Over the weekend, my mouse decided that it had enough of living and wanted to die. So it did. Since I hate to use the trackpad on my laptop, the only option was to get a new mouse mouse. Naturally, I headed over to Amazon SG, because they deliver fast and their prices are pretty good. After browsing their selection, I settled for an Anker mouse.
This one to be exact.

I’ve used Anker power banks before and found them decent so I had no reservations about the mouse considering its brand. The ratings for it were pretty good too, which definitely helped.
Fast forward to yesterday…when the mouse arrived.
Delivery was fine, everything packed in that oversized orange Amazon envelope that the company uses. I opened it up and took a look at the mouse box. Looked OK, thought it was fine.
When I tried to open it though, I noticed something weird; the tape for the box was already cut. As if with a knife or scissors. Alarm bells started to ring but I suppressed them, telling myself it could’ve been for any variety of benign reasons.
Sigh…I really should start listening to myself more.
Here’s how the mouse looked right out of the box.

I didn’t tamper with the packaging at all. That’s exactly what it looked like. All I did was pull it out of the packaging so that I could snap that picture. The wires were also loose, with nothing tying them together neatly.
It didn’t need much more to convince me that this mouse’s been opened and potentially even used before! It doesn’t matter that the mouse is functional, that’s not the point. When you pay for something new, the expectation is you get something new, sealed in its packaging. Getting it any other way isn’t part of the deal.
I know this is Anker’s fault largely, because the mouse was sold by them and only fulfilled by Amazon. That means, Amazon gets a cut of the sale by providing delivery and logistical support. Technically, Amazon didn’t sell me this. That doesn’t mean they should be left off the hook though!
Yes, Anker is primarily at fault here for shipping this but Amazon should’ve done their due diligence as well and checked! After all, it’s being sold on their site and affects their reputation!
Thankfully, Amazon’s Customer Service is still top notch.
I got in touch with one of them via the Chat function on the website and within minutes, the CS rep had apologized and given me a refund (which I never even asked for). They even let me keep the mouse (thanks…I think?) because I figured it’d cost more to take it back.
So here’s a warning to you all.
If you’re ever thinking of buying from Anker via Amazon SG, make sure to triple check what you get and make sure it’s new.