+1 for Amazon

[Lean L]

Just another Amazon love thread.

I recently bought a pair of shoes. I tried them on only to discover that they sent two left insoles. I cursed in my head thinking now that I would have to ship them back and provide evidence of the minor defect.

I took the picture and checked the order to happily find that Amazon was the direct seller.

I started up a chat and the rep asked me if I wanted a refund or a replacement without even asking for any sort of evidence that there was a defect. I initially asked for a replacement but switched to a refund once I was told that I don't even have to ship the shoes back.

I'll go buy some replacement insoles since the shoes are free now. Not that I buy super expensive shoes anyways but $70 off my month is no chump change.

I'm not sure if it has to do with how often I use Amazon or not but I love how customer centric Amazon is.

 

[Train]

Costs them more to process a defective return than to just ship you some new ones and be done with it.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Do you have Prime?

That's great, but broadcasting experiences like that is just asking for someone (or a lot of someones) to abuse their generosity.

 

[Kyle]

I've only had 1 issue with them but it was also resolved beyond my expectations.

 

[rh71]

They have always been very accommodating for me also. A wash mitt developed a hole after just 1 use and upon sending them a pic they just credited me back the whole cost. I also like that you can cancel orders after you made them even a day later.

Not a prime member.

 

[BeeBoop]

I'm FREEEEEEEEEE

 

[RossMAN]

CostCo > Amazon > Montgomery Ward

 

[pcgeek11]

I agree. I ordered a grease gun and it didn't show up even though the shipper reported that they delivered it. They over nighted a replacement at no charge to me.

Amazon > Any other store.

 

[Naer]

My reaction to this thread

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwigT9IrYxs&feature=youtu.be

 

[Yossarian]

I dropped my car keys on my kindle paperwhite and gouged the screen. Through online chat, I told them I was a bonehead and asked if there was anything they could do. They sent me a new one overnight and a box to ship to damaged one back in, all for free. Awesome.

 

[Red Squirrel]

It's nice when Amazon is the direct seller... issue is most things don't seem to be sold by them directly anymore. Most of the time when I order something it takes over a month to come in. I'd hate having to deal with a return/exchange after waiting that long.

But then other stuff comes in like a day. That's always awesome. Can't really complain about shipping time though.. it's marked and they're always within that range.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Will Amazon refund the difference if a product's price drops on their site soon after you've made a purchase?

 

[TwiceOver]

I sometimes wonder how they can eat overnight shipping when they don't make the 2-day prime guarantee. i had 2 items back to back weeks under $20 each that missed the 2-day so they shipped them overnight the next day.

You'd think they'd have a system to automate an email "oops, missed the window, would you like a $2 movie credit and still get it in 2 days?" Even in their volumes I can't imagine overnight is any cheaper than $15 for a small item for them.

 

[nickbits]

Will Amazon refund the difference if a product's price drops on their site soon after you've made a purchase?

They might but it is against their policy. Their prices can fluctuate hourly, so they'd be spending all of their resources on that.

 

[bruceb]

I have only had to deal with a return with them once or twice and it has always been very easy. I think I never had to send the item back. But I think on one occasion, I did and they sent a Shipping Label, so no big hassle. In general an easy company to do business with.

 

[Kaido]

I'm not sure if it has to do with how often I use Amazon or not but I love how customer centric Amazon is.

Amazon has really created a great ecosystem. Prime gives you a crazy amount of benefits for $100/yr:

* Free 2-day shipping on products sold by Amazon
* Discounted overnight shipping
* Unlimited photo storage for your smartphone (bye bye iCloud!)
* 40k movies on Prime Instant Video
* 1 million songs on Prime Music
* Kindle Owner’s Lending Library = 600k books to read

They're also rolling out some neat auxiliary services: (for a separate fee)

* Amazon Fresh = grocery delivery
* Amazon FreeTime Unlimited = Unlimited access to 8,000 kid-friendly books, movies, TV shows, educational apps, and games
* Amazon Kindle Unlimited = access to a library of 700k books & thousands of audiobooks

Plus they have inexpensive Fire tablets, Fire TV player (and the new $39 Stick, with 200+ games), Kindle e-ink readers, and the neat upcoming Echo smart mic & speaker unit. I like Amazon because they save me from having to go to Walmart - if I need a particular item, I can just zap it over in 2 days right from the phone app with 1-click, which is usually faster than I would get it if I needed to go pick it up since I'm stuck at work all the time, haha.

 

[Markbnj]

Their return policies are very liberal... but their profits are non-existent. Investors are beginning to wonder when the supposed benefits of scale and market-building are going to kick in, given that Amazon is easily the world's largest online retailer, if not the largest of any kind.

 

[rh71]

^ true - but why do companies have to become public and have to answer to Joe Schmo? Especially large ones.

People get fired because the company stock price is low. WTF.

 

[reallyscrued]

Amazon gets it.

They don't nickel and dime you for returns, but they nickel and dime you for purchases (at bottom-basement prices).

Good way to keep return shoppers, ensure cash flow, and have a strong brand reputation.

It's funny how business works. I suspect at some point:

1. Amazon is very customer friendly, maybe not making the most in profit *as possible*, but increasing the value of their brand everyday.

2. Some sort of outside investor takes notice, pitches woo to Amazon to purchase their valuable brand since it has such a huge shopper base. The price of the company is inflated by consumer opinions, not maximum profits. (Say they (rightly) refused 5% more returns than they do now, more profit for them, right?)

3. Amazon's management decides to sell, new business takes over, part of their new business model is to tidy up the return process because they see it as hemorrhaging cash, and they ruin the brand within a few years because their new return policies push shoppers away.


I hope Amazon's management never changes.

 

[Scarpozzi]

They are generally good. I've had more problems with them doing my monthly coffee shipment than anything. I order 8 O'Clock from them in bulk because it's cheaper than buying coffee locally. They always lump other things I order in with the shipment to save money....sometimes it doesn't work out. I've had a laundry detergent order leak all over my bags of coffee....didn't damage the product, but everything was covered in gel detergent when I opened the box....they refunded everything.

I ordered a metal picture/plate holder. It wasn't packaged...just thrown in the box and ended up being combined with a coffee order. The edge of the metal pierced the coffee bag. Once again, I realized from the small amount of coffee that it was just a shipping thing. I still used the coffee and got a refund.

In both cases, I dinged their shipping/packaging as being poor....but they took care of it and it wasn't too big of a hassle.

 

[purbeast0]

i've had the same experience with a product return, and it was actually my fault. it was for a $7 item though too.

i purchased a new fishing reel handle and on the picture a quick glance looked like it was a square peg. well i got it, and it was a hex peg, so it wouldn't fit. i took another look at the image on the listing, and yep, it was a hex peg. so i just told them i wanted to return it and it was my fault.

they said they would refund me and that i could just keep the item (again, only $7, but the principle). they even then asked if there was anything i wanted to purchase right at the time because they would give me free overnight shipping on anything for the inconvenience.

i didn't buy anything else, but overall a great experience.

 

[smackababy]

It's nice when Amazon is the direct seller... issue is most things don't seem to be sold by them directly anymore. Most of the time when I order something it takes over a month to come in. I'd hate having to deal with a return/exchange after waiting that long.

But then other stuff comes in like a day. That's always awesome. Can't really complain about shipping time though.. it's marked and they're always within that range.

If it isn't sold by Amazon, I won't buy it. I hate third parties, even ones fulfilled by Amazon. Too much of a hassle, in the event something goes wrong.

 

[tmc]

i want to take amazon prime - but mainly for video streaming. don't buy much that is < $35, even if I do, mostly combine items to save on shipping.

anyways, I just wish they had hulu equivalent for current season episodes. then it would be no brainer for me.

 

[Lean L]

Amazon gets it.

They don't nickel and dime you for returns, but they nickel and dime you for purchases (at bottom-basement prices).

Good way to keep return shoppers, ensure cash flow, and have a strong brand reputation.

It's funny how business works. I suspect at some point:

1. Amazon is very customer friendly, maybe not making the most in profit *as possible*, but increasing the value of their brand everyday.

2. Some sort of outside investor takes notice, pitches woo to Amazon to purchase their valuable brand since it has such a huge shopper base. The price of the company is inflated by consumer opinions, not maximum profits. (Say they (rightly) refused 5% more returns than they do now, more profit for them, right?)

3. Amazon's management decides to sell, new business takes over, part of their new business model is to tidy up the return process because they see it as hemorrhaging cash, and they ruin the brand within a few years because their new return policies push shoppers away.


I hope Amazon's management never changes.

Who can afford amazon?

 

[Kaido]

Their return policies are very liberal... but their profits are non-existent. Investors are beginning to wonder when the supposed benefits of scale and market-building are going to kick in, given that Amazon is easily the world's largest online retailer, if not the largest of any kind.

I'm wondering if stuff like Amazon Prime, Echo, etc., all the ecosystem stuff, will ramp up their profits over time as people get more & more sucked into stuff like Kindle Unlimited, FreeTime Unlimited, Amazon Fresh, and so on.

But their phone was a pretty big flop, so there's that too