rant - Time to drop Amazon

[troutsqueezer]

Wherever I go, whatever I do, the services always fall short of what I would expect if I were running the business. So, to maintain my sanity, I accept that as normal and don't let my blood pressure get up when say, the HVAC technician doesn't have a clue about the real problems with my system.

Prime has worked for me many more times than it has not. If it's above 50%, that's all I expect from any business these days.

If you tried it once and it didn't work, that's no indication of the number of times it will do exactly what you want.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

We are living in changing times that means every cost has to be cut if possible. I do hope we retain our US Mail system but the changes we have seen over the last 40 years makes retaining is questionable at best. I use Amazon a lot.

 

[rekees4300]

That article has issues.

Forbes has a good reputation so I assumed the article had credibility.

 

[newbury]

I don't have Prime, but recently I have seen numerous Amazon shipments routed through USPS get held up for days longer than they should. It's getting ridiculous. Not only are the shipments delayed, but the USPS tracking info is virtually worthless. I'd pay extra to have reliable shipping.

And that's part of the problem. I started buying mailorder from fishing gear catalogs in the '50's (paper route money). I've been cognizant of delivery times. But with Prime promising 2 day delivery and the 2 big ones (FedEx and UPS) ROUTINELY dropping the smaller packages at the post office the second day there's virtually no way they should even try and PROMISE 2 day delivery.

Well I ordered my passport with fast shipping. The state department sent it UPS. UPS dropped it at a post office that is about thirty miles north of mine. Then USPS delivered it to some business about ten miles north of the post office. So USPS then had to get it back from the mis-delivery and send it to my local post office and then I finally got it eight days later. UPS made me wait a day and half before they would take the mis-delivery report. You want to talk about frustrating. So it just isn't Amazon that is screwing up.

I only blame Amazon for claiming 2 day delivery and then tossing it to UPS knowing it would be given to USPS. That almost automatically guarantees an extra day.

 

[J F]

Sorry for the op's problems, I can understand his frustration. I've been a "prime" member for years (ever since "prime" started, I'm guessing). I do see differences from "our regular" UPS (and sometimes FEDEX) deliveries from time to time.

That being said, I'm happy as helllll 94.376% of the time, I'd guess. I have noticed that when the final delivery goes to the USPS, the "quality" drops...big surprise. But I'm also aware that I'm viewing the service over a decade or more, with probably more than a thousand deliveries over said time.

On the few occasions I've had any problem with a delivery, Amazon has always (100 %) taken care of the problem to my satisfaction, right off the bat. That being said, I have never had a problem where a "time-sensitive" delivery has failed, so I can't speak to that particular (and VERY important) frustration.

Imo, after many years of use, Amazon kicks very much azzz when it comes to customer service.

 

[downsizingnow48]

We have a Prime membership. By "we" I mean me, my wife, my daughter in Wyoming, and other daughter in San Francisco. So that one membership fee is covering three households. Overall, my experience over some years is that UPS is fastest and most reliable. FEDEX is not as good. When USPS gets involved add 2 days. That is a nuisance but I blame Amazon, not USPS. Nonetheless, for lots of stuff Amazon is still the easiest and cheapest alternative, especially if you place a value on the time you spend driving and shopping locally.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Amazon's prime makes rural living, civilized. For the life of me, I have no idea how they do it. Even with the bump up from $79 to $99 bucks. I spend about $300-$400 a month at Amazon and the often free shipping more than pays for the annual fee.

 

[MikePA]

Sometimes I feel like ranting about rants, then I catch myself.

If I need something fast, I buy it locally. If I don't, I buy it online. I can count on one hand the number of times I paid for expedited shipping. And, we live in a rural area, I'm an Amazon Prime member, our local USPS people are great.

 

[CHDinCT]

Like I said earlier in this thread, we've had Prime for 5-6 years and would spend a few hundred dollars a month with Amazon. We even use their subscription services where things you buy routinely are shipped to you at set intervals - every month, every other month, etc. I was impressed with Amazon from the time I first used it back around 2000 or so. Should have bought stock in it back then -oh well.. Excellent customer experience and service when you need to deal with them.

But, For us, the price increase basically woke me up to shopping around more before we decided whether to keep it or not. To my surprise, there are just as good or better deals out there most of the time with free/low shipping. I know some people are wary of e-bay, but we have not had any problems so far. I truly believe e-bay has stepped it up with more "buy-it-now" pricing, free shipping, and pay-pal check out to compete with Amazon. Don't know how they induce sellers to list that way, but I won't bother with bidding or "make an offer" on new items. I'm careful to compare actual model numbers, etc., when shopping e-bay, and look at the seller's rating.

As for Amazon shipping, I have seen more and more items delivered by USPS, often via hand-off from UPS. I can't really recall any major delays however - maybe a day here or there. My problem with USPS is that they will leave items hanging from my mailbox or on the open door of the mailbox. It just begs for someone to swipe it. UPS will always deliver to the house/garage. Don't think we've every got an Amazon item via Fedex for whatever reason.

Anyway, we may go back to Prime at some point, but for now, I'm shopping around for anything more than $25-$50 before I just place an order via Amazon. I am curious to see what their financial results are for the 2nd and 3rd quarters this year to see what impact the Prime price increase has had. To each there own, and it's great to have competitive choices for on-line shopping.

 

[chopped]

Any online shopping is safer than shopping at and risking the life at Wal Mart