Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

If memory serves, the last couple of PRIME days have offered very little for the movie fan. Seems to just be a couple of days for Amazon to push their homegrown products, like the Alexa and Kindle.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

^ IMHO you could have stopped after "offered very little." I can safely say I've never ordered anything during "Prime Days" as they just haven't offered anything my family needs or wants. It tends to look like a huge flea/junk market type clearance of stuff that's clogging the warehouse space. I don't expect it to be any different this year.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Yeah you right. I have in my cart Samsung Galaxy Buds but I don't think they going to get cheaper than $127. :(

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I have 60 items in my cart, saved for later, I'll bet none of them go up or down, on Prime Day, more than the few cents that they usually do each day.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

So do cart items automatically drop if "saved for later"? Anything change on your wish list?

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

https://www.post-gazette.com/busines...s/201907110011

College student was late returning a textbook to Amazon, so the company took $3,800 from her dad

July 13, 2019

Amazon.com Inc. tells customers that renting textbooks instead of buying them can save up to 80% off the purchase price:

“Get your textbooks delivered to your door and save both time and money.”

What Amelia SanFilippo, a thrifty college freshman, wasn’t expecting was that the Seattle-based online retailer would withdraw nearly $4,000 from her father’s checking account because she was a few days late returning the book.

Amazon is not your local library branch.

In February, Ms. SanFilippo, 19, a cognitive science major, used her father’s debit card to rent Cultural Anthropology: A Toolkit for a Global Age for the spring semester at the University of Delaware. Cost $62.70.

The book was due back June 24. She had asked her father, Anthony, to mail it for her. But it slipped his mind while he was packing for a weeklong trip. On June 28, she received an email from Amazon with the subject line: “Your Amazon.com rental has been purchased.”

“The item is now yours to keep,” the email stated.

Cost: $3,800.60 — more than 30 times the price of the textbook.

“I was shocked,” she said. “That’s a big chunk of change, especially when the book is $100 to buy.”

When she called her father in a panic the next day, he told her not to worry. They’d never actually charge him that amount, and he’d be home in Springfield, Delaware County, in a day and would return the book then.

“So imagine my surprise when I went to the ATM on Saturday night and saw there was a large sum of money missing,” Anthony SanFilippo said. “I was like, ‘Holy s—, what happened?”

Mr. SanFilippo, a writer for a political marketing firm, called Amazon customer service on Sunday, assuming it would recognize the $3,800 mistake and correct it. But company representatives refused to refund the money until they received the book. He’d shipped it that day and gave them a UPS tracking number.

“That wasn’t good enough for them,” he said.

Mr. SanFilippo said he was told by Amazon that UPS ground shipping usually takes seven to 10 days and that his refund should appear two to three days after that. Not wanting to wait that long, he asked to speak to a supervisor, who would identify himself only as “Mr. Joseph.”

“When I pointed out to him that the sum was exorbitant, he kept apologizing that I was frustrated, but that this was Amazon’s policy,” Mr. SanFilippo said.

The saga continued into the next day. And the next. He spent hours on the phone.

On July 1, the SanFilippos received an email from Joseph saying that he had been unable to reach them by phone.

“We look forward to seeing you again soon,” the email stated. “Thank you for your inquiry. Did I solve your problem?”

Anthony SanFilippo promptly clicked the “no” button in the email, and ended up speaking with another customer service supervisor who identified himself only as “Bon.”

“I went through the whole rigmarole all over again,” he said.

When Bon turned out to be no help, Mr. SanFilippo tried to go over his head.

“I said I would call Jeff Bezos’ office if I have to,” Mr. SanFilippo said, referring to the Amazon founder and CEO. “You have to get me somebody above you. He said, ‘Sir, I cannot do that.‘”

Amazon asked the SanFilippos to email photographic evidence the book had been shipped back. But their emails to that address all bounced back. That email address did not accept incoming messages, it said.

Mr. SanFilippo then turned to his bank to dispute the charge, but had no luck. The following morning, July 2, the $3,800 pending transaction cleared and the money was officially gone from his account.

With Amazon refusing to acknowledge it was an error, Mr. SanFilippo started to wonder whether he had stumbled onto some sort of extortion-type scheme aimed at college students.

“What if it was more than one book that was late?” he asked. “What if it was four, five, or six books. Would the tab be $20,000?”

And what if students lost their rented books or had them stolen?

Finally, on Wednesday afternoon, Mr. SanFilippo checked his bank account balance and saw that $3,800.60 had been returned. He never got an explanation from Amazon. But his daughter found an Amazon email from February, when she’d first rented the book. Sure enough, the “buyout” price was listed as $3,831.40.

Contacted Wednesday by The Inquirer, Amazon declined to explain how that number was determined.

“This was an error that we quickly resolved directly with the customer, and we have issued a refund,” an Amazon spokesperson said. The spokesperson requested anonymity.

The problem does not appear to be widespread, according to consumer advocates in Washington, where Amazon is based.

David Quinlan, vice president of marketing for the Better Business Bureau, said Amazon is an accredited business that meets standards for resolving consumer complaints.

He advised online shoppers to use a credit card — not a debit card — because they provide more protection against unauthorized charges. “That way you could easily dispute the charges and get the money back,” he said.

As for the SanFilippos’ experience, Mr. Quinlan said: “That’s crazy. I’ve never heard of something like that.”

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

My little cousin is visiting from out of state, so I ordered him an action figure for $10. I'm on a Prime trial and ordered it with two day shipping on Tuesday, so I was certain I'd have it delivered in time to give it to him on Sunday. Well, they missed the delivery deadline on Friday. It was finally delivered around 2PM this afternoon and it looks like the damn thing got caught in a sorting machine. They shipped it in a thin bubble mailer that looks like it was wadded up in ball. The card the figure came on was heavily bent and the bubble was crushed. I know the kid will just rip this thing open and play with it, so it's not a huge deal. Still, I was a bit pissed at the condition of the "new" item I had paid for.

I contacted customer service this afternoon. I made sure to mention a replacement wasn't necessary since it wouldn't arrive in time, but that they need to ship something like this in more appropriate packaging. They didn't offer any resolution, just a canned response mentioning they use software to determine the appropriate packaging for each item and that they missed the mark in this case. I opened a chat afterward because I felt this justified at least a partial refund adjustment given the circumstances. All I got was "We'll pass your feedback to the appropriate department" BS. I think now I'll just return the damn thing on principle.

I also didn't realize the Amazon driver was taking photos of my front porch after dropping off packages and uploading them to my account. These drivers never ring the doorbell to try to hand it off directly and it looks like my front door was wide open (with the screen door closed) in one of the pictures. I get that it's a security measure, but I find it a little invasive. Never noticed they were doing that until this weekend.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I have a suspicion that those delivery photos will one day turn into "The delivery photo shows it was at your door. If it's missing then you need to file a police report." type canned response and you'll be stuck with the loss.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Until there is scamming by the delivery person taking photos and then stealing the product themselves.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

This has happened a couple times before, but I got a notification of a package out for delivery on Saturday. I click the notification and see that it's 8 stops away. An hour goes by and I look up the status and there is no map anymore, but it's still out for delivery. Now, the status changed to "On the way, but it's running late" with an estimated delivery date of Thursday.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I am one of the few people who still buys CDs and amazon has nothing in stock. If they do it is an import so there is no telling what you will end up with.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I love Amazon and have had little to bitch about... however, today I noticed that my Echo Show has the flickering screen of death... this will be my 3rd replacement already. Ridiculous.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

There is an opt-out option for the delivery photos. It's buried as deep as possible, but it's there, or was a year or more ago when I placed my last Amazon order and discovered this "feature" by sheerest accident. I then made absolutely sure to disable photos, for the highly probable future reason you state above. Amazon's just grooming people for more police-state tactics in the future, by taking photos. No, damn it, I DO NOT give permission, and I'm entitled to say so because it's my own private property.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Could it be maybe that they are doing it to keep track of their delivery people and not customers? Seeing that their delivery network is basically Uber for Amazon packages at this point.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I rejoined Prime recently because I was going to place an order over $300 and I needed all of it within two days because I ran out of cat food and had birthday for someone that I had forgot. The order page shows that they are splitting up the order into five different shipments and I just received an email that each one is delayed and they will now be here in three days instead of two. I guess my cats will have to miss few meals.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I just received two CDs that were put in an 24 X 18 inch box from amazon. No padding inside, just the two CDs. Luckily they are both digipacks because I can only imagine what jewel cases would look like after banging around inside that box for three days.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Many of my past orders that involved heavy items were delivered by FedEx so I guess UPS now will take most of that weight along with USPS.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I'm glad they're ditching FedEx - who is pretty awful in my area, leaving packages out in the middle of the driveway, tossing them in the yard, etc.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Amazon needs to ditch LaserShip next.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

The delivery photo was useful for me recently. I got notification that my package was delivered, but it wasn't on my porch. I looked at the photo and determined they had incorrectly delivered it a few doors down, so I just walked down the street and picked up my package.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I pre-ordered American Gangster 4K blu-ray. The price has dropped to $23.99. My pre-order price is still at $25.45 and has not gone down.

Edit: I had to cancel and re-preorder. How strange. Got Scarface 4K on pre-order as well and no issues with that one seeing the lowest price reflect. Must be a glitchy system thing.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Does Amazon even USE boxes anymore for smaller stuff? I had a couple items shipped this week, both of which were fragile/oversized enough to warrant a box and both came STUFFED into one of their large manila envelopes. :( Both had some damage, but not to the point where I needed to send the item back - however, had this been something like a collector's set or limited item, I would have been ticked. It makes me concerned about some pre-books I have for later in the year. I'd honestly rather have slower (I'm a PRIME member) shipping if they can guarantee a box over an envelope.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

^
If you order a pack or AAA batteries as an add-on item with a book they'll ship the batteries in a box and the book in a shitty envelope.

A few years ago, I read complaints from people about them doing just that. An order would be split and something cheap like a magic marker or batteries would arrive well-packaged in a box, while something large and fragile, like a hard drive or camera, would arrive poorly packaged and damaged.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

And after something like this happens you get to read 25 pages of "well nothing like this has ever happened to me so you must be lying" posts. Then they follow it with how you should feel honored to pay amazon for Prime.

I recently ordered 6 CDs and some watch batteries. Each CD was sent out in their own mailer envelope complete with broken cases and the hubs that hold the CD in place. The batteries came in a 14 inch by 18 inch box by themselves without even any padding. They just bounced around in there. The pack of batteries was probably 3 inches by 4 inches and about an ounce in weight.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Pretty sure there's a regulation that batteries have to be shipped in something that has prevention from being crushed (a box) which would keep them (or anyone) from shipping them in a bubble mailer.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I can confirm that they do, in fact, still use boxes. I ordered a few things a couple of weeks ago, one of which was a CD and Amazon sent it to me in a big box with just one of those air-filled pieces of plastic -rolleyes- Luckily it wasn't damaged, and I don't even want to try to understand the reasoning behind their packaging methods.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

But does the box need to be the size of a school bus?
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Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Nah but they probably have some AI that determines what's cheaper for them; using a box that's closer to the pick location in the warehouse or moving the item to another location in the warehouse where there are smaller boxes available. If it's cheaper for them to use a big box, that's what they're going to use.

My comment was more to explain why they arrived separately from the CDs in padded envelopes.

Most everything I buy from Amazon comes in either one of those plastic bubble mailers (white with the Amazon logo) or the box that's probably the same size as the one you described. I've only gotten those paper mailers with styrofoam nonsense inbetween the layers a couple times.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I just received replacement "cheek Pads" for a motorcycle helmet that would have been fine in a bag and they were shipped in a box. Of course a Map was sent in a plastic bubble type envelope but arrived fine. They were sent via different carriers.. Box via UPS and envelope via USPS.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I'd love to know what the "standard" is for shipping...I mean, are they just letting the employees decide at random? Sure seems like it these days.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I think the system automatically tells them what kind of box or envelope to use. I doubt they would leave to the discretion of their warehouse slaves. There are size and weight considerations for shipping, so they probably see that you bought DVD boxed set "X" so that ships out in a #7 box. Drop it in the box, label it, put a little tape on it (not too much, your tape usage is being monitored), and throw it on the conveyor belt. And do it in four seconds or we'll fire you.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

If their system is telling them exactly what box or envelope to put certain items in, then their employees must be ignoring thos system commands quite often. I often order the same items sometimes only a day apart and they very often arrive in different types of boxes or envelopes each time. One time I ordered a Marvel collectible and then ordered one for a friend the next day. The first one arrived in a large box with a lot of air puffs and packing material . The second one shipped from the same warehouse arrived unboxed and they just stuck the shipping label directly on the product packaging and shipped it out. It of course arrived damaged with multiple punctures holes all over the product box. Another time I ordered the same post two days apart. One arrived nicely packaged in a box large enough that the poster couldn't get damaged. The other one arrived in a long, but very flat box that wasn't more than a half inch taller than the diameter of the rolled poster. It got crushed and had to be returned as well.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Today I am supposed to get my first two orders shipping by amazon's delivery service. Surprise, surprise, they are both delayed. I guess my cats won't be eating for the rest of the day.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

What do you mean by first two shipping by Amazon? Has all packages to you up till now still been USPS or UPS??

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Yes. Everything has either been UPS or USPS so these are the first two with amazon's own delivery service.. I live out in the middle of nowhere.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Oh wow. I've only seen their own delivery for a while now. It appears that they set it up basically like Uber for package deliveries. Most arrive via a person driving what I assume is their own car, making deliveries. Rarely it will be an Amazon van.

The only times I've had delays is when I'm trying to squeak an order in when it says delivery tomorrow if I order within the next hour or so. Those are sometimes delayed a day. Anything ordered with ample time (even for next day) have all been on time.