Got burned on Amazon (well, sort of)

[gstrom99]

Being very rural here, I order from Amazon often. I check the "item location" and don't order when it's in China. I got suckered into free 30 day Prime membership and forgot (or they forgot to remind me) when to cancel before the (too high $) membership went monthly. I've never failed to get my item. When doing a return, sometimes they don't even want it back and will issue a refund/credit right away, which saves a 30 minute trip to the closest UPS dropoff spot.

 

[Oaktree]

Put otherwise, I saved myself maybe 300 trips to TSC, Home Depot, or Lowes, last year.

I just schedule visits to those places next time I'm in town, it's rare that I make a special trip. Not much that I'd get at HD or Lowes would be something Amazon would carry.

 

[DarkBlack]

My wife ordered herself some stuff off Amazon on Friday. She doesn’t have Prime, but it was delivered yesterday (Sunday)free shipping

 

[dmccarty]

I don't want to know what we spend on Amazon.

95+% of the time we get our orders in the time specified. There have been a few things that did not get delivered on time and showed up weeks later. By then Amazon had shipped a replacement and we got to keep both items. This has happened with small items and I think they get hidden on the truck. We did have one order where it was obvious the packer sent our stuff to some one else and we got their order. Amazon told us to keep what we got and sent our order.

Last week, I needed an air filter for the truck. Looked at one of the local parts stores and they wanted $82! It was not in stock. Amazon had the same product for $40 and it was installed in the truck less than 24 hours after ordering. I ain't in the city either. Most of our Amazon deliveries are made by Amazon now. No problems so far.

 

[Jchonline]

I dont do Amazon anymore for anything. Once we moved up to the mountains, their delivery service is slower than just about everyone else...Walmart, direct vendors, etc.

 

[WinterDeere]

I dont do Amazon anymore for anything. Once we moved up to the mountains, their delivery service is slower than just about everyone else...Walmart, direct vendors, etc.

Walmart does have a pretty viable competitive option for Amazon, nearly everywhere. I'll believe you, if you say they're better in your region, things will always vary by local conditions.

 

[Jchonline]

Walmart does have a pretty viable competitive option for Amazon, nearly everywhere. I'll believe you, if you say they're better in your region, things will always vary by local conditions.

Walmart has their own issues...poor packing, sometimes disorganized...but I have a store I can stop by when I go to town, and their customer service has been easier for me to contact. Not saying its amazing...but for us its better.

 

[ponytug]

The change made last year to Amazon reviews and the hiding of the question area has pretty much destroyed their usefulness to me. It was by reading both questions and 3 star reviews I got the best information on a product.

I agree that it isn't as easy to find, but the questions and sorting reviews by ratings is still available.

Amazon gets a chunk more business from me because often my local "fill in the blank" store (Lowe's /HD/ auto parts) often either don't have the item in stock, or worse say that they do, and then when I turn up and the "72 items in stock" turns out to actually be "oops, we quit stocking that here two years ago, funny, must be a computer glitch...". You get burned often enough and it just isn't worth it, at least to me. I've tried the online order, pick up at store routine a few times, but most times there is an error, which eats more time. Last time I need a few (six) fence posts for a repair in a height that I don't stock. The big box store had them in stock, and I put in a pickup order, along with a bunch of other items. The picker wanted to load six five packs of fence posts (or perhaps it was ten to a bundle) So it took another half hour to sort out the order.

I bought a $6 item at a local auction, and my spouse pointed out that the gas to go get it was twice the price of the item.

Because Amazon does do such a cost effective job, I keep an eye on time / fuel for buying items, but I do comparison price Walmart/eBay/big box stores. I've started grouping my lumber deliveries so that one truck load can cover a year or so of planned projects, and the delivery charge is less than my getting and hauling it.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Jstpssng]

I got suckered into free 30 day Prime membership and forgot (or they forgot to remind me) when to cancel before the (too high $) membership went monthly.

That's how they get you, and why I refuse to do business with nearly anybody who requires "Autopay." If something is "Free" they shouldn't need a CC #.
I paid for a "trial period" with my local newspaper and no longer even have the email account I signed up through. They never said a thing about renewal, yet keep charging my account every 3 months. I should cancel it but do use the subscription. I have to wonder how many people are paying for subscriptions which they don't even realize they still have.
Granted the onus is on them to check their statements every month but still...

 

[jyoutz]

I agree that it isn't as easy to find, but the questions and sorting reviews by ratings is still available.

Amazon gets a chunk more business from me because often my local "fill in the blank" store (Lowe's /HD/ auto parts) often either don't have the item in stock, or worse say that they do, and then when I turn up and the "72 items in stock" turns out to actually be "oops, we quit stocking that here two years ago, funny, must be a computer glitch...". You get burned often enough and it just isn't worth it, at least to me. I've tried the online order, pick up at store routine a few times, but most times there is an error, which eats more time. Last time I need a few (six) fence posts for a repair in a height that I don't stock. The big box store had them in stock, and I put in a pickup order, along with a bunch of other items. The picker wanted to load six five packs of fence posts (or perhaps it was ten to a bundle) So it took another half hour to sort out the order.

I bought a $6 item at a local auction, and my spouse pointed out that the gas to go get it was twice the price of the item.

Because Amazon does do such a cost effective job, I keep an eye on time / fuel for buying items, but I do comparison price Walmart/eBay/big box stores. I've started grouping my lumber deliveries so that one truck load can cover a year or so of planned projects, and the delivery charge is less than my getting and hauling it.

All the best,

Peter

That is really why I buy so many things on Amazon. Selection and availability. After I visit a few local stores and they don’t have what I’m looking for, I give up and buy online. And there are many things that I buy on Amazon that I know aren’t available in stores, so I go straight to Amazon. One small example is good quality double edged razor blades. I prefer shaving with old style double edge razors, but finding them in stores is almost impossible. Amazon has dozens of brands of blades and brushes to choose from, all delivered to my mail within 2-3 days. One small example, but there are so many things they carry that just can’t be bought locally.