Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I had my amazon account closed due to "too many returns" but found a way around it and opened a new account. So far I have placed 5 orders. First order was for two CDs which were shipped in a mailer envelope and both were smashed causing the teeth on the hub that holds the discs to be broken which scratched the discs and neither will play without skipping. Second order was Chuck Season 1-5 box set which was shipped in a box 14 times the size of the item with two very thin bubble packs in it. It bounced around so much that the ends were dented and and the plastic wrap had actually come off the set fully. Also the case for season one was busted and none of the discs have teeth on the hubs that hold the discs in. I can replace that easily I guess. Order three was a single CD which again was shipped in a mailer envelope but luckily it was a digipak so even the footprints on both sides of the envelope didn't cause any damage. Fourth order was for Star Trek The Next Generation season 4 on BD which was sent without the slipcover (I can overlook that) and in a mailer envelope and looks like someone ran over it with a semi and is just fucked. Fifth order will be here tomorrow and is three books which I am sure will be fucked up some how. Anyways I think I am done with them. Sorry about the long post but thanks for reading my rant.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

You can thank the post office for some of that, but there's no excuse for packing an item in a box too large. When the item flies around inside the box, it is pretty definite it won't arrive intact.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

so, how many returns did you do??

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I agree that the damage was actually caused in shipment from UPS but amazon is just as much at fault for the packaging they use. On the old account I ordered a few vinyl and CD box sets where they didn't even use a box, they just slapped a shipping label on the shrink wrap. Nothing makes a grown man cry faster than shaking a box and hearing pieces of vinyl bounce around. I live in Oklahoma so 90% of the items are sent from Kansas. If I would get a package sent from another state there usually wasn't a problem.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

We'll see if the rumor is true, but I'll see how I feel at that point. I dislike increases, but this hasn't gone up maybe ever, and I hate to admit that the streaming that used to be a bonus is something I use a fair amount now, and I don't stream Netflix. I agree that I used to add stuff just to hit the threshold, and I can see myself waiting on a purchase because of trying to fill out the order to $35 and getting a price hike in the meantime, so canceling might not be that much of a savings.

Maybe you should just give your money to someone else. :)

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

True, never had an issue with Best Buy or Barnes And Noble and Wal-Mart I pick up in the store.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

The only real problem I've had with amazon is that I ordered a blu-ray and a dvd that were supposed to have slipcovers. I tried 3 times to get the slipcovers, but none of the orders they sent had the slipcovers.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

This Friday, November 1st, Amazon will start charging 6.25% sales tax here in Massachusetts. yay.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

That's not Amazon's fault. They're at the mercy of the distributor. Slipcovers are limited to initial pressings of BDs as it is, and some are so scarce that some retailers don't even get them (i.e. Trick 'r Treat, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Crank 2).

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

The order of three books that was supposed to be here today wasn't delivered. It shows they were all shipped on the 28th but the tracking number from UPS just says that a shipping label has been created. All three books came out today and I selected release day shipping. I did receive packages from UPS from other retailers today. I really am done this time. I can get MP3s and e-books off iTunes so I have no use for amazon anymore.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Good riddance.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Slipcovers from Amazon seem to be highly regional, depending on the specific warehouse. Some areas run out of slipcovers almost immediately, while other parts of the country might get them for months after release.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Saw this on another forum:
Amazon Prime 1 Yr membership for $59 + taxes (possible YMMV)
http://slickdeals.net/f/6369906-amaz...possible-ymmv?

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I probably won't renew at that price. Over the past 3 months since I renewed, Amazon has shipped everything I've ordered via USPS. 5 of my 11 orders in that period have been 1-3 days past their quoted 2-day delivery. I'm not seeing anything to indicate if that's a widespread problem, but it's certainly irritating. All of my orders except one would've qualified for free shipping anyway and probably come in about the same amount of time. If this continues much longer, I'll not renew next year and just shift the majority of my Amazon purchases to stores that PM them.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I placed an order yesterday before 9am Eastern time- within an hour or 2 it went into "shipping soon" which lasted until this morning when it went to "shipping now", which lasted until about 3pm today and its now "preparing for shipment"

How many stages can Amazon possibly come up with before the damn thing gets onto a truck. Prime is quickly losing its luster.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

You know what? I have noticed a pattern with that. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but this sounds very likely to be a result of demonstrating profitability in this final part of the year. From November onward, it seems like everything goes into the "shipping soon" stage pretty quickly. I'm assuming now that it is to reduce the likelihood you will change your mind and cancel the order. Just a thought.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I can see that being the case. And not just for the holiday season.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I stopped using Amazon a while ago when they raised the S&H to 4.00 for a 3.00 CD...
Plus the fact that they do not combine shipping - so if I want 3 CD's from 1 seller I have to pay 4.00 for EACH CD mailed. That's 12.00 to ship 3 CD's. BS.
Now I just go there for the reviews and information.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

How do they come up with that pricing, anyway?

How does a CD or DVD cost as much to ship as a book? It's the same price to ship a fucking DVD in an eco case (which weights about as much as a feather) as it is to ship a giant hardcover book (like a volume of Absolute Sandman, which weighs almost eight pounds).

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I don't even know where to begin. I'll list what I can think of at the moment...

• The DVD cases they use for multi-disc DVD-R sets are horrible! Is there any other place I can order season 5 of Becker to get it in a case that won't scuff/scratch the discs in transit!?! I emailed these idiots and was very specific that the DVD case itself was of utter shit quality, and all they did was reship season 4 in the same cheap case.
• The sales tax being added in my state now really kills the deal on some things. Pisses me off NewEgg's BD/game selection and prices tends to suck so much. I used to see a lot more deals for games on NewEgg, now they're like not restocking ANYTHING.
• WTF is with warehouse deals slapping nasty stickers on everything THEN shrink wrapping it!? Shrink wrap it, THEN super glue your goddamn stickers on instead of ruining my DVD/game case!
• Do they ever close accounts on the garbage sellers? Seriously. I'm not buying from some dude with 67% feedback. I'm tired of scrolling through so many useless listings to find the condition I want from a seller that doesn't suck. Would it really be that hard to give me the option of hiding sellers below 90% feedback?
• Wishlist sorting - FAIL. I always view my lists by price low to high but it insists on tossing random expensive items at the top before showing the rest sorted properly. I've emailed about this twice over the past 5 months and it still does it.
• How can one of the biggest online retailers there is STILL refuse to let people choose their shipping carrier? Is it that fucking hard to add the option for a detailed list of carriers, speeds, and prices if you want to pick for yourself!? Damn.
• Why can't Prime members get any shipping discount whatsoever at international Amazon sites? Our accounts still work. Our Prime should give us some kind of break on the shipping cost.
• Another thing about international Amazon: Why the hell can all the other UK shops (ShopTo, Zavvi, etc) ship games/consoles to the US, but Amazon UK can't? Amazon DE even does it. Same question goes for Amazon CA for that matter.
• Blu-rays over a year old that are still stupid expensive. Who the fuck is still shelling out $30 for something like Machine Gun Preacher when there's no way in hell it should be costing more than $15!? I just got it for $9.50 in that half off promo at FoxConnect. Red and GI Joe definitely come to mind as well. The goddamn sequel to Red is out and I still haven't seen it hit $9.99. I've also seen seasons of Game of Thrones on BD for $35 at Walmart all the time, but Amazon never drops them below $40. What gives? I wonder if Walmart ever has Law & Order SVU for a decent price. That's another series that never sees price drops. It's DVD. Come off the $30+ price tag already!

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Amazon definitely needs to use less ruinous stickers for Warehouse Deals and their Prime Fulfillment program. Those stickers are virtually impossible to remove without residue or damage to the item.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

agree with your entire post....

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

This is not a complaint, but a question.

I have made hundreds of online purchases over the years, and have never been ripped off. About three weeks ago I purchased a game from an Amazon.ca merchant. This person is in Canada as well, and the item should have arrived within the week, even using regular mail. Anyway, it is now a few days after Amazon's delivery window, and it still hasn't arrived. To be extra-reasonable, I will wait until Monday. The seller's feedback has, in the meantime, exploded with negative comments about not-received purchases.
Assuming the game doesn't arrive on Monday, which is almost a certainty, I will email the seller asking for a refund. I also assume I will hear nothing back, in which case I will file a claim with Amazon.
Questions: Since this person, and any Amazon Merchant, is essentially "sanctioned" by Amazon, doesn't Amazon have a duty to refund my money? If not, what sort of pressure can Amazon bring to bear to force the seller to refund? Thirdly, is there any action I can take in terms of contesting the charge with Visa? It's not a whole lot of money, but I really bridle at being ripped off.

As an aside unrelated to Amazon, I made a purchase of a DVD with Paypal directly from a DVD company, which was the only way to acquire this particular DVD (the company shall remain nameless for the time being, but it is well-known around here). That was at the same time as the Amazon purchase. Coincidentally, I have not received that DVD either. What is Paypal's mechanism for getting me my money back, if it comes to that?

Thanks for any replies. It's just an unfortunate occurrence that these two purchases would go sour concurrently. I'm an experienced online consumer and have never had trouble either getting my merchandise or getting refunds for lost parcels.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Amazon has an A-Z guarentee so if you don't hear from the merchant, contact Amazon and they will give you a refund right away. PayPal is another story. Have had horrible experiences with them. Now if I have to use Paypal I have it linked to my credit card and dispute things through my personal card.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

From my experience, my orders have gone into the "shipping soon" stage pretty quickly for quite a while now. I agree it's annoying, but I don't think it's a conspiracy theory tied to financials.