Prime Shipping

[Mike Goetzke]

I've had Amazon Prime for many years. I have received a mail from them explaining how due to Covid-19 shipments may be late due to them prioritizing critical needs deliveries.

OK - I'm fine with this, but, Tuesday I ordered a Prime item and delivery was show for a week later. Then when reviewing the screen I see for $3.99 I can get 2-day delivery. :eek:

Mike

[Matt Day]

Welcome to 3 weeks ago Mike.

[Dan Hulbert]

I've made a couple of orders from Amazon during the isolation and received the same warning about delayed delivery. Both shipments arrived a day earlier than originally promised. I'm not sure how they prioritize, but one of the shipments was for a router bit. Didn't seem high priority to anyone but me.

[Frank Pratt]

Even with Prime, many items have always had an extra cost option for even quicker delivery. I can accept that in the present situation there will be added delays for everything.

[Mike Goetzke]

Maybe my post wasn't clear. I can live with the delay if it is due to prioritising deliveries to say medical, first responders, lack of staff, etc. but if they can increase my priority above others if I give them more cash - that's not in the spirit of the time we are currently living in!

[Patrick Walsh]

Nope,

It isn’t..


Maybe my post wasn't clear. I can live with the delay if it is due to prioritising deliveries to say medical, first responders, lack of staff, etc. but if they can increase my priority above others if I give them more cash - that's not in the spirit of the time we are currently living in!

[Edwin Santos]

Maybe my post wasn't clear. I can live with the delay if it is due to prioritising deliveries to say medical, first responders, lack of staff, etc. but if they can increase my priority above others if I give them more cash - that's not in the spirit of the time we are currently living in!

I don't think it is the way you are interpreting it. You're assuming that the $3.99 2 day ship item will really deliver in 2 days. I think the delivery schedule disclaimer applies to all posted shipping on the site. If you're skeptical, try adding the item to your cart with the $3.99 shipping and once you proceed to the checkout process, see what delivery date it promises.

[Darcy Warner]

I can get everything I need from mcmaster carr the next day, don't need no stinking amazon.

[Kev Williams]

Amazon is likely charging the extra $4 to cover the cost of outside shipping. $4 is barely 1st class postage these days. Almost everything I've ordered the past month- phone batteries, dog treats, scotchbrite pads, Q-tips, AA batteries, TP, coffee filters, silly putty, hot tub chemicals, etc etc, has taken 4 days plus, none of it has been next or 2-day shipping. None has had the $4 day faster delivery option either. They offered slower, but not faster ;)

[Matt Day]

Agreed. I bet the $4 is to pay for the additional shipping cost of more trucks and overhead.

[Frederick Skelly]

Welcome to 3 weeks ago Mike.

Tough audience. :)

[Kev Williams]

Welcome to 3 weeks ago Mike.


Tough audience. :)

Not everyone is a news junkie. I'd almost be willing to bet at least 5% of the US population doesn't even know there's a pandemic going on...

[Lee DeRaud]

I can get everything I need from mcmaster carr the next day, don't need no stinking amazon.Yeah, but MC's prices on coffee filters really suck.

I've bought a lot of stuff from MC over the years, but I'm not sure any of it qualified as a "necessity".

[Adam Herman]

My dogs are old and have health problems. I have some supplements that help ones heart condition and another's hip displasia on a recurring shipment on amazon. they have delayed my recurring shipment for over a month. but we got our ranch dressing and no trespassing signs right away.


my point I guess, is you just don't know all the time what is "needed" for people.

[Darcy Warner]

Yeah, but MC's prices on coffee filters really suck.

I've bought a lot of stuff from MC over the years, but I'm not sure any of it qualified as a "necessity".

They have TP, disinfecting wipes, feminine hygiene products, and hardware. Seems essential

[Lee DeRaud]

I can get everything I need from mcmaster carr the next day, don't need no stinking amazon.

They have TP, disinfecting wipes, feminine hygiene products, and hardware. Seems essentialIf that list is "everything I need", more power to ya.

[Brian Elfert]

I placed an order with Amazon for an item related to a woodworking project this past Wednesday. Expected delivery was April 17th or 18th. I got a shipping email from Amazon this afternoon that it will arrive Monday.

I won't start the project for several weeks, but I wanted to get my order in just in case it took a while to get. Amazon had the lowest price all in.

[Matt Day]

If you haven’t heard about CV19 by now, you probably don’t have to worry about getting it because you live under a rock or under a bridge.

[Josko Catipovic]

Amazon's ripping us off.

[glenn bradley]

Not everyone is a news junkie. I'd almost be willing to bet at least 5% of the US population doesn't even know there's a pandemic going on...

So that’s who all those morons out there are :-)

[Darcy Warner]

If that list is "everything I need", more power to ya.

I have no use for the feminine items, or disinfectant wipes, but hardware and supplies are basically non negotiable.

[William Chain]

I just ordered a deep socket set. Delivery Sunday. Priority item?

[Dave Lehnert]

I do not have Prime. When I place an order I always wait till I have $25 min for free shipping. It will say free shipping will take 10 days or so. Faster shipping for extra $$$. I never pay for faster shipping, I say 75% of time I get my order in 3 or 4 days anyway. I once ordered a miter gauge late at night and it was on my door step the next morning.
I have been buying a lot more from Home Depot.com. I can order small $$$ items shipped free to the store.

I see the point paying extra for faster shipping if it is the shipping co getting it to you faster, but kinda grinds me they just put your order on the bottom of the stack unless you pay extra for them to put your order ahead of everyone else.

I once placed an order that included a music CD that was not going to be released for 2 or 3 months. They held my whole order till it could ship with the CD. When that date came, they started the clock on taking 10 to 14 days to receive shipment. That kinda got under my skin and complained. They sent, and I received, my order next day. Cant complain about their customer service.

[Brian Elfert]

I just ordered a deep socket set. Delivery Sunday. Priority item?

It makes no sense what is, or is not, an item that will ship quickly. I was looking at a Makita 55" guide rail on Amazon just now. If I ordered it with Amazon as the seller the delivery date was May 2nd. However, I could order it from another Amazon seller with Prime shipping and it would be delivered Sunday.

[Dave Lehnert]

It makes no sense what is, or is not, an item that will ship quickly. I was looking at a Makita 55" guide rail on Amazon just now. If I ordered it with Amazon as the seller the delivery date was May 2nd. However, I could order it from another Amazon seller with Prime shipping and it would be delivered Sunday.

There is an item I was looking to purchase tonight. It is available new and will ship right away. Also available (instock) as an open box but ship date is a month away.

[Brandon Speaks]

Its not just priority its logistical feasibility. Non essential items are delivered fast if feasible, they are just letting us know they are not making promises because of insane demands not only on them but their supply chsin.

[Jim Becker]

Items that are physically in-stock in the local facilities will likely show up with somewhat normal delivery times. Items that have to come in from a more remote location to your location may take longer because of prioritization. The volume of business that Amazon, Walmart, etc., are all doing right now is through the rood so they are adapting as best as they can with the resources they have available. Around here, a recognizable percentage of traffic on the roads is delivery vehicles that sport the Amazon logo or are known delivery partners. They are hopping! And that's in addition to what's coming via the Post Office and UPS....

[Doug Garson]

Amazon's ripping us off.

What's your definition of "rip off"? Seems to me that is one of the most overused words these days. I've bought dozens of things from Amazon, got what I ordered usually received on the date promised, often sooner. Sometimes Amazon was the best price and delivery I could find sometimes not. On the few occasions where there was a problem it was resolved quickly and more than fairly. Can you describe how you were ripped off by Amazon?

[Brian Elfert]

What's your definition of "rip off"? Seems to me that is one of the most overused words these days. I've bought dozens of things from Amazon, got what I ordered usually received on the date promised, often sooner. Sometimes Amazon was the best price and delivery I could find sometimes not. On the few occasions where there was a problem it was resolved quickly and more than fairly. Can you describe how you were ripped off by Amazon?

I think the rip off part is that Amazon charges $119 per year for Prime membership. One of the benefits of Prime membership is supposed to be one to two day delivery on most items marked Prime. Now, many items marked Prime aren't shipping for a week or more and almost no Prime orders are meeting the one to two day window.

I don't believe that Amazon has made any offers to extend memberships or refund money to Prime members. I suspect there will be a small, yet significant, number of Prime subscribers who won't renew due to this. There will be Prime subscribers worried that they pay for fast shipping and Amazon might have another extended period where they don't offer the one to two day shipping subscribers are paying for.

I personally don't think Amazon is doing the wrong thing by extending delivery times for many Prime items to expedite orders for essentials. (Of course, some essentials are only for healthcare now which no doubt is pissing off customers.)

[Jim Becker]

Our Prime membership pays for itself very quickly each year...so honestly, I'm not worried about the small inconveniences that come with some items being delayed right now due to the global pandemic. Most of my recent orders arrived on-time or early. The skidding tongs I ordered on Monday were supposed to arrive Thursday, but they came today. Via UPS.

[Brian Elfert]

I ordered an item from Amazon last week that was showing a delivery date of May 2nd. I was hoping it would end up getting delivered a lot earlier like some Amazon shoppers have reported. It hadn't shipped by today so I cancelled the order because I really want the item by the 21st for a project starting the 22nd. I figured I would need to place another order by today to have a prayer of getting the item by the 21st. It turns out that Rockler has the item in stock in their local stores for only a few dollars more than Amazon. My experience with Rockler is that they are typically about the highest price unless on sale and typically the last place I would look for anything. One Home Depot fifteen miles away has the item, but for 20% more than Amazon.

On another note:

What is it with people whining about shipping, delivery, and pickup services during a pandemic? Most grocery delivery and pickup services have experienced at least a 300% increase in demand. Yes, it will be harder to get a grocery delivery or pickup slot if you can get one at all. No, none of these companies could possibly have been prepared for a 300%+ increase in business in a matter of a week or two.

One lady was whining about Hy-Vee mismanaging their grocery pickup service because it was hard to get a slot and they were all like five days out. Another lady was moaning and groaning because it was taking four days to get a Shipt delivery. She felt justified in her whining because she paid $99 per year and Shipt should be able to get her same day or next day delivery like normal times. Shipt has hired over 70,000 workers in the past 30 days which I think is amazing since that is over 2,000 workers per day.

Grocery stores are limited by logistics as to how many pickup and delivery orders they can do. Any orders with frozen or refrigerated items (most orders) have to be kept in cold storage until picked up or delivered. Sure, stores could order refrigerated trailers, but now you need staff and portable stairs and such to get orders in and out of the trucks. Most grocery stores don't have an extra dock they can keep a refrigerated trailer at for weeks on end. Stores are going to need extra coolers and delivery totes for more delivery orders which take time to order and receive.

[Doug Garson]

I think the rip off part is that Amazon charges $119 per year for Prime membership. One of the benefits of Prime membership is supposed to be one to two day delivery on most items marked Prime. Now, many items marked Prime aren't shipping for a week or more and almost no Prime orders are meeting the one to two day window.

I don't believe that Amazon has made any offers to extend memberships or refund money to Prime members. I suspect there will be a small, yet significant, number of Prime subscribers who won't renew due to this. There will be Prime subscribers worried that they pay for fast shipping and Amazon might have another extended period where they don't offer the one to two day shipping subscribers are paying for.

I personally don't think Amazon is doing the wrong thing by extending delivery times for many Prime items to expedite orders for essentials. (Of course, some essentials are only for healthcare now which no doubt is pissing off customers.)

I'm hearing a mixed message, first Amazon is ripping us off then I don't think Amazon is doing anything wrong by extending delivery times for many Prime items to expedite orders for essentials. I believe you are correct in your second statement especially given we are in a once in 100 year worldwide pandemic and as someone else pointed out the number of orders has increase by a factor of 3. Also Amazon has hired 100,000 new employees and give $2/hr raises in an effort to maintain the level of service. I just placed an order on Friday it was promised for Thursday and it arrived Tuesday. I also take advantage of Prime Video which is worth the membership fee by itself. So I don't feel I'm being ripped off. If there is another extended period where they don't offer 2 day shipping it probably means World War Three has broken out or maybe it's time to start building an ark.

[Brian Elfert]

I'm hearing a mixed message, first Amazon is ripping us off then I don't think Amazon is doing anything wrong by extending delivery times for many Prime items to expedite orders for essentials. I believe you are correct in your second statement especially given we are in a once in 100 year worldwide pandemic and as someone else pointed out the number of orders has increase by a factor of 3. Also Amazon has hired 100,000 new employees and give $2/hr raises in an effort to maintain the level of service. I just placed an order on Friday it was promised for Thursday and it arrived Tuesday. I also take advantage of Prime Video which is worth the membership fee by itself. So I don't feel I'm being ripped off. If there is another extended period where they don't offer 2 day shipping it probably means World War Three has broken out or maybe it's time to start building an ark.

Okay, I worded it wrong. I think others are justified in feeling ripped off by Amazon. However, I don't feel ripped off by Amazon. For full disclosure my parents have me on their Prime membership. Almost zero chance I would pay the $119 myself although Prime shipping has saved me on a project multiple times when nobody local has an item.

If Amazon gets through this without losing Prime members then what happens if say they get behind at Christmas? What is to say they wouldn't extend shipping times a week or past Christmas to avoid paying overtime and high shipping expenses? They'll think nobody quit Prime during two months of delivery delays so why not save on overtime and expedited shipping cost and just extend shipping times out?

[Doug Garson]

Okay, I worded it wrong. I think others are justified in feeling ripped off by Amazon. However, I don't feel ripped off by Amazon. For full disclosure my parents have me on their Prime membership. Almost zero chance I would pay the $119 myself although Prime shipping has saved me on a project multiple times when nobody local has an item.

If Amazon gets through this without losing Prime members then what happens if say they get behind at Christmas? What is to say they wouldn't extend shipping times a week or past Christmas to avoid paying overtime and high shipping expenses? They'll think nobody quit Prime during two months of delivery delays so why not save on overtime and expedited shipping cost and just extend shipping times out?

Last time I checked Christmas comes around every year and I don't recall Amazon cutting corners and missing deliveries in the past. I agree some people might think they were ripped off if the delivery truck was hit by lightening a block from their house and their parcel was a day late but sounds like neither of us fall in that category.

[Frederick Skelly]

Okay, I worded it wrong. I think others are justified in feeling ripped off by Amazon. However, I don't feel ripped off by Amazon. For full disclosure my parents have me on their Prime membership. Almost zero chance I would pay the $119 myself although Prime shipping has saved me on a project multiple times when nobody local has an item.

If Amazon gets through this without losing Prime members then what happens if say they get behind at Christmas? What is to say they wouldn't extend shipping times a week or past Christmas to avoid paying overtime and high shipping expenses? They'll think nobody quit Prime during two months of delivery delays so why not save on overtime and expedited shipping cost and just extend shipping times out?

I'm not sure how we got from Amazon prioritizing essentials in a time of pandemic, to "What keeps Amazon from slipping deliveries at Christmas?". But I think there's a huge difference. And Prime has been rock solid reliable for me, at Christmas.

[Lee DeRaud]

Most of my recent orders arrived on-time or early.Ditto here. The odd bit is that I'm seeing things like:
1. Order on Monday, predicted delivery next Tuesday.
2. Ships on Wednesday (from 25 miles away), predicted delivery Saturday/Sunday.
3. Arrives crack-of-dawn Friday.
Either their estimation/scheduling models are breaking down or they're carrying the "underpromise and overdeliver" paradigm to extremes.

[Darcy Warner]

Not to mention amazon prime tv, music and a couple other things that come with it.

[Jeff Body]

Wish I was getting my orders that quickly.
I ordered some lights to redo the garage.
Ordered April 3rd
Shipped today April 15
Scheduled delivery is Saturday April 18th.

[Brian Elfert]

Not to mention amazon prime tv, music and a couple other things that come with it.

I found a lot of Prime video stuff to watch when I first got it. I've run through most of the stuff I'm interested in already. A lot of the stuff I would like to watch is not Prime so it has an extra cost. I never go to movie theaters and I would like to watch old movies like Speed, but Speed and most every movie I want to watch are not Prime.

PBS only makes a limited subset of their most popular shows available as Prime. This is a PBS decision, not Amazon. I downloaded the PBS app on my Roku and the same limitations exist. It turns out to unlock every PBS show in their app requires a $60 membership to the local PBS station.

[Marc Jeske]

Re: Am.Prime - I placed 3 SEPARATE orders for shop related small stuff in last week... received all 3 in 2-3 days.

Two were USPS, one was UPS.

Marc

[Brian Elfert]

Re: Am.Prime - I placed 3 SEPARATE orders for shop related small stuff in last week... received all 3 in 2-3 days.


Sure, but what were the promised dates? A lot of stuff now has May 8th as the promised date, yet some stuff can be delivered in just a few days. Someone said the difference is if your local Amazon fulfillment center has the item or not. Nothing official from Amazon stating that so far as I am aware. I cancelled an Amazon order because it looked like it really wasn't going to ship for weeks and am heading over to Rockler to get the item in a few minutes.

[Marc Jeske]

Sure, but what were the promised dates? A lot of stuff now has May 8th as the promised date, yet some stuff can be delivered in just a few days. Someone said the difference is if your local Amazon fulfillment center has the item or not. Nothing official from Amazon stating that so far as I am aware. I cancelled an Amazon order because it looked like it really wasn't going to ship for weeks and am heading over to Rockler to get the item in a few minutes.

Yup, I saw that on many items.

I was just lucky that the three items I wanted all showed couple days shipping, otherwise I would NOT have ordered them.

Marc