Bash Amazon all you want, but..........


 
Bruce said:
C Lewis: That is a USPS issue. The usual cause for "Undeliverable" is that the mail delivery person didn't have time to deliver it within their allotted time shift or they didn't have room for it on their vehicle or whatever. I have a rural carrier and it happens occassionally. I asked her about it and that is what she told me. Some times they just run out of time to do all the deliveries.
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I don't doubt this is what your mail carrier told you, but it makes little sense. Why would not getting around to delivering something today make that package "undeliverable"? Just deliver it when you can. I've certainly noticed no reluctance on the part of USPS to deliver things long after their schedule delivery date.
 
The "undeliverable" label is applied by USPS. It is just the label they use for a package that was "out for delivery" but for whatever could not or otherwise was not delivered that day.
 
JSaus said:
I bought my last grill from my local Lowe's. They put it together and delivered it (2 men) for free. Hard to beat that for local service.
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Yeah, can’t beat that! The grill I wanted wasn’t available in store or I’d have gone and picked it up myself. I was worried about how FedEx would handle… and rightfully so.
 
Laughing on the timing of reading this post as I have an Amazon order for two cookbooks that were to be delivered on Monday. They never showed up and I got an email saying they are running late and I will see the item on the 28th or 29th. Just went to my Amazon account and they have a note saying this may or may not deliver as it appears lost. Would you like a refund?
 
Bruce said:
You can bash Amazon all you want, but they do a lot of things better than many other companies. I would like to support smaller companies and ones that are more USA oriented, but sometimes they make it hard.

I needed some special bolts and nuts in stainless. I could have ordered them from Amazon and gotten them two days later but found a place I have used before. Both were nearly the same price. In fact, I think Amazon would have been a little cheaper. But, I went with the other guys, just because. I placed the order on the 25th. I did not get any kind of notification of the order other than on the web page when I placed the order. Two days later, I emailed them with the order number and asked if I would get any tracking information. The next day I got an email response back with tracking information that said it was shipped. Three days later and the tracking with USPS shows: "Pre-Shipment Info Sent to USPS, USPS Awaiting Item". So, in reality after 4 days, it has not even shipped.
With Amazon, I would have had it two days ago, yesterday at the latest.

So, yah, that is why Amazon is one of the biggest corporations in the world in such a short time. Selection, low prices and fast delivery. Oh, and their return policy is very good too. That makes it tough to go with some of the other local B&M places and smaller suppliers.
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The order is still in "Pre-Shipment Info Sent to USPS, USPS Awaiting Item" Since September 27th.

What a joke. I like this outfit, but I don't feel bad about publishing their name: Boltdepot.com
 
Man, I have had excellent service with them! I once asked them if a metric screw came fully threaded and the CSR went out to check their inventory to confirm! I am surprised to say the least. Did you ask them again what the hold up is?
 
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I have mentioned this before. How Bezos had the forethought to create their own shipping company I'll never know, but it was genius. I stopped ordering my parts from just about anywhere but Amazon, as I was also getting pissed at why companies took over a week to get an order out the door not even counting the shipping time. I like to turn around most grills in just a few days and don't want to stock a lot of parts. I keep a couple of igniters, casters, and drip pans on hand but that is about it.
 
Some of the business focused supply houses are also excellent about actually shipping on time. I've never had a McMaster Carr order late, for instance.. they aren't cheap but boy are they reliable.
 
We are Prime members and my wife seems to buy a lot more than I. I buy from Amazon when I can't find a trusted source or need the item soon. But sometimes Amazon screws up too. But statistically, they beat about everyone else. I hate to feed the beast, but about half the time I knuckle under and buy from them.

I do feel good about a recent purchase of a power tool. There is a large online seller of power tools that is based about 50 miles from me that had the tool for the same price as Amazon and had free shipping for the item. They had no guarantee of a delivery date, just an estimate of about 7-10 days, but I knew it couldn't take more than a couple days in transit once shipped. Amazon Prime had a shipping estimate of a few days. I bought from the nearby online retailer and it delivered in 2 days, order to door.

I think we have all had bad experiences with retailers, online or brick n mortor. My friend had rentals across the country and had ordered an appliance for a house from Lowes. He paid for installation. The Lowes installation guys didn't do their job. They left a defective appliance, knowing it didn't work. My friend was dealing with Lowes for months to get it resolved. I'm old enough to remember ordering thru the sears & robuck catalog, by filling out the form torn from the catalog, putting it in the mail, and waiting a minimum of a month to get the item (we lived in BFE Montana back then). If something was wrong with the order, it could take months to resolve. I also walked 10 miles, uphill, thru headwind snow blizzards to school. Both ways! I live in southern Calif now. No blizzards, no school, just sunshine, good BBQ, and one day Amazon Prime delivery.
 
The interweb has permanently changed the way we now shop. No need to shlep around bricks 'n' mortar to hopefully find what you want. Bezos has exploited that change brilliantly. You have to applaud his business acumen. I certainly do not miss shlepping around multiple shops whilst having to negotiate snail-paced mobile chicanes with their heads up their backsides and brain's in neutral.
We get all our dry-goods, cleaning products, tinned goods etc delivered by the supermarket for a small fee. No having to lug heavy shopping bags about, and only hit the supermarket for fresh produce.
I think it's called progress. Who knows what shopping will like in 50yrs time.
 
Shipping time is not a biggie for me. I'm a patient person. But what Amazon seems to do better than anyone else is fast shipping, and for a company as large as they are, I don't know how they do that. Other than the business model itself, that may be their greatest attribute.
 
Whatever the current annual cost of Prime is, it's a bargain. Grill parts, phone cases, batteries of every sort,specialty light bulbs, door hardware,kitchen knives...whatever. All delivered within 1-5 days. Returns that you simply bring into a UPS store and your money is refunded by the time you drive home. Remember that next time you're standing # 11 in line at Lowes to return something ("Do you have your receipt"??")
Sure I give my business to the local, family owned and run Ace but they don't have everything. Most of those online grill parts stores are either overpriced or gouge you on shippng...i.e...$8.00 for a package of screws.
 
Jay D in Jersey said:
Whatever the current annual cost of Prime is, it's a bargain.
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Especially when you consider the other stuff you get-Prime Video-Free Kindle books and borrowing-Prime music etc. Free shipping is not all you get. Walmart is trying to carve into Amazon with their Walmart Plus, but do not have the whole package-yet.
 
I have to post an apology to boltdepot.com. I just received the bolts and nuts today in the mail. I checked the tracking on it and the 1st update from the 27th until today was this morning saying it was out for delivery. I put that on USPS For not updating as the package progressed through their system.
 
Amazon has a great system, but couldn't do what they do as a small company. It took huge capitol to get their general goods system going. Remember when Amazon was an online book retailer (broker really)? While it's hard to not appreciate the efficiency and benefits to the consumer, it's time to put the brakes on them, IMO. They have mowed down the competition. They have fleets of large cargo airplanes (their own air cargo airline), and delivery vans, semi tractor fleets. They will probably start producing their own jet fuel to fly their airplanes. LOL.
 
Chuck-roaniecowpony said:
Amazon has a great system, but couldn't do what they do as a small company. It took huge capitol to get their general goods system going. Remember when Amazon was an online book retailer (broker really)? While it's hard to not appreciate the efficiency and benefits to the consumer, it's time to put the brakes on them, IMO. They have mowed down the competition. They have fleets of large cargo airplanes (their own air cargo airline), and delivery vans, semi tractor fleets. They will probably start producing their own jet fuel to fly their airplanes. LOL.
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I guess this is the new cancel culture way? Someone builds on some great ideas, perfects them and than they suddenly become evil? Bezos (Amazon) only perfected what Sears Roebuck COULD have done but didn't. So they produce their own jet fuel.................So what? They have their own fleet of trucks................So what? If regular commercial delivery channels had been able to handle the volume they would be doing it. It just makes me SMH. Every time a person, enterprise or company finds a way to do things better, cheaper and bigger they suddenly become evil.
 
LMichaels said:
I guess this is the new cancel culture way? Someone builds on some great ideas, perfects them and than they suddenly become evil? Bezos (Amazon) only perfected what Sears Roebuck COULD have done but didn't. So they produce their own jet fuel.................So what? They have their own fleet of trucks................So what? If regular commercial delivery channels had been able to handle the volume they would be doing it. It just makes me SMH. Every time a person, enterprise or company finds a way to do things better, cheaper and bigger they suddenly become evil.
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It is fine that a company like Amazon becomes great. But can the top few in the company share the success with all the employees that make it a success. I don't believe it to be quite fare that Jeff's fortune is growing at about $8.99 billion per month, while employees are pissing in bottles making deliveries because they can't take breaks, and are making wages tough to live on these days. That is why they are evil.
 
It is a fine line when it comes to a company becoming successful and becoming a monopoly. Woolworth, K-Mart, Walmart etc. all did retail better thus eliminating a lot of mom and pop shops. Competition is great and it makes things better. The problem is if competition is eliminated. Once a company is rich enough, rather than competing, they just buy the competition. Perhaps rather than penalizing success, we should limit all these mergers and acquisitions.

Workers are doing better of late, not because of benevolence from companies, but due to the lack of workers for those jobs.
 
Joe Anshien said:
It is fine that a company like Amazon becomes great. But can the top few in the company share the success with all the employees that make it a success. I don't believe it to be quite fare that Jeff's fortune is growing at about $8.99 billion per month, while employees are pissing in bottles making deliveries because they can't take breaks, and are making wages tough to live on these days. That is why they are evil.
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That's only part of the Amazon business model...... they're also making bank on the float from inventory to sale. Amazon (from my understanding,) may own the warehouses, but the contents are still owned by the individual sellers. When someone orders, Amazon gets paid relatively immediately, ships from vendor stock, then pays the vendor well after.
 
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