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?).
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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.
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.
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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