The Gall of Amazon

[Bruce Wrenn]

On Dec 25th, I ordered an item, sold by a vendor and shipped from Amazon. Item shipped following week. Traveled from Indiana to central NC in a little over 24 hours . Left Amazon facility about 20 miles from my house following day. Late that night get email saying delivery was delayed a day. Today get email saying they lost my purchase, and I can cancel order and reorder. Two problems, one I used my Amazon points and also 6 months no interest financing for purchase, which only ran thru Dec 31, 2021 (last year!) Here is the kicker! Today got a "Rate your transaction survey from Amazon." How do you rate an item that was fulfilled by a vendor and then shipped and lost by Amazon?

[Brian Elfert]

I would contact Amazon and see if they can reship the original order under the original terms. I didn't realize the option with the Chase Amazon Visa to get either six months interest free or the 5% cash back has ended.

I had a fairly expensive Amazon order get damaged in transit in September. Amazon automatically cancelled my order and said I would get a refund a few weeks after the item got back to them. I reordered the item, but why doesn't Amazon automatically ship a replacement? I had to contact Amazon after several weeks to get my money back on the first order. Luckily my finances were not impacted by paying a second time for $1,500 item.

[Jim Becker]

Yes, work with customer service. You can actually get them to call you...it's not the easiest thing to find on the web site, but it's there and the few times I've needed to use it, they were fast, efficient and courteous.

[Ronald Blue]

Yes, work with customer service. You can actually get them to call you...it's not the easiest thing to find on the web site, but it's there and the few times I've needed to use it, they were fast, efficient and courteous.

I've found they go to great lengths to hide the human interaction option whether via live chat or a voice call. I think if they thought they could get away with it all customer service would be automated. In their defense other companies are nearly as bad.

[Jim Tobias]

Give it another day.... I got that same message "they lost my purchase, and I can cancel order and reorder". Then then a day later it is out for delivery today!
They are definitely having some communication issues.

Jim

[Doug Garson]

Agree with Jim, we have a pair of air cleaners in the house that Amazon reported were lost but had already arrived. Also agree customer service is hard to contact a real human, but once you do they do their best to help you out.

[Tom M King]

I think there were at least two shipments last year that were "undeliverable", but were already here.

[Brian Elfert]

I've found they go to great lengths to hide the human interaction option whether via live chat or a voice call. I think if they thought they could get away with it all customer service would be automated. In their defense other companies are nearly as bad.

If you do chat support with Amazon you have to chat with their automated system before it will connect you to an agent.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Give it another day.... I got that same message "they lost my purchase, and I can cancel order and reorder". Then then a day later it is out for delivery today!
They are definitely having some communication issues.

JimI'm on my FOURTH day of "try again tomorrow to cancel your order." Of course, tomorrow never comes!

[Ronald Blue]

If you do chat support with Amazon you have to chat with their automated system before it will connect you to an agent.

Oh yes! Finally after being fully frustrated you manage to get a real person.

[Bruce Wrenn]

After only FIVE DAYS, today did Amazon allow me to cancel order. However I haven't gotten email showing that it was actually canceled. Now the fun starts, as my Amazon account closes on the last day of the month, meaning this month's bill will include this order. This means next, a battle with CC company to get item off my bill. PS, yesterday, I ordered a replacement, which is scheduled to be here tomorrow.

[John Redford]

I suspect as more and more small, and even large, businesses are closed due to the power of pricing that Amazon commands that these issues and poor service will only get worse.

I wish I was wrong.

[Brian Elfert]

Amazon can so good and so bad at times. I placed an order last week for four items and they all showed a Jan 3rd delivery date. Three of the four items arrived a day early on the 2nd, but the fourth item hasn't even shipped yet. I would have like to work on the project his evening, but that isn't happening. I don't know any local store that carries this item so I had to order it from someone.

[Mark Bolton]

I dumped amazon early last year. Was a heavy prime/business prime user. I wouldnt worry about gaul, Amazon is usually pretty accommodating with refunds, giving you free stuff when you complain, etc... however Ive been waiting for years because I knew they were doing the typical bait and switch with Prime/2day and once they got enough people on the hook they would change their policy. Covid was a perfectly timed excuse for them to abandon 2day, start weaving all sorts of overseas items into their Prime package.

I allowed my business to become a little lazy relying on the convenience of prime even though I had begun to see items I was ordering cheaper elsewhere and with free shipping (cheaper than prime). When Amazon bailed on the 2day and then started showing repeated signs that it was pretty much never going to come back.. I cancelled my prime account and I havent bought a single thing from Amazon since and Im saving money.

They have run a bait and switch for the past couple years and its going to get nothing but worse but they have two things going for them. #1 they have people in a routine and unless seriously catastrophic things happen most Americans are too lazy to change their routine. And #2 theyve established a simple process (i.e. Walmart) where people are willing to pay more to not have to shop at multiple sources.

Its comical how predictably this model repeats since the onset of "big box" back in the 90's.

Im not a bit worse off having plonked Amazon and Prime. Their quality went in the toilet (Walmart) they started pushing the worst of the worst. Good riddance.

[Jim Becker]

Interestingly, it's been very, very rare for anything I order via Amazon to take more than one or two days for delivery and quite often, those few things that have longer delivery times have tended to show up early. I've even received items ordered late in the evening by mid-day the next day a few times. I guess being located near a major metropolitan area with multiple Amazon distribution centers doesn't hurt, however. I had one vendor issue two months ago and it was resolved immediately.

[Brian Elfert]

What items are listed as Prime and fulfilled by Amazon that are shipped from overseas? I have never heard of Prime deliveries coming for overseas, but I sure don't know everything. There are certainly sellers on Amazon who ship from overseas.

I only have an Amazon Prime account because my parents added me to their account. I placed 49 orders with Amazon in 2021, but I would likely never pay for Prime myself. I use Amazon for stuff I can't get at local stores. Sometimes I will pay a bit more to get something from Amazon versus another website. I bought a specialized wall plate from Amazon that cost twice as much as elsewhere because I could get it quick. I almost never order anything from Amazon I can get at a local store. No groceries, TP, paper towels, etc. Yes, I will do a Google search instead of just blindly buying from Amazon. I don't like buying from EBay unless I don't need something on a definite timeframe.

[Derek Meyer]

I have an Amazon Prime account, and have for many years. I ordered an expresso machine for my wife on Saturday evening (January 1st). The confirmation email said that the estimated delivery date was January 6th-8th. I got an email on Sunday that it had been shipped and that the ETA was January 6th. Then, yesterday I got an email stating that it was out for delivery and would be delivered between 3:45 and 7:45. When I got home at 4:45 it was sitting on my doorstep, in pristene condition.

That seems to be typical of Amazon deliveries for me. I order something and it arrives in 1 to 2 days. I try to make sure I order Prime items when possible, but am not always able to. I think that Amazon must stage items its algorithms predict I might buy in its Seattle warehouse, which is usually only a day away on shipping from us. I've had many great experiences like this. Once, I ordered something on Sunday evening at 6 PM and it was delivered the next day, less than 24 hours later, with no extra shipping fee.

Not everything has gone great, though. I ordered a bowling ball rack a couple of years ago. They gave me an ETA of about 3 weeks for delivery, but then kept pushing the date. After 2 months, they refunded my money and shipped another one, as they said the original had been lost. It took a month but I got the second one. Then, a month later, I got the first one. So now I have two racks. Good thing, too, as the rack holds 12 balls and I have 15 I need to store now, with two more on the way. Yes, my wife and I are bowlers and we go overboard. It's fun though.

[Doug Garson]

I think Derek's experience is typical of most Amazon customers, I too have had items arrive in less than 24 hours and one or two hiccups in delivery over a decade. The vast majority of items arrive within the delivery window stated at the time of purchase. As far as the gaul of sending a request for a review, pretty sure that's an automated system, I've received a few requests before items arrive, I just ignore them.

[Frank Pratt]

About the only complaint I have with Amazon is the advanced state of moral & ethical decay that the company founder is wallowing in. You'd think with the billions he's raking in there would be some to spread around to the folks who work for him.

Funny thing is though, we've had equipment maintenance contracts with several of their warehouses & they pay very well and very promptly, so there's that.

[Myk Rian]

however Ive been waiting for years because I knew they were doing the typical bait and switch with Prime/2day and once they got enough people on the hook they would change their policy. Covid was a perfectly timed excuse for them to abandon 2day, .
Not here. I get same/next day delivery all the time. Bait and switch? Nope, never. Are you sure you're dealing with Amazon?

[Alex Zeller]

A good friend live just outside Charlotte a few miles away from an Amazon Warehouse. He basically gets same day service. I'm not close to one of their warehouses so once they stopped 2 day service it would take a week or more for Prime (which the wife has) and 2 weeks or more for me, without a prime account. Walmart has stepped up and competes well with most of what Amazon has so when possible I'll go with them.

[Frank Pratt]

A good friend live just outside Charlotte a few miles away from an Amazon Warehouse. He basically gets same day service. I'm not close to one of their warehouses so once they stopped 2 day service it would take a week or more for Prime (which the wife has) and 2 weeks or more for me, without a prime account. Walmart has stepped up and competes well with most of what Amazon has so when possible I'll go with them.

Why not use your wife's Prime account? I have only 1 Prime account, which my wife uses & I even use it for occasional company purchases.

[Jim Becker]

Professor Dr SWMBO and I share a Prime Membership and have for years. It still allows separate Amazon accounts. We also have separate Amazon CC which both get the 5% points rebate benefit. Daughters also benefited from our Prime status when they still lived with us.

[Brian Elfert]

Professor Dr SWMBO and I share a Prime Membership and have for years. It still allows separate Amazon accounts. We also have separate Amazon CC which both get the 5% points rebate benefit. Daughters also benefited from our Prime status when they still lived with us.

I don't live with my parents yet they are able to have me as a user of their Prime membership. We most definitely have separate Amazon accounts with separate shipping addresses. I believe in the distant past one Prime membership could have four Amazon accounts attached. The intention was really for those to be household members, but groups of friends were going in on one Prime membership to save money.

Amazon eventually got tired of friends sharing Prime memberships so they limited Prime memberships to two adults and they made it so that everyone on the same Prime membership can see and use the other account's payment methods. The payments thing seems to be to discourage friends from going in on a Prime membership. My parents and I have enough trust that we won't use each other's payment methods. In fact, I don't know how to see my parent's payment methods. Nothing extra shows up when I pay for an Amazon purchase.

[Alex Zeller]

Why not use your wife's Prime account? I have only 1 Prime account, which my wife uses & I even use it for occasional company purchases.

When she got the account it could only have one credit card attached to it. Since we each have our own accounts (from days before we were married) I wasn't going to pay to have my own account. TBH I have never found Amazon easy. It's hard to search for stuff without getting tons of useless things that have nothing to do with what I'm looking for. In fact I usually use Google since it's faster and more accurate to search Amazon. For the things I want I usually can find them elsewhere for about the same price. I know some people love them but not me.

[Frank Pratt]

When she got the account it could only have one credit card attached to it. Since we each have our own accounts (from days before we were married) I wasn't going to pay to have my own account. TBH I have never found Amazon easy. It's hard to search for stuff without getting tons of useless things that have nothing to do with what I'm looking for. In fact I usually use Google since it's faster and more accurate to search Amazon. For the things I want I usually can find them elsewhere for about the same price. I know some people love them but not me.

I have 2 credit cards, 2 shipping addresses & 2 users attached to my Prime account. I don't know what the limits are.

Amazon has possibly the worst search functionality of any e-commerce site I've used. If I can't find what I'm looking for in just a few minute, I'll abandon Amazon & buy from another site. Item descriptions & specs are usually poor and only a small step above Banggood & Aliexpress.

[Doug Garson]

Amazon has possibly the worst search functionality of any e-commerce site I've used. If I can't find what I'm looking for in just a few minute, I'll abandon Amazon & buy from another site. Item descriptions & specs are usually poor and only a small step above Banggood & Aliexpress.
Just wondering which e-commerce site have good search functionality? Given the huge number of items, I think Amazon's search function is pretty good compared to sites like Lee Valley, R&D Bandsaws and Lowes all of which have a fraction of the number of items.

[roger wiegand]

Each time this thread title pops up I get this image of Jeff Bezos in a beret.


I thought that the Gauls were conquered by the Romans a while ago and had been subdued since then, but I may have been misinformed.

[Frank Pratt]

Just wondering which e-commerce site have good search functionality? Given the huge number of items, I think Amazon's search function is pretty good compared to sites like Lee Valley, R&D Bandsaws and Lowes all of which have a fraction of the number of items.

Hmm, not my experience at all. Lee Valley's site search started of very rough, but I have no problem with it now. HD (& Lowes to a lesser extent) search is heads & shoulders above Amazon. The big issue with Amazon is that you can enter an exact manufacture & model number & get 1000's of results, none of which are what you entered. I can use Google to search Amazon for that same item & it pops up right at the top of the page. Ever try to use filters to refine an Amazon search? Good luck.

[Jim Becker]

I don't live with my parents yet they are able to have me as a user of their Prime membership. We most definitely have separate Amazon accounts with separate shipping addresses.
.

Yes, but there are limits on what those additional family members can benefit from. (don't ask me to cite them...I don't remember now as it's been a few years)

[Lee DeRaud]

John was a much better student than I. All i remember from Latin class was the old saw "Latin killed the Romans and now it is killing me!"
No discussion of Latin is complete without the Eddie Izzard riff about the Roman sentry reporting the impending arrival of Hannibal and his elephants:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NI8UZubOJlo
(Warning, NSFW)

[Brian Elfert]

Yes, but there are limits on what those additional family members can benefit from. (don't ask me to cite them...I don't remember now as it's been a few years)

The only benefit I have found I don’t get is Amazon Music. The main thing I use is the Prime shipping. I have Prime video set up on my Roku, but I haven’t watched anything for months.

[Roger Feeley]

Gaul? Was it from France?
Bill D.
i had to look it up because it didn’t look right.
Gall is defined as loud and impudent behavior.
Gall is a place

im not trying to pick nits. I look this stuff up because I’m getting older and I want to preserve my vocabulary.

[Tom M King]

And I seem to recall that they were divided into three parts… Omnia Gaulia divisi tres partum est. (if I am remembering the first lines of Caesar’s commentary on the Gallic wars correctly from my Latin II class in 1979.) (and autocorrect doesn’t butcher the Latin too badly)

My Latin II class was in 1966, so your memory has to be better than mine.

[Anuj Prateek]

What items are listed as Prime and fulfilled by Amazon that are shipped from overseas? I have never heard of Prime deliveries coming for overseas, but I sure don't know everything. There are certainly sellers on Amazon who ship from overseas.
.

There are many. Several times when I order, it ships from US or UK (I am in Canada). Few things: Phone screen protector, Knipex pliers, Freud blade, Waterman pen, Thor Hammer etc. All items were fulfilled by Amazon and several were sold by Amazon.

When I was in US I used to check UK website as well. Even with shipping many items ended up being cheaper.

[Bert Kemp]

I have a Prime account and I live 40 miles from a warehouse and It still takes 4 to 5 days to get what I order

[Frank Pratt]

It must have scared the Bezeezos out of them.

Hahaha! I see what you did there :D

[Mark Bolton]

https://www.npr.org/2022/01/12/1072066943/from-living-rooms-to-landfills-some-holiday-shopping-returns-take-a-very-sad-pat?utm_term=nprnews&utm_campaign=npr&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&fbclid=IwAR27RYC58TCKY3j47m5yMjQHBwXOcaYRSNvUaK0mH 2CaP-k_JEGW4D4glEQ

[Lee DeRaud]

https://www.npr.org/2022/01/12/1072066943/from-living-rooms-to-landfills-some-holiday-shopping-returns-take-a-very-sad-pat?utm_term=nprnews&utm_campaign=npr&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&fbclid=IwAR27RYC58TCKY3j47m5yMjQHBwXOcaYRSNvUaK0mH 2CaP-k_JEGW4D4glEQ
One thing to watch out for on Amazon is "renewed" items. The ones renewed by (or at least sold/shipped by) Amazon tend to be ok. But you'll occasionally run into ones renewed and sold/shipped from third-parties, with somewhat lower (think "Ebay-level") quality control and customer service policies.

[Mark Bolton]

One thing to watch out for on Amazon is "renewed" items. The ones renewed by (or at least sold/shipped by) Amazon tend to be ok. But you'll occasionally run into ones renewed and sold/shipped from third-parties, with somewhat lower (think "Ebay-level") quality control and customer service policies.

This would seem to me like a perfect example for a goodwill style model of moving returned goods at pennies on the dollar. The problem is in this disgusting market the mere cost of re-handling these items makes it cheaper to plow them into the landfill because repeat handling is too costly.

Sorry for the preach but we are in some very very very disgusting times with regards to how we value resources in the United States. The fact that the mass of the population is willing to turn a blind eye to the the cost of production (globally) and just throw brand new items in the trash?... This is something that will go down in history as the saddest commentary as it pertains to "the greatest" (I would question that deeply as it pertains to gross waste) nation.

Its an utter shame we cant see the forest through the trees on this. And as Ive said a million times.... The yachts sail off into the ocean. We are idiots.

[Jim Becker]

I have purchased Amazon renewed products with good results...typically Amazon owned/branded items for the most part, of course. But they do sell off open box and other returned items for good prices. When you have a generally liberal return policy, there needs to be a way to recoup a chunk of the cost and that's how they do it. I do agree with the caution on third party renewed.

[Mark Bolton]

I have purchased Amazon renewed products with good results...typically Amazon owned/branded items for the most part, of course. But they do sell off open box and other returned items for good prices. When you have a generally liberal return policy, there needs to be a way to recoup a chunk of the cost and that's how they do it. I do agree with the caution on third party renewed.

There is zero "recoup'ing" of the cost when it goes to the landfill. Youve lost the cost of goods sold, the return cost, the return handling cost, the landfill cost, and the "you suck as a human" cost, of throwing away perfectly saleable goods due to greed and cheap off shore manufacturing.

[Jim Becker]

True, and I strongly suspect that the majority of returns on many things is not because they are defective; rather, it's because someone ordered the wrong thing or decided they didn't need it or didn't like it or, or, or...honestly, about a third of the small number of things I've returned were because I made a mistake ordering them. But since they are "open box" at that point...they can't be sold as new.

[Mark Bolton]

True, and I strongly suspect that the majority of returns on many things is not because they are defective; rather, it's because someone ordered the wrong thing or decided they didn't need it or didn't like it or, or, or...honestly, about a third of the small number of things I've returned were because I made a mistake ordering them. But since they are "open box" at that point...they can't be sold as new.

I have literally NOT ORDERED shoes from places that I have called and asked how their shoes run size wise and they say "just order one size on either size and try them all on and return the ones you dont want"... I know for a A FACT those shoes are not opened, cleaned, re-boxed, and shipped back out to subsequent customers.

People argue tooth and nail that capitalism is some entity un-to-its-own.. its a complete untruth. Corporations are to blame for all of this mess. We are in a time right now where beef producers are screwing the consumer down the drain for two reasons.. gross profit/greed, and to defame our current leadership (rightly or wrongly) for their personal gain. This is happening in beef, poultry, hog meat, petroleum, across the board. Hog farmers are making nothing more than ever. Beef the same, petro, same.. we are being railroaded by the greed of the corporate élite.

I personally hope the keep it up until the bulk of the populous finally shed's the blinders and say enough is enough.


This is all just a corporate money grab. It has nothing to do with politics, nothing to do with pandemic, its the "market" seizing and opportunity to rape the society in which they "claim" to be "patriots". The supposed patriots of this nation are running us off a rail for the sake of their 15th home, 3rd or 4th mega yacht, on and on.

Ask your local cattle farmer if he's buying a new BMW this spring? Hog farmer if he's ordering a new tractor? They may be selling everything they have but I'll guarantee you they are not buying a vacation home.

And PS.. this is ALL ON TOPIC as it pertains to the thread of "the gaul of amazon". Spot on.

[Mel Fulks]

Mark, I’m sure you are right . But some of the things listed have been around a long long time. When I was a kid , we were directed by
Mom and Dad to scrub our feet and put on clean socks …”with no holes” before we were allowed in the car. It might be possible to buy
un-tried -on shoes ,but I have not seen an ad. Amazon often tells clothing buyers to keep stuff that doesn’t fit. I think the chance of buying
something that has been worn ,or just briefly tried on is lower now than ever before.

[Greg Funk]

I've lost track of who is 'screwing' us here? Amazon for providing super efficient delivery of goods? or the manufacturers of those goods?

I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in appreciating the service Amazon provides. I also use them as a seller for some books and they make that process painless as well.

I think the original post was about a shipping problem which is more about the delivery companies or USPS.

[Jim Becker]

Closed to further comment at OP's request.

Jim
Forum Moderator