose of a server like that. Maybe he donates it. I don’t know but he didn’t ask for it the trouble. It’s not like he won the lottery for $12K.
The customer asked for one thing but the company delivered something else. Don’t make your customers deal with your mistake.
I think we agree that Amazon should do the thing that makes the least trouble for the consumer. The wrong item is there. Return or disposal or charity or resale. One way or the other your customer is going to deal with your mistake.
You seem to have some concerns that being left with a $12K server to dispose of any way she pleases would be a burden.
I believe and her actual experience suggests that the rerun will be more trouble.
Ok same values, different views on likely outcomes, we disagree.
Pretty wild. I mean if it’s $12K...surely even a completely lackluster listing on eBay or Amazon selling of it for $2K profit after all costs/fees is worth it to virtually anyone?
If it was me I'd make a quick ask about returning. Upon them declining the return I'd eBay it on the spot. They have no right to merchandise they send me according to the FTC.
Your average server mobo fits in your average kitchen trash can. In this instance, it seems like he made all the trouble for himself.
Yes, Amazon has the responsibility of return and disposal. But where disposal is a completely trivial "drop it in the trash can, forget it exists," let's not pretend that this ia Amazon doing him some kind of massive disservice.
Just to clarify, it was a server motherboard, not the whole server. I would assume that the motherboard takes up a lot less volume and weight that a full server box.
I'd certainly hate for some quarterly audit to trigger a review and a follow-up. "hey we told you to keep it but that was also an error we will come get it." "Oops I sold it." "Okay no prob you only owe us for the inventory cost not the retail cost we will bill you 9.5k"
They told you not to do it. You did it. Now you’re pissed that doing it wasn’t a smooth process. Ok.