John Watson

"Usually ships in 24 hours"

"Usually ships in 3-4 days"

Does the phrase "usually ships" in these phrases not mean something?

This is with reference to online orders I make at Amazon. When I get this info on a disk I plan to order, (24 hours, 3-4 days, etc), it can affect my decision as to what I order. I assume 24 hours means there is a nearby shelf with a deep stock of the disk, and 3-4 days probably means that it is in stock at a suppliers warehouse?

But I often find that by the time the order has been placed, and I return to check status, the "usually ships" dates has been changed, ie from 24 hours to 3-4 days, or from 3-4 days to a much longer period.

I would have thought the initial statement was based on links to a super-efficient inventory management system. But the frequency of changes suggests it is just a slippery phrase used to assuage casual customers. Am I right?

Andrew W

Go and delete you Amazon cookie and log in as a different user. Then see if it says 24 hours again. If so, then they are intentionally misrepresenting the stock situation.

Andrew in Austin

Jeff Ulmer

I suspect the stock notation is based on presumed availability, not necessarily the status of your order. I have things shipping that say they aren't available or are 3-4 weeks. I doubt it's possible for a store as big as Amazon to have up to the second availability info available, especially considering items that are in people's shopping carts, are part of delayed shipments (to save shipping charges), etc. The status changes frequently too, I would assume based on what information is being handed off from suppliers. I doubt there is any intentional misrepresentation going on, since they allow you to cancel orders at will, and don't charge until they are ready to ship.

DVD Reviewer, digitallyOBSESSED.com | Othyrworld

PaulT

I think it's purely based on general availablity from their suppliers based on previous orders they may have made since they don't actually stock anything.

I have made orders that stated 'usually ships in 7-9 days' and had it in 4.

"One of the problems of taking things apart and seeing how they work--supposing you're trying to find out how a cat works--you take that cat apart to see how it works, what you've got in your hands is a non-working cat." -- Douglas Adams

John Watson

kind of a PS to this old thread, but I've now seen an order sit in "We are now processing this order" mode for 3 nights.

not even a hint that one of the items in my order might be holding up the others.

seems like another decline in Amazon service to me.

Mark Philp

A couple of weeks ago I ordered two items from Amazon which said "usually ships in 24 hours". When they confirmed the order it showed them being shipped seperately in five and six days. That was ok with me as there was still plenty of time to get them before Christmas. Much to my surprise, the next day I got a notice that both had been shipped (that was indeed within 24 hours) and both shipments arrive before the shipping dates they quoted. I'm not complaining, but it was a little odd.

Glenn Overholt

It's much better to pad a few days to when you will expect it. If you lived ina suburg of Nome, it might take an extra day or two to get it to you.

Usually ships in 24 hours has always worked for me. If it changes right after you place the order I'd cancel and look elsewhere - if you can. That's the rub.

I had 4 items a few months back that I figured would leave together, but no, 4 seperate shipments, but that wasn't the good part.

Two items they said wouldn't be in until the 19th (about 10 days away), so I waited. They didn't ship that day, but it did say that I'd have them by the 31st.

The 31st came, and went. still no stuff. Then I emailed them and just said - Where's my stuff? - they shipped out the next day. I'm glad I wasn't in a hurry to get them.

It is a big company, and occasionaly stuff falls through the cracks, but keep a close eye on your purchase.

Glenn