Vampyr

I have noticed that I have been receiving an increased number of damaged DVDs from Amazon in the past 3-4 months. It seems that almost every order is received with at least one damaged disc.

In fact, my past four orders have each had one damaged disc, which had to be replaced. This is a big increase from what things were like earlier on.

I'm curious if everyone is noticing a similar increase in damaged DVDs shipped by Amazon?

Vampyr

News Flash: I just received a replacement of a disc which was damaged in shipping. Guess what? This one was damaged also.

This makes 2 damaged discs in 2 days and many more in the past 2 weeks!

The CSR was very nice and is sending a $5.00 GC.

All in all, I'm considering the cancellation of the almost 25 titles I have on pre-order. If the replacement of the replacement comes damaged I think my days shopping at Amazon will be just about at an end.

eau

Could you describe what the damage was? Loose/missing disc? Broken case?

What type of box was the damaged DVD shipped in? An oversize box with air pocket padding or DVD secured to a carton board with plastic wrap? Or a small box just the size of a single DVD?

Daniel Schenk

In the past three weeks i received about 20 DVD`s from Amazon and all arrived well. I have no damaged ones and even the shipping is pretty fast,maybe i`m just lucky but i don`t have any problems with Amazon at all.

Vampyr

It's been mixed....
1) Shipped with no shrink-wrap (6 loose DVDs in a big box).
2) Loose discs (some due to broken pieces in the middle of the case).
3) DVD cases cut by scoring knives. (I chose not to return these).
4) Boxes damaged in shipping. (Crushed or banged up - Causing the DVD to be damaged...Mostly in smaller single DVD cases).

The thing that really gets me is that I never had a problem with them before the last 3-4 months. In the year or so before this time I had maybe 1 or 2 total returns. Considering that I have ordered hundreds of DVDs the change has been easy to see.

I sent them an e-mail per the CSRs request.

I'm really hoping that this situation has just been a streak of bad luck on my part. I'd rather that then this being a sign that things will be like this or worse in the future. That's the main reason I opened this thread. I'm really curious if others have noticed a negative change. Unfortunately, I don't think enough members are responding to give a good picture.



Anyway: Thanks to all who have given their input.

eau

In the past 3-4 months I have been receiving multiple DVD orders that were not secured within the box. I mean the DVDs were free to crash into one another inside the box, with only some air pocket bags as minimal padding. In the past, they used to use plastic wrap to hold multiple DVDs onto a carton board which was placed inside the box, making the DVDs very secure in the box.

I don't know why they changed that (cost saving???), but I certainly don't like it!

Laser Movies

I noticed this with my orders that they are not packing them as sercure as the past. So far no damaged or loose DVDs, but it does make you nervous when you shake a box and hear the contents freely moving around.

I also notice they are shipping from a different location, and orders take about a week to arrive instead of the previous two or three days. They have been shipping earlier to compensate for the extra days, but I think the new location is the problem with the packing. Maybe Amazon needs more complaints to fix the problem.

Vampyr

I received this somewhat standard reply to my e-mail. I guess someone may look at it and review the current situation.

Dear Tim,

Thank you for writing to us at Amazon.com with your comments.

We always appreciate customer input on how we can improve our store, and I
have passed your message along to our shipping department.

The packaging methods we use have been proven to protect a variety of
items effectively. However, the occasional problem is inevitable, and we
take full responsibility for the safe delivery of your order. If any item
you order is damaged during shipping, we would of course replace it
immediately at no extra expense to you.

Thank you for shopping at Amazon.com.


Best regards,

Darla L.


I tend to agree with LASERMOVIES. Perhaps it is the new location and we should send e-mails with every shipping problem.

For those of us who have yet to have a problem, I suggest this is important also, as it may effect all in the future if it goes unchecked.

BTW: This tread is in no way meant to bash Amazon. I'm just pointing out a problem which I hope is either just a run of bad luck on my part, or something I would hope Amazon will fix.

saintsfan

I don't like this method of shipping either. Ship DVD's like Columbia House does.

saintsfan

Ben732

Vampyr,

Of all the discs that you received that were damaged, were they all shipped by the same carrier? If they all came by UPS for example, it could be a handling problem (especially if the DVD is in a single DVD package and it can't bounce around inside that box, etc...

I've been receiving DVDs from Amazon for years and have never had a problem with a damaged Disc... I'll just cross my fingers and hope my luck continues... Especially being I'm in Jersey and the items I'm receiving probably use the same shipping routes as you since you're in NY.

If it's not the carrier, it sounds like either there's a new location, or a bunch of new people packing items for shipment at a current warehouse and they're being lazy about it, etc...

ellone

I've had 3 broken hubs (out of 4 deliveries) in the past 2 months. The disk wasn't damaged, but it annoys me that I need a new case.
Now I've stopped ording from them, because of this and because they won't reinstate my STL account. Plus they never seem to ship my DVDs by the release date.
I've had much better luck with CDnow lately, so I'm sticking with them now.

Vampyr

Ben732,

You make a good point. I would have to say that most of the problems are with the larger orders, which are usually shipped via UPS. Although to be sure of this I will have to go back and check my order history.

I too had bought DVDs from them for years and had maybe 1 or 2 returns in that time period. I remember one return was a defective disc, which was certainly not Amazon's fault. If there was a second it was probably also not Amazon's fault, as I don't remember ever blaming them for any problems whatsoever.

I'm worried because the flawless service I received from them for such a long time has changed so quickly. I'm not at all referring to the customer service, which has never been lowered. I'm only referring to these annoying shipping problems. Like I've said, hopefully I've just had a string of bad luck and I can expect the same quality I always had before, once this episode comes to an end.

However, if it continues too much longer, I'll have to spend even more time getting my DVDs elsewhere. Before they raised their prices I never even bought one DVD from anyplace else. Now I shop around much more. This is only because some items are a lot less expensive at Best Buy, etc...And I can't see paying $2.00-3.00 or sometimes $5.00 more for the same item I could get easily for less. Otherwise I doubt that I would buy from anyone else but Amazon for all my DVDs.

In conclusion, I'd like to make it quite clear that I like Amazon. In fact, I'm even a shareholder who has a lot of stock and is therefore very concerned as to the welfare of the company aside from a consumer’s standpoint. As a customer, I wish they would again have the best or match the best prices on all DVDs, while at the same time sending undamaged merchandise. It would be much easier for me to shop for all my DVDs through my computer.

BTW: I hope I didn't make too much of this problem. I just was curious if it was a limited problem or a trend. Also, I hope this thread was in some way helpful to some who have read it.

Ben732

I would say take a look at your past orders.. if the damaged orders are 90% one carrier (UPS like you said) I would let Amazon know that they should say something to UPS that their packages are being banged up. Perhaps they need to say something to the warehouse manager to get ontop of their packers to make sure they're packing multi-dvd orders more securely.

I haven't been placing huge orders with amazon with more than 1-2 dvd's recently so most of my orders have been shipped USPS... Of the 2 recent orders I received, one was in one of those single DVD ship box/sleeves, the other was in a box, but shrink wrapped to a piece of cardboard secured to the bottom of the box.

All in all, if you have problems like this, definately give Amazon a call. I find that not only do you get faster responce when calling as opposed to emailing, but you have a better chance of getting a GC in return for your bad luck.

Roy28

I placed my first order in a few months from Amazon this past Tuesday (for 5 DVD's), and they all shipped on Wednesday. After reading this thread, I was a little worried, since the USPS tracking # confirmed that they were being sent from a different shipping center than usual (New Castle, DE). However, they all arrived today in perfect condition in the standard (good) packaging - tightly shrinkwrapped to a piece of cardboard in the bottom of the box with air bags filling up the remaining space. Maybe I just got lucky, but it'a relief nonetheless.

To the guys who are having problems, what shipping center did your orders originate from?

Roy

eau

I can't recall the town but my orders sent out from KY didn't not have the shrinkwrap-n-cardboard in the boxes. Only a few air bags loosely filled up the space.

Vampyr

Glad to hear all arrived in good condition. I hope I didn't worry you too much, as that wasn't my intention. I'm sure the majority of all orders will arrive just fine.

According to those who have responded to the poll, it seems that about 65% have had no problems, while the rest have or no longer use Amazon. I really can't read much into this as there have been too few responses to get a clear picture (29 as per this moment).

I'm now of the opinion that my recent shipping problems have been a combination of bad luck and a few sloppy packing jobs (probably due to a change at the distribution center, or something like that).

BTW: I received one replacement today via UPS. It was in perfect condition except for the keep case being a little dented. It's hardly noticeable and I'm not concerned. Maybe my luck is changing and the following shipments will again arrive as orders had in the past. Now I'm waiting for my 2nd replacement of another DVD. I should get it today or Monday according to the tracking info.

ALSO:

If it means anything, most if not all my problem deliveries have originated from KY. Now I would say that's interesting, considering what you have said. I wonder if anyone else is missing shrinkwrap-n-cardboard out of KY.


Thanks again to everyone for your input.

Feneant

I usually only order 1 disk at a time and they are bubbles wrapped in a small cardboard package which isn't a box, it's more of a wrapper, but it keeps it tight and secure (and is glued by some industrial stuff I cant even cut through.)

Laser Movies

My last two orders that were packed loosely came from Lexington Kentucky.

eau

That's it! Packages from Lexington Kentucky often give me a heart attack when I receive them My order for Hannibal and SOTL was packaged loose at WA distribution center. All in all,
I like the one from Nevada. It uses shrinkwrap-n-cardboard for multiple DVD or boxset order.

dvd-fisherman

You can call them up for a replacement, but it's a royal pain in the rear. I like to order from bn.com, you can bring it in to a B&M and they replace it right there for you, all it takes is 30 seconds and they have great CS there too.

Vampyr

Just a quick note.

I received the replacement of the replacement and it's in perfect condition.

Perhaps things are getting back to normal. I have a big order shipping this week, so I guess that will be the test. Maybe I just had a run of bad luck.