Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

oh, ok. thanks.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Yeah, I haven't ordered from Amazon UK in a few years, but that was always my experience. I used to love paying £12.99 for a new CD that Amazon US had for $40 because it was a precious, precious import. There were even a few times where I got 3 CDs from Amazon UK for the same price (or even less!) than just one of the import CDs from Amazon US.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Well, Prime Day 2 was a bit of a bust. Loads of stuff I wasn't interested in, and marginal savings on the few things I was interested in. I guess I'm preaching to the choir here, but it kind of chapped my ass that Amazon was basing many of its "discounts" on the LIST PRICES of goods, but so many of those items were never sold at that price to begin with. For instance, Bluetooth speakers almost always have an outrageous list price, say $149.99. But the "everyday price" is around $70 (plus or minus a few dollars). And today, Amazon took $15 off that and called it a "65% discount!!!", even though it's actually only a 23% discount. Which isn't nothing, obviously, but it's not quite the "DEALS TO RIVAL BLACK FRIDAY!" we'd been led to believe.

I'm not surprised, or even all that disappointed. I didn't partake of the first Prime Day, so I didn't know what to expect. And now I know.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I almost bought something from their Warehouse Deals area due to an email with an extra 20% for members, but the coupon expired later in the evening...it was NOT the next day yet. So, I said, fuck it.

And I didn't see anything today, except for a Tie Fighter Lego set which normally went for $200 and was around $126. That was a good deal, but I just couldn't afford it. As far as movie, I didn't see anything that I haven't seen before.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

There were a few top notch deals. A few single video games were pretty cheap and the XBox deal was great. I believe there was a good price on a high end TV as well. I try to stay disciplined during these type of sales and only buy stuff if it's important to have. I saw Doom and Just Cause 3 for PS4 at $30 and wanted to jump on that but realized I probably wouldn't even play them for a few months, so passed. The only thing I ended up getting was underwear.

Amazon should call this what it is -- an inventory dump. Which is completely fine in itself. The problem comes when you give people the expectation of it being much more than that. Call it a Warehouse Sale or an Inventory Clearance and throw in that there may be a few 'surprise' deals. All of a sudden Prime Day looks a lot better.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

This is new: Instead of digital credits or Prime Pantry, I was offered a $5 credit for Prime Now, which I've never used. I accepted it since I didn't need my item right away anyway, but I have no idea if I'll use it. I guess if I even look into it, it'll be mission accomplished for them.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I've got a few prime pantry credits that I doubt I will ever use, and Prime Now is not in my area.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

So to be on the other side of the fence, I rarely have issues with Amazon and in general love the company and the services/products they offered. I tried to use a promo during Prime Day and couldn't but received this in an email today:

Dear Valued Prime Member,

In connection with Prime Day, we ran a limited offer of $30 off a purchase of $150 or more with the Amazon Rewards Visa Card on Amazon.com. We see that you entered the promotion code VISA30 after the offer had already expired. Because you are a valued Prime Member, we have loaded a $30 Amazon.com Gift Card to your account.

The gift card funds have already been loaded to your account and are available for your immediate use. You can see your current Amazon.com Gift Card balance by visiting the following location:

We truly value you as a customer and look forward to seeing you again soon!

Thank you,

Amazon Customer Service

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I can't complain about Prime Day.

I got $10 free from the Gift Card promotion.

I saved $86 by stocking up on diapers which were 35% off.

I ordered a car seat for my 2nd kid for $157. I looked up my order history, and I spent $232 on that same model car seat for my 1st kid.

And I saved $13 on an SDXC flash card.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Prime Day was almost a bust for me, but I was pleased to get some brand spanking new films in HD Streaming for at least half-off what they usually go for (The Martian Extended just came out, right...that was $9.99 in HD streaming, struck me as a solid deal). The Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 for $6.99 was also sweet.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Funny, the same exact thing happened to me this week. My GF got one of those Fire tablets for $33 or whatever on Prime Day, and is only just now getting around to using it. I was gonna order a laptop case for myself, so she sent me a link to a tablet case she wanted me to add to the order. Only I didn't double-check it, and the case is for the 2014 Fire HD. It "fits" in the sense that the tablet can go in it, but the camera, speaker and volume buttons are covered. My GF gets free shipping at work, so normally it's not a problem to send something back to a company... but I guess it's not possible with Amazon. Yeah, I'm not gonna drive 30 minute to an Amazon locker or print out a UPS label just to get $1.97 back for the return.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

How the fuck does Amazon ship electronics with padding whatsoever!?!? I had to order a limited edition game console that's shipping in like 2 weeks, and I'm terrified it'll be ruined by the time it gets here. The last console I ordered from Amazon was a backup/replacement for a failing Xbox 360, and the console box got all crushed. I got a $40 credit for this shit. picture: http://viper.shadowflareindustries.c...s/DSCN0803.JPG

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

^You actually complained about that minor damage to the box? That is *not* "crushed" in any sense of the word. I've seen worse at WM. On the shelf. As long as the product is OK who cares about the box? Well... unless it, too, is collectable and *that* one most certainly is not. If you want a "perfect" box then you need to confine your shopping to local only and don't have anything shipped. You made out like a bandit! It's that type of complaint and credit that causes everyone to suffer higher prices. You should have complained to the carrier as it got "damaged" in shipment - but they'd have denied your claim as, based on that photo, the product itself was undamaged.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Waiting for a picture of the console box that is "all crushed".

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

You're "terrified"? Dude, time to ...

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...ZTPJqJ0DEumbAC

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Or Amazon could start doing a better job packing the stuff they ship instead of wasting money on shit like drone delivery and marginally faster shipping.

I'd be pissed if expensive electronic components arrived looking like they were dropped, too. That fucking X-Box has a hard drive; I wouldn't have taken the $40, I would have demanded a replacement. I also wouldn't buy one from a store that was banged up like that, either.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Yeah, I'd be upset if a console or electronic part came in a box that beat up. Seems like a fair complaint, although I don't think i've seen anything major at all with the items i've ordered from Amazon.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

A week ago, I ordered the DVD set for CSI: The Final season.

It arrived in horrendous shape. The cardboard case was dented to hell and then I opened the DVD case and it was cracked and broken. It was like someone sat on it and then dropped it.

I returned it promptly. I just had them credit the money back to my account for a future purchase. No questions asked. They even advanced the refund before it was received.

Very rarely does something ship to me like that, but it makes me question how their warehouse handles product.

I also ordered the new Transformers BD from Shout. A couple of small pieces from the BD case came chipped off. But, nothing too drastic that I needed to send it back.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

This is actually the main reason why I STILL prefer to buy things at an actual store, rather than through the mail.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Yeah, but stores now a days have shit. You can't get niched titles or anything too great...

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

All you can buy in b&m stores is the standard shit everyone else carries, nothing unique or different, just the same old stuff. If you want anything out of the ordinary you're forced to buy it online and you're at the mercy of the etailer's shipping methods. Most of the time my stuff comes undamaged, every once in awhile I need to bitch about it. Amazon has always made it right for me and I appreciate that.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

They need to get their shit together with preorders. How the hell do they NOT have Banshee season 4 blu-ray to fucking ship me for release date delivery today? Every other store has it in stock, but it would cost me more and probably ship so fucking slow it won't get here this week.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Is Amazon in a pissing contest with the studio?

A few years ago they were pulling shit like that with movie studios and book publishers. Don't know if they still are.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I'm sure I don't know. They claim they had an issue with their supplier.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I'm also wondering why the hell Law and Order SVU season 17 has been out of stock for weeks. I had no trouble finding it at Best Buy this morning. I wasn't even looking for it there! I went in to get Banshee. lol

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Haven't kept up on this. Amazon doens't offer annual Prime subs anymore? Only $10.99 monthly plan?

Does Amazon directly sell any TVs? Seems like it's all/mostly third-party sellers.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Still annual for me. I just got auto billed $106 last month for the next year.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Click "See more plans" for the annual option.

I clicked on a bunch of random Samsung TV's and they were all "Ships from and sold by Amazon.com"

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Me too.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Yeah, looks like you're both right. $99 annual plan is still there.

Really enjoyed my free trial of Prime but it tempts me to buy too much so gotta take a break from it.

Maybe I'll do the $10 month plan another time. And then maybe the annual plan eventually for the pantry selection.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Our shipping has been really weird lately.

For a couple weeks, items weren't coming by UPS truck but by a guy in his private car. At first, I thought it was weird I didn't see the UPS truck after the doorbell rang (they usually leave it on the stoop or in the screen door, ring the doorbell, and leave), but after a couple times I noticed a car outside with packages. Still not quite connecting the dots, one time he rang the doorbell, stayed at the door, and told me I have a package. I thought it was some guy from the neighborhood until all the pieces added up for me.

This week, though, it's been weird UPS stuff. Beyond the release date issues they had with Battlefield 1 not being shipped until the day it's supposed to come out, I got a notice it would arrive Sunday and that came and went. Then it said it would be here Monday and I canceled the package.

Another package was to arrive yesterday on Wednesday but instead of leaving it on the stoop, the UPS driver left a note for me to pick it up at a UPS Access Point at a convenience store a few miles away. So I go there, it isn't there yet. I call UPS and they hold it for me at the main distribution center for pick up. It was weird. I was told it was my regular driver and maybe he didn't feel the package would be safe on the stoop, I don't know. I guess I can see that.

One of the items I ordered to arrive tomorrow will arrive Monday, one day past when I need it for an event on Sunday.

Oh, and not a shipping thing but a listing thing: I ordered a used audio book on CD and got the print copy. The picture, the title, the description said audio copy, but looking back it probably said something about it being in print. I don't know. And of course, they'll take the return but there aren't any audio copies at nearly the same price. Maybe this one is on me.

Maybe each of these are separate incidents but it just feels off to have so many at once.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

First fail of the season for Prime. Package that was supposed to arrive today is "delayed". The thing that pisses me off is it shipped USPS. Really?? Getting here in two days via USPS is a crapshoot anytime but especially this time of year. Damn Amazon. I'm more and more convinced that Prime is not worth it to me.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Not defending Amazon by any means, but I also got "delayed" notices for stuff from Best Buy which is being sent two days via USPS. It may just be a USPS issue.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

And Amazon has a special deal with USPS, I think everywhere, that their packages are handled separately from the regular mail, that's why you will see USPS making deliveries on Sunday.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I hate the way Amazon does Black Friday. Lightning Deals...bleh. Guess it wouldn't be so bad if I could stay by my computer all day. Unfortunately, I have to work...:(

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

If it's delayed. It's all on Amazon. They handle distribution all of the way to destination post office.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Thanks for joining this summer, pkgman, and thanks for making your first post a helpful post. :thumbsup:

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Exactly. I recently received a Sunday Amazon delivery when a neighbor was outside. He commented "I wish *I* could get packages on Sunday." so I told him "Just order from Amazon and you will."
100% of the delays I get are *post office* delays if a package is shipped USPS. Once a package destined for the USPS leaves a Amazon warehouse it's taken to the *closest* USPS "shipping partner" site. USPS "shipping partners" are private companies contracted by the USPS to move mail between cities. They started doing this a few years back when it became apparent they could contract out the city-city delivery cheaper than using/maintaining their own fleets. Usually a "delay" issue is with the area through which the delivery will come but most others are "Sent to wrong destination" delays. The packages are addressed correctly but somewhere along the line the "shipping partner" puts it on the wrong truck.
This year is the worst ever. The lack of a deals calendar makes it virtually impossible to find out what is going to be offered and the way they are putting the "deals" on the deals page further inhibits knowing what's available. I found earlier today that you have to look at two different sections to see all the LD offerings as filtering the LD section doesn't always return *all* of the available LDs. And if you want to try to keep up you have to almost constantly refresh the sections. It's just not worth the effort. At one point when I was trying to figure out how they were doing things I went away from Amazon for ~10 minutes. In that time *4* LDs on media started and sold out. None were listed on the "Upcoming deals" tab/link. Currently there are at least *four* deals on DVD/BR titles in the "Today's Hottest Deals" section that are *not* shown in the "Shop all Deals" section when filtered for DVD/BR and Lightning Deals. Maybe it works better on a phone/tablet. They've had the computer layouts/deal filter methods screwed up for over a year and don't seem to care.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Is it really surprising that Amazon is making it as hard as possible for you to find and take advantage of those deals? They don't want you to find them, they stagger them, and obfuscate them beneath pages and pages of drivel to make you give up the search. It's built in to their system.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Well, I covered all the bases this month. I ordered from Amazon Italy, France, Germany, UK, and Canada. You'll never guess which one had the highest shipping cost. I ordered X-files complete box set from France, Californication complete series from Germany, and 5 blu-rays from Italy, BUT the Canada charged me the most shipping for an order of 6 blu-ray movies. WTF?!!? It was 8,50 Euro to ship the complete fucking X-files from France that probably weights 10lbs, but $15 to ship a few movies from Canada to the US...and I live near lake Erie for fuck sake. Not even far to go once it gets into the county from Canada. Sad part of it is, even when you factor in that shipping cost, the movies were cheaper than Amazon US prices. Only one was Canadian exclusive. The other 5 were just a better deal.