My mum used to do this - she'd ask what the kids wanted, I'd tell her, she'd buy something similar, often more expensive, and unusable by a child the age she was giving it to (often having chosen it for a very off the wall feature completely irrelevant to children - for example a tiny fiddly, fragile digital camera chosen for an anti tremor function instead of the much, much cheaper robust, simple, clunky one we'd asked for as a present for our then four year old). We couldn't let the child it was given to use it without a parent literally holding it with them, and ended up buying the suitable camera we'd originally chosen for their birthday ourselves).
She did it when we replied to her about what the kids wanted in general terms and still did it when we told her specific make and model and retailer, and still did it when we actually sent links to buy online.
Postage costs have increased so we buy the children presents from her now and she sends money (far less than she used to actually spend, but now it isn't wasted).
She always chose a "better" product than the one asked for, and it would have often been better if she'd been buying for herself, but she always chose something either disappointing or completely unsuitable for the actual recipient.
Hinting is annoying though - I'll never forget the Christmas my mother dropped apparently massive hints about wanting a mini orange tree when I was 9, I saved up weeks and weeks of pocket money and asked my dad to take me to buy one - he agreed that she had been dropping hints drove me, which was rare for him as he wasn't a very present father... then the day after I bought the tree my mum came home from work with two mini orange trees which she'd bought herself on a whim on her lunch break 🤨 She was completely non plussed when I still gave her mine for Christmas as she already had two, and denied hinting (I had spent more on her present than anyone else and didn't have anything left for a second present).