Amazon - deep down are they rip-off merchants?

Cheapest price?

Says it all doesn't it you old kef?

One r too many?

Been a regular customer of Amaxon for a couple of years and paying extra for their next day free postage prime service.

But why do the costs of items under prime seem to exceed the cost when not prime and paying for postage? You can fool all of the people some of the time?

But I digress.

Needed a replacement controller for a Humax HDR1100S PVR.

Arrives the next day after ordering, today.

But there's no button to look at list of recordings.

So not compatible as advertised. Time to put before trading standards?

So, try to set up item return. But at £17 for the purchase, all options are going to cost half of that in time and money. Why couldn't they just pick it up themselves?

Next difficulty - well nigh impossible to find an email address to complain to Amazon. All menu options keep steering back to the return item screen which is no good; at least 10 mile round trip and cost of packaging to resolve.

This is the first and only time I've wanted to send something back and the frustration of trying to work into their shilly shallying on the matter is sufficient to lose me as a customer.

"Gareth's was W7 now W10 Downstairs Computer" snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote in message news:qfi3af$d8r$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me...

didn't you get a crib sheet telling you which button provides the required functionality

I have a non-original replacement remote for that machine.

pressing "FAV" gets you the recordings list

Yes, the alternative functions are a PITA, but basically it works

tim

I subscribed to their prime. So I ordered an item it will take 8 days to arrive. Free postage, but what about prime? A rip off.

Well I usually use their chat service and just ask for what I want/need. Replaced a faulty vivosmart two weeks ago. They credited me with the original cost from 18 months ago and an extra £5 for inconvenience and I ordered a new cheaper one for next day. I printed a label and dropped it in at the post office and that was it.

Very easy to do you just follow the link that says returns.

Its even easier if it within 30 days as you just click on return item in your orders.

You should try chat.. just go to the bottom of the page and click help then click more help.

Exactly. Andmamny items are not available outside prime

Used to be great. Now falling into the google mode. Squeezing you for every cent.

A crib sheet came but only with numerical codes to set it up as a TV (not PVR) controller.

Otherwise, have tried all the buttons but none bring up the list of recorded programs.

The odd thing is that every other button in the same position as the original controller work as expected.

I used the chat service and went round in circles so finally used the ring-me-back facility and got an almost incomprehensible Indian voice. (Aren't they all?) who seemed to be reading from a script that seemed just like the chat service merry-go-round, so was no help at all.

To some degree, yes. Prime subscribers might just hit the prime link without looking too hard. Probably guilty of that myself, but it means you never have to consider delivery charges, and of course, you often, but not always, get it fast.

Because it costs too much :-/.

That's intentional. Use the chat or send a message and they'll call you if required. They don't want email because the process will be automated to some degree and they're looking to minimise the human interaction required, because that takes time and costs money. A pre-populated form can be me handled by machine.

I've been a customer since 2000, and I've returned stuff several times, never had any problems. If fact, if you return stuff through Collect+, you get a refund as soon as you take the item to the collection point.

Like many companies depending on tech a lot, you generally ahve to follow the flow the way they want it to be used...

Its no different to supermarket special offers. Take for example biscuits. One day, special offer 62p, next day, same packet £112 for the same thing.

Its loss leaders and of course promotion. Remember they probably know each individual customers habits and can tweak things to suit.

Try leaving stuff in you basket for some time and watch out for a special offer on that item. It cannot be coincidence that this happens, can it? Brian

My irritation was the time and cost involved in returning something of only £17 value; the post office is a mile away and almost impossible to get a parking space here in Chippenham during the working day, let alone the cost of parking (which I don't know because of its cost, I avoid it all the time. (Which must impact on the livelihood of shopkeepers if people are avoiding the town; places such as Portishead and Shirley in Brum have free parking and in both places the high street is buzzing)) Taken with the difficulty of finding suitable packing materials and the time involved it's far too onerous

BUT BUT BUT Amazon have just rung back (I put the phone down on them twice already) and have agreed to refund the money with me not having to return the goods (which don't work anyway so not a bonus) so at least there is a human side to their dealings with customers.

Well done, Amazon, I take it all back (Well, at least some of it)

It's actually dead easy to return stuff.

Click Account .. Orders .. Find the item ... Return or replace item

It asks for a reason. Choose faulty or not as described. They'll come and collect it FOC.

Both times I've spoken to an Amazon rep, they have been quite comprehensible.

(Raises hand)

loads of online sites and merchants.

eBay, Boots, Screwfix, LLoyds, Argos ....

That's my point. They have (England) no procedures in place to collect it. All return options offered involve 3rd parties some distance away.

Was it *Amazon* you ordered from, or a 3rd party via Amazon ? The two are very different workflows.

Interesting, I always order through Amazon but it appears in this case that it was a company called TV Tech Int