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I’m going to be a contrarian here. If Amazon didn’t want the Oasis back and instead just blocked it, the original owner still owned the blocked Oasis legally. And if he was honest with his buyer, then he’s not cheating him. I’m not saying it’s not a gray area, but if the original owner was honest in the process, i.e., he thought he wanted the Oasis but changed his mind in the “return for any reason” window, then I can’t exactly say he’s been dishonest, either. Obviously Amazon’s intent was to brick the device and you can’t overlook that, but the seller did come by it honestly.
Sometimes and not just with Amazon, you’ll order something and it doesn’t come and the seller replaces it, after which the original package shows up and the sender says to keep it. Are you supposed to make a paperweight out of it or put it in the landfill, or are you free to use it?
I tend to think that the original buyer was free to use it to the extent he could once Amazon didn’t want it back. I agree that selling it is hinky, especially as it potentially deprives Amazon of a sale when they already had to eat the cost of one device. However, I also see that there’s an illogicality to that as people are generally free to sell what they own, unless part of the agreement with Amazon specifically states that you agree not to resell blocked devices, and the fine print may well say that. It’s all part of Amazon’s cost of doing business, similar to the way Nordstrom’s used to have a policy that you could return a purchase, even used, at any time for any reason.
My two takeaways: I’d be less free with the word thief, and I absolutely would not myself buy such a product nor help someone to use it.
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