Follow this simple plan that we accidentally discovered to start getting your free surprise gifts from Amazon!
Our house was painted four months ago and procrastination ensued to replace the old house numbers that were removed with something more elegant. Soon thereafter, a package showed up at the front door from an Amazon delivery van.
I picked up the package, wondering what Yvonne ordered now or what I ordered and forgot. Inside, I found a nice stainless-steel sink grid, suitable for the finest wet bar in town. Since our wetbar was finished four years ago and this grid was too small, it must have been a mistake. Looking back at the package, it was addressed to someone else. Both disappointment and trepidation followed, as I realized I opened someone else’s package! A google map search revealed the address was about six blocks away in the new development, probably not yet available on most GPS devices.
Confusion set in as I contemplated whether to keep the free gift, attempt to return it to Amazon or accept a new Amazon delivery role. Eventually, convinced of a good Samaritan opportunity, I drove the six blocks and rang Mary’s doorbell. “I am so sorry that I opened your package, but it was delivered to us by mistake and I opened it before realizing it was the wrong address. It is a nice sink rack and I hope it works well for you in your new home”.
A few days later, another Amazon box appeared on the front porch. Since I wasn’t present, Yvonne opened the door and instinctively opened the package, eager to enjoy our latest purchase. She quickly realized we didn’t order a fanny pack, as we had just donated four of them to Goodwill. Suddenly, remembering my previous experience, she looked at the address. It was the same mistaken identity and same incorrect address. Still wanting to do a good deed, I drove the six blocks and rang the doorbell. “I am so sorry that My Wife opened your package. It is a wonderful fanny pack and I hope you enjoy it. What are you ordering for us next? There is a really nice statue on Amazon that would look beautiful here on your front porch. I could get you the item number if you like. OK, see you soon.”
Although I was building considerable goodwill with my new friend Mary, the inconvenience of volunteering my time as a deliveryman for Amazon was weighing on my mind and patience. Having procrastinated long enough with the house numbers, I vowed to install them the following weekend.
Before the weekend came, another package arrived. Again, it was the wrong address and I made the six-block trip to deliver the latest box. With no answer, I just smiled and waved into the doorbell camera, leaving the opened package at the door.
Exasperated with my new Amazon charity arrangement, I drove home and immediately installed a hastily created, yet beautifully artistic house number plaque.
The solution worked perfectly, eliminating the unexpected gifts and relinquishing me of continued moral responsibilities to Amazon. However, Yvonne soon appealed to my vanity that the HOA may not appreciate the numbers as much as their creator and also contended that they somehow detracted from the beauty of our new paint job.
With the HOA threat looming, and Yvonne’s apprehension foremost on my mind, I was forced to speed up the scheduled implementation of permanent house numbers and soon installed the finest numbers available from our local Home Depot.
If you ever want some free surprise packages from Amazon, just remove those numbers and wait for the bounty to arrive.
2 replies on “Free Gifts from Amazon – Here’s How”
Love this, great advice! This little house number adjustment could really help some people make their lives more interesting. It’s like playing Secret Santa at Christmas—you never know what you’ll be gifted with next! I recently received a package and opened it without checking the sender, assuming it was one of my late night impulse buys. Upon opening, I saw it was a pair of men’s pants. I am not a man, or a woman who wears men’s pants. Confused, I checked where it was sent from. It had my PO Box listed as the sender and some strange gobbledegook as the recipient, so it was returned to sender which apparently was me, except it wasn’t. I tracked the package and saw the parcel was initially sent from Connecticut. I am from Hawaii. There isn’t much of a climax to this story, but it is an ongoing mystery to me—what was the scam? What was the point? Who is impersonating me? Also, I’m glad I didn’t open some kind of explosive device or anthrax. Death by pants is not the way I’d want to go. These are questions that might never be answered but that I continue to ask myself until today.
Danielle,
Your story is far better than mine. In fact, there are so many bizarre, unanswered questions that it reads like the beginning of a sci-fi or mystery novel. Please continue with chapter two, so we can learn the next piece of the puzzle and get a better clue about the unknown sender. Is it your twin in an alternate universe, slipping back and forth through a worm hole?