Free GPS units from Dell

glimpster

So these two Garmin GPS systems came in the mail yesterday. At first, I thought they were a gift from my parents to my grandparents, or just somebody's gift that they shipped to the our house, but those assumptions were wrong. In fact, these were not gifts for us, but a mistake by Dell when they accidentally double shipped, along with some six dollar speakers we actually bought. The retail value of these two products put together is almost two grande, since they have the text-to-speech navigation ("turn left at elm street," in stead of, "turn left in 200 yards"), bluetooth, MP3 player, picture viewer, SD card slot, huge screens, and one of them has XM satellite radio capabilities.

My question is, is it OK for me to keep these? Am I breaking the law? This has happened once before to me with duplicate items, just far less valuable, and I've heard that legally, they're mine, and they can't charge me, especially if it's Dell. In fact the other double shipment I received was also from Dell, except it was software.

In reality, I'm just going to a pawn shop to see how much I can get.

HMTKSteve

I am 99% certain that if you receive something in the mail that you did not request (barring a postal service mix-up) you are free to keep it. Even with a postal service mix-up I think the postal service is responsible and not you.

This happened recently when newegg was sending out those cheap linux laptop PCs. That were sending out cases to people who ordered singles because of the box size being so small.

Apreche

I don't know the exact law about keeping them. I have had things accidentally shipped to me in the past, and it's never been a problem just keeping it. I assume this is because it will cost the people more to get the products back from you than the products are worth.

That said, you're better off on eBay than you are at a pawn shop. Also, using one of those GPSes, don't you need to pay some sort of monthly fee to actually get service from the people with the satellites?

HMTKSteve

I don't know the exact law about keeping them. I have had things accidentally shipped to me in the past, and it's never been a problem just keeping it. I assume this is because it will cost the people more to get the products back from you than the products are worth.

That said, you're better off on eBay than you are at a pawn shop. Also, using one of those GPSes, don't you need to pay some sort of monthly fee to actually get service from the people with the satellites?

Not for standard GPS usage.

spiritfiend

IANAL, but I think If it was addressed to you, you could probably keep it. If something I ordered got delivered to someone else's place, I'd want them to give it back.

glimpster

Yeah, it was addressed to my little brother and my home address, so basically, they're ours now. In answer to Scott's question and suggestion, there's no monthly or yearly fee, and the pawn shop we brought them to only offered us $300, so off to Ebay. Thanks for the advice everyone.

Kilarney

Also, using one of those GPSes, don't you need to pay some sort of monthly fee to actually get service from the people with the satellites?

For a tech guy, I can't believe you said this!

The only fees are for those services that are broadcast by radio or added databases - such as traffic alerts, zagat reviews, map updates, etc.

Apreche

For a tech guy, I can't believe you said this!

I know next to nothing about GPSes.

glimpster

Garmin's are probably the most user friendly out of all the brands, and I can already tell after using them for a couple of hours. I work at Radio Shack, and I'm in charge of selling them all day, so it's nice to finally have one.

Dell emailed me again, telling me that they'll send me a shipping label so I can ship the units back, but I'll ignore that. Besides, it's been established. When somebody sends you something in the mail with your name on it, it belongs to you. Since I don't need two, I'm giving the other one to my parents for Christmas.

Kilarney

I bought a GPS thinking that it would be more of a toy than anything else. I figured that I pretty much knew where I was going, and I seldom went somewhere that I haven't been.

How wrong I was...

I can't tell you how many times that it has come in handy. It's best use is for addresses. No need for directions anymore, just get the address. Plug the address in and away you go. You'd be surprised at how often this is used. Basically, if you go to any business or residence for the first time, you don't have to worry at all about getting directions.

The other nice feature is the POI database. If you're in an unfamiliar city you can look up restaurants by category, find the nearest Best Buy, gas station, etc.

I'm surprised at how much I use mine, and I don't even live in an urban area.

Apreche

The reason I don't get a gps is simple. 99% of my driving is to the train station, the grocery store, and my parent's house, and conventions. I already know how to get pretty much everywhere I go. Most of the new places I go are in the city, where I don't need a GPS to find my way. Also, people say leaving a GPS in the car is apparently a sure-fire way to get it stolen. I probably won't GPS it up until I have a phone with the software on it.

Kilarney

Maybe it's rural living, but addresses here can be pretty impossible to find. We don't have a nice grid system, and have fewer street signs.

Apreche

Maybe it's rural living, but addresses here can be pretty impossible to find. We don't have a nice grid system, and have fewer street signs.

Trueness. I would probably get one now if I drove more.

Rym

If I were still driving around the Bronx every day, I'd buy one in a second.

HMTKSteve

If I were still driving around the Bronx every day, I'd buy one in a second.

Don't you mean a "New York Minute" ?