Lexington mom is recovering from shock of child’s Amazon order: 70,000 lollipops
If anyone deserves a restful Mother’s Day, it might be Holly LaFavers.
The Lexington mom has spent the last week handling the aftermath of her 8-year-old son’s unauthorized Amazon order: more than 70,000 lollipops.
LaFavers said her son Liam’s latest obsession is carnivals, and he had hoped to use the 30 cases of Dum-Dums he ordered as prizes at a carnival of his own.
LaFavers told Good Morning America she discovered what had happened when she checked her bank account Sunday morning and saw it was in the red because of a $4,200 charge.
She said she contacted Amazon immediately and was told she could get a refund if she rejected the delivery of Dum-Dums. But even though she stayed home to try to intercept it, LaFavers said most of the boxes were left on her doorstep without the driver knocking or ringing her doorbell.
She said she was able to reject eight boxes that hadn’t been delivered yet by the postal service.
But what to do about the other 22 boxes of Dum-Dums, each containing 2,340 suckers, that she did find herself with?
“I had fought with Amazon all day long,” LaFavers said.
At the suggestion of her family, she said she posted the crates of candy for sale on Facebook in an attempt to recoup her investment.
She said friends and family in Lexington and her hometown, Somerset, quickly jumped in and volunteered to buy them.
Ultimately, after WKYT reported the issue and reached out to Amazon, LaFavers said the company agreed to a refund.
But because the delivery was for a food item, she said it can’t be shipped back, so anyone who offered to buy a 25-pound box of Dum-Dums has either been given one or had them donated elsewhere, their choice.
Between delivering lollipops and responding to the resulting media frenzy over the situation, LaFavers said on Saturday she’s had “a very eventful week.”
“I’ve had phone calls from New Zealand, Australia,” she said.
And despite the sudden surplus of Dum-Dums, LaFavers said Liam was not allowed to open any of the boxes.
Liam, who came into his adoptive mom’s life as a baby, has Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, which LaFavers said affects his decision-making.
“He fixates on things,” LaFavers said. “It parallels autism.”
She said “he loves giving,” and had planned out all kinds of activities for the carnival he hoped to throw, with Dum-Dums as prizes.
In a way, she said, he was practicing a life skill when he placed that order — organizing an event and following through on a task.
Despite the stress of the situation and some unkind responses on social media, LaFavers said it has allowed her to help spread awareness about FASD.
And, she said, “I’m glad that we were able to brighten people’s day.”
“People see us out in public and start giggling,” she said, giggling just a little herself.
