As a customer what is acceptable to you?

[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.

Okay last rant... NEVER buy Amazon Basics. These products are copies of runaway successes small business have created that Amazon notices seeling like hotcakes on their site. In the worst examples, Amazon has bullied the same factory making the item for the creator/small business into making a cheaper version under the Basics label in order to undercut the original business. There have even been stories that when the businesses complain about this to Amazon, they are threatened with deplatforming and selling on their site. Find the original maker of the Basics item and buy direct form the maker, off Amazon, when you can. You can lookup an example of all these practices, search for "How Amazon Wins: by steamrolling rivals"

 

[MicroPilot]

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.

Shouldn't these items be marked as "Back Ordered" on their website?

 

[John Atkisson]

I’ve had nothing but good experiences with Amazon.

 

[ljjhouser]

Well, I guess there are opinions both ways about all this. We all rely on our past experiences. So I will do the same. In many years past, the local hardware knew what a Water Heater Blanket was and stocked it. Not so today. My local hardware store told me it was a seasonal item - Winter only. Many items "stocked" are poor quality because they are $2 cheaper and will sell more often. But things do change with time. You have to decide what is important to you. ME - it is important to GET the item when promised - that affects my purchasing decision, to get the product I wish to purchase, and to have recourse after purchase if there is a problem.

It has been many years developing these features. Many years ago, I could order from eBay. But there was no recourse and you did not know who the seller was or when you would receive the order. That changed because PayPal developed payment standards and recourse if you did not received correct item. You may or may not like Amazon. I would not order from them in the beginning because of the above reasons. But Retail stores (In my view) MUST compete and change. THAT is the world we not live in. Most have not. But in my view, Amazon has made many changes to promote their current success. Where else can I get an guaranteed delivery date? Amazon Prime is not all about faster shipping. It is about paying a membership for free or lower cost shipping. Does Amazon try to control shipping cost? - You bet. Why shouldn't they. When UPS re upped their shipping contract (higher) Amazon invested in their own shipping system. Thousands of those vans, all with AMZ shipping numbers. I have stopped accepting shipping from USPS. Try to get guaranteed shipping from them. Many of those shipments are lost. Try to get recourse from the post office.
Well enough about that. I'm not saying you should pay the prime cost $99 I think. That is a choice. I just got tired of paying UPS $15 for every shipment. I also think if you get better service from the local store, then I would do that FIRST. I shop Amazon because I cannot find the product. Call Walmart before you go to 3 of them to find a product. Their online inventory is not updated and they tell you that.
Also Amazon delivery times differ by their shipping locations and where you live. I USUALLY only order items that are SHIPPED BY AMAZON. That is another feature - tells who is selling and who is shipping.

Well sorry about that. The OP was not about Amazon. I get a little tired of Amazon bashing. Maybe they deserve it, but that has not been my experience.

Now about prepaying for something without any delivery date - and no recourse (because they tell you 6 mos or Who Knows). It is hard place to be. But my first choice is to tell them, call me when you have the product, and ready to sell it. If you have not product, I have no money. Let me know when you are ready to sell, and I'll you if I have the money. And, we all know that will happen. Just not in the next 6 mos maybe.

My second choice might be to pay extra shipping or purchase from an out of state or area dealer who has stock.

My third choice would be to purchase an acceptable used piece of equipment.

My fourth may be to rent if I had to compete a job.

And the last choice may be to do without and go a different direction with what I need.

I do understand that it a produce is custom order, expect longer shipping time. I ordered a door for the house, custom size. Shipping is expected to be 5 weeks. Cost is $1000.

If I did pay up front for a product and could wait until ????who knows, I have to insist on recourse if not satisifed with the purchase. (especially with a tractor or implement). Best Wishes. Larry

On another note - I purchase an new 2021 truck this year in May. During this supply deal. After a long conversation with my salesman, I told him - Give me a call when you are ready to sell me a truck and I will see how I feel about it then. The responded - don't leave, I'll find you the truck you want. I needed the heavy rear end 3.92. Apparently that was hard to find. He came back with 2. In live in Mo, one truck they found was in Mn and the other was in Iowa. Exactly what I ask for. 2 days later, I paid and picked up the truck.
Thanks, Larry

 

[greenerdreams]

same thing happened to me but it was for a friends machine i was fixing. item got delayed from factory and i felt helpless, friend kept asking when. Finally i called the place and told them that i may have to cancel the order and find a place with one already on the shelves, at any price. They said wait, so i did and they ended up shipping overnight, their cost. I was happy with the service but it made me realize from now on, important parts will be confirmed in stock before i pay.

 

[MoKelly]

Stop using them and support a local because when the local is gone then Jeff has you by the balls. Was a $5 purchase 6 dollars at the local guy and you went the cheap route

Local is gone. COVID lockdowns destroyed any chance they had to make a living.

MoKelly

 

[mred]

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.

Walk away hopefully you paid by credit card. They have not filled your order in the specified time a full refund should be in order

 

[ljjhouser]

Stop using them and support a local because when the local is gone then Jeff has you by the balls. Was a $5 purchase 6 dollars at the local guy and you went the cheap route

I will apologize to for directing this your way. I can assume that you were not referring to the above post. I never have taken the "cheap route." to answer your question. That is what I see a local retailer problem. Americans buy Cheap. If you want something that will last, it is IMPOSSIBLE to find. That is why today, most retailers must advertise something free. I did not say Amazon was cheaper than anyone else.
I shop local retailers FIRST. If they had a product I wanted for $6 or even $10, does not matter, I would purchase it local. What makes you think that Jeff does not already have us by the balls. If you can't purchase it local (AT ANY PRICE) and Jeff, Rick or Bubba can, then again, retail brick and mortar stores must (and can) compete. Thanks for the post. Again, apologies if I misunderstood. Best Wishes, Larry

 

[Flad]

The reason you have huge delays is the manufacturing processes used in countries like China ,Korea, and Japan it all started in Japan, they will not manufacture low numbers of any thing, They have adopted the Just in time method of production, this cuts out ware housing inventory storage costs shipping and multiple handling , Go to a factory in China and see trucks coming in the front with certain components in order of assembly and container trucks leaving at the rear with finished products going to the docks, there is no storage facilities no store man no multiple handling of any thing and that's the main reason you get cheaper imported manufactured goods, today they are making 1 million left handed screw drivers, tomorrow they make 5 million pogo sticks, it's like clock work, and un till you actually see it you won't believe how effective their systems are, Henry Ford x 100.

Bare in mind orders from all over the world have all been effected by the Covid , this throws the manufacturing processes totally out of sinc, ships can not enter ports nor can they leave without quaranteen clearances, As in the USA and Australia we rely on supplies of imported components for our own manufacturing industries as well as consumer goods.
Asian countries have been hit much harder than we have with the Covid, China is trying to hide the impact on it's industries but there are hundreds of US and European manufacturers in China that are struggling simply because the supply chains are disrupted with the Covid Pandemic not to mention the political situations.
It's going to be like this for much longer than any one can plan for, so get used to it and plan well in advance or go with out.

 

[dustinfox]

Im not talking about amazon? They are one of the few places that still do what they say. The people over promising and underdelivering are more along the lines of what I would call mom and pop shops.

When was the last time an Amazon order was deliverd in two days? Most orders now take five days or more. The sole reason I joined Prime was to get my orders in two days. That hasn't happened for years, long before the zombie virus hit. Oddly, they still charge me $119/year though.