FINAL UPDATE: Thanks for the info from those who have been in the same situation - that's why I asked.
Nice email from Amazon telling me my order has been delivered. They're helpfully trying to sell me a NAS to put it in in that email. They've got some smart AI trying to sell things - pity they don't apply it to tracking orders and working out if they're delivering stuff that has been refunded or refunding stuff that is about to be delivered.
They've told me it's been refunded, and they've now told me it's been delivered. They've still got my credit card details, so they can charge me or they can get in touch and ask me to pay.
I'm going to sit tight for a few days and see if they take the initiative and get in touch, but I figure if they don't, that's a sign that they've built this sort of waste into their systems, and their choice is to screw their workers.
Am I OK with them choosing to screw their workers over utilising the tracking information that it turns out is out there? No, probably not. But I figure returning the HDDs is not going to make any difference to what they do anyway.
When I went digging this morning, I found a page https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/help/customer/display.html?node… that links to https://uktracking.asendia.com/tracking-pb.php for DPD (the carrier) that resolves the tracking number they give you that in turns links to http://eretail.amservices.net.au/ with a different tracking number that has tracking info showing a scan at LAX on the 4th of April and arrival scan on the 14th of April and a customs clearance scan on the 14th of April. I don't know if that data was live when they refunded me on the 16th, but I'm betting it was somewhere - even if it didn't show up in the main Amazon tracking page (it still doesn't). My very long point is that if they could be arsed integrating decent tracking info, they'd know that the package had passed through LAX on the 4th of April and cleared customs in AUS 10 days later and could have said to me on the chat "sit tight, it's on its way". But the person on the chat presumably saw the same info I did which was nothing since the 1st of April and figured "it's lost".
UPDATE UPDATE - Delivered. 49 say I get to hang on to the HDDs, 5 say they're going back in a satchel, and 11 say I'm off to prison. No decision yet. Too many Friday office beers.
UPDATE - Tracking says "Delivered - Left in a safe place" at 6:41pm, apparently. No such thing where I live, but we'll see. On my way home shortly.
To clarify - this was a purchase from Amazon US, where Amazon was the vendor (not a third party selling through Amazon) or another shop.
Ordered these (3x6Tb) https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/691104 on the 27th of March, expected on the 10th of April.
Later updated as due by 8pm on the 11th of April. At 9pm on the 11th got a notification in the Amazon app now due by 8pm on the 12th. At 9pm on the 1th got a notification now expected by the 14th, if they don't arrive by the 14th, you can request a refund. Waited until the 16th of April (Easter Saturday). At that stage, tracking showed shipped on the 30th of March, with the last update as left the carrier facility on the 1st of April, and there'd been no updates for a couple of weeks.
I got in touch via chat in the Amazon app on the 16th, was instantly offered a refund. Chose refund to original form of payment. Got an email saying I'd been refunded, and it showed up in my online banking yesterday as having been refunded on the 16th.
A few minutes ago the Amazon app pinged on my phone, telling me my order is out for delivery today. I'm now expecting to arrive home today to find an Amazon package waiting.
What is the protocol when they've already refunded you but they still deliver?
The moral thing is to advise Amazon once delivered and they'll send you a returns label to send them back. Your call.