Ethics Question

[rowyn]

So, Amazon's resolution for the "we gave you the wrong album" problem was to refund my money. Which is fine.

But this leaves me with an ethical question. If Amazon had told me "sorry for shiiping you the wrong CD, here's your money back" without asking me to ship the CD back, I would feel free to keep the CD shipped in error and use it as I wished: their error, their solution.

In this case, however, there was no physical product to return. Amazon didn't ask me to delete the MP3s, but they didn't say 'feel free to keep them', either. So my question is: should I delete the mp3s anyway, under the assumption that Amazon isn't paying their wholesaler for the sale? Or should I keep them, under the assumption that Amazon is eating the cost of the error? I'll probably end up doing the former -- I think Amazon would've sent a return lable if this had been a real media situation, so I suspect that's how they're treating it on their end -- but it's a curious artifact of the digital age.

Comments

[level-head.livejournal.com]

The product was sent to you in error. Amazon is still responsible to the vendor, and under your current arrangement the product is yours to keep.

===|==============/ Level Head

[rowyn]

I still feel a little odd about it, but almost everyone agrees with you. And you certainly have far more experience with businesses that deliver non-physical goods than I do!

[terrycloth.livejournal.com]

You 'should' delete them. Amazon probably didn't pay the vendor because the product was 'returned' -- I've had physical goods shipped incorrectly and yeah, they make you send them back.

I put 'should' in quotes because I doubt anyone really cares.

[rowyn]

That was my thought, although on further reflection it seems like Amazon should have at least *asked* me to delete them, if they wanted to maintain the appearance that the product was 'returned'.

Everyone else seems to be thinking Amazon would treat as non-returnable and therefore Amazon's responsibility to compensate the wholesaler.

[shockwave77598.livejournal.com]

IF it was a CD, and Amazon was willing to pay to ship it back, you are returning something that cna be sold correctly again. In physical items, there is a finite supply.

With files, 1 or a billion copies are the same as far as supply goes.

My solution would be to listen to it and decide if you like a couple fo the songs. If you do, buy a couple of them from Amazon. If not, why waste the drive space? You can even buy the entire album if you like it, though probably only a couple of songs are all that interest you (if that).

[rowyn]

I'm rather inclined to do that; there are a few tracks off of it that I like, but I don't care for the rest.

[howardtayler.livejournal.com]

Keep the music. Anytime I send out the wrong product I make good on the original purchase and invite the customer to keep the thing that was sent out mistakenly. Why? Because it makes for happier customers. Also this way they have something to show for their wasted time.

[rowyn]

I can vouch for this, as one of your happy customers! Not that you've ever had to fix an order for me, mind you. :)

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

Another point to consider, from the point of view of the band whose music you mistakenly bought:

You'd never heard of them. If you got their album by mistake and liked them, you will probably check them out and maybe buy more albums. If you didn't like it, you would never have been their audience anyway so they would never have gotten any money from you--nothing was lost.

[rowyn]

As it happens, it was by the right band but the wrong album -- I ordered Cirrus's "Back on a Mission" and Amazon delivered Cirrus's "Counterfeit" (the kind of pretty irony I should have mentioned in my original post.)

I'm not that impressed by "Counterfeit", but I'm still going to try to get "Back on a Mission" because I certainly don't want Amazon's error to cost the band a sale. :)

And I did listen to Counterfeit, because I figure that either way I might as well figure out if I like it enough to buy it (even if I treat this album as not properly "mine"). For just the reasons you say -- I was unlikely to get it sound unheard.

[fortyozspartan.livejournal.com]

"Amazon is eating the cost of the error"