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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

#341

Post by skhr0680 »

rwmj wrote: post #102
patd wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m in Europe. Earlier this year, I ordered from Amazon Japan, the package arrived quicker than things I had ordered earlier on a European Amazon and it was insanely well packaged.

Amazon Japan is incredible. I ordered a Japanese book from them and it arrived the next afternoon (to the UK!) Another time I was in Japan and I needed a specific bluetooth keyboard for the tablet I was using, delivered to a convenience store pick-up point in the deep north of the country in the middle of winter, ordered with my UK credit card, and no problem, it was there the next day. I can't imagine the amount of…

Amazon Japan used to be in a league of their own, but a mix of their home-rolled delivery service being objectively bad and them allowing their platform to be dominated by scalpers (転売ヤー) means that they've lost a lot of the trust I had in them.

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

#342

Post by protomyth »

throwaway45209 wrote: post #338
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…

How about bhphotovideo?

We've had good experiences with them. They even have Educational pricing and PO acceptance. They are our number two behind cdwg.

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

#343

Post by kevinmchugh »

ageitgey wrote: post #254
yreg wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Didn't you dispute it at PayPal/your CC company/your bank? Or were you afraid of getting banned from Amazon?

In the end, it probably took 3-4 weeks to get my money back for a $5k 1-day delivery package that wasn't ever delivered. I would have gone the bank route next, but since Amazon did eventually give me my money back, it wasn't needed. I'm sure the shipper was who lost/stole the package. But my point is that you can't take your great support experience with Amazon buying $50 sheets and expect that you get the same exper…

As I've moved more of my shopping away from Amazon I've noticed that lots and lots of online retailers are now competitive on the logistics side. Fast shipping is now table stakes.

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

#344

Post by Finnucane »

throwaway45209 wrote: post #338
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…

How about bhphotovideo?

I’ve been buying from B&H for many years, and had a wrong item shipped to me once. They made an exchange without any big hassle. The only issue I have now is they’ve switched away from UPS as default shipping—-UPS ground NY to Boston is basically next day, FedEx Ground service is two days. I liked going to the store in NY when I lived there.

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

#345

Post by pjmanroe »

I just bought a new gaming chair last night, $172. So it's not that expensive. But I've never had a problem with Amazon. I did buy a 4TB external drive from Wish.com, and when I got it, it was only 2TB. They refunded me the money and I got to keep the drive. But it's never worked right.

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

#346

Post by Dma54rhs »

adimitrov wrote: post #49
dstaley wrote: post #35

This is certainly one of those instances where I'd raise hell, but I actually avoid trying to file lost item claims with Amazon for smaller ticket items. I know they have automated systems in place to prevent fraud, and I'm terrified that reporting for smaller ticket items will get my Amazon account banned. I've had a friend have this happen with his Doordash account; the sushi place he orders from a lot was pretty b…

That's perverse. You shouldn't have to self-censor out of fear. The fact that Amazon (Doordash, Google, ...) can get away with just cancelling people's accounts willy nilly and they'd have no recourse is a gaping hole in regulations. BTW, it's off-topic, but this right here is the among best arguments we can make for strong privacy, and against mass surveillance. If people are willing to swallow monetary damage out o…

You don't have the right to expect company to do business with you. Shop elsewhere or start your own.

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

#347

Post by nebulous1 »

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…

I dislike buying from Amazon and I don't doubt you had a frustrating experience here.

That said, how would you have expected this to go? I assume everybody is in agreement that this wasn't going to be sorted out the next day. I think you might be overestimating how smoothly this would go when dealing with another company, although obviously there would be exceptions to that.

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

#348

Post by Closi »

amelius wrote: post #258
Closi wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely. The issue here is people returning it in a state where it is still sealed - as if an item is sealed it will go back into stock straight away and the retailer can’t open it up to check that it is in there. If it’s opened you can still return it, but once that happens usually electronics have to be sent back to the manufacturer to refurbish/reset. It’s not about stopping people returning items, it’s about m…

Right, I didn't get that. But how often is an item returned without the box being opened by the customer? Also, how does Amazon prove that the brick they received came from the customer and not some employee?

I can’t answer the first question, other than to say “often enough to have a process to handle it”.

As for the second one, with bin/lot tracking you can identify if the item had previously been returned. Employee theft doesn’t usually involve putting bricks in it within a DC - it’s usually easier and less risk to take the whole box (and maybe get rid of the packaging in the toilet, at a warehouse I used to work at someone was found to be stealing iPods because a lot of packaging was found behind a toilet ceiling tile). If the item hadn’t previously been returned, this would usually infer that the customer was lying about receiving it with a brick in it (although obviously there is the possibility that it came in that state from the supplier).

The usual assumption is that the supplier didn’t send it in with a brick, because otherwise customer fraud is too easy - but occasionally that assumption is wrong, which is probably what happened in this case.

They probably checked there was no return in the history, made the assumption it wouldn’t have come empty from Canon, and figured it was the customer that lied.

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

#349

Post by mytailorisrich »

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…

I don't know if all shipping companies do this but my experience with Amazon in the UK is that they track and keep records of the whereabouts of their delivery vans.

Once I had an order "delivered" without trace and Amazon asked my to check with neighbours first as, according to their records, the van has stopped at my house. On another occasion I knew that the van never came despite order again listed as "delivered" and they refunded instantly.

(not expensive items, though)

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

#350

Post by ThePowerOfFuet »

pjmanroe wrote: post #345

I just bought a new gaming chair last night, $172. So it's not that expensive. But I've never had a problem with Amazon. I did buy a 4TB external drive from Wish.com, and when I got it, it was only 2TB. They refunded me the money and I got to keep the drive. But it's never worked right.

>I did buy a 4TB external drive from Wish.com

I, too, like living dangerously, but only to a certain extent.

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