Parents, Lock Your Phones: This Savvy Toddler Bought a $400 Couch on Amazon

The Internet is full of all sorts of conveniences these days. Once feeling scandalized by the thought of entering our credit card on a website, we now basically expect it to be loaded and ready at any online store we purchase from. The only trouble is all of that one-click ordering and automated this-and-that has led to a number of unauthorized orders—especially by children.

The latest incident of a child going for an Amazon shopping spree happened to California-based mother Isabella McNeil, who let her two-year-old play with her phone. Thinking that her child’s phone-play had gone as usual, life proceeded without any hiccups. But then McNeil received a confirmation that her shipment was on its way: a $400 couch, which she did not buy.

Her toddler ordered the couch on Amazon, and despite how great a new couch can feel, this purchase was accidental. Other orders placed by children, though, have been more intentional.

Take this six-year-old, for example, who ordered $350 of toys for herself on Amazon. She knew what she was doing, but her parents did not until the boxes arrived. The family wound up donating the toys to a children’s hospital in Salt Lake City.

As for this uninvited couch, McNeil is trying to sell the piece of furniture locally as it would be too much hassle to deal with returning it to Amazon (who would charge her $179 for the shipping). Hopefully she’ll be able to part ways with it before it overstays its welcome. 

As for her daughter, the couch was a stylish choice. I wonder what she’d pair with the classic Chesterfield, but for McNeil’s sake, I hope we never find out.