For large purchases you really need to use an escrow service.
Amazon refused to refund $7k after shipping an empty box instead of a Sony A1
331–340 of 647 posts
Re: Amazon refused to refund $7k after shipping an empty box instead of a Sony A1
#332Earlier 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 really is location dependent, since most of the problems are caused by the shipper. Amazon will use multiple shippers, and in some areas will use what ends up being people driving around in their personal cars to deliver packages. If you have unreliable shippers in your area, it’s hard to deal with Amazon when things go wrong. In one place I lived, Amazon would use the US Postal Service, UPS, and Fedex. I had no c…
I don't get FedEx much but had a terrible experience with them on a few orders. One package left way out by my mailbox on a busy road. Another tossed to the side of my long driveway (????). Then things were fine again. Assume there was some driver who was, shall we say, not good at their job.
Periodically I do have shipper issues (including USPS on occasion). I have a long gravel/dirt driveway and some shippers obviously don't like to come down it. (I also have a neighbor with a large dog that likes to bark and that sometimes scares off drivers too. Oh yeah, that was FedEx too. Saw their truck and they claimed online not to have been able to deliver due to local regulations.)
Re: Amazon refused to refund $7k after shipping an empty box instead of a Sony A1
#333Re: Amazon refused to refund $7k after shipping an empty box instead of a Sony A1
#334> Given the risks associated with buying online, some customers are resorting to filming the process of unboxing expensive gear in order to create proof in the event that an order has not been correctly fulfilled. That is exactly what I do for every >300€ purchase I make online. Otherwise, refund without "video evidence" becomes impossible for the majority of platforms.
I don't understand why video "evidence" which is easily faked, makes an ounce of difference.
Open a package, empty it, tape it up, and then film yourself opening an empty package.
Re: Amazon refused to refund $7k after shipping an empty box instead of a Sony A1
#335I 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…
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 was in urgent need of a spare part a couple of years ago and paid Amazon UK a lot extra to get it the next day. It was a heavy and bulky thing so I got really surprised when I got a simple envelope in the mail the next day.
It contained a simple SD-card adapter worth less than a dollar.
When calling Amazon about it they said I needed to ship the adapter back before they would send me the part I ordered. I told them it was totally unreasonable for me to have to wait many more days to get the thing I paid for when they obviously made the mistake and adapter wasn't worth anything compared to what I ordered. They could easily see that the weight of what they shipped was less than 1/1000th of what I ordered too but they refused to handle my case before they got their adapter back and they ended up hanging up on me.
Migrated my company off AWS after that and haven't used Amazon since. I value other things higher than saving an occasional dollar here or there.
Re: Amazon refused to refund $7k after shipping an empty box instead of a Sony A1
#336Outrageous company does something outrageous.
The people respond in outrage.
Re: Amazon refused to refund $7k after shipping an empty box instead of a Sony A1
#337My shock here is that someone would order something that costs $7k from amazon! Buy that from BH, newegg, some specialty retailer, etc. Not American alibaba.
I'd argue the opposite -- why not order from Amazon? Lots of folks have come to trust Amazon's reliability and customer service over the years, so it does make sense for customers to order expensive things from Amazon or any other online store, especially with a pandemic going around. This incident in particular does seem to be an outlier, and we'll have to see how Amazon resolves it.
A specialty retailer is more likely to know exactly how to package the item to avoid damage. They are likely to have experience with delivery errors that are specific to that specialty product, and thus will be better able to rectify those errors. They may have better customer service, as is the case with B&H. Lastly, a dispute with a specialty retailer is unlikely to affect other services, like Prime Video or grocery delivery.
Re: Amazon refused to refund $7k after shipping an empty box instead of a Sony A1
#338Like 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…
How about bhphotovideo?
Re: Amazon refused to refund $7k after shipping an empty box instead of a Sony A1
#339Earlier quoted context omitted.
I presume the “their” and “them” in this comment refer to third party sellers, which could be anyone. I would rather order from the brand directly, or Home Depot or Best Buy or any other established business that does not try to pawn me off as a customer to someone else.
Especially for audio/video/photo stuff there's a bunch of dealers just for that, which tend to be quite good (in terms of prices, packaging, customer services), and also specialized distributors ("sells small numbers to professionals"), that's why I'm surprised people go for Amazon. Some examples: Random camera: Amazon: 2000 €, any photo dealer: 1800 € Random high-end lens: Amazon: 2500 €, photo dealer: 2000 € Random…
anytime I order anything, but amazon the package takes 3 to 5 days at minimum. Amazon is 1 day most of the time.
Re: Amazon refused to refund $7k after shipping an empty box instead of a Sony A1
#340Earlier quoted context omitted.
A problem with this is that it’s a nuclear option. Companies you use it against may decline to trade with you again. That may be a problem or not.
This is one problem I face with centralization. If all stores handle purchases on their own, it's fine if your local camera shop refuses you as a customer because you also probably don't want to deal with them again, but if you are forced to use your CC company to dispute against steam, amazon, google, you are risking being banned from their service. You are risking access to your photos, documents, and emails. To us…
I agree, but we are far from centralized. Very far.
-edit-
If you think we're centralized and you're "downvoting to disagree" at least have some decency to explain how we're centralized. There is nothing that Amazon sells that I can't buy an alternative product at a dozen other retailers for comparable prices, for example.