As a customer what is acceptable to you?

[Tony H]

I fear that some is self done to increase price. COVID, COVID, COVID, if times are so tough why are many building supplies doubled on price? Lumber yards are fully stocked, yet they say high prices because of demand. I thought everyone is out of work, where's the money coming from to cause this imaginary demand? Or is it because the current Administration is handing out money 'we' don't have. How is it possible that people on unemployment are making much more money then when they were working? This country is full of demotivated people thanks to this devastating handout.
Rumor is that harbors are full of supplies with barges idling around waiting to get in. Stop all the fees and restriction on CDL drivers and you won't have them moving on to other work.

 

[MossyDell]

A couple of months ago, I gave up trying to buy or even order a Woods Brush Bull from a regional dealer. Their proposal came down to this: Not in till at least September, full price and it may be higher than the current list price. The salesman mumbled about steel prices and high demand. Meanwhile my local Kubota dealer had Land Pride brush cutters on the lot for the same price they'd always been. Which was cheaper. I didn't get as good a cutter but I got what I had to have this summer, something to start getting a field under control when I had time.

On Amazon, I am amazed by what it can do. But hate it when a huge UPS truck comes and brings one tiny item. I wish they used USPS more—usually an extra day or two is fine, and I'd be supporting the mail service, which I value.

Amazon's free shipping is provided by their hard negotiation with suppliers for the lowest price, negotiating with delivery services, AND by then adding a shipping fee into the product price. I am slowly trying to figure out which manufacturers I can successfully order directly from—if I believe in them, they are worth paying a few bucks.

Again, I value Amazon but the system needs to come back to some balance. We're in trouble if everything dries up but Amazon.

 

[Smily0]

I bought a Rest Performance bed on 4/30/21 and was charged the same day (5k). The website didn't say anything about delays/backorder, but I used the chat service and was told 4-6 weeks. Day after my order was placed, I got an e-mail invoice thanking me for my purchase that said 6-8 weeks. I responded about the discrepancy and it was ignored. At the 7 week mark, I asked for an update and was told they had no idea when it would ship, but reassured me I was #4 in line for the model I ordered, but could cancel at anytime. I responded that without knowing how many are produced and going out in a set timeline, that really meant nothing. She apologized, but said she didn't have more info. At 10 weeks, they still had no clue, but offered me $50 refund. It finally delivered on 8/14/21. Super frustrating

Same thing with a commercial chamber vac. I kept waiting for it to come instock, but the websites were always showing a 4-6 week lead time. I finally called and two different places confirmed they never even hit the warehouse, every single one is pre-sold before the container hits the port. I bought it on 6/15 and was charged 2300 with a delivery estimate of mid July. I messaged on 7/29 and was told sorry, it's now mid September. They quoted shipping delays and issues, which I understand, but still frustrating.

Neither of these were available without purchasing up front, and both were things I had saved up for over a long period of time to finally get the specific item I wanted, so there weren't really options otherwise. Both did offer free cancelations, but neither company has proactively communicated which would have made it so much more bearable.

 

[Wamman]

Funny story at some point, but.....

My wife usually wants me to find a certain detergent that she insists to use.
Last year, I found it through Amazon.
The seller was in Calgary. We live in a very rural area in south eastern Manitoba.

After the shipment was overdue by quite some time, we contacted the seller. It turned out, UPS sent the parcel back due to an invalid address. They shipped it a second time.
The second shipment didn't arrive. UPS used all kind of excuses.
They delivered to our place before.

The lady at the shipper was p..... already, because they had to pay for the shipping every time. She offered the money back, my wife denied. She wanted the detergent.

They shipped a third time with UPS. Nope. Nothing showed up.

Now the shipper used a different parcel service which required us to pick it up not too far from us. Which was ok. A few days later, we got the call to get our detergent.

About two weeks after that, a UPS pulled up at our driveway. Guess what? They found the address and delivered those TWO shipments that were shipped earlier.

Now we recieved one order three times.

And we are talking about 6 boxes of detergent per order.

My wife asked me what to do. Sending it back? Who is paying for the shipping? The lady at the shipper was less than happy already.

My wife called her. We offered her to pay for the remaining two orders since we got the product.
We got a nice discount and the offer to order direct from them if we ever need some sgain.
We will but it won't be any time soon.

Nice to hear there’s honest folks out there to go to the trouble to contact the company to pay for the additional Products.

 

[twowoode]

Amazon is part of the problem and if you do your research you will find that you are paying shipping in the form of higher prices. If you take the time to compare you will find the same item lower from other places. It’s the age of instant gratification that makes Amazon succeed. I am willing to shop local to support small businesses because when they are gone you will be at the mercy of companies like Amazon

 

[twowoode]

This country is already at the mercy of China. The supply problem is the reliance on Chinese products. People need to start hounding companies to make and get their products in the USA. Think how easy it would be for China to cripple this country just using the supply chain. Look at all the vehicles sitting on manufacturers lots waiting for parts. You keep hearing how our electric grid is vulnerable but what you don’t hear is the replacement transformers and switch gear comes from China.

 

[bartjoebob]

Amazon prime delivering virtually anything to me in two days has spoiled me. I have ordered things less than $5 and things over 10k and bam they are on my porch in two days with no shipping charge. Covid has caused a lot of chaos in the supply chain and while things are out of peoples control in some cases I still find it unacceptable. For example I ordered a widget and paid in full up front for it. I was told I would have it in 12 weeks. It is now 16 weeks, I don't have my widget, the manufacturer says it is beyond their control, they don't know when I will get it, and they are doing the best they can. They literally have no clue if I will get my item next week or 30 years from now.

What are your thoughts on this? They are still selling this widget on their website with no mention on there that if you pay for and order one it might five months before you get it. Seems like a shady business practice to me. They want their orders to keep piling in because once they have your money they got you. At this point I don't know what to do. I wasn't happy about a 12 week wait but figured I could live with it. Now that they haven't lived up to that timeline I am angry and feel deceived. I can assure you that once I get my item no matter how good it is I will never do business with this company again.

As long as we customers allow manufacturers to sit on our money or put it to sleep completely while waiting for them to do their part- NOTHING will change. Start cancelling order after 4 weeks (let alone 16 effing weeks of waiting).... trust me, manufacturers will figure out REAL fast how to get those orders out. I'm not at all saying it's easy for them but we are playing a huge role enabling this situation

 

[HAR]

Quite honestly, there was a time when Amazon PRIME actually meant 2 day delivery! Then back in 2019, I believe, they actually were offering 1 day PRIME deliveries. Then COVID happened and reality set in. Amazon and others found that everyone was home and buying on-line. The shippers were having staffing problems (COVID) and the queues began to fill and back up. Then slowly, Amazon began to back off the 2 day delivery and started saying, '2 days from the time we ship", but even then that did not always work. Like many others, I now question why pay for prime, when many other sites are offering like or similar pricing with free delivery just to entice me to buy.

I agree. Amazon is not always cheaper in the long run and I do comparison shopping all the time now.

Though, I will give Amazon credit, where credit is due. I ordered an item the other day, and it was 'stated' that delivery would be August 23rd. A day later, I got an email from Amazon updating shipping saying the item would arrive today, August 20th. It actually arrived yesterday! Go figure.

 

[bartjoebob]

Amazon Prime seems to be a crock to me, nothing I've ordered using it comes any faster and stuff still takes over a month to get. I canceled my Prime for these reasons.

I say Amazon has made a lot of false expectations and the free shipping party can't last forever. Eventually sellers will stop wanting to get raped by Amazon over shipping and push back.

The reality is shipping costs money. If you don't want to see the shipping charges buy local and support your local businesses if you want to see stuff carried in inventory. Stop buying made in China crap and break the supply chain BS. If you choose to buy Amazon and Wallymart you are part of the problem.

I have noticed this too. Fewer items seems to be available for 2 day ARRIVAL. Why do I yell arrival? Because many times Amazon now discloses when it "will ship". So "ships in 5-7 days" means the order sits around in queue for that long before being filled. Then add the carrier delivery time on top of that. Oh, I've also notice once you login to Amazon, prices change and shenanigans with free 2 day prime items start. Meaning, they are creating an image to non prime users that all these things are 2 day eligible, and once you sign up, they cut out 2 day shipping (2 day arrival) for MANY goods. It's an algorithm that does with pricing and shipping services and it sucks

 

[Root Cause]

What is acceptable?

Good, honest communication on the front end and when things change.

I can accept that things happen. I can accept that his supplier may not get honest answers themselves.

Being in the dark is unacceptable and that will make me a non-repeat customer