Yahoo Finance How a two-year-old accidentally bought a $616 couch
It could happen to anyone.
San Diego woman Isabella McNeil has become the unwitting owner of a US$430 (AU$616) couch after her two-year-old daughter made the big-ticket purchase on Amazon.
McNeil didn’t realise her daughter had made the purchase until she received an email telling her the couch had been shipped.
"I was just so shocked," she told NBC San Diego.
"I thought, 'Did I buy a couch in my sleep?’"
But it wasn’t a complete accident. McNeil had been surfing through Amazon just moments before handing her phone over to her two-year-old to play with, without realising she had left the Amazon app open.
Two-year-old Rayna made swift work of the purchase, pressing “Buy Now With 1-Click” on Amazon.
Then it showed up at the family’s door.
"Lesson learned," McNeil said. "Now I know it’s really dangerous and [I need] to make sure the Amazon app is closed before my daughter takes the phone. It’s just so easy."
McNeil attempted to get a refund on the couch but found there was a significant restocking fee as well as the shipping bill, so has now listed it on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist and OfferUp, with the description: “Brand new in box. Ordered it by mistake, my toddler actually did…darn buy with 1 click on Amazon. Anyway, it’s more of a hassle to ship back, so I’ll take a loss."
Now, as McNeil waits for someone to snap up the couch, she’s hoping other parents will learn from her mistakes, telling them to ensure all apps are closed and passwords are fingerprint-locked on their phones.
As for McNeil, when it comes to accidental purchases it could be a lot worse.
Just a few weeks ago, South Florida man Kerville Holness accidentally bought a 30cm strip of land AU$13,000. He thought he was buying a house.
And earlier this year, a young couple accidentally bought a 120-year old mansion after an auction mix-up.
The intrepid couple had been planning to buy and fix up a run-down flat, but accidentally purchased the rotting Glasgow property.
Like we said. It could happen to anyone.
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