moorehed

it used to actually be legit... that was some time ago. now they tempt you with free shipping, then automatically select the non free shipping that will arive in a normal time.

if you want free shipping you have to choose it, and then see that free shipping for some reason takes 5-9 days... in my expereience it normally takes longer, even tho it only ships from one state away.

it seems they purposely hold those orders for a few days before shipping them just to make you not want to actually utilize the free shipping... it sucks having to wait 2 weeks for a book just because I wanted to take advantage of the free shipping, and they want me to suffer.

garolo

I think it actually depends on the time of the quarter when they ship. Preorders usually go out with a of release or sometimes the weekend before. If you order close to the end of the fiscal quarter chances are they'll ship it quickly. Otherwise you may indeed wait. It's about the same wait as with DDD and other vendors. If you don't want to wait then why not patronize a B&M or ship it expedited?

In my experience they have "sat on" orders since they started with free shipping. That state right up front that it will (may) take 5-7 days longer to ship it for free. What do you want for free? Rubber Biscuit?

moorehed

well, i normally do go to the B&M first... but lots of times i can't find the books or CDs I want at a B&M...

just seems lame that they constantly urge you to add more to your cart to qualify for free shipping, then make that option suck on purpose to get you to not use it.

calhoun07

The don't order from them. There was a time that Deep Discounts free shipping bothered me because it took so long to get my orders. But, hell, let's be honest here, how many of us have unwatched DVDs just sitting around? You're worried about getting a shipment earlier so you can add to your unwatched pile for what reason? Go watch something else and relax. And not all of this is the store's fault. I called on a shipment from Deep Discount that I ordered around Christmas time last year (when the order had things in I bought for other people, not just myself) and they had shipped it, but I learned through my local UPS office that they ship out boxes earlier that have the express shipping on it while my box literally sits in a UPS warehouse for three days or so until it's "scheduled" to ship.

But the worst experience with free shipping was with Fantagraphic Books. I chose their free shipping (actually, I think it was the lowest cost shipping they had available) and 30 days later I still hadn't gotten anything. They took that long to fill my order because I paid for a slower shipping method. In that case, it had nothing to do with how fast it shipped, they purposely delayed my order.

I think "express" and those faster type shipping methods are the real rackets. My package will just sit there while they deliver the "express" packages sooner, though they all come in on the same truck and could just as well leave on the same truck. But what are you going to do? I will use free shipping whenever possible and just expect a 5-8 day wait and anything beyond that I have a right to complain.

eau

I ordered a DVD with free shipping last night and it went into "shipping soon" phase this morning. I actually had to manually select free shipping instead of the default standard shipping during checkout. Anyway, only time will tell when they will actually ship the order out

wolverine1028

I've had mixed results with free shipping. For the most part, they are actually quicker than I expected. They ship from NV and I live in CA so the items actually arrive in a decent timeframe.

I agree that I hate it that you have to select the free shipping. Slightly deceptive.

Laser Movies

Free shipping is one thing I don't have a problem with at Amazon, and it has basically remained unchanged since they first implemented it several years ago. It has stayed at a minimum $25 purchase requirement since dropping it from $50 in the beginning. And in comparison I usually get my stuff from Amazon quicker then other stores that offer free shipping. If you want it quick either get it at a B&M store or pay for upgraded shipping.

Steve Phillips

I always choose free shipping, as the packages arrive in the same timeframe as they do when you pay for it. I do live close to one of their fullfillment centers which might explain that.

I don't see what is misleading. It takes what, half a second to read the screen and choose the free option?

matome

LOL, during DDD's 20% off coupon(s) sale earlier this year, I placed two in-stock orders on the same day, one with their regular free shipping and one I paid the for $5 "Expedited shipping". The Expedited shipping package came two days after the free shipping one.

calhoun07

I paid for shipping on a large order from them (like 450.00 in DVDs) then I decided to order two more titles later on under the same sale, and chose free shipping for those. I did get the paid one earlier, yes, but what came the next day? The free one. If you ask me, the free shipping is not the racket, it's the higher priced shipping methods.

When I mail stuff, I select book shipping or just regular first class. I hardly ever use higher cost shipping methods anymore.

NitroJMS

I ordered Angel Season 4 on Sunday with the free shipping option. The package shipped out on Tuesday from their Deleware warehouse and got to me one day later. I have pretty much the same experience with anything I get from them that has free shipping, as long as its coming from that warehouse.

moorehed

i dont have a problem with them offering free shipping... just the way it seems they sit on orders to penalize you for not paying for shipping...

i'm going to start a thread for every thing that pisses me off about stores now.

DVDKrayzie

i keep getting my amazon free shipping in ONE day..everytime/

now DDD free shipping, that's a racket..takes 2 weeks to almosta month almost every damn time..and DDCD, i don't even bother with no matter how low the price, since half the time i never even receive it.

jaelliot

Uh yeah, Amazon offers free shipping just to piss of their customers. Granted some orders can take longer to ship when you choose free shipping, because Amazon is going to ship it in the most economical way for them. As mentioned by others, if you hate it so much just don't select free shipping and if your order misses it's estimated delivery date call them for a refund of your shipping charges, not that hard. Why not complain about real Amazon issues like their STL and goldbox screw ups, it seems most people are very happy to get free shipping.

eau

My free shipping order went out early this morning. That's 1 day after I placed it. It's about as fast as standard shipping

Chris Harrison

I have no problems with amazon's free shipping. It usually takes about two days for me to get my package from the time its shipped.

calhoun07

You may seem to get it faster because they send the email informing you they sent it later than they should. I've seen that happen before.

DDD takes a long time sometimes with me as well, mainly because they run out of some hot new releases too fast and they take forever to get new stock in. I don't know if that is what happened to you, but with me, whenever I order an item that is not in stock, it's a month wait, at least.

Patman

You get what you pay for.

DVDKrayzie

actually i ordered twilight zone on monday from amazon, received it wednesday. considering monday was a holiday, i'd say that's extremely fast.

DDD on the other hand . i preoordered dvds that came out 2 tuesdays ago, they "shipped" on thhe monday before release date and i have yet to see them.

i also get media mail from people using half.com/ebay from NY all the time, and it takes 5 days max. hell i even got mail from florida during the hurricanes faster than DDD ever gets me anything. i only use them for great deals that im in no hurry for. like Super Size me for $10 shipped, i can wait 3 weeks for that. If amazon had the same price or a little more, then i'd definitely order from them.

spainlinx0

I have no problems with their free shipping.
The only thing that annoys me is that you can't get free shopping when shopping with an affiliate. I understand why that is the case, but I wish they could have some arrangement since they are using the Amazon banner.

RevLiver

I've always noticed Amazon's free shipping working this way. It's always defaulted to standard shipping for me and I have to select the free shipping. And yes, they do, and always have, sit on the free shipping orders, 90% of the time. Just look at the day it is expected to ship with standard shipping and the day it is expected to ship with free shipping. Same item which should be able to come from the same warehouse. But they tack on 7 days. This way they can say they offer free shipping but give you an incentive to pay for it anyway. Me, I've already got hundreds of books to read, so I can wait for the free shipping. If it's something I urgently need, I go to the B&N near me.

Rex Fenestrarum

I wouldn't complain about Amazon's free shipping *if* they actually shipped it by a slow carrier or service ("Media Mail"), but like others have said they sit on it for a week or so before they ship, which is not cool to me. CASE IN POINT: I ordered the Keen Eddie set ("ships in 24 hours") from Amazon two Thursdays ago and it will (hopefully) arrive by UPS tomorrow. On the other hand, my Popular Season One box set I pre-ordered from DDD back in July shipped on Friday and arrived at my house today - only two (or three, depending on when DDD put it in the mail) via Media Mail.

Yakuza Bengoshi

Amazon usually gets my preorders to me by release date even with free shipping so I'm happy with their service. However, even if they did take a few days longer, I wouldn't be bothered. I've got a backlog of hundreds of DVDs and dozens of books piling up waiting for my attention so a few days more or less shipping time doesn't matter much.

DVDKrayzie

ordered star wars box set monday with free shipping, received it today. Also today i finally received the passion of the christ i PREORDERED from DDD. i guess it all depends on where you live in relation to their warehose, but amazon never "sits" on orders for me.

Josh H

Definitely sucks, but you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth I guess.

I only order when I have a GC or something. Same reason I don't order from DDD. The free shipping sucks, and if you pay for shipping you can just go to a B&M and get it for the same or less so it's pointless for me since I live in a metropolitan area and don't have to go out of my way to shop.