Google accidentally sent someone $5000 worth of phones, and they sent them back

Google sells a lot of devices through its store. As such, there are bound to be some shipping mishaps when that much inventory is coming and going. One such recent shipping mistake from Google saw the company send a buyer who ordered a single Pixel 4 in Just Black approximately $5,000 worth of devices instead.

Google’s Shipping Mistake

A user took to Reddit to recount the story of Google’s Pixel 4 shipping blunder. The user says they ordered a single unlocked Pixel 4 in black, taking advantage of the $500 sale that’s ongoing. However, when the package arrived, it contained a whopping ten devices. At the sale price, that’s $5,000 worth of smartphones (even more when the devices are full price).

The Redditor thought about keeping all of the phones (which they’re technically entitled to do according to US law), but their wife chimed in and recommended they be honest and send them back to Google. “For a moment, it felt like winning the lottery, but it was only a moment as [an] angel on my shoulder, and my wife, both spoke up, and I knew there was only one choice,” the Redditor said.

Reluctantly, they informed Google customer service of the shipping mistake, which ended up turning into more of an arduous process than they expected. Rather than taking the buyer at their word, Google asked for a photo of the packing slip and extra phones, which the buyer provided.

From there, it took Google two days to get back to the Reddit user regarding the Pixel 4 shipping mistake. Eventually, the company let them know that FedEx would stop by to pick up the devices. However, the tracking slip only listed eight phones, leaving one of the extra phones unaccounted. After more back-and-forth, Google finally sorted out the additional phone, telling the buyer to send back the eight listed and then the other one with another tracking slip.

Ultimately, everything was sorted, with the buyer keeping one Pixel 4 in Just Black, but it wasn’t without a bit of headache. In the end, at least they can rest easy knowing they did the right thing and didn’t keep a pile of smartphones that was sent to them by mistake.