If you’ve noticed that returns and exchanges on Amazon seem a little harder lately, you might have people like this guy to thank.
A TikTok user named John Stockwell is going viral for repeatedly ordering 110-pound cast iron anvils on Amazon—then returning them. Over and over. For six months. Each anvil costs more than $225, and thanks to his Amazon Prime membership, all shipping fees are waived. That means Amazon (or the third-party seller) is footing the bill for both the delivery and the return of an enormous, extremely heavy object. Every single time.
In one video, Stockwell proudly scrolls through his order history, casually showing ten separate anvil purchases over the course of just a couple weeks. He’s not subtle about it either. “I’m going to keep doing [this] until somebody does something about it,” he says, smirking.
If your brain is short-circuiting at the logic behind this stunt, you’re not alone. Even Stockwell’s followers seem divided.
Some have slammed him for wasting delivery workers’ time and effort, for scamming sellers, and for ultimately contributing to the rising costs that honest customers end up paying. Stockwell’s response? Laughter.
He’s been responding to backlash by doubling down on the absurdity. When critics called him out, he jokingly invited them to come argue “at his house”—and then gave Barack Obama’s address. (Yes, really.) He also told reporters the anvils are for “dropping on roadrunners,” and when asked what his goal is, he said he “hasn’t really thought about it.”
In case it wasn’t obvious, Stockwell has some stand-up comedy clips in his feed, so there’s a good chance he’s trolling for attention. But even if it’s a bit, there’s a real-world impact: someone is paying for those shipping costs, and stories like this don’t exactly make Amazon more generous with returns.
It’s unclear whether Amazon or the seller is currently absorbing the cost—or whether they’ll eventually put a stop to it. But if you’ve had a return flagged lately, this kind of ridiculous behavior could be part of the reason why.
For now, John Stockwell remains free to order and return anvils like it’s his full-time job. Whether that’s a commentary on modern retail or just good ol’ internet stupidity is still up for debate.