Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: Retail Musical Chairs

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    NE Iowa
    Posts
    1,217

    Retail Musical Chairs

    A week ago I ordered from the great retail octopus, Amazon, a component for some electrical work I'm doing on the shop, that I couldn't get from any local retailer. The order was with an Amazon reseller. Today I got a trailer jack from Zoro, from whom I've never ordered anything. So, i called Zoro, who confirmed that they had drop shipped the trailer jack on behalf of the same reseller I had ordered from on Amazon, and then the reseller, whose number Zoro provided, who confirmed that they don't know ground bar from a trailer jack. Zoro wants their trailer jack back, I want my money back (too late now for the component to be shipped and get here this week, so I groveled to my usual electrical contractor who kindly sold me one, despite being basically cut out of a job by my DIY impulses), and Amazon - well, let's just say that if there is life in the octopus sufficiently intelligent enough to understand all this, it is very well hidden.

    What a ham-fisted mess we've created in our search for the cheapest and mostest everything.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Montfort, Wi.
    Posts
    799
    Well said. I had an order from Home Depot delivered by FedEx with the package ripped off and the item damaged. A return was set up with Home Depot for UPS to stop and pick up the item since we live way out in the country and didn't plan on going to the city. It took two calls to set this up. The item was picked up the following day after the second call. Meanwhile right in the middle of all this the credit card I used for the purchase was hacked. I was issued a new number and will get a new card but in the meantime what card would Home Depot send my refund to? I called Home Depot customer service and the merry go round began. After one hour of having to go through four levels of people that knew nothing the resolution was to wait until Home Depot got the item returned, then call in a week and try again. My wife in her infinite wisdom said, why not call the credit card company? The first person I spoke with said the funds would go on my new card just that no charges will go through. Simple.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN
    Posts
    5,427
    There are any number of sellers on Amazon and Ebay who simply buy items from other retailers and have them shipped to the customer. How it all works I'll never know. In some cases they are selling for a high price and then getting the item cheaper elsewhere. My brother got some fantastic deals on Ebay and the items were shipped from Lowes.

    There certainly have been cases where the seller is using stolen credit cards to order merchandise. I thought this sort of thing died out because retailers got wise to some of the schemes these sellers were using to get discounts.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,688
    Just do a return on the order via the Amazon web site...it's quick and easy. Since you got the wrong item, there's zero cost to you for the return. You may be able to just drop it off at an authorized return location or if not, they'll provide a label for you to sent it back. AFAIK, this process should work even for third party shippers, but I rarely get things that are not shipped by Amazon. I apologize if things are different in your case. But you will get your money back...it wasn't your mistake.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Doylestown, PA
    Posts
    7,551
    I find it amazing that Amazon does as well as they do, given the size and diversity of their offerings and number of 3rd party vendors. I understand the concern about the power and influence that Amazon and Walmart have on American retail but they got as big as they are by doing quite a good job for most people.

  6. #6
    We have stuff come from Amazon almost daily. Order a lot from eBay and others too but not as much, mostly due to shipping times. But eBay is preferred if time isn't a real factor since I can usually find like items cheaper than on Amazon. The reasons I like online shopping, mostly convenience and time saved. I work from home, and the wife doesn't drive anymore, so I do most shopping, so any local shopping means leaving the house. For one thing, my time spent at home is usually spent earning money; can't get the work done/money on the books if I'm wandering around Walmart. Also the money in gasoline I save is likely more than one might think (especially the way I drive the wife's Mustang ) ... And then there's the impulse buying, which can add up to hundred$ per month at the box stores; when I buy online I only get what I need at the moment. I DON'T shop for groceries online, and invariably I spend $120 or so when the shopping list only had about $40 worth of stuff on it!

    I believe that Amazon & eBay and the few other places I order online from actually saves me a ton of money...

    Haven't had many 'several-party seller' issues...
    ========================================
    ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
    FOUR - CO2 lasers
    THREE- make that FOUR now - fiber lasers
    ONE - vinyl cutter
    CASmate, Corel, Gravostyle


  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Location
    Cambridge Vermont
    Posts
    2,282
    I don't buy a lot from Amazon but when I do I try to buy items fulfilled by Amazon, not a 3rd party. If the 3rd party is a company that's big then I'll just order it from them (unless the price is higher). I've gotten too much stuff from Amazon that was either not worth the cost of shipping (use ink jet refills) or was wrong. Some of the 3rd party places are easy to return to, others not so much.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •