Call it the online shopping version of a bank error in your favor. And in this case, not only could you score a great deal, but you could do so at the expense of one of the world’s richest men.
Sounds too good to be true, right?
Well, according to one mom, that’s exactly what happened to her. Sam (@thriftycreativemom) was perusing Amazon for peanut butter when she noticed something strange. The company, she says in a viral TikTok, was selling a six-pack of Skippy peanut butter for a little less than $11. A six-pack of 5-pound jars of Skippy.
Sam didn’t hesitate to click “buy it now.”
“For that price, I said, ‘Hey, you know what? We’re gonna order three,'” Sam says. She later adds, “I’m thinking, hey, 30 pounds of peanut butter for less than 11 bucks? I can do some good chaos with that.”
That comes to just $0.02 per ounce.
Then it arrived. Sam says she didn’t get 18 jars. Instead, she got three.
Sam says that she called Amazon to let them know she didn’t get the 18 jars she’d ordered, as per the listing. She also told it about the pricing error.
Nevertheless, she says Amazon refunded her.
Was The Amazon Peanut Butter Deal Real?
After she got the bonus peanut butter, Sam took to TikTok to share what she learned. In the post, she stresses that she isn’t offering advice, just spreading knowledge.
“I don’t wanna get in trouble,” she says.
People took her up on it. Several shared that after seeing her post, which has over 266,000 views, they too ordered the Skippy peanut butter on Amazon.
One even posted a screenshot confirming that the listing shows that six 5-pound jars cost just $10.44. Another helpfully shared a link. Further proof that it was in error can be found in the unit price on the listing of 13 cents per ounce.
Alas, like many good things, the Amazon peanut butter price glitch did not last. As of this writing, the listing is still up. But it’s temporarily out of stock.
There may yet be hope, however. The listing states, “We are working hard to be back in stock as soon as possible.”
An Amazon Deal Inspires Good Deeds
If you believe in karma, then Sam’s good fortune may have been the universe repaying her. As she says in her TikTok, all along she intended to donate the excess peanut butter to a local food pantry.
“That now means that my budget can stretch a little bit further for that food pantry versus what I already spent the money on,” Sam says.
Others were inspired by her act of kindness.
“Umm thank you ! I just ordered mine ! and i plan to donate it to the food banks, if you have anymore great steals like this please let me know,” one wrote.
Another said, “Ordered so fast to donate this month! People need their local food bank now more than ever.” They are likely referring to the interruption in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
“I ordered 6 for the local food pantry,” a third wrote.
Many said that they actually ended up with one jar per order, like Sam. But they noted that you can complain to get refunded just as she id. The item is listed incorrectly, after all.
Sam has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of generosity and attention her post attracted.
“If you saw my comically large peanut butter video, I just want to thank you so much for taking time to spread some good chaos into this world,” she says in a follow up.
“I am so glad that my type of crazy made some sort of positive impact. So thank you, and I definitely will be sharing more,” she adds.
Sam didn’t respond to a direct message sent via TikTok.
@thriftycreativemom This is *NOT* advice for legal purposes, just sharing an anecdote of what happened when I tried to purchase 30LBs of Peanut butter from Mr. JB last night for our little free food pantry. #snap #foodpantry #robinhood #community #nokidhungry