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Amazon refused to refund $7k after shipping an empty box instead of a Sony A1

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Re: Amazon refused to refund $7k after shipping an empty box instead of a Sony A1

#271

Post by somehnacct3757 »

reikonomusha wrote: post #3

I do not trust Amazon to ship anything safely and securely anymore. Almost everything I receive is damaged, late, or mis-delivered. Books are especially abused somewhere in Amazon’s fulfillment. (They’re always bent, creased, or dirty.) Items that are supposed to be 1-day shipping typically take >=3, and Amazon’s tracking mostly says “oops! it’ll come trust us”. (Not verbatim, obviously.) Amazon’s return process is b…

Don't forget expired, misleading, or a knock-off. There's so many pitfalls to Amazon orders it reminds me of EBay back in the day.

Lots of brick and mortar stores improved their curbside flows during the pandemic, and this is the sweet spot for me. Same day pickup of items you could have grabbed yourself off the shelf, and humans around to dispute problems with.

Re: Amazon refused to refund $7k after shipping an empty box instead of a Sony A1

#272

Post by rvba »

ghaff wrote: post #244
jacquesm wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand that. The 'than I really have to' bit, is Amazon now so entrenched that you can't get around them anymore?

If I were to decide that I wasn't going to use Amazon starting tomorrow, I'd be spending a whole lot more time checking a bunch of online stores, paying for shipping, driving around, etc. So, yes, they are for a lot of things. While I certainly ordered from them pre-pandemic, the pandemic has brought home to me how many things I can just order rather than put on a shopping list and drive around to stores to find and…

It is sad to read that people want a monopoly for a minor convenience.

Same with steam (that takes a big money cut and their buggy launcher is awful)

Re: Amazon refused to refund $7k after shipping an empty box instead of a Sony A1

#273

Post by jstummbillig »

ageitgey wrote: post #215

Like most people, I've ordered a lot of packages (hundreds?) on Amazon and almost never had a problem. In the rare case of a problem, Amazon would instantly refund me. But almost all those orders are under $1000. Everything changes when you have a problem with an expensive order. Amazon has a price threshold where the support system is different and the normal CS people are powerless. During lockdown, I ordered a Son…

> My recommendation is to skip Amazon for anything expensive or at high risk of shipper theft/fraud.

Based on this, as you say, "rare" experience? That seems unwise when aiming for the best average outcome.

Also what would be a better alternative (provided you still want to shop and pay online)? I suspect that, while the rate of problematic experience might be slightly lower with smaller dealers, the average lost value for the customer is not (since there is no Amazon middleman that has any financial interest in keeping the customer around for future shopping, and hence their money is probably just lost when something goes wrong that the dealer is unable or unwilling to resolve)

Re: Amazon refused to refund $7k after shipping an empty box instead of a Sony A1

#274

Post by iso1210 »

dan1234 wrote: post #93
gambiting wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm genuinely surprised that people have such vastly different experiences with Amazon. I made 231 orders with them last year(lockdown....) And haven't had a problem with a single one. Couple times I wanted to return something they just refunded me without asking to send the item back. Everything arrives next day, always(here in UK anyway), and the customer support is stellar compared to literally anywhere else. Anyo…

It happens in the UK too. https://old.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/comments/nm1mm1/i_got...

Amazon in the UK ships 228m a year in 2018 [0], that's going to have increased by now.

If the chance of a problem worthy of complaining on reddit or a blog was a million to one that world be 4 problems a week.

[0] https://tamebay.com/2018/09/amazon-established-as-3rd-larges...

Re: Amazon refused to refund $7k after shipping an empty box instead of a Sony A1

#275

Post by ghaff »

rvba wrote: post #272
ghaff wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I were to decide that I wasn't going to use Amazon starting tomorrow, I'd be spending a whole lot more time checking a bunch of online stores, paying for shipping, driving around, etc. So, yes, they are for a lot of things. While I certainly ordered from them pre-pandemic, the pandemic has brought home to me how many things I can just order rather than put on a shopping list and drive around to stores to find and…

It is sad to read that people want a monopoly for a minor convenience. Same with steam (that takes a big money cut and their buggy launcher is awful)

People don't "want a monopoly." But they do want to order things in a way that is by no means a "minor convenience." Just going back to when Amazon was getting started, finding a book that wasn't in stock at your local store was a massive hassle and could take months. Today, not spending an hour running errands is not really a minor convenience. Again, I'm good with there being more competition--and, in fact, I order things from multiple places--but Amazon is often the easiest choice.

Re: Amazon refused to refund $7k after shipping an empty box instead of a Sony A1

#276

Post by kube-system »

thedufer wrote: post #149
cbmuser wrote: post #17

> This was despite the fact that when boxed the Sony a1 weighs 3.22 lb (1.46 kg), and the Chiles’ package was listed by UPS as weighing only 2 lb (900 g). Not sure why Amazon was still arguing at this point. If UPS confirms the package was basically empty, then Amazon has no reason to believe the customer was lying.

That doesn't seem to prove anything at all? It's a 1.6 lb camera. Weighing in at 1.2 lbs short is either a bad scale or a lot of accessories missing, but it definitely does not corroborate a missing camera.

Scales used for commercial purposes in the US are required to meet accuracy standards and to be calibrated by law. While it’s not impossible for them to break, they’re a heck of a lot more rigorous in design and regulation than Amazon’s notoriously problematic inventory management.

Re: Amazon refused to refund $7k after shipping an empty box instead of a Sony A1

#278

Post by anonu »

Did they buy it used from Amazon? Id say 9 out of 10 used item, fulfilled by Amazon, has something wrong with it: broken, missing critical parts... And in one case a 24 inch monitor when I ordered a 27.

I think it's just normal operating procedure unfortunately: checking and confirming every returned item is expensive. Simply turning around and delivering to the next chump is probably more profitable, even with the high error rate.

Re: Amazon refused to refund $7k after shipping an empty box instead of a Sony A1

#279

Post by fishmaster »

mft_ wrote: post #180
gambiting wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm genuinely surprised that people have such vastly different experiences with Amazon. I made 231 orders with them last year(lockdown....) And haven't had a problem with a single one. Couple times I wanted to return something they just refunded me without asking to send the item back. Everything arrives next day, always(here in UK anyway), and the customer support is stellar compared to literally anywhere else. Anyo…

I wonder if there are regions (or countries) which are worse? Amazon in Germany is also great, so far. I’m like you - I’ve ordered so many things from Amazon this last year or so (new circumstances plus pandemic lockdown) and literally not one problem of the sort described. I can think of two items out of hundreds which weren’t on time (one, Amazons’s logistics made it a whole day late, and one was the seller’s issue…

I cannot remember when I have last received a pristine book from Amazon in Germany. There is always at least one minor damage that I wouldn't get from a store book.

Re: Amazon refused to refund $7k after shipping an empty box instead of a Sony A1

#280

Post by vt100 »

dagaci wrote: post #139
texasbigdata wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same with roughly the same package volume annually over 8+ years. Literally the only thing lost was due to a historic weather event and Amazon still took care of it. Maybe with commodity household goods it’s different than with higher value items or with electronics.

Same here, i have been ordering with Amazon (Uk & occationally Us) for 21 years and can count on 1 hand the number the number of times i've had delivery issues. ALL other delivery outfits are horrible in comparison, and i actually dred using any other service.

The UK has many horrible delivery services. DPD and Amazon are two that are acceptable. I dread trying to receive a delivery from any other service. Incredibly there are more than a few that are actually worse than Royal Mail.
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