Saturday, October 24, 2009

The Moral or Ethical Dilemma


image taken from http://www.ubercoolgifts.com/two-of-a-kind-ring/

I ordered a Christmas gift for my wife. I have started shopping early, even though there are usually better prices later on, very often the things you want are not available. This particular item is one she has expressed an interest in having and one I wanted to buy. It was available, but I had only seen it in the US, and while that’s not usually a drawback, the shipping can often be more than the item, depending on how it’s shipped, etc., but that’s a whole different story.

I went after a Canadian site, and I was able to find two in Toronto. The first, a small design shop, had no one ever at home and had no way to purchase through the internet. The second, which may be a florist or related store, had the item and a way to purchase on line, which I did.

A thank you for your order email appeared in a day or two followed by an email a few days later saying they were sorry, but the only one they had left had a damaged box. I wrote back and thanked them, and I said that if the product was fine, I wasn’t worried about the box. They thanked me and said they would send it.

A note came a day later telling me it was shipped and I was happy.

Yesterday, with my wife sitting in my office, it arrived. I took the box and put it away, although I wondered why it was packed in such a large box.

When my wife left, I opened the box and there it was in its damaged container, along with another one, just fine, in a perfect box!

The dilemma as I saw it was, do I keep them and say nothing, or do I call and send it back? The shipping amounted to 50% of the value of the item, and no business would spend that for a return. There would never be a profit in it. However, it isn’t mine.

I guess we will have his and hers Christmas gifts this year.
Our school secretary, however, has put in her bid for it, because she knows what it is!

1 comment:

  1. And for the low, low price of only $39.95 I will use it while I'm taking care of Max after the Rapture.

    ReplyDelete