The strange case of the pink Pixel 3 replacement bonanza, as this incident shall forever be remembered, started with unspecified issues on the white phone Cheetohz initially purchased. This led to the owner returning the $900-worth handset (with 128GB storage, presumably) in pursuit of a refund. At the same time, a "Not Pink" Pixel 3 was ordered to take the defective white unit's place, which is where the story completely goes off the rails.
For one thing, Google purportedly offered Cheetohz a puny $80 refund for his faulty white Pixel 3, which only covered the sales tax and obviously not the actual value of the stock Android-powered phone as well. Pretty much simultaneously, the company screwed up on a second level, shipping ten times as many pink handsets as Cheetohz had ordered.
Maybe only one of those ten Pixel 3 units is functional
Basically, the frustrated Reddit user/hero of our bizarre story is now in possession of around $8,000 worth of merchandise he never asked for. In other words, he paid for two devices in total and received eight bonus ones at no extra charge, which takes so-called BOGO deals (buy-one-get-one-free) to a whole new level of generosity (BTGE?).
From a legal standpoint, there's a bit of a controversy regarding what might come next for Cheetohz. On one hand, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says you have a "legal right to keep" unsolicited merchandise "as a free gift." On the other, there's something called "unjust enrichment" in contract law that could kick in if the phones are not returned.
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For what it's worth, keeping the extra eight phones "as a free gift" was never this Redditor's intention. But Google still needs to refund him for the original purchase. In a nutshell, Google has this guy's money, he has the company's phones, and the right thing to do now is obviously a swap. All in all, this is a terribly messy situation that Google needs to clear up ASAP. Perhaps letting Cheetohz keep one of the extra Pixel 3 units would be the "right thing" to do on the tech giant's part.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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