Getting a package in the mail is often a welcome surprise. Sure, maybe sometimes it’s courtesy of that last glass of cabernet and an impulsive “buy it now.” However, it’s still a nice surprise, albeit one courtesy of you.
A woman recently returned home to find an Amazon package waiting at her doorstep. Its contents had Courtney (@lifeofcourtney) feeling a little disconcerted.
“I did not order anything,” Courtney says in a TikTok as she opens the package.
It contains a single can of Amazon Fresh low fat cream of mushroom soup.
“Mind you this is actually my favorite soup in the entire world and I did not order this. I did not pay for this. It is not in my order history,” she says.
“It was addressed to me at my house,” she continues. “Can someone please, pretty please tell me why this is at my door?”
Courtney didn’t respond to a direct message sent via TikTok.
Amazon by the numbers
Since launching as an online book seller in 1994, Amazon has grown to become the biggest online seller in North America and the most valuable brand in the world, per Landing Cube.
Initially Amazon sold others’ products. However, now it’s expanded to sell a purported 12 million of its own products like the soup that Courtney received.
Multiple sources report that Amazon delivers a staggering 1.6 million packages every day. That’s over a half billion packages each year.
No wonder Jeff Bezos’ yacht is so big.
Courtney’s Amazon surprise
The mystery Amazon package Courtney found when she got home from work contained a single can of the cream of mushroom soup the company sells for 70 cents apiece or $4.20 for six.
The Amazon Fresh brand was previously known as Happy Belly. This vegetarian soup is likely comparable to the well known Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup that is a staple in many recipes.
It’s also quite a bit cheaper than Campbell’s version, which costs $1.24 for a single can on Amazon.
Cream of mushroom is a rare choice for someone’s favorite. The soup is also uncommonly consumed by itself. It’s probably best known as the third ingredient in that green bean casserole that somehow seems wrong but tastes so right every Thanksgiving.
Though to be fair, it’s also starred in some atrocious recipes creators post in what one can only assume is an attempt to attract the attention of Chef Reacts.
Why are Amazon products so cheap?
Amazon is notorious for undercutting its competitors. The company is able to sell products for so much less because it sells at such a high volume.
Amazon’s online cominance isn’t just controversial; it’s potentially a legal liability. The company is currently facing an antitrust suit filed by the Federal Trade Commission that was initially joined by 17 states. Vermont and Puerto Rico have since joined the suit.
They claim that the internet behemoth has an online retail monopoly, which the company denies.
While Courtney may enjoy that 70 cent low fat cream of mushroom soup, the makers of similar products say they’ve found themselves cooked out of the market because they simply can’t compete with Amazon’s prices.
If the lawsuit is successful, there’s a chance that all those inexpensive Amazon products will become a thing of the past.
So perhaps now is a good time to add to cart.
@lifeofcourtney_ ♬ original sound – lifeofcourtney_
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