There’s always that sense of excitement upon discovering a package at your front door. It could be a gift, a much-needed addition to the house, or even a new outfit! But what happens when the package turns out to be completely something unexpected? These folks are here to share the exact moment they realized they received someone else’s weird and totally unexpected packages.
All stories have been edited for clarity.
Wrong Place, Wrong Time
“One day I was sitting inside my house when my dad brought a package to me. I didn’t recall ordering anything, so I was a bit confused. I opened it and inside was a bike lock. I have a bike, but I never ordered a bike lock.
I couldn’t find a note or anything but it was clearly addressed to me. It was certainly odd, so I just shrugged it off as a random package and decided to keep it.
A couple of days later, I received another mysterious package. Once again, I knew I didn’t order anything, so I had no clue what it was.
I opened it and inside was something pretty awkward.
It was a bottle of female sex enhancer pills!
I remember being shocked and embarrassed for whoever’s mail I had gotten a hold of. I told my parents about it and they were concerned because they thought there was a creep sending me inappropriate packages.
My mom called Amazon and found out what really happened. A few weeks before the packages got to my house, I was taking voice acting lessons with a voice coach. He had a friend who said he would send me a microphone because I didn’t have one at the time. What he didn’t realize was, that he accidentally put my address for all the other packages he ordered.
So, those kinky packages were for him and his wife! Definitely an interesting story that I won’t forget!”
A Treat From The Candy Shop
“One time I found a large FedEx package waiting for me when I came home from work.
The package was soaking wet and sitting in a puddle, so I dragged it in. The box fell apart on the way in. After looking the package over, I saw a Christmas gift in wrapping paper inside what was left of the box. Instead of waiting for the big day, and letting it sit drenched, I started unwrapping it only to find the content wrapped round and round in plastic wrap. So I kept at it, unwinding and unwinding creating a massive ball of plastic and finally a view of what was inside:
It looked like dried vines that looked like potpourri with a nice fruity fragrance.
What is this? I thought to myself.
I figured it was something with bugs inside. So I decided to look at who shipped it to me. With a startling realization, I saw the package was NOT FOR ME! I have a very confusing street name and saw my packages delivered to the wrong address all the time. I wished I hadn’t been so hasty when opening the package, but I was so sure it was just a Christmas gift from a relative seeing that it was right around the corner.
However, I have no idea who the person was to whom it was addressed. I was sure the plastic wrapping had bugs of some kind in it. In my innocence, I decided to just throw the packaging away because who would want to get a bunch of bugs for Christmas?
Due to trash pickup not being for a few days, I left the bag in my apartment near the door and decided to take the package out to the road when they came.
A day later, I heard an anxious knocking at my door. I opened the door to a big, intimidating guy ‘selling candy’ and very interested in looking right past me and scanning my unit. With Christmas in just a few days, I simply said, ‘No thanks, I have candy galore,’ and closed the door on him. I knew it was odd, and honestly a little frightening, but I decided to blow it off.
A day or two later, a friend came for a visit and I decided to ask him what he thought my garbage really was. He intriguingly looked inside and quickly exclaimed, ‘That’s a crapload of pot!’
‘What!?’ I exclaimed.
As my friend pointed out to me, the plastic wrapping held about ten pounds of high-grade marijuana. My friend wanted to break into the ‘brick’ to get some for himself, but I told him no and called the police.
They wanted me to bring it in, but I thought that was a bit scary to do, so I asked them to come to me. Their response was ‘We can’t come until tomorrow,’ to which I thought, ‘Who cares I’ve had this for days already.‘
They agreed to let it sit with me for the night but said, ‘Don’t smoke any of it!’
The next morning a crew of investigators and officers arrived determining it was from Hawaii and had a street value of over forty-thousand. They took it away and luckily nothing more ever came from of it.”
Snail Mail
“In 2008, I was going through Army boot camp.
One day we were getting our mail when one of the guys in my squad got a thick tan envelope. The drill Sergeant had to watch us open anything thick to make sure we weren’t sneaking in contraband like candy, weapons, or anything else crazy.
As soon as the guy opened the envelope, a putrid smell escaped. He started gagging as he flipped the envelope and dumped its contents.
To our amazement, a dead, rotting snail, and a note fell out.
On the note, someone wrote: ‘Hey, Jon! Hope boot camp is going well. We sent you a friend. His name is Steve. He was alive when we sent this.’
There was no signature or return address on the envelope.
The drill sergeant was speechless. I remember the embarrassed look on the recruit’s face as he stood there, waiting to be chewed out. Instead, the Drill Sergeant quietly told him to ‘get rid of it.’
We spent the rest of BootCamp refining our sense of humor around it.”
Dolled Up
“A few years back I moved into an apartment with my girlfriend.
When November rolled around we received a notification about a package being delivered to our unit. Now the package would have been our first ever parcel while living there. I asked my girlfriend if she ordered anything, but she said no. I knew I didn’t order anything so we were quite skeptical.
When we finally received the package, the name on it was actually for the previous tenant of our unit.
The package was a pretty big box. It rattled a little and I was curious. My girlfriend wanted to send it back without opening it, but I was way too invested not to see what was inside.
I know I committed a crime, but I went ahead and opened it up. What I saw inside made me question who exactly lived in the unit before us.
Inside the package were two of the creepiest, ugliest handmade dolls I had ever seen. They were nothing like Barbie dolls. The faces were made out of plastic but the rest of the dolls’ bodies were knitted and sewn. They looked like something straight out of a horror movie. There was a note that said something along the lines of, ‘To Connie. Thanks for the beef. Here are those two kids you wanted.’
Those dolls were freaking creepy.”
Just For You!
“My roommate and I have a small YouTube channel. We decided to get a PO Box so people could send things after receiving requests. Most of our followers sent us messages ahead of time letting us know about the packages they sent but they weren’t exactly gifts.
Then one day I got an email informing me I had a package to pick up. Slightly confused, I stopped at the post office on the way home from work only to find an Amazon package addressed to our YouTube account.
I was excited because it would have been our first actual gift from a stranger. I sent my roommate a message to let her know. When she got home from work later that evening, we opened the package together.
In the message I sent earlier, I didn’t tell her who the package was from. As she opened the package, she thought it was a gift from me. This only made it more amusing when she opened it, only to find a black coffee mug that said, ‘This is what an awesome brother looks like.’
I burst out laughing but my roommate sat there extremely confused. Of course, when I told her the mug wasn’t from me it only confused her more.
I called my brother and asked if he was expecting a package, but he was just as confused as we were. There wasn’t a note or any other information, so we were the proud owners of an anonymously gifted, irrelevant yet amazing, coffee cup.”
A Naughty Surprise
“I ordered a Dyson hairdryer for my wife from Amazon as a surprise. It came three days later but when she opened the box we couldn’t believe what was in it.
Inside was an electric dildo machine complete with an assortment of dildos. I had paid over three hundred pounds for the hairdryer so I wasn’t amused at all. I immediately contacted Amazon for an exchange.
It didn’t take long to have my money refunded with a request to return the goods, but I wasn’t offered any payment for the shipping costs. We awkwardly held onto the machine because we didn’t know what to do with it. I forgot to mention at the beginning that my wife was seventy-six when the ‘surprise present’ was delivered.”
Barrel Of Odd
“I was home on a week’s vacation when my secretary phoned and said, ‘Something arrived for you and we don’t know what to do about it.’
Slightly annoyed, I said, ‘Well just leave it on my desk for when I get back.’
‘But… it’s makeup.’ My secretary said slowly.
Why makeup? I remember asking myself.
I decided it must have been some kind of free sample. It was totally possible an ad could have popped up on my screen and I clicked it with my wife in mind and then forgot about it. I’ll admit, it was a little embarrassing to receive free samples at the office, and a little more embarrassing to be on the phone about it.
‘Just leave it for when I get back,’ I repeated.
The following week I saw the ‘package’ on my table it was in my office. The ‘package’ turned out to be a huge barrel of makeup. I can’t tell you how heavy it was, but it was too heavy to pick up casually. Other people from the office had to roll it in there.
Surprised, I checked the label. The name was fairly similar to mine, but I hadn’t heard of the person. But whoever it was seemed to work in the building behind ours. Sure enough, that company repacked makeup in retail quantities.
I realized why the secretary thought the delivery was something to phone about. The barrel was rolled away to its proper recipient immediately.”
Secret Admirer
“I live in South Louisiana with no plans for an out-of-town trip anytime soon, so when I opened a package and saw a pair of snow gloves I was puzzled.
I saw the package was from Overstock.com, so I called them to find out what happened. After doing some research, they told me the order was placed somewhere in Florida, but it was charged to my card and sent to my address. They agreed to refund the costs of the gloves on their return. They then told me I should check my card for other ‘unwarranted activities.’
Almost immediately afterward, I received a notice from my credit card that my third one hundred and fifty dollar purchase from Starbucks was being denied. Alarmed, I called Starbucks to see what was going on with them as well.
They couldn’t tell me who made the purchase, but they were definitely using my card.
I made a quick call to my bank, and within days all my money was back, and I changed my cards.
From my own observations, I believe the gloves were a test to see if the card worked. Once the thief saw that it did, they took advantage.
But wait, that’s not all.
I also got a pair of sunglasses from Amazon that I didn’t order. I didn’t recognize the name on the label, but it was my address. Then I received a phone case for a phone I don’t own. Again, the package was not in my name but sent to my address.
The next package was by far the strangest. We have grown children living out of state. Three of them were planning to come home for Christmas, so they asked if packages could be delivered to our home. Of course, that was no problem as long as they were marked as such. I had packages coming and so did my wife.
I received a bundle of packages addressed to me, but I did not order a single one. But because how close it was to the holidays, I had to open them to see what they were just in case I may have forgotten. I do that sometimes.
In one of the packages was a set of photo light umbrellas and stands. Cool, I thought. My wife was getting serious about her photography, so one of the kids got her something for her studio. So I put them in my closet with the rest.
The kids finally arrived and fetched all of the shipped gifts to wrap them for under the tree.
Christmas morning I stumbled upon the photo equipment in my closet. Oops, somebody forgot something. So when all of the presents were distributed and unwrapped I asked each of the children if they may have forgotten something for their mom. Nope. Nobody.
I then explained the weird shipment and told my wife, ‘Merry Christmas, from your secret admirer.’
The next day I called Amazon, and all they could tell me was that it was ordered and shipped correctly. No charge ever appeared on my card, nor was there any record of it in my order history.
It’s still a mystery four years later.”
Lady In Red
“The strangest thing that has ever been delivered to my house that I did not order was a box of live ladybugs. I was expecting a package from an online retailer, but when it arrived, I opened it to find a cardboard box filled with thousands of ladybugs crawling around inside. I had no idea where they came from or why they were sent to me.
I contacted the retailer and they informed me they had no record of me ordering ladybugs. They admitted it was a mistake and apologized for the inconvenience. They even offered to send me a return label so I could return the ladybugs.
I was at a loss as to what to do with the ladybugs. I wasn’t sure they were going to survive another trip in a box in the middle of Summer, so I contacted a local gardening store for advice.
They told me ladybugs are a ‘natural pest control’ and are often used to control harmful insects in gardens. With much excitement, they suggested I release them in my backyard and let them do their thing.
So, that’s what I did.
I released the ladybugs in my backyard and watched as they flew around and landed on various plants. It was a strange and unexpected experience, but it was awesome to see the ladybugs in action.
It was an unexpected and unusual experience, but it ultimately had a positive outcome as the ladybugs helped control pests in my backyard.”
Hope To See You There
“About fourteen years ago I got an invitation to a graduation for a random boy in Colorado. The invitation was addressed to me, but I wasn’t related to him or knew who he was. Thinking about it now, I believe his parents looked the name of the family member up in a phone book and sent it to me thinking I was the right person. It seemed logical because my name is pretty common.
At the time, my mom was going through chemo, she was at my place most days. My mom was rather intrusive and used to grill me about things that were of no importance, like this invitation. I didn’t want her to get worked up about the invite, so I threw it in a box and forgot about it.
Years later I got married. One day when I was cleaning out our garage so my husband could finish moving in, I found the box that had the invite.
Out of curiosity, I googled the boy. I discovered the boy had gone through college and served in the military. He started a family a few years back. He was very handsome and seemed to be enjoying life. For some odd reason, I felt proud of him.
I still feel bad his parents sent two tickets to his graduation to someone who left them in a box for ten years.”
Something Fishy
“When I was younger, my family lived in a small town that had roughly two-hundred people. My sister was away for summer vacation so I went to the post office every day to pick up postcards from her to keep in touch.
One day at the post office, I picked up a nasty rotten smell as I approached the front door. I assumed it was something outside, but after going inside, the smell was much more intense.
I remember reacting to it. ‘Ew! Did something die in here?!’ I exclaimed.
I got our mail in a hurry before running out of the building and heading straight home. I should have been glad to be out of there, but during my entire trip home I could still smell that terrible odor.
When I got home, the smell still was lingering. I held my breath as I shuffled through the mail and found a small package my sister sent.
Once I opened the package, I quickly realized where the gross smell was coming from. Inside was a weird alien-pod-looking thing and a note from my sister explaining she found it on the beach where she was staying.
It was a fish egg case filled with the rotting bodies of underdeveloped organisms.
The postal workers must have been relieved that the smell of rotting fish finally dissipated.”