I was processing a return of an inexpensive item ($12.99) tonight, and at the end Amazon displayed this message:
We are processing your refund. You don't need to return the item back to us!
Anyone else seem this? New to me. Figure they must be so busy that they just don't want to deal with some of the low end stuff.
Not me personally, but a friend bought a new switch bot curtain motor which doesn’t work very well with their rail. Asked for a refund which they got and told they could keep it. Nothing wrong with it so they’ve sold it.
They used to do this with items under 10GBP, I think it got abused by people so they stopped it. Good that they've started again. Interesting thing is that it is all factored into what we pay for higher end purchases!
I started a return recently but never actually bothered to ship it back. a few weeks later they credited my account anyway.
I once bought a 3 pack of Smartthings contact sensors and I revived only 1 with a barcode for the 3 pack.
I went contacted Amazon and it was a bot, I got the then end I did not have to return the device and got a refund.
After that I ordered another 3 pack and it had the same issue.
This time I was asked to return it, however due to the lockdown there was no option to drop it off at a pickup point. I would have to print off a label and they would send somebody to collect it.
Due to my printer packing in, i called Amazon and said I was unable to print the label so they said I could keep it.
Back in the day when I used to buy region 1 dvds from Amazon.com, I would not have to return items,
I had a return of a faulty item to Amazon.co.uk the other day. I did send the item back, Amazon re-imbursed me for the item and the shipping, which actually cost more than the item itself. It worked out for me, not so much for Amazon.
I’ve noticed this in the past as well.
Over the years I have gotten a couple items in my packages that were not part of my order (like a music CD or some random small thing that seemed to get slipped in). They have always just told me to keep it (so I end up donating them, it has never been anything I wanted).
It happened to me recently. A device was received non functional. It was only an $11 item. I can't be sure but I think part of the Amazon decision is the amount of purchases you make and your return history.
Anyway somewhere there is a actuarial calculating the cost of return, % of folks who are "inept" or simply lying. The % of folks who don't like something so the say it was received broken simply to save the return shipping.....etc
In the end (as said above) the cost gets spread across the purchase price of items we pay for.
Thanks for all the replies confirming business as usual. I only wish that I actually needed the device. 
Looks like family donation time...
It's a seller choice as to whether or not they think the cost of the item is worth the cost of the return shipping which Amazon will get from them one way or another. It has happened a few times to me too.
What baffles me is when I buy things like Hue light bulbs on Warehouse Deals for %50 off, and they show up with a Warehouse Deal label on a factory sealed box. This happens a lot. Just received two Hue White bulbs yesterday in brand new, unopened condition. $15 CAD each, Regular price is $29.99 CAD each. 
Not Amazon, but a story where they gave our money back without requiring the item be returned.
We recently bought some Legos from eBay. Showed the packaging of the retail item but was sent a knock off item from China. Looks similar, but we wanted the original. The seller tried persistently to get us to keep the item and kept trying to lower the price.
We finally told them we did not want it at any price and to send a return shipping label so we could return or we would file the dispute with eBay. We received the credit to our account and the seller never provided a return method so I put it in the basement just in case and will eventually donate it.
I've experienced this a few times recently. It's more expensive for Amazon to process the returned item than to just let you keep it and give you a refund.
There's much unknown. Got some time to kill, watch Amazon destroy the environment with our returns
It has happened to me a few times.
One was a “classic car” calendar I ordered, expecting it to be a professional product. It was an on-demand printed POS, the photos were horrible, “Good Friday” was on a Tuesday, and one of the months had the wrong number of days.
Another was a 6-pack of Heinz jalapeño ketchup. They sent a 6-pack of balsamic vinegar ketchup.
There may have been others but those are the 2 I recall.
Edit: recently I ordered a bread lame, but it was missing the blades. They sent out another one and I was able to keep the original.
Ahhhh... Another baker! 
With two bread lames you could almost be a superhero. 
There was a better story published recently, but I can't find it. Buying returned stuff in pallets is a thing
Man, everything is a thing these days. 
Not surprising, all that returned stuff has to go somewhere...
I recently got effed by eBay. Seller shipped and inferior knockoff. I would have to return it at a cost that was more than it was worth to get a credit.
The Lego set my Wife had ordered was approx half of the retail price, said it was new without box, but used pictures of the authentic merchandise:
We requested the Seller to pay return and if they did anything less we would report them to both eBay and Lego as it was a knock off. Guess we got lucky, haven't had any other negative experiences, however we don't buy a lot from ebay and rarely use any vendors without high reviews.
I only had this happen for me once several years ago. I ordered a table that was severely damaged in the shipping. I had to provide photos of the damage to get my free replacement. Since I didn't have to send it back, I now have an extra glass top if the one I am using ever breaks. It's funny to me that the base was destroyed but the glass was fine. How does that happen???
Download the Hubitat app
