New trick by Amazon

Good point. However, my more recent order was for 2 books where Amazon was the seller for both. The delivery date shifted from 5th Jan to

Yes. I too have had Ebay items delivered by Amazon.

The first delivery date was given when I was (almost) at the end of the ordering process, so it already knew the delivery address, the payment method etc. etc. The only thing that changed was my clicking on the "Place Order" button which committed me to the purchase.

On the first order, some items were probably 3rd party fullfillment. On the second order, both books were sold by Amazon (and are both UK items), not from a 3rd party.

No.

All you have to do is once make a purchase with your Prime free delivery membership and then cancel.

For the past 2 years I haven't had a single free Prime offer.

YMMV

If you mean Evri's UK depot then my expectation would be different and the Panorama programme supports this. Before Xmas our local Facebook group was busy swapping experiences of missing Evri parcels after a new driver had taken over the local round.

I presume you have tried third party parcel tracking apps. I used to use AfterShip and 17Track for incoming international packages and they were useful.

Amazon Prime Video is pretty good too. The music service could be better but it's still useful. I like the option of same-day groceries from Morrisons/Co-op.

An estimated 15 million households (out of 30 million UK total) have Amazon Prime, so they must be offering something many customers want.

Yes, that is scammy.

MM does indeed Vary. I have previously signed up to Prime, used it for a month and then cancelled. Nothing has changed in that, every time I go through the 'checkout' process they want me to switch to Prime in such a way that I have to carefully avoid this.

However, none of this relates to my post about their abrupt change of delivery dates - only after I commit to the purchase.

It's often down to the local delivery drivers. In my area the Evri delivery driver has been the same person for a number of years.

I had reasonably good service in my area from most of the carriers except Royal Mail. However it's the Royal Mail system that seems to be the problem and not necessarily the constantly rotating staff that deliver my mail/small parcels. The ongoing problem is tracking showing that a "24" package has been received but commonly taking a week or more to arrive with their automated email telling me that the item will be delivered today but actually turning up one to three days later.

In contrast, I ordered 9 items from Temu on Dec 28th & they arrived on Jan 3rd. The only discrepancy was that 2 parcels were expected but only 1 arrived. Evri had repacked then into a single bag after passing through customs.

Be interesting to find out if that is actually correct or just hype. Then break it down into paid & free.

It may depend on where the "amazon stock" is located. I've had Amazon order from France rather than the UK with delivery taking longer than standard times.

Many marketplace sellers also have Ebay stores with cheaper prices. As they sell on both platforms the items the delivery is often by a Amazon van and the item packed using Prime packing tape.

Whats the surprise ? Amazon operates a delivery service in the UK, but I think you need to be sending a minimum of 50 items a day to get them interested

Just be careful about which click and collect service you use. A few months ago I went into an "independent" supermarket run by one/two people and there in the doorway was a large pile of packages that either had just been delivered or was awaiting collection. I could have just walked off with half a dozen without being noticed (except maybe by CCTV) - I didn't have a hoody on at the time and these days I cant run fast ;)

Prime is not just next day delivery it also TV/audio streaming services etc.

I too am surprised that 15 million is a true figure for annual membership.

However, I do know of one household that pleads poverty but has Prime and ONLY uses it for fast delivery. Part of their argument is that there is no threshold spend* to get next day delivery.

In message <XnsB3C9DB9A3741E1F3QA2@157.180.91.226>, at 21:35:15 on Sat,

A lot of Evri's delivery issues (especially with new drivers) is the way so many properties are poorly numbered and difficult to find the correct front door. Luckily, I live somewhere it's very easy to find the right house.

That's got nothing to do with the fact that Evri is being used rather than Royal Mail.

In message snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net>, at 09:14:19 on Sun, 4 Jan

My experience is quite different. I get an email from Royal Mail giving typically a 4hr window centred on lunchtime, and they always deliver.

In message <10jdbik$1sseu$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me, at 09:23:31 on Sun, 4 Jan

It's extraordinarily unlikely those were shipped from the factory in China, to you, and via a customs facility, in that time period (and over the holiday season). They must have come from an intermediary in the UK.

See above.

In message <F6e6R.3075$ snipped-for-privacy@fx10.ams, at 19:29:40 on Sat, 3 Jan

I often get charged £3.50-£4.99 or whatever for carriage by other vendors, and so the Amazon fee is a bargain, as well as getting next-day delivery not 3-4day delivery.

Whereas I'm regularly buying things from Amazon that are holding up a project, so if they can come next-day that's brilliant.

I think that phenomenon has been explained. Of course with Amazon Prime it never happens.

I'm wondering if that's the same effect I'm seeing. Evri claiming they've received the goods from the supplier, when in fact all that's happened is the Chinese company has put it into the start of a tortuous international supply chain.

I only use Prime video once or twice a year.

For me it usually seems to be "get free prime delivery tomorrow, or today by 10pm with an order at least £20" ... an advantage of sitting within a cluster of Amazon warehouses at Coalville/Hinckley/Lutterworth?

In message <XnsB3C9DCC76A49A1F3QA2@157.180.91.226>, at 21:42:12 on Sat,

That's a weird service which I've used, and it must be losing them money hand over fist.

The groceries get delivered in quite robust paper bags (lined with tinfoil) by a person driving a private car from the store about 30 minutes away. And then there's the wages of the person who did the picking.

But Bezos can afford it.