Your feelings about Amazon?

Nathan said:
I've had a few problems with Amazon orders, but mostly with 3rd party handling(USPS) mostly. Amazon is quick to remedy screw ups that originate within their organization. Sellers on Amazon even fix shipping screw ups, like when USPS employees direct a package to the wrong destination.
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But my recent experience, recounted today, is an instance of a screw-up that was a little frustrating to resolve. Besides waiting too long for e-notification, A's automated complaint menu was insufficient & irrelevant. Then just finding my way to the phone number for a service rep took some doing, and the rep initially had a difficult time (English as her 2nd language) understanding what I was telling her.
 

My appreciation for Amazon lies in the variety, as someone else said early on. I would prefer to buy locally, but local stores just don't have the variety. If you need standard USB-C charging cables then you can find those anywhere - when I needed a 12 inch USB-C to USB-C cable - Amazon is it. I've ordered a couple of low risk items from Temu - a shirt for $12 that Amazon was selling for $25.
 

Old Salt said:
I am ashamed of myself for being so childishly spiteful but I just cancelled Amazon Prime as well as Kindle Unlimited (after many satisfactory years) because I had inadvertently deleted some books I had stored in "Collections," and could not find an answer or anyone to talk to about getting them "undeleted!"

I got hundreds of solutions instead, all generated by computer. Even under "contact us" I couldn't find a real person. It also took me an awful long time just to find an "unsubscribe!" Amazon keeps that feature well hidden. It's there but they make you look!

At the moment I am looking at Kobo and GooglePlay because I don't want to buy another book from Amazon! As I said, I don't like myself for being so vindictive, so be kind to me!

P.S. I should have added that it has cost me $ 150.00 so far to buy back some of the books I had in those deleted collections. I was trying to make room on my tablets because they were showing 3000 books read and unread but thought my precious collections ( Robert B. Parker's Spenser, Dick Francis, Alistair MacLean) would be left alone! :cry:
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I'd be burned up, too!
 
JBR said:
But... As Amazon expanded it's scope, it's been hard on locally owned businesses in my region. At first, it was undermining independent book shops. Not only that, a local publisher with 30 years of active experience views Amazon to be monopolizing book distribution, and beating down the wholesale price. (Making survival in publishing very challenging.) And, over time, A has been notably hard on clothing businesses... on and on.
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I always feel guilty when I buy from Amazon, for that reason. I try to support small businesses whenever I can. I remember when Amazon only sold books, and now look how they have expanded. Some of my favorite online shops have thrown in the towel and become 'fulfilled by Amazon.' I don't think it is fair! I have no complaints about purchasing and receiving things from them, and I agree that sometimes I have found poorly packaged items which were obviously used and returned. Just last month I ordered a blouse and it reeked of perfume and had been carelessly replaced in packaging.
 
Old Salt said:
As suspected I got a talking computer that did not recognize my request! It kept asking me "did I want to make changes to my account" "was it about a refund" and every time I brought up "deletion of books" I got the answere. "subject not recognized!" I pressed zero after an aggravating couple of minutes, because that usually gets you a live person but the computer kept babbling how it didn't recognize my request! On line companies like Amazon simply got too big! And if it's not about a refund or return you're out of luck! Maybe they should switch to ChatBots!
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If you would send me your address I would send you some audio DVD's to hand out free around where you live, keep one for yourself, if you are interested in my book, I will need your address.
 

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I buy my cat’s favorite canned food from Amazon ( Fancy Feast Tender Beef & Liver Feast) and cheaper than the local markets. Just about anything can be found on Amazon, and is more convenient, much better stocked, and often cheaper than a local store. If an item has reviews, and most do, that is also helpful. I suspect Amazon is putting some local stores out of business, and understandably so.
 
john19485 said:
If you would send me your address I would send you some audio DVD's to hand out free around where you live, keep one for yourself, if you are interested in my book, I will need your address.
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That's a very kind offer John... however I am wondering if we may have lost @Old Salt . He's not posted since December 2023.. and he was very poorly ( terminal) .. when he joined us.. so I hope it's not the case, but I think it's a possibility... :(
 
I worry far more about Walmart, Costco, Walgreen, CVS, and the like. They directly compete with local businesses and crush them out of existence. It's a pretty cold day in Hell when I walk into a Walmart or buy from them online.
 
ElCastor said:
I buy my cat’s favorite canned food from Amazon ( Fancy Feast Tender Beef & Liver Feast) and cheaper than the local markets. Just about anything can be found on Amazon, and is more convenient, much better stocked, and often cheaper than a local store. If an item has reviews, and most do, that is also helpful. I suspect Amazon is putting some local stores out of business, and understandably so.
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I agree, I always read the reviews, also I find the "Amazon's Choice" to be a good buy and sometimes cheaper.
 
carouselsilver said:
Some of my favorite online shops have thrown in the towel and become 'fulfilled by Amazon.' I don't think it is fair!
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Ah, but I LIKE that.
I get what I want from the vendor I like (not some cheap knockoff), and I do not have to pay for shipping.
Amazon is almost always the exact price as the vendor site price, and the packaging is identical, but I save shipping costs.
 
Have ordered through Amazon since the era was just books. And before the Internet over decades, ordered photography gear from national retailers via phone calls. Have always avoided a Prime account. Currently have a few items in transit for delivery including a $114 USB 3.0 4TB external hard drive. Never buy groceries online nor ever use Internet food delivery services.

Their system works and they are constantly looking for ways to improve it. For instance, their product return process has become very easy. They have several ways for delivery. Their customer service personnel actually answers phone calls. Their product listings are always going to be far larger than brick and mortar stores and that tends to keep prices lower due to competition.
 
Don't do business with them. Don't like the fact that I must have an account, have a password, etc & so-on. If they want to sell me the thig-a-majig .... then just sell it to me . Well apparently they do not so .... I go elsewhere .
 
Amazon is rather like a Boomer’s edition of Sears (Simpson Sears or Eaton’s in Canada) Catalogues. We poured over those catalogues, sifting through all those wonderful items and dreaming.
 
I haven't had any problems with Amazon. The problems I have had are with companies, associated with Amazon, Walmart, target, etc. A product will be on a website, say Walmart, but the actual seller is somebody else. The product description will say " sold by Whoever.com". Those you have to watch out for, because you're dealing with a fly by and not Target, Amazon, etc.
 
I can't lie -- I use it (thereby making Jeff Bezos even richer), but I can't deny the availability of stuff that isn't always available in my neck of the woods. I absolutely refuse to use Amazon Prime, however. If I think of something I need, I put it in my shopping cart but won't pull the trigger until I have a few items. Most of the time, I can get free shipping going that route.
 
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Eupher said:
I can't lie -- I use it (thereby making Jeff Bezos even richer), but I can't deny the availability of stuff that isn't always available in my neck of the woods. I absolutely refuse to use Amazon Prime, however. If I think of something I need, I put it in my shopping cart but won't pull the trigger until I have a few items. Most of the time, I can get free shipping going that route.
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I expressed pretty much the same approach in post #20, which was my second post on this thread. My situation is possibly similar to yours... I can't always get some particular thing in my area, which is made up of rural properties, villages, and quite-small cities.

And I have to agree with those posters who have pointed a finger at Walmart, Costco, etc. Yes, they can save us money. But as to the fate of independent or locally owned business, the course of events may someday be seen as expressed in that old song verse: "you don't know what you've got, until you lose it".
 
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hollydolly said:
That's a very kind offer John... however I am wondering if we may have lost @Old Salt . He's not posted since December 2023.. and he was very poorly ( terminal) .. when he joined us.. so I hope it's not the case, but I think it's a possibility... :(
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Old Salt chose to leave for his own reasons. I don’t know of his health now.
 
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