Amazon has no explanation for the slew of mysterious, anonymous mailouts sent Canadian universities and colleges, but insists it’s investigating.
In an email response to a Times Colonist query, an Amazon spokesperson wrote that the company is investigating because the incidents appear to violate company policy. The email also indicated companies that sell the goods did not receive any addresses from Amazon.
For the past several months, Canadian post-secondary student societies, from the Maritimes to Vancouver Island, have been receiving unsolicited Amazon packages.
They contain random goods, including: sex toys, record players, fishing tackle and lots of digital cables.
The merchandise shows up at the rate of one to eight packages per day. The Camosun College Student Society said it has received more than 50 since the fall.
So far, only Canadian campuses have reported the packages. A survey of the five universities in Washington state found no reports of recent mystery Amazon packages.
All the packages come with a generic address. For example, the Camosun packages simply said: “Student Council, Camosun College.”
Also, none of the mystery packages come with a waybill to indicate who sent the items or who ordered them.
Several student societies on Vancouver Island said they are just hanging onto the items, or donating them.
