Moral question (yes, game related)
 

Okay, I'm most likely going to end up returning the game, but I'm interested in your thoughts nonetheless:

Like a lot of other people here, I subscribed to Nintendo Power for the Zelda bonus disc the first day the offer became available, but it took almost a month to arrive. Before it came, I was convinced that it had gotten lost in the mail, so I e-mailed Nintendo and they offered to ship another copy. Well, I got the second copy today. They told me to mark it "return to sender" and shove it back in the mailbox. However, I highly doubt they'll know for sure that the first copy did indeed arrive to me. I am pretty sure that I'll return it since they were nice enough to respond to my e-mail quickly and send me a second copy without any hesitation. It seems almost unfair to discourage such excellent customer service, which is what I'd be doing if I kept the second copy.

Anyway, what would you guys do? (And how much does EB give for trade-ins of the disc?) :P

Again, I will most likely return the second disc, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to hear feedback from you guys and at the very least spark up an interesting debate about the gray-area morality of this issue.

Thanks.

send it back. how much is your soul worth? $10?

That is good customer service, but no one is going to be out of pocket if you keep it.
They give this stuff out as schwag like it was covered in smallpox. Put it into scale. If you're concerned for a company that you appreciate and know did you a right turn. Don't sweat it. They won't.
If you are afraid of going to Hell because you find a nickel on the ground and don't turn it over to the police, then definitely return it. You'll sleep better.

$7.50. ;)

Damn, sold mine for $5 a few days ago... :D


They did you right, send it back ... good karma and all.

If they had screwed you or countless others, then I would have said to heck with them.

Now if we were talking $35 or more, then maybe my answer would be different. Great having situational ethics isn't it :D

how about another one?

ebgames, right now, has a $10 trade-in deal for any non-sport game (up to 10 games). hypothetically, you could buy 10 used games that cost under $10 (eg jsrf was $7, i think), and then trade them right back for a profit.

is that ethical?

--
btw, i don't mean to come off as very serious about this stuff... maybe my "soul" thing is too heavy.

yes

You mentioned something about this situation being in a "gray area." I don't see how it's a gray area at all. Nintendo sent you a disc because you believed yours was lost in the mail. Nintendo asked you to send back the disc should both show up.

It seems pretty black and white to me. The only question is whether you want to take the ethical course of action or the non-ethical course of action that will bring you a small benefit with little chance for negative consequences.

while hypothetically it would work... I highly doubt that they would accept the titles... don't they have black lists of titles they don't accept?

well, just to answer the question, ethically there is no issue. Since you are not lying and their system would allow it to happen.

In cases like this I usually slap return to sender on it and send it back, not like it cost anything to ship, all you have to do is put it back in the mailbox.

For me it would depend on who it is I was dealing with. Nintendo has always had superb customer service and have always been good to me. I wouldnt screw them, even if it was just one disc that probably cost them 20 cents to make.

With Sony and Microsoft, my opinion would be different.

They were providing you with great customer service by shipping you another based only on your word.

My word means something to me so i would send it back to them.

I'd call them or email them and tell them about it, and offer to send it back. I bet you there is a 99% chance they'll say just keep it. Nintendo is a good company, and I doubt they'll make you send back something like the Zelda disc. You'll not only end up feeling good about yourself for being honest, but will be able to sell it or give it away and feel even better :D

EDIT: Ok dumb me didn't already see that they asked you to mark it return to sender. Still, I'd give it away, that way it's not really being dishonest, you made someone else happy. Right?

:D

Can I have it? I remember getting Zelda for Xmas of 87, I'd love to see that little retrospective video as I loved the old Zelda art in the manuals etc :) My little brother would love it too.

Post a reply if so...I'll pay you the shipping cost.

Thanks

Well, my mind was pretty much made up even before I started this thread, but I figured I'd post for the heck of it anyway.

I'm going to mark "return to sender" on the package and mail it off.

Womp, if I were to keep it, the whole purpose would be to trade it in/sell it for profit. Giving it to you for shipping - while a nice thing to do for a fellow gamer - would still be screwing Nintendo over while not helping me in the least bit. Sorry. :D