take it for what it's worth
In reply to MrSmokey :
Wilke dosent mess around.
I've probably ordered a hundred or more things this year, only had one issue. Last week some cheap $10 hood latches I ordered showed up....and the package was empty. Took a 20-second chat with an Amazon rep and they refunded my money no questions asked. Ordered the product again, this time it showed up but instead of being the generic cheap-looking one I ordered, it was a Sparco one (or a very good knockoff much nicer than the one I ordered).
So, only Amazon screw up and I came out ahead.
Side note: I'm also accessing Amazon through the "rakuten" site, which gets me 3-5% cash back on most purchases there and other places. And $10 for signing up (free), and my wife got $25 for referring me. No real downside other than a lot of emails to my secondary account.
I will note that I generally use Amazon for "cheap" stuff (like a replacement rear hatch mechanism for my beater truck, or a replacement regulator valve for my HF air compressor, so I generally know I'm getting something "made in China" in the first place.
For higher-dollar items that could conceivably be counterfeited, I try to buy from actual stores or at least independent online vendors.
Funnily enough, I sold my shares at a peak. Amazon bombed their Q3 earnings call and the stock tanked 7% knocking $70 billion of of their valuation and moving Bezos from the richest person on Earth to second. The big knock? Shipping costs spiraling out of control.
Hate to say I told you so, but...
Speaking of shipping cost, I just bought some high quality inkjet photo paper from a company that doesn't sell on Amazon. I paid 7.99 to ship some paper but they sure did a heck of a job packing the box. If it was chucked 20 feet in the air at every distribution center, you'd never know. I received my order 4 days after I placed it. Sometimes you do get what you pay for.
In reply to nutherjrfan :
I can't see where that is Amazon's fault. That is a personal medical issue. E36 M3 happens and with 250000 employees the odds of someone having a heart attack are 100 %. They should have over 100 per year according to statistics.
In reply to Toyman01 :
I didn't say anything about apportioning fault. My first thought was about underlying health issues.
If you can't take the impersonal nature of how they dealt with those deaths ( and severe illness preceding one death ) and question their corporate culture then I don't know.
I'll admit we over-process tragedy nowadays but there has to be some sense of respect.
Or just go with statistics/algorithims (uber driver here)/or whatever gets the blood from the stone in todays corporatist/bureaucratic world. 
In reply to nutherjrfan :
I guess I'm pretty cold hearted at times. Life happens, people die and it doesn't bother me much. I can't change it and the living need to move on. I guess I would have been the guy saying I'm sorry he died, lets say a prayer and have a moment of silence, but we have a job to do and customers to take care of, so lets get back to work. Business is business and the world doesn't shut down every time someone gets sick or dies.
This thread is all about missed delivery times and Amazon not taking care of their customers. It probably sucks to work for them but that's the job. Their customers really don't care if someone died filling their box beyond a sorry to hear that. They don't care if it's hot in the warehouse or if people are on their feet all day doing a crappy job. They want their crap and if they don't get it they start threads about how sucky Amazon is and how no one should buy from them.
I have customers just like that. They pay good money to get their E36 M3 fixed now. They don't care about problems on our end, just theirs. Sometimes I have to be the ass that calls someone away from their family on a Sunday afternoon no matter what they are doing. It's not personal, it's business. Sorry, I know you don't want to do this, but do it anyway because that's the job. Sometimes I'm the guy that get stuck with the E36 M3 detail. I was out last night until 1:30 am because one of my guys is out of town for the weekend. I wasn't real happy about it but guess what, the customer didn't care. They just wanted their E36 M3 fixed now.
In reply to Toyman01 :
And I thought it was just me
In reply to Toyman01 :
I'm the same way. E36 M3 happens and the mission still has to get accomplished.
In reply to Toyman01 :
I'd buried my father, all my grandparents, two cousins and an uncle by the time I was 13. I'm often concerned about appearing callous about it, but ain't nobody getting out of this alive, and life demands we put one foot in front of the other, and keep on living.
Suprf1y said:Amazon is not typically competitive on either price or delivery for me so I've ordered only a few times, including 3 items last week that arrived very quickly
When I placed this order I was offered Prime for one month free. I didn't want it but I did want the free shipping so I took the offer and set it up so that I would be notified 3 days before the end of the free month so I could just cancel.
Well, the notice didn't, and because I check my bank and credit card accounts daily, noticed that I was also charged early for the next month. I promptly canceled Prime and expected to have to fight to get the money back but a few days later it was refunded.
Update:
I ordered a bunch of Greenworks 40V lawn care items despite my misgivings on Amazon because they were on a super sale for Cyber Monday, and all of the items were sold by Amazon directly, no "fulfilled by" with other vendors. Most of the items have arrived (though none withing a 3-day Prime window, let alone the 1-day they keep advertising all over) except one particular item that they just can't seem to get right.
I ordered p/n HT40L00, a 40V 24" hedge trimmer, for $90.30 on 12/2 that includes a 2Ah battery and charger. They sent me 22332 which is a bare tool with no battery or charger. So on 12/5 I had to contact customer service and get a replacement going. On 12/7 I received a, you guessed it, 22332 again! So I went through the exact same process again and this time I talked to a real live person who assured me that they would get it right and did a rush 1-day shipment to try and make up for the hassle. Guess what arrived today? Another 22332!! This one has, I kid you not, FIVE previous return labels on it! That means I am the sixth person Amazon has paid to ship this contraption to and somehow no alarm bells have gone off anywhere in their automated processing to figure out that something is wrong. I just spent an hour talking to three different customer service agents, all of whom absolutely assure me that this time they will get it right.
So, what's the over/under on the bare tool showing up again?
In reply to Javelin :
100% you will get the wrong thing again.
I haven't had much issue, but when something's been wrongly labeled or stocked like that it's almost impossible to get it fixed. I just return and try to remember not to order from the same listing again. I hope I'm wrong, for your sake.
It has to be a location thing. My last two orders not only showed up complete and properly packed, they were a day early.
In reply to Javelin :
I have to wonder if this too has to do with marijuana being legal in your state.
Ha (while equally being not funny)
dculberson said:In reply to Javelin :
100% you will get the wrong thing again.
I haven't had much issue, but when something's been wrongly labeled or stocked like that it's almost impossible to get it fixed. I just return and try to remember not to order from the same listing again. I hope I'm wrong, for your sake.
You know what? That's a good idea, I should order a bare tool on purpose...
I like to check Amazon Warehouse for deals, especially on car parts. I've had pretty good luck up until recently when ordering from there. Most of the time the items that are described as used are new. I had two times last year in which I had to return items, a 3.73 gear set purchased and received a 3.42 gear set (in a 3.73 box, had been swapped and returned), and a radiator that was damaged due to negligent packing. When I say negligent, I mean we had a box, with a loose radiator in it, and a piece of paper to cushion it.
I've had to return multiple brand new and warehouse items within the last several months due to items not being as described or damaged due to not being packed correctly and the item breaks. I found and ordered a Delco 140 amp CS144 reman alternator on amazon warehouse. When I received it, the shipping box was torn and had holes in it, the Delco box was sitting in the box with the power stud having punched through the taped together box. Obviously dropped. No packing in the delco box, the cardboard ring to support the pulley missing. The cooling fan had broken and I could not even spin the thing a full turn. I immediately returned it. I found a custom autosound stereo for a Chevy Caprice for cheap. When it arrived the shipping box was intact, however the shafts of the stereo had punctured the box it came in. The box said it was for a 67-72 Chevy truck. I bench tested it and could barely get any sound from it. It went back too. Wife bought a manger for a nativity scene and it was smaller than described. Its disappointing.
Javelin said:let alone the 1-day they keep advertising all over
1 day is on very specific items and then only in very specific areas. Basically you have to live in a city/suburb with a lot of people and a warehouse right to it and then order something that's a major stock item at that warehouse. Where I live (SF Bay Area) about 1 in 10 things I order are 1-day, and it's usually daily household use stuff.
I've gotten an InstaPot for like $40 when it was described as "used-ok", but it was essentially brand new; nothing even missing or even a scratch.
I've gotten enough thermal curtains and rods to cover 7 windows w/ two per window for under $150 or even less; all "used".
I've definitely learned that if I'm going to be buying from Amazon, I do strictly the Warehouse.
I have gotten berkeleyed once when buying a "used" Hoover carpet cleaning, but that was mostly due to Hoover carpet cleaners being trash.
So wait. You pay extra money (Amazon Prime) so you can buy things. Do you also pay a membership so you can go into a big box store?
Sorry guys and gals. It has always seemed silly to pay extra for the privilege of buying something.
noddaz said:So wait. You pay extra money (Amazon Prime) so you can buy things. Do you also pay a membership so you can go into a big box store?
Sorry guys and gals. It has always seemed silly to pay extra for the privilege of buying something.
I pay to join Costco. Only so that I can buy foods in sufficient quantities in one go so that I don't need to go to the supermarket multiple times per week. The rebates I get from the having their executive membership covers the cost 3x over every year. So technically I don't pay anything to shop there?
codrus said:Javelin said:let alone the 1-day they keep advertising all over
1 day is on very specific items and then only in very specific areas. Basically you have to live in a city/suburb with a lot of people and a warehouse right to it and then order something that's a major stock item at that warehouse. Where I live (SF Bay Area) about 1 in 10 things I order are 1-day, and it's usually daily household use stuff.
Oddly enough I see a fair number of items being marked as one-day delivery out here, too. I think it all depends on one's distance from the warehouse.
I've got a parcel coming today that contains 2L of ATE brake fluid, a circuit board and a coffee mug.
Anybody want to hazard a guess on the state of the more fragile items?
You'll need to log in to post.
