Is Amazon going downhill? (1 Viewer)

[DanaA]

I ordered several DVD's from Amazon recently, including some that have not yet been released. I selected the option for them to ship in as few shipments as possible. When they didn't arrive, I looked up the estimated date, which was listed at January, 2003. I emailed them asking why the ones available now weren't being shipped now, as they've done in the past. The email I received back indicated that one of the DVD's, A Hard Day's Night, had an indefinite release date (why are they preselling it then?) and that their policy was to ship them all at once if the aforementioned option is selected. Furthermore, the correspondence stated that it might not be released until 2009/2010. Needless to say, I canceled the order and now will do my online shopping elsewhere. Funny thing is that I once swore by Amazon and have probably spent thousands there.

 

[Malcolm R]

You asked them to ship in as few shipments as possible. Isn't that what they were doing? Waiting until all titles were available?

 

[DanaA]

In the past, "as few shipments as possible" meant they would ship them all at once, unless there was going to be a delay on a portion of the order, in which case they would ship what was available at the time and the rest later. It does not state "one shipment". I don't feel that's good customer service to say that you will have to wait possibly several years for your order because one isn't out yet. Obviously, you see it as reasonable. I don't.

 

[RobertCharlotte]

IMHO, Dana, you missed a great opportunity to get some free shipping or a gift certificate. I would have asked to be put in touch with a customer service manager and given him/her grief over the ridiculous change in interpretation then asked how he/she planned to make it right by me.
Never pass up an opportunity to get a freebie. Then, after a few weeks, you could have cancelled whatever remained unshipped.

 

[DanaA]

Robert, your idea sounds too good. Wish I had thought of it. Now, that would have given me satisfaction.

 

[DonaldB]

You could also have simply cancelled just the item that was delayed, thus freeing up the others for shipment. If cancelling would've voided a coupon that you were using, you could've ordered another item that costs about the same as the delayed item, then combined the two orders and cancelled the delayed disc.

Amazon's flexibility with order management is unparalleled.

 

[DanaA]

I wasn't using a coupon and ended up cancelling and ordering from somewhere else. You're right about their flexibility and that's both the reason I ordered from them in the first place and the reason I'm wondering if something is changing over there. As I indicated, I'm a long term Amazon customer who has had similar orders in the past. They always sent what was available first, then the rest as it came available. Maybe it was a bad customer care person that responded, but it was a different experience this time. I'll probably still shop Amazon on occasion, but I'm also going to look elsewhere. By the way, the company I ended up buying from has a great rep, lower prices (at least on the DVD's I bought this time), and free shipping. So, I guess I'm happy in an odd sense, but sad because I was such a big Amazon supporter. I've recommended them numerous times.

 

[JohnRice]

Dana,

Amazon used to do a nice thing where if they couldn't fill an order within a couple weeks and you asked for minimum shipments, they would send out what was available, but still charge it as though it all went in one shipment. I'm sure this ended up costing them too much money, so they stopped. Still, you are right, it is pretty absurd to hold an order for a year or more. At the least they should send you an email asking for your preference. The CSR also should have had a more reasonable solution. It's not that difficult a situation to solve, and just throwing up their hands and having you cancel the order is hardly Customer Service. Now they have motivated you to try someone else, which sounds like Deep Discount DVD, which is not good for them.

 

[Hugh Scrivener]

NEVER EVER buy from the Amazon Z-shops- the used stuff. They promise the same service and guarantees as if it was purchased through them but IMO it just isn't there. I purchased a dvd and after not seeing it for a couple of weeks, often individuals ship faster than corps, I sent an e-mail to the seller. No response. Three weeks after the initial purchase I contacted Amazon, and was told I had to wait 30 days from the date of purchase to cancel and get my card credited. After the 30 period was up I had to go to Amazon and submit a request for refund form and now have to wait up to another 21 days for the matter to be resolved. 51 days to get my card credited, that's absurd. After reading that sellers 'comments' section I discovered that this seller had apparently skipped out on a lot of orders, starting around the time i ordered, my luck.

ALWAYS CHECK THE COMMENTS ON THE SELLER FROM OTHER BUYERS!!! NEVER TRUST THE "STAR" RATING SYSTEM!!! Go check out the comments - save a headache.