Received a valuable item in my name by accident!

[benjaminmnz12]

Georgia:
I was shipped an item addressed to my full name and address that I definitely did not order. It came from a specific mans name from a specific apartment in NY. I sent a certified letter to the address and got no response. The postal service left a notice that they had my letter waiting for him at the nearest post office. It has been 14 days and he has not picked it up or acknowledged it an any way. Does anyone know the legality of selling a very expensive item such as this one? I don't want to send off something like this to a random address and leave it in the wrong hands of someone else. However, I don't want to get into legal trouble. If it was sent to my first, middle, and last name, is it legally in my ownership?

 

[justalayman]

Georgia:
I was shipped an item addressed to my full name and address that I definitely did not order. It came from a specific mans name from a specific apartment in NY. I sent a certified letter to the address and got no response. The postal service left a notice that they had my letter waiting for him at the nearest post office. It has been 14 days and he has not picked it up or acknowledged it an any way. Does anyone know the legality of selling a very expensive item such as this one? I don't want to send off something like this to a random address and leave it in the wrong hands of someone else. However, I don't want to get into legal trouble. If it was sent to my first, middle, and last name, is it legally in my ownership?

. A mistake does not confer rights of possession upon you. Sell it and risk criminal prosecution. The choice is yours.

 

[disneykid52]

Cant you just ship it back to the original location? (return to sender)

 

[Lixim]

That is odd that is was shipped to your name and you address. Do you have a common name (you don't need to say the name). Is there any chance the item might have some significance to your past. I wouldn't sell it, because it might have been important that the person receive it, or said person may have purchased it (doesn't make sense though because usually purchases won't be addressed with correct name to someone else). I would keep a listen out for a response to that certified letter.

 

[sandyclaus]

Here's another possibility (total speculation here).

Maybe OP (or someone he knows) stole the identity and credit info for the person that allegedly sent this valuable item to him, used that credit card info to order something for himself, and is playing dumb to try to get out of an identity and credit card theft charge. Perhaps the person that supposedly sent the item is ill, or elderly, or maybe even living abroad (but keeping a local US residence), so they aren't even present at their residence for long periods of time, and won't even receive that letter that OP allegedly sent to them about the mysterious package. The alleged sender fails to respond, and OP ends up keeping the valuable item and no one is the wiser.

That story certainly makes more sense than "some random person I don't know sent me a package containing a very valuable item, with my exact name and address on it, that I neither asked for nor ever expected to receive".

There's definitely a lot more to this story than what we're being told. I'm thinking that OP is being very selective in what's being told so that it appears as innocent as he would have us believe it is.

 

[quincy]

Georgia:
I was shipped an item addressed to my full name and address that I definitely did not order. It came from a specific mans name from a specific apartment in NY. I sent a certified letter to the address and got no response. The postal service left a notice that they had my letter waiting for him at the nearest post office. It has been 14 days and he has not picked it up or acknowledged it an any way. Does anyone know the legality of selling a very expensive item such as this one? I don't want to send off something like this to a random address and leave it in the wrong hands of someone else. However, I don't want to get into legal trouble. If it was sent to my first, middle, and last name, is it legally in my ownership?

benjaminmnz12, this "expensive item" that was sent to you (supposedly) by mistake didn't happen to be something illegal like drugs, was it?

 

[sandyclaus]

benjaminmnz12, this "expensive item" that was sent to you (supposedly) by mistake didn't happen to be something illegal like drugs, was it?

Or perhaps a solid gold, diamond-encrusted water bong?

 

[LdiJ]

Here's another possibility (total speculation here).

Maybe OP (or someone he knows) stole the identity and credit info for the person that allegedly sent this valuable item to him, used that credit card info to order something for himself, and is playing dumb to try to get out of an identity and credit card theft charge. Perhaps the person that supposedly sent the item is ill, or elderly, or maybe even living abroad (but keeping a local US residence), so they aren't even present at their residence for long periods of time, and won't even receive that letter that OP allegedly sent to them about the mysterious package. The alleged sender fails to respond, and OP ends up keeping the valuable item and no one is the wiser.

That story certainly makes more sense than "some random person I don't know sent me a package containing a very valuable item, with my exact name and address on it, that I neither asked for nor ever expected to receive".

There's definitely a lot more to this story than what we're being told. I'm thinking that OP is being very selective in what's being told so that it appears as innocent as he would have us believe it is.

Or here is a possibly different scenario....since the item was sent in the exact name and address of the OP. Perhaps it is actually a gift...possibly not a gift from the person who actually sent it, but a gift from the person who ordered it to be sent.

Bottom line, depending on state law its very likely to be the OP's property at this point since it was sent to the OP's specific name and address. I would not recommend that the OP sell it at this point...just in case, but its very likely that its the OP's property.

 

[You Are Guilty]

Ok, Ok... I confess, it was me. Once every month, I pick a person in a different state and randomly send them a valuable item. Then I ignore all attempts to contact me.

It's part of a performance art piece I'm working on called "Who Sent Me This @%&#?"