How badly does Amazon package your Blu-ray and 4k discs? (1 Viewer)

[Todd Erwin]

I did the chat with a representative and they set up a return, but advised me not to re-order for a week while they investigate how the item is being shipped. But I have a feeling that was just b.s., since the item is readily available now. (I've seen in the past where Amazon has disabled orders for items while they figured this sort of thing out before, but they haven't done that here.)

Complete and utter BS, which is why I normally do not use chat support. Do yourself a favor and select the "Call Me" function and request to speak with someone in the US. It may take a while to get connected, but they are (usually) more receptive about issues you are having and can sometimes find logical work arounds.

What's the consensus on opening packages you intend to ship back anyhow? I didn't want to be the jerk that opened something he knew he wasn't going to keep, but on the other hand, this is entirely Amazon's fault. They're sending it in packaging that's completely inappropriate for what the item is, and I genuinely wanted to buy this, but I don't want to spend $70 for an item that looks like crap right out of the box.

I've always been under the impression that opened media could not be returned unless it was defective, and then only as a one-for-one replacement (no refund). I was a bit surprised when, just recently, I had to return a Blu-ray because it had two identical discs inside (instead of a movie disc and a special features disc). I went thru the online return process and it actually offered me the choice of replacement or refund. Since I found it cheaper elsewhere, I decided to just return it for refund, and it processed without a hitch.

Anyway, to answer your question, Amazon processes so many shipments and returns daily that you really need to abuse the system for anyone to take notice, although I did read somewhere that Amazon was beginning to crack down on some of the major abusers by locking their accounts for too many returns.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I have two Walmart stores and a Target within about 8 miles of my home but, in ATL, traffic is always the deciding factor. Do you really want to go out there and risk your sanity [and very possibly your life] when you can just order online and have a much larger selection at your disposal?

Traffic in this area is nowhere near as bad as what you have in Atlanta, but I am of a similar mind -- the closest Best Buy and Target stores are in a heavy traffic area (for us), so I'd rather shop online than deal with that unless it's for a worthwhile savings or something that I need to get in person (which isn't very often).

 

[Mike Frezon]

Complete and utter BS, which is why I normally do not use chat support. Do yourself a favor and select the "Call Me" function and request to speak with someone in the US. It may take a while to get connected, but they are (usually) more receptive about issues you are having and can sometimes find logical work arounds.

I may consider starting to use Todd's suggestion myself, Josh.

I've already reported in this thread several times (and other threads) about how the foreign Amazon chat reps are constantly making me promises that they have no way of being able to keep. Every...single...time.

 

[Nelson Au]

Josh, sorry to hear about your bad experience. I’ve been there. I’d return the set un-opened. If you’re losing interest as you said, maybe fate did you a favor and saved you some money. Good luck if you try again.

 

[TJPC]

I would be happy with slightly damaged packages from Amazon.uk. I have ordered 4 3D blus to my US PO box so far and three of them have been lost in transit and had to be sent again. Amazon.uk has made good each time, but I have had to wait twice as long.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I'm bummed here. I ordered this because I saw an old clip of Carlin on Carson when I was channel surfing, looked up the set, and saw that I could get free next day delivery. I was in the mood at that moment to watch more Carlin. Now I've gotten two damaged copies, been told to wait to try ordering again, and no confidence that it'll be any different. And frankly, moods are fleeting, and I'm losing my interest in watching this - I've been trying to stop buying items on impulse and only when I feel like watching them to try to keep the backlog down, and now I'm losing interest in this as my attention is being pulled in other directions. If I have to wait a week before I can re-order it, I might be completely over it before that even happens.

Is there another place you could order from that's not Amazon to see if they would ship it better? If you don't want it anymore at all, that's fair and reasonable and understandable, but if you do want it, maybe the solution is to order from not Amazon. I get that that's inconvenient because we don't get the benefits of Prime with other stores and have to pay shipping, but it's easy to forget that they aren't the only game in town in terms of sites or stores that will sell you discs. If you actually found this in a physical store, you could cherry-pick a non-dented set, although it doesn't sound like something that would be frequently stocked in-store. Alternatively, I sometimes see Amazon options to pick up at a local Amazon locker, though have never actually done this. If that option is available on this item, it could maybe bee a way to inspect the item before accepting it, although you'd have to go out of your way to physically acquire it at a locker location rather than having it sent.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Complete and utter BS, which is why I normally do not use chat support. Do yourself a favor and select the "Call Me" function and request to speak with someone in the US. It may take a while to get connected, but they are (usually) more receptive about issues you are having and can sometimes find logical work arounds.

Thanks Todd, I ended up doing this today. In the past, I had usually used the Amazon "email us" function, and had generally gotten good results this way. They must have eliminated that option since the last time I had an issue, because I only had the choice of chat and phone. Today I ended up asking for a call, and then I politely asked the representative if I could speak to someone from the U.S. I spoke to a very helpful sounding lady who looked over the chat transcript and didn't understand why I was told to wait five business days to re-order. She then spoke to her supervisor, who told her to disregard that timeframe and to create a replacement order. She said that when she placed the new order, she included a note with it that this was my third attempt at ordering this item and that the previous two shipments had been damaged in transit due to poor packaging. So here's hoping that the message actually makes it to the people doing the packaging.

Is there another place you could order from that's not Amazon to see if they would ship it better? If you don't want it anymore at all, that's fair and reasonable and understandable, but if you do want it, maybe the solution is to order from not Amazon.

I had just gotten a gift certificate for Amazon which I had used for this item; I don't really want to order it elsewhere as a) other retailers are asking a higher price and b) then I'd actually have to pay for it myself instead of being able to use the gift card I was gifted. But in general, it's a point well taken. If I had been paying cash out of pocket, there are other retailers who do package their physical media better, including Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Bullmoose and many labels themselves.

Josh, sorry to hear about your bad experience. I’ve been there. I’d return the set un-opened. If you’re losing interest as you said, maybe fate did you a favor and saved you some money. Good luck if you try again.

Thanks Nelson! I know that I'll want to have a version of this at some point, so if Amazon can resolve it this time, I'll go with that. I used to have most of the Carlin specials on taped-off-TV copies from a marathon HBO did decades ago, but it's no longer practical for me to access those tapes. This material has essentially been in my DNA most of my life so I am happy to own it. The moment where I "needed" to watch it may have passed but I'm sure I'll feel the urge again. I'm just trying to not collect things for the sake of collecting them anymore, and only to buy when it's actually something I'm going to watch then. You saw my Blind Buys thread - that's the consequence of me buying more stuff than I have time to watch. Just trying to not be so bad about that by only purchasing when I feel like watching.

 

[Mike Frezon]

She said that when she placed the new order, she included a note with it that this was my third attempt at ordering this item and that the previous two shipments had been damaged in transit due to poor packaging. So here's hoping that the message actually makes it to the people doing the packaging.

Boy, would I like to think that would work. But I've been burned enough by Amazon on this sort of thing that I have a hard time believing Amazon's right hand has ANY idea what the left hand is doing. I hope so for your sake.

 

[John Dirk]

I've been having issues getting a good copy of the new "George Carlin Commemorative Collection" that MPI put out in June

A little beside the point I know but You Tube etc. is ripe with Carlin content. The set you mentioned sounds good and I'll probably check it out because I'm sort of a Carlin nut. If my interests were fleeting, however, I would just hit the Internet when the mood struck.

They sent a replacement copy in identical packaging. This time, it arrived with different dents from the previous version, and though I didn't open the shrink wrap, I can hear what sound like loose teeth from the hubs and floating discs. This one is also being sent back.

I'm wondering if this is either a regional or quantity-based issue. I live maybe 4 miles from an Amazon distribution Center and there are 3 total in metro ATL. Also, I don't really buy a whole lot from Amazon so my shipments usually come in individual packages. I don't think I've ever received anything damaged from Amazon.

 

[BobO'Link]

Thanks Todd, I ended up doing this today. In the past, I had usually used the Amazon "email us" function, and had generally gotten good results this way. They must have eliminated that option since the last time I had an issue, because I only had the choice of chat and phone.

I, too, always used the email us option but it went away months ago. Bummer. I *hate* chat - it takes longer than a simple email exchange. I *hate* the telephone and refuse to use that option because *they* call *you.* I screen all calls so that would be a nightmare to deal with plus when I'm ready to "vent" I don't want a "cooling off" period while they get around to me in the queue. Most of the time I either just have something reshipped.

Today I ended up asking for a call, and then I politely asked the representative if I could speak to someone from the U.S. I spoke to a very helpful sounding lady who looked over the chat transcript and didn't understand why I was told to wait five business days to re-order. She then spoke to her supervisor, who told her to disregard that timeframe and to create a replacement order. She said that when she placed the new order, she included a note with it that this was my third attempt at ordering this item and that the previous two shipments had been damaged in transit due to poor packaging. So here's hoping that the message actually makes it to the people doing the packaging.

Don't hold your breath... Based on the way stuff comes in here I'd bet the packing is more automated than we're led to believe. It sure looks like someone who has no clue, or a machine, packs most of the stuff I get.

 

[BobO'Link]

Also, I don't really buy a whole lot from Amazon so my packages usually come in individual packages. I don't think I've ever received anything damaged from Amazon.

You've been lucky. The majority of my stuff comes in individual packages and I've received damaged product in them - usually crushed DVD/BR set boxes because they've been shipped in a far-too-large bubble mailer. And the same day get a plastic bottle of some vitamin/supplement in a box 10 times too large with enough pillow paks to cushion almost anything.

I wish I had photos of the box of chips and soda I once received. 4 12 packs of soda and 3 packages of chips in the same box with the chips put between the soda boxes as cushioning! All the bags had burst open and the chips crushed. I got a refund but they should have never been shipped that way. Even with coupons to cover the shipping I've stopped using Prime Pantry because they tend to just throw everything into a large box with no regard as to proper separation of product or padding. Cans arrive dented, boxes are crushed, bags are burst open. It doesn't help that they seem to have only two sizes of boxes - large and larger. It's safer to do subscribe-and-save as almost everything gets shipped in its own box or package.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Boy, would I like to think that would work. But I've been burned enough by Amazon on this sort of thing that I have a hard time believing Amazon's right hand has ANY idea what the left hand is doing. I hope so for your sake.

I'm not convinced it will be any better, but I figured this was worth a try before giving up entirely.

Ultimately, some of the blame should probably be on the home video label that produced the set, MPI. It appears that the outer cardboard slipcover is just too thin and flimsy for a set of this size. The discs appear to be in a cardboard digipack from what I could see (I didn't open the shrinkwrap so can't say for sure.) The package also includes a booklet, but the booklet is smaller than the digipack and slipcover, which ends up leaving the slipcover with too much space on the inside. It's amazing what a difference a few millimeters can make. It's just not great packaging design and I'm not sure how it could be shipped without getting damaged unless it was in a sturdy cardboard box of the same size. So MPI didn't do anyone any favors either. And I can't blame the carriers for getting a package in a large bubble wrap, which has no markings on it to warn about it being fragile or anything, and not treating it with kid gloves because it doesn't look like a fragile package.

I asked my wife if it met her threshold for asking for a replacement, and it didn't - she understood what I objected to, but said that she probably would have kept it if it had been for her. And if I had been buying it used or at a great discount, I probably would have accepted it. But it's a new item that wasn't being heavily discounted, and I know it's the last time I'm going to purchase this material, so I want it to be right.

In the past, when I've gotten damaged items from Amazon, they've sometimes offered the choice between getting a replacement sent, or keeping the damaged copy with a discount. I think if this one comes with similar obnoxious but not catastrophic damage, I'll speak up, but if they offer a discount, I'd probably take that and be done with it. I can't believe how much time I've already spent on this one package!

 

[John Dirk]

You've been lucky. The majority of my stuff comes in individual packages and I've received damaged product in them - usually crushed DVD/BR set boxes because they've been shipped in a far-too-large bubble mailer. And the same day get a plastic bottle of some vitamin/supplement in a box 10 times too large with enough pillow paks to cushion almost anything.

I wish I had photos of the box of chips and soda I once received. 4 12 packs of soda and 3 packages of chips in the same box with the chips put between the soda boxes as cushioning! All the bags had burst open and the chips crushed. I got a refund but they should have never been shipped that way. Even with coupons to cover the shipping I've stopped using Prime Pantry because they tend to just throw everything into a large box with no regard as to proper separation of product or padding. Cans arrive dented, boxes are crushed, bags are burst open. It doesn't help that they seem to have only two sizes of boxes - large and larger. It's safer to do subscribe-and-save as almost everything gets shipped in its own box or package.

Ultimately I think we're saying the same thing. Amazon seems better when you order less, which is why I have no need for their "Prime" service. What I don't understand is why folks that do pay this premium are putting up with the substandard results.

 

[Mike Frezon]

This isn't exactly in the spirit of the topic...but I just ordered a copy of the film Stronger when it dropped to $11.99 on Amazon.

It came to me in a slip case with a sticker covering up the bar code.

I've only ever seen that done at places that sell used discs so they can create their own bar code for the item and cover up the original SKU.

Odd...and a PITA getting that very difficult-to-remove sticker off the cardboard. The actual case was still shrinkwrapped.

 

[Malcolm R]

Probably a third party seller fulfilled by Amazon. I quite often find customized labels on those items. Must be how Amazon tracks the seller's merchandise in the warehouse and keeps it separate from their own (which would use the original UPC).

 

[Dave H]

Even when I ordered nothing but a single movie from Amazon, it would often come with a ding on the case or slip because they don't ship in a cardboard box anymore like they once did.

These days, I try to buy as much as I can from brick and mortar - particularly Best Buy who will price match Amazon. Ordering a movie from Amazon is a last resort (such as when no other retailer carries it, etc.) for me.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Probably a third party seller fulfilled by Amazon. I quite often find customized labels on those items. Must be how Amazon tracks the seller's merchandise in the warehouse and keeps it separate from their own (which would use the original UPC).

I'd say that's right, Malcolm. But my order on Amazon says:

Sold by: Amazon.com Services, Inc.

And the title is still listed at $11.99 and says it is being sold directly by Amazon.

 

[Brian Kidd]

Former Amazonian in Customer Service Leadership checking in. They wouldn't want me saying this, but I no longer work there and don't particularly care any more what they think.

They used to have Chat associates in both the US and via their overseas "co-sourcers". In fact, I was on a Chat team in the US for a while. Our folks were great and really knew their stuff. If they couldn't do something, they wouldn't blow smoke up your butt. Unfortunately, AFAIK, all Chat is now done overseas by folks who don't even work directly for Amazon. They are paid by the contact and not an hourly wage. Also, all CSA's at Amazon are at the mercy of those "Did I solve your problem?" questionnaires. Too many "no's" and you lose your job. Because the majority of these "co-sourcers" were in Third-World countries, they would tell you the sky was pink if they thought it would get you to click "Yes" on that survey. By the time you figured out that they weren't going to do the thing they said, you were contacting back, ticked off, and asking to talk to someone in the U.S. who would end up having to tell you that whatever was promised wasn't going to happen, likely earning them a "No" in the process. We were not fans of the overseas folks.

I will say that 99% of the folks doing customer service for Amazon in the US with whom I worked were amazing, knowledgeable, and empathetic. Though there are always outliers, you are always going to be better off calling and asking to speak to someone in the U.S. They may not tell you what you want to hear, but they'll always do whatever is within their power to find some kind of solution.

If a Customer Service person at Amazon tells you they can affect shipping quality, they are lying. Amazon is a huge company with many arms and most people working in Customer Service have no connections at a Fulfillment Center and, even if they do, there are so many FC's in the U.S. with so many workers in each one that being able to send specific instructions for an order is impossible. There are just too many items being pulled off the shelves and sent out every day for each one to get individual treatment. It's all about speed at an FC. If the person who packed your box is attentive, your box is well-packed. If they aren't or they simply don't have a properly-sized box, you can end up with inadequate packing. Inadequate packing combined with being tossed from truck to truck on the way to you can end up with damaged items. The most that a CSA can do is fill out a form giving details about a package that wasn't properly put together. That form goes... somewhere... but the CSA won't have any idea where. Off into the aether somewhere.

At the end of the day, it's cheaper for Amazon to give refunds or replacements for the few things that get damaged than it is to spend money on taking the time to make sure each item is packed in the best way possible at the FC. With the sheer number of packages that go out from Amazon every day, it's a minor miracle that they have as good a record as they do.

TL/DR Always call and ask to speak to someone in the U.S. Associates have no power over how something is packed.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Quick update on the Carlin set. I followed the suggestion to call and ask to speak to a U.S. representative who was very kind and attentive and seemed to understand my frustration. I was put on hold a couple times as she went to speak with her supervisor about how best to fix the situation. She finally reordered the item for me and said she was attaching a note to the shipping warehouse that the previous two attempts at ordering this item had resulted in damage during shipping and that it would be more carefully packed this time.

Of course, it was sent out again in the exact same oversized bubble mailer that’s wholly inappropriate for a “soft” item. This one had only a minor dent compared to the other two so I kept it.

But they just don’t know how to ship this item and don’t care.

It’s clearly all about volume and using the savings from using cheaper packaging materials and less reliable methods of shipping in order to make up for any complaints they do get. And then they have their representatives lie to the customers rather than being honest about what they can and can’t do.

As I get older, and see more and more of this with different companies, it leaves me feeling rotten. The dishonesty bothers me at least as much as the lousy policy, if not more.

 

[Bob Cashill]

The worst are those long cardboard boxes Amazon UK routinely ships out anymore. This giant, ungainly boxes, containing one Blu-ray rattling around the paper wrappers. They always arrive battered, dented, and crushed--but the product's at least intact.