When Seth Horvitz opened the long, narrow package on his Washington, D.C. doorstep in August 2012, he immediately knew something was wrong. He'd ordered a Westinghouse television from Amazon—not exactly the kind of product that ships in a rifle-sized box.

Inside was a Sig Sauer SIG716 semi-automatic rifle, complete with scope. Not the flat-screen he was expecting.

How Does This Even Happen?

The culprit was a UPS labeling mixup. The box was addressed to Horvitz, but the invoice inside told a different story—it showed the rifle was meant for a gun shop in Pennsylvania. Somewhere in the logistics chain, two packages got each other's shipping labels.

Meanwhile, a gun dealer in Pennsylvania presumably opened a box expecting firearms and found a television instead. One can only imagine that phone call.

The Legal Problem

Here's where things got complicated: that particular rifle was illegal to possess in Washington, D.C. without proper licensing. Horvitz hadn't ordered it, hadn't filled out any firearms paperwork, and certainly didn't have the permits required to own it in the nation's capital.

After contacting Amazon and the third-party seller, Horvitz did what any reasonable person would do—he called the police. The Metropolitan Police Department treated it as an illegally-shipped firearm and confiscated the weapon.

The Aftermath

To Amazon's credit, they handled the situation swiftly:

The third-party seller refunded Horvitz's money immediately
A claim was filed with UPS for the shipping error
Horvitz eventually got his television (presumably after extra quality checks)

The incident became national news, highlighting just how bizarre shipping errors can get in the e-commerce era. It also raised questions about shipping protocols for firearms, which require specific carrier services and documentation—none of which were followed when the rifle ended up on a residential doorstep.

The Sig Sauer SIG716, by the way, retails for around $2,000-$3,000—considerably more expensive than the used television Horvitz had ordered. Not exactly an upgrade he was looking for, but certainly a story he'd be telling for years.

UPS and Amazon both tightened their procedures after the incident, but Horvitz's accidental arsenal remains one of the most memorable delivery fails in online shopping history.

Related Tags