Amazon and "alternative facts" - rant

[TractorGuy]

HA! I went back in to the order a tried to cancel using a different reason. Then I went into my account and removed my CC. A couple hours later I got an email saying my item will arrive on Monday. We'll see.

 

[daugen]

HA! I went back in to the order a tried to cancel using a different reason. Then I went into my account and removed my CC. A couple hours later I got an email saying my item will arrive on Monday. We'll see.

I'm guessing nothing happened until they ran your card, get the money first.

Since I watch Prime movies, there is some other benefit for me, but yeah, Amazon's distribution is not getting better. They had a huge problem with poor packing materials for a while, they still are very cheap and not very bright about what they throw together in a box. Had to send a number of things back that leaked or ruined other things in shipping. Never had a problem getting a credit.

5 percent back off the bill is a pretty good incentive. We all know "free shipping" isn't free, the vendor is paying Amazon a big chunk of money for that shipping.

Now you get only about a month to return things, that wasn't the way when it started. Lots more rules, none of them to consumer's benefit.

The Prime price is no longer the best deal in town. You really have to shop around but Jeff Bezos wants to make it super convenient for you to just click on that mouse. And he gets a new 500 foot yacht...

 

[oosik]

Huh - I've never had to use Amazon or Prime for anything I've ever ordered. I've never needed two day delivery, which is probably the reason. The totally amazing thing, to me, is that from some vendors I HAVE received two day delivery on certain items. Some of those two day delivery items have come from back east also.

 

[rScotty]

We live about an hour's drive from any town with stores, so rural delivery by FedX, UPS, and the PO is something we use a lot. We signed up for Amazon Prime a year ago and it has been overall a very good deal. Yes, there have been a couple of delivery glitches...but our experience is that when you are rural then delivery is hit and miss anyway. Amazon does better than most.

One thing I have learned about Amazon is to read the description of the item very carefully. If it doesn't say that the item is in stock and ready to ship - and I need it soon - then I look for the same thing from another supplier. Of course that means I'll pay more; I'm OK with that.
And then I look in my InBox for a message from the seller. If it doesn't say that they have actually shipped within a day then I will think about canceling and ordering from someone else. It all depends on whether I need it right now. Basically, when you live far from town then there's either a lot of "make do" - or a lot of driving to town.
rScotty

 

[fried1765]

We live about an hour's drive from any town with stores, so rural delivery by FedX, UPS, and the PO is something we use a lot. We signed up for Amazon Prime a year ago and it has been overall a very good deal. Yes, there have been a couple of delivery glitches...but our experience is that when you are rural then delivery is hit and miss anyway. Amazon does better than most.

One thing I have learned about Amazon is to read the description of the item very carefully. If it doesn't say that the item is in stock and ready to ship - and I need it soon - then I look for the same thing from another supplier. Of course that means I'll pay more; I'm OK with that.
And then I look in my InBox for a message from the seller. If it doesn't say that they have actually shipped within a day then I will think about canceling and ordering from someone else. It all depends on whether I need it right now. Basically, when you live far from town then there's either a lot of "make do" - or a lot of driving to town.
rScotty

"Of course that means I'll pay more"

If you would prefer to pay LESS, you should first check any combination of, E-Bay/Jet/Wayfair/Newegg/Zoro/Lowe's/Home Depot/Northern Tool/etc.

Amazon is convenient, but RARELY the cheapest on the internet.
For many shipping addresses Amazon will also charge you state sales tax.

 

[daugen]

For mechanical items, before this one had the local repair shop parts counter or the Grainger catalog. Maybe a Sears catalog for tools...
I've always found products at Grainger to be priced way high, like sock it to corporate buyers who don't know better

Is Ebay a reasonable alternative to Amazon? Are all those Ebay customer scores believable?
Always wondered if some offshore company had a whole room of folks doing nothing but writing positive reviews.

Have always thought Amazon was a safer place to shop than Ebay. Ebay seemed like the Wild West.

I've been buying from Amazon since 2001. Bought their stock and it doubled. Currently selling it with a smile on my face. Bought two used tractors
with the profit on Amazon stock this year. Their valuation is enormous, isn't Jeff Bezos currently the world's richest man?
Walmart is actively trying to get at Amazon's customers. Poor Sears is likely to creak to a halt soon. Too bad, have bought appliances there
for forty years. Older sales folk always knew their products.

I try to avoid Harbor Freight now due to their deceptive pricing, waste all that time trying to find a coupon due to your valued status with them, then you get an rv magazine
with a coupon on it way lower than the coupon you were sent. I think HF has shot themselves in the foot here, and I know there is/was a lawsuit and settlement on this.

Really pays to look at all "options" on the Amazon page as has been said. Alternatives can be better deals than first one they throw up in front of you.
I usually start off sorting by highest customer review. Since I live in a rural area with long drives to the next big town over, Amazon is a big help to me.
But I have also found that ordering from Lowes online can save money over Amazon, free freight too and showed up in three days.

 

[Gem99ultra]

One other option to finding the 'best' price is to sign up with Honey. When you select an item on Amazon and put it in your cart, click Honey's little icon on the cart screen, then Honey will do an internet search for you and exchange (with your permission) to switch suppliers. Payment still goes through Amazon but the item probably will not. If they cannot find a better price, you can opt for a 60-day price drop notice. Or do nothing at all and buy it as you originally planned.

I've made three purchases so far allowing Honey to use their bot and find the better deal for the exact same item. So far average savings has been about 30% less than Amazon's sellers best prices. Delivery has been as good or better than on my Prime account. oh... and as an aside bit of info, I'm a former Amazon seller; no more. They're scalping the sellers with their new 'no rebuttal refund policy'. Honey's link to join is 'JoinHoney.com'

 

[daugen]

Newbury, read your original post again. Always helps as you know we tend to go astray. Particularly me...:ashamed:
My response time from Amazon when I lived in suburban Philadelphia PA four years ago was extraordinarily good. They didn't work on Sundays back then,
which I applaud, but otherwise there must have been a distribution warehouse twenty miles away it was so fast.
Now...in the somewhat boonies of the Inner Banks of NC, the distribution center must be way further away, and no matter what I purchase, the
response time is 1 to 3 days longer than it used to be in PA. Like going from broad band to dial up.

If you are ordering a shirt, what's the rush? If you need a part and a machine is down, and you can't find it locally or it's not in stock locally,
who do you call ghostbuster?

Amazon's success is also their biggest challenge, others want a piece of the pie. And sadly this is why downtown Main Street now sells boutique items
instead of functional stuff. I grew up standing over the floor heater grate in front of the counter in an ancient wooden hardware store in my little home town, on a cold day
I just loved that grate. Now here was a positive shopping experience! My father could go get what he needed, he often just made the rounds on Saturday morning to say hello, since the owners were neighbors.
You supported your neighbors whenever possible.
My how times have changed.
I buy US made and locally when I can.
But now you usually can't and pretty sure this is same all over.

cheap 3D replicator printers are coming and soon we can make some of this stuff ourselves...:thumbsup:
Now that's what I call local.

 

[Deere Dude]

I am stumped by some pricing on Amazon. Some items it may show $50 with free shipping, which is fine and what the item should price for.

But search further on Amazon the identical thing is selling for $1500-2000 for each thing. The exact item and quantity with monster price differences. I clicked on one once and it will take your $2000 and if you want two it will ring up $4000. Any idea what is going on with that?

 

[aczlan]

I am stumped by some pricing on Amazon. Some items it may show $50 with free shipping, which is fine and what the item should price for.

But search further on Amazon the identical thing is selling for $1500-2000 for each thing. The exact item and quantity with monster price differences. I clicked on one once and it will take your $2000 and if you want two it will ring up $4000. Any idea what is going on with that?

As I understand it, there is something in their search algorithm which penalizes a seller for having item be out of stock. As such when the item goes out of stock, they raise their price to something absurdly high but leave it as being in stock.

Aaron Z