OT: Amazon Just Got On My "Sleazeball" List

I bought a sway bar for my car on Amazon. Sold by Amazon. Only 20 in stock ( more on the way) About 20 bucks cheaper than any local auto parts store. I didn't bother looking for auto parts store coupons, because it's not time sensitive, so I'm okay with Amazon's 6-8 day free shipping. I've used the free shipping option many times, and in the past Amazon items usually get here in 3-5 days. They shipped within 1-2 days of receiving the order and it's in the hands of the carrier after that. Until recently, that is. I've noticed lately that 6-8 days means just that, even if they have to sit on your order to make it happen. I just used the "Track your order" on the Amazon site. Here's what it says. Ordered Expected to ship Arriving Mar 28 - April 1 Mar 22 March 28 That's sitting on the order in my book. Of course they're fishing for "Amazon Prime" business, but I'm not biting. My son has that because it includes Netflix streaming or something I don't need. If I wanted fast shipping I'd just have him order it. Just strikes me as a sleazy business practice sitting on the order, and not shipping it for 6 days. 6 days! Some turnaround. Am I wrong? In any case it won't stop me from using Amazon. It's just business "as usual," and they offer generally good prices and service. For PC parts I usually go to Newegg, which doesn't collect state taxes (@10 %). They never sit on orders.

Reply to
Vic Smith
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...there's a point here?

Reply to
bob_villain

No fooling.

If they say "6-8 days" and it arrives within that time period, they have not done anything wrong.

That's called marketing.

Reply to
philo

And don't you just hate it when your plane arrives on time?

Reply to
taxed and spent

Let me explain. I have Prime. Yesterday I ordered something and an hour later, I got a notice it was shipped and will be delivered today. They sent me a note that they were very busy , but to get my order out they put a sway bar ordered by some Smith guy on the bottom of the pile. They like me better than him.

Sleazy? Maybe, but I think it is more a question of priorities. They offer multiple shipping options and though some are slow, they always came in the stated time. Prime works for me and I get other benefits from it.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

I got the same email for the end of season mulching mower I'll be using in October. Guess that Smith guy must have really annoyed Amazon?

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

In my experience, the only time an Amazon order "sits" is when it's being sold and shipped by a third party. There are three types of sales on the Amazon web site:

- Sold by Amazon

- Sold by Third Party, shipped by Amazon

- Sold and shipped by a third party

Reply to
Arthur Conan Doyle

That's why my wife an I now fly "Southwest" ...rather than having to transfer, they always seem to be the only carrier who has a direct flight to our destination...so we get their sooner that how we used to do it.

Pricing is low. The only thing many people consider a drawback is not getting an assigned seat.

To me...if I have to sit on a plane for 3 hours to avoid a two or three day drive...heck I'd be fine to just sit on the floor

Reply to
philo

True, and while it's their bat and their ball, I find the practice irritating as well. They used to ship PDQ but now seem to sit on my orders for a while. I shop there less than I used to.

Also, some recent articles say that Amazon is no longer the default lowest cost vendor on stuff, especially for Prime members who order knee-jerk/reflexively and don't bother to comparison shop any other vendors. That "free" two day shipping hooks them in.

The other gotcha' I've read about is that ordering from a Mac or high-end iDevice prices the item higher-- the assumption being you're not a price-sensitive shipper. Don't know if that's true or not as I only have a Mac.

I've seen reports in the financial press saying that Amazon is getting hurt by increasing shipping costs biting into their operating revenues-- especially when lotsa' Prime folks hit them up with several $6.00 orders in a month.

Reply to
Wade Garrett

You declined to pay for shipping. What do you expect?

Reply to
Scott Lurndal
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Most of this is nothing other than human psychology.

If you /really/ need something ASAP you'd either get it locally or pay for priority shipping. Most of the time it really does not matter.

Getting to the psychological aspect:

After living in my house for ten years I one day noticed that in the bathroom , there was no globe for the light...it was just a bare light-bulb in the fixture.

I drove to the nearest hardware store but they were out of the size I needed...they told me to return in two days...order was on the way.

As you have guessed, I went elsewhere...no way was I going to wait two days!

Reply to
philo

Almost everything I order from Amazon is the same way, they sit on it for about a week and then ship. If it goes to one of the 'stores' they usually ship it right out.

Someone said they give priority to the prime and at the end of the week when all the prime orders are filled, they start working on the other orders. That is ok with me as I expect it. I seldom order anything from Amazon if I really need it quickly.

I order from China and it usually takes about 2 to 3 weeks to get here. I know this, so put up with it.

I have to give Staples credit. This week I went to get some paper wipes called Kemwipes. They did not have it in stock so the store ordered it for me, free shipping. The total cost was just under $6 for two boxes about the size of the small Klenex type. That was after lunch and the next day at lunch time the UPS man dropped them off at my door. Slightly less than 24 hours later. The total order probably did not even pay for the postage.

Reply to
Ralph Mowery

That seems to be the opposite of my ordering from them. The Third party shippers seem to send it out the next day and Amazon waits a week.

Reply to
Ralph Mowery

I went to Staples to buy a desk chair. They had a nice chair at a decent price. I was not sure hot to get it home as it would not fit into a car easily. Whipped out my phone, ordered it on line and had it delivered the next day for free. I was sitting in the chair at the store while I did it.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Not mine, You're getting what you paid for.

I'm not a prime member but I often get my Amazon shipments way ahead of any predicted date. Why don't you come back tomorrow when the order arrives?

Seriously, there are all kinds of reasons why they might delay shipping even when they could ship earlier, like filling up the truck.

You don't know why they haven't shipped yet you've assumed the worst about Amazon.

Yes, you appear to be.

My guess? Neither does Amazon. There is a huge shipping organization there, I doubt they have places to store packages so that customers don't get them too early.

Reply to
Dan Espen

I wonder about the relationship between Staples stores and Staples.com. Are the stores franchises, or are they company owned? A little over a year ago I went to my local Sears Hardware/Hometown store (or whatever it's called now) to by a set of sockets that I'd seen at a good price on sears.com. The marked price in the store was considerably higher, but when I pointed out the Web price, they admitted that they had to match it -- but they spoke of sears.com as their competition (or even, perhaps, as their enemy), and they had to process it as an on-line purchase for local pickup. How much the local franchise owner made out of the deal, I don't know.

Perce

Reply to
Percival P. Cassidy

You pretty much nailed it.

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Until recently, I didn't realize they were now sitting on orders for non-Prime customers. Didn't realize Prime members were having their teabags shipped either. They also upped to $50 minimum for free shipping. Too bad they lost their top ten place for shipping.

Reply to
Vic Smith

I went to Staples for a phone battery. They did not have it but ordered it on line with free shipping and I had paid at the store.

Also got my smart TV from Best Buy on line with free shipping as they did not have the model I wanted at the local store.

These stores want to stay competitive with Amazon on line and will ship free on line themselves.

I only buy items from Amazon where Amazon is the supplier. They have a nearby ware house and stuff is shipped fast. I bought my last microwave oven from them with free shipping and it only took a day or two.

Reply to
Frank

Could be. I'll let you know. I looked at my history and items ordered this year (all Amazon sold) are all 5-8 days. Last year's items were 2-4 days. There's definitely a big difference. Okay by me. Just a little surprising.

Reply to
Vic Smith

+1

I shop around and often find prices and shipping costs lower with other online sellers. I probably buy only about half from Amazon than I used to and that will keep decreasing if this trend continues.

Reply to
Gordon Shumway

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