My letter to Amazon.com.
 

> >---------------
06/16/02 00:25:18
NAME: Debbie
COMMENTS: Gold Box:

Hello! I've been visiting the Gold Box for about a
week now. I just wanted to let you know that at least for me, the tools, kitchen utensils and appliances, etc are not things I would buy. Some people have gotten DVDs... if the DVDs start showing, I'll probably be buying on a daily basis!

Just some feedback!

Thanks!
Debbie


Their response (followed by mine)

--- wrote:
> Dear Debbie,
>
> Thanks for writing to us at Amazon.com.
>
> We introduced this feature in the hopes of adding
> more excitement to
> the shopping experience at our online store.
>
> The gold treasure chest you see in the upper right
> corner of our web site contains five special offers we've selected just for you. The offers in your Gold Box will change each day, so be sure to check the box frequently for new discounts on selected items. Please note that
> you must have made at least one purchase at
> Amazon.com before we are able to present you with any Gold Box offers.
>
> When you click on the box, you'll see the first of the five offers.
> For more information about the item, click the link
> that says "See full product details." If you would like to
> purchase the product at the advertised price, click "Buy now!" on the offer page. If you do not want to purchase that item, click "Pass forever & see next offer."
> Please note the following important restrictions:
>
> - You may only purchase one of the five items in
> your Gold Box on any given day. Also, note that you may purchase only a single unit at the Gold Box price.
>
> - Once you have passed an offer, you may not return
> to it. In other words, if you have passed on Item #1 and are viewing Item #2, you may no longer purchase Item #1 at the Gold Box price.
> You are of course still welcome to purchase that item at the regular Amazon.com price.
>
> - To take advantage of a Gold Box offer, you must
> complete your purchase within 60 minutes. Any item added to your Shopping Cart from your Gold Box will go back up to the regular Amazon.com price after 60 minutes have elapsed.
>
> - After the 60 minutes have elapsed, your Gold Box
> will be locked for the next 24 hours. After 24 hours, you may click on your Gold Box again to see a new selection of special offers.
>
> For more information, please visit the following
> section of our Help
> pages:
>
>
> Thank you for shopping at Amazon.com. We look
> forward to your next
> visit.
>
>
> Best regards,
>
> > http://www.amazon.com
> ==============================



My response:

Thank you for the form letter. I guess you don't care about what your customers want. Maybe if someone had bothered reading what I had written, a response such as 'offers just for you' wouldn't have been included after I stated that tools and kitchen equipment are not something I would ever buy.

Thanks again for not spending any time!

Whoa! :jawdrop:

:rolleyes: @ amazon.com

Tell me if you get any responses for that

She'll get another form letter, if anything.

hmmmm...this reminds me of when I wrote them back after I first got my DVD player and started to buy a lot of DVDs from them. Even tho I was buying DVDs, and had been for several months, VHS tapes STILL showed up in my recommendations. Of course, this was back in the day when their VHS section and DVD section were one. I wrote them to let them know I wasn't shopping for VHS tapes anymore and they could stop putting them in my recommendations. Of course, I also got the email about how they were selecting them "just for me" and blah blah blah. I doubt anybody actually read my email or cared, cuz no changes took place. Not until the divided the two sections, but I know my letter had nothing to do with that.

Their response:

Date: Sun, 16 Jun 2002 15:04:09 -0700

From: [email protected] | Block Address | Add to Address Book

To: [email protected]

Subject: Your Amazon.com Feedback





Thanks for writing to us at Amazon.com.

I have reviewed our previous correspondence with you, and I offer my
sincere apologies for any misunderstandings thus far.

The Gold Box feature on our website was introduced in the hopes of
adding more excitement to the shopping experience at our online store.

We would like to inform you that, all Gold Box coupons are assigned
randomly on a daily basis, based on the stores in which you've
previously shopped. Therefore, we cannot determine the items that
would be presented in the Gold Box before hand.

Please know that the Gold Box promotion features products from our
Electronics, Kitchen & Housewares, Outdoor Living, Tools & Hardware,
Toys & Games, and Baby stores.

However, I've passed your message on to the appropriate people in our
company. We value customer feedback such as yours as it helps us
continue to improve the service and selection we provide.

Thank you again for shopping at Amazon.com.


Best regards,

http://www.amazon.com



My Response:

Hello! Thank you for reading! I'll still keep looking through it on a daily basis, but if there's anything that can be done to open the gates on the DVD section, please do.

Thanks!
Debbie

I think that Amazon can offer whatever they want in our Gold Box. It's a perk, not a requirement. imho.

If I went to Circuit City and they were having a sale on VHS players, camcorders, and blank cdrs, I wouldn't run right up to the counter and start yelling because they didn't have a certain dvd on sale. Just my opinion, not trying to incite a riot.

As I wrote in the letter, it's a suggestion. Just me telling them, this is the way to get me to buy globs of stuff at your store. Trying to get to some ground where we both get something.

I bought all 16 MGMs and asked if I could have the 16th at $6.67 since I had run out of 3's, and the manager said sure.

Huh, what are you talking about? Amazon.com?

You make a very valid point that seems to have escaped many members of this forum. Amazon doesnt owe us anything as far as the Gold Box is concerned. Sure Id like some DVD related offers to show up, but I have a fun tme checking even if they dont.

While there is nothing wrong with asking Amazon about how offers are structured etc, whining about not getting what you want (or some feel "deserve") in the Gold Box wont do anything but eventually convince Amazon that the Gold Box isnt worth the aggravation. And that will be the end of any potential perk for anyone.

No, Best Buy :) (another example).

How is this whining? Is all feedback then whining? Do you know what this whole thread is about?

I'm well aware of what this thread is about, and apologize for going off on somewhat of a tangent. You asked valid questions of Amazon, and made a recommendation as to how to improve the service.

What I, and am sure many readers are seeing in almost all of the Gold Box threads is a propensity for many members to whine and moan when they dont get the desired offers, like the Vanilla Sky deal. Im sure Amazon respects and values constructive feedback like the letter you sent. Whether or not they act on it is still to be seen. I chose to post here because you demonstrated one good way to point out to Amazon the value the Gold Box could be in your shopping patterns. This approach, the "I would buy more if it addressed my needs...etc" is infinitely better than "Amazon sucks, I never get what I want, wahhhhhhh...etc".

Thank you for sharing Amazon's feedback to you. I enjoyed seeing that their CS is capable of sending back a non-canned note when the point is hammered home half a dozen times :)

Good point. But there is a differance. Circuit City isn't attempting to say "well we picked this item just for you based on your past purchases". Amazon is. Most people don't buy anything from housewares, so Amazon isn't really catering to the indiviual here, even when they say that they are. So I think its ok to tell them, maybe not whine. But to give them information is fine IMO

> <i>We would like to inform you that, all Gold Box coupons are assigned randomly on a daily basis, based on the stores in which you've previously shopped.</i>

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. Funny, all of my gold boxes to date have been offers for electronics (CD players, etc) or computer gear... I have <i>never</i> purchased anything of the sort from Amazon... I have, however, purchased about a 60 DVDs and PS2 games, including my current long ass list of August pre-orders.

Maybe they're trying to push the stores you've never shopped before? We shouldn't assume that there isn't an inverse relationship to your history.

Possibly the people getting the DVD offers don't have enough of an order history or they've only shopped for books etc.?

At least you guys are still getting the Gold Box -- I got it one day and never again. When I wrote Amazon they responded "Gee we're sorry, keep trying, it might just show back up on its own."
<P>I agree, the offers are not tailored to specific customers. Otherwise we would not be getting the same offers from kitchens (never even LOOKED in there, let alone shopped there) and whatever others they are using.

The Gold Box feature on our website was introduced in the hopes of
adding more excitement to the shopping experience at our online store.

You mean to say that trying to sell you the items you don't want at a discount didn't add excitement to your shopping experience -eek-

It's doing the same thing to me.

I got the Gold Box offer the first day, and haven't had it show up again.

Well, I'll admit to being a little put out that I didn't get offered the Vanilla Sky deal, but I have been offered the same set of flatware three times, and the George Foreman grill twice. And when everyone else is getting at least one or two really good DVD deals, (especially the Vanilla Sky one) but I'm getting offers for wine glasses and my personal favorite from today, a nose hair trimmer, it's annoying.

Everyone is not getting DVD deals or the Gold Box offers. Initially I was getting the Gold Box but for some reason it is now gone and I can't get it back. When I did get it there were never any DVD offers. From all the different threads I read about the Gold Box the complaints have been the lack of DVDs. Only a very few individuals are getting offers for DVDs.

I had sent a similar letter last week, also getting a canned response. I posted this in the Gold Box thread in the bargains forum last Thursday, and it tells a similar story to GatorDeb's experience, although I didn't follow up with a reply to their useless email.

My previous post:
OK, so I was getting a little discouraged about not seeing any DVDs in my Gold Box offers, and I sent this email to Amazon customer service:

"Hello, I just wanted to let you know that I've checked this out
about 10-15 times, and have never had an offer remotely related to what I'm interested in.
According to the info about Gold box:
".....These offers are assigned based on the stores in which you've previously shopped."
I'd say that at least 90% of my shopping on Amazon has been for DVDs and books. At this time, I haven't seen ONE offer for either one. As far as I recall, the only electronic item I've ever purchased
was ..... a DVD player. The offers I've received have mostly been
related to computer parts and cameras.
Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that the offers don't seem
related to my buying patterns, and if there's a way for you to make a change, that would really be appreciated.
Best regards,......me

So, I get this message back a few hours later (hey, good response time at least):
" Thanks for writing to us at Amazon.com.
Please note that we'll give you five new Gold Box offers every day
and most imporatnt these offers are assigned based on the stores in which you've previously shopped or have visited frequently.
As we give you five new Gold Box offers every day, therefore you can expect variety soon."
.....etc, etc, blah, blah info about gold box......
Best regards, Vikram Kumar

So there you have it, a completely useless response from customer service. Thanks a lot Vikram, but did you even take the time to READ my email, or did you just scan for the words "gold box" and then plug in the canned response? At least I'll know not to waste my time in the future trying to offer customer feedback.

Hmmmm...maybe if we visited the electronics and homewares stores more frequently, and never or rarely ordered books and DVDs, we would be getting books and DVDs in our gold box!

Personally, I could care less what's in the gold box. If they don't have a good deal on a DVD I want, gold box or not, I will just shop elsewhere. No biggie. They track the gold box items anyway, so writing them means little in the end. I think they can tell the links posted there aren't getting visited and that will speak more to them than the letters you could write.

Hi

I didn't even know the gold box thing existed. BUt when I checked mine today I saw what you were talking about and I clicked it of course.

The first time (several hours ago) I was offered some laminator thing that I would never have use for.

But I just clicked again, and it offered my Harry Potter DVD for $12.79 US. (I of course already bought it when it came out) But still :o)

that wierd looking rolling yawning head was suppsosed to be a sideways smiley with a cute little button nose. oh well :)

Out of the 10 items in the goldbox on the 2 days I checked, 9 did not ship to Canada... so how can they be from stores in which i've shopped before? That's what I would like to know.

In a weird kind of Amazon way, that makes sense!

That's the "O" face - the resident face of the Other forum :)

:0)

I think the whole point is that these Gold Boxes are supposed to be something we are interested in given our ordering history. I don't really check it anymore. There is no incentive because they keep offering rice cookers and silverware sets that I have no interest in. I believe that the intent of the original poster was along these lines --- if you don't give me an incentive to check the Gold Box, it is pretty much useless.

Excellent point, and it makes perfect sense in light of what everyone seems to be saying about the items they're getting in their box.

Let's see, i've never bought any appliences or kitchen utensils from them but that's what my gold box has everytime i check.

What's with Amazon pushing so many things like kitchen appliances, tools/hardware, toys, and lawn furniture?

Isn't this the kind of stuff people are just going to buy at Target or Wal-Mart? And they're bigger and heavier than books/CDs/DVDs, so it has increased warehousing/shipping costs added in, too.

There's a certain novelty in buying books, music and movies from someplace like Amazon, where there are reviews and bestseller lists, and the listmania stuff and wishlists features are kind of neat, too, but if I'm shopping for a blender or patio furniture, I'm going to shop at a brick and mortar store where I can actually see what I'm getting, rather than just seeing a little JPG or GIF of it. I'm assuming returns are easier, too.

It seems like Amazon is wasting their time expanding into areas where there probably isn't a lot of interest, or a need to be filled. It looks to me like they're just blowing a lot of money to expand into areas that aren't going to be profitable.

It sounds like the "Gold Box" is just a way to promote these Amazon "stores" that nobody is interested in.

Well, there is nothing wrong with that. It's been known that Amazon.com has been losing money on those stores. So they came up with the "gold box" as a marketing plan. Yeah, they say it's based on your purchase history and blah blah blah, but we all know good and well that's PR. I never believe anything I hear in advertising, so why should amazon.com be any different? I can't believe people are still complaining about this, personally. And as for who might be interested in things like this...well, maybe people who don't have the means to go out shopping, either due to physical problems or what have you. I am not defending amazon.com, as I would also rather them cut these dead weight stores and focus on offering better prices on the stuff we are attracted to their site for, but I would not waste my time complaining about the gold box either.

And I am sure there must be customers out there who would order from these stores. Maybe single people or people with money or people with physical limitations that would make it hard for them to get these kinds of products from b&m's.

Maybe if we ignore the gold box, it will just go away. I think ignoring it has more of an effect anyway, since they will see not many people are clicking on it and buying things from there. But til then you can't blame them for trying.

just as a note for future reference, don't ever expect a personal response from amazon. its company policy to not send a personal response. anyone doing so can be fired on spot.

Why would they not be able to send a personal responce? I understand sending out mostly pre-written standard responces, as with getting hundreds to thousands of e-mails a day, if they were to answer each one personally they would never get through the mails and e-mail responces would take forever. But every once in a while a question warrants a personal responce. Can they really be fired? what gives? that doesn't make any sense.

Uh, that was sarcasm... :)

The only time I've written Jeff Bezos I got a personal reply from the head of the DVD store along with a $20 promotional coupon, since my letter was about pricing problems.

Did you write or e-mail? If e-mail, please post it as I have a problem I'd like to get taken care of.