David Lock

The meme-sahib is going through her paleontology stage in life at the moment, evolution etc Anyway that means we are getting quite a few books from Amazon which is a great help especially as our local library doesn't have much of a reference section any more and good bookshops are like hen's teeth.

But I just don't get a few thing about Amazon such as: -

1) I order a book and get a confirming e-mail saying book despatched and will arrive in a few days. Fine but it doesn't so I check on Order Status to find that delivery is not due for another couple of weeks. This happens quite a few times??

2) Scrolling through the books I have noted that sometimes the price of a used book is much more than the new price (from the same supplier) - how can that happen?

And please don't make the stupid mistake that I did of not checking that your "basket" is empty before adding stuff as last time I found that previous visits to Amazon had left items in my basket which I hadn't removed and they got ordered for a second time.

dl

Trout

iTrader: (1)

Our family (my wife) uses Amazon probably 3-4 times a week and I cannot recall ever getting a 'dispatched' email where the item was not actually dispatched.

I can't even remember having an item get lost. What I find amazing is that you can order on Saturday, it is dispatched Sunday and arrives 8am Monday - and we live in the middle of nowhere (hence Amazon is popular).

Are you sure you are getting dispatched emails? Not order confirmation emails?


As for pricing - that's Amazon for you. They sell at market rate - usually less than the full sticker price. However rare books, especially sold via Amazon Marketplace, the price can be anything!

Coffin Dodger

Is this stuff you've ordered from the Amazon Marketplace which they say they've dispatched then not?

Never had that problem with anything from Amazon themselves and I do use them quite a bit. I go as far as to say Amazon is a perfect model of how all other on-line retailers should operate. Never any quibbles regarding returns etc. As for leaving stuff in your cart and re-ordering it, don't you look at / check the summary page before pressing the confirm order button? Even then I doubt they'd have no problem taking back the stuff you miss ordered for a full refund.

ScoobyWon't

If amazon are selling a book which isn't in stock, the page usually gives you an indication of when it will ship, before you've added it to your basket.

Third party sales through marketplace aren't controlled by Amazon. It's worth reading feedback buyers have left for that seller.

Trout

iTrader: (1)

Indeed - if you double order they will happily refund.

Although how you double ordered is confusing - when you order it empties your basket.

Jamz3k

I had the same problem myself, the listening said around 2-3 days delivery which was grand. A few days later nothing arrives, I check the status and it has a waiting time of 2 weeks.

Only happened the once mind but it was for a gift.

David Lock

OK guys - thanks. Don't get me wrong I think Amazon is a great source and saved us a lot over the years.

This is sort of thing I was posting about: -

First quote is saying book despatched on 3 Feb. Then Order Status reports delivery as 3 March. I have a suspicion that it is coming from USA even though UK shipment was on listing.

The following items were sold by and shipped from bellwetherbooks_uk in package 1 of this shipment: 1 of Feathered Dinosaurs: The Origin of Birds Ship Date: February 03, 2012Shipping Speed: Standard


Order ID: 026-1601513-2831527
· 1 of Feathered Dinosaurs: The Origin of Birds
Estimated Delivery Date: 3 March 2012


David

Trout

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like it is travelling a long way!!!!!

So this is Amazon marketplace then.

Jamescsti

Have to say I really like amazon too, even buying through amazon marketplace has been faultless although I do use amazon directly where possible. After having bad experiences through other sites I stick to amazon now where I can.

An0n0m0us

I think Amazon have gone down hill a bit lately. I've had the Amazon Prime trial recently and the couple times i've ordered during the trial nothing turned up the next business day as they said it would. Hardly a good service to make you want to sign up to it. However on the flip side I find their free service excellent with things turning up after just 2 days. So why would you ever want to pay for Prime when you can get the same delivery times for free?!

Adrian F

Amazon are the online company i compare all others, in fact if i was asked to rate the top three companies for best value (service+price) i would say

1)Costco
2)Amazon
3)John Lewis

scud8

iTrader: (1)

A good read about unintended consequences of third party sellers on Amazon using algorithmic pricing, which may explain why some used prices can end up more expensive than new - http://www.techdirt.com/articles/201...69865593.shtml

scud8

iTrader: (1)

You need to be careful who the seller is on Amazon. If you are buying from Amazon itself then the service will be fantastic, but Marketplace sellers can be more variable. There's also a lot of companies advertising stock they don't have - see the article I linked above for an interesting example of two sellers advertising the same copy of a book.

zip106

Can't help with the specific issues asked, but I really like Amazon as going to the website through a link on my kids school website, gives a percentage of whatever is spent to the school.

Also, a good friend of mine actually sells books through Marketplace.