Amazon had decided to arbitrarily defer shipping times based on unknowns...

An item will say, get it Monday...only to shift a week once you paid your money.

Thats the real issue I have. I understand some items are critical...but they are now just deferring things huge amounts. Some crazy things I get in a day! Others, weeks. All that say available for prime.

And I even understand that, to a point. Shits crazy out there.

Buuuuut...I didn't get what I paid for ,so I want a refund on my Prime.

Think it will happen?

I see your point and to my mind, they should at least offer to (or better yet pro-actively) issue some sort of prorated refund. Keep in mind, there's a lot more to Prime than just the shipping benefit. Personally I use the video streaming service daily, so there's value there.

But this type of thing is happening everywhere and your question is a reasonable one. My gym closed months ago, they suspended the monthly fees but banged me 100 for the annual dues. I paid my annual membership for my private gun range (not an insignificant amount of money) and they were forced to close 2 days later. The range is family owned by very good people and I almost don't care, if it helps them when time comes to re-open. Auto insurance companies are giving 15% discounts on your next policy renewal since nobody is driving, but I did change my annual mileage to save even more, and the list goes on and on.

When Amazon scheduled a delivery for three weeks instead of two days, for a small product that was in stock in the warehouse, I emailed customer no-service, asked if there would be any refund or pro-rated reduction in renewal cost due to not receiving the service that I had paid for.

The reply that I received basically told me to pound sand.

I wish we had the luxury of being able to shop locally for most of the stuff we buy from Amazon but in a town of 3500 and 150 miles from the nearest “city”, we don’t.

I have increasingly been turning to other online vendors because I am becoming fed-up with Amazon’s arrogance. And for me, it’s not just because of their arbitrary choices of what merchandise they deem critical.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

The reply that I received basically told me to pound sand.

same here

I'm buying less and less from Amazon. I don't know if it's this coronavirus thing or something else, but I no longer stop at Amazon first when I'm looking for something.

Yeah, this pandemic has made Bezos a whole lot richer than he already was. Two day delivery has all but disappeared for me as well.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
<snip>
I have increasingly been turning to other online vendors

Care to mention some examples? Always looking for options.

I'm not all that annoyed by the shipping thing (tho it certainly is arbitrary) but the selection on Prime Video really sucks lately. I'd be tempted to ditch Prime if I had suitable options for shopping.

quote:

Originally posted by Patriot:
Amazon had decided to arbitrarily defer shipping times based on unknowns...

An item will say, get it Monday...only to shift a week once you paid your money.

Thats the real issue I have. I understand some items are critical...but they are now just deferring things huge amounts. Some crazy things I get in a day! Others, weeks. All that say available for prime.

And I even understand that, to a point. Shits crazy out there.

Buuuuut...I didn't get what I paid for ,so I want a refund on my Prime.

Think it will happen?

No.

/sarc on

Yeah, what's with those slackers? It's not like there's anything unusual going on.

/sarc off

Seriously, guys? The crud hits, their business skyrockets as many local retailers close and many people are hunkering down, their workers get exposed/sick like everyone else, they hire 100K new people to get a handle on it...and somehow their service gets a bit slower.

Yeah, get a grip. There is a reasonable argument to extend your Prime subscription, if all you use it for is shipping stuff - the other services (video, music etc.) that comes with Prime has not been affected - but a refund?

Seriously.

No, because you agreed to the terms and conditions, one of which is:

quote:

If the item you're ordering is out of stock or unavailable to ship immediately, the shipping method time starts when the item ships. For example, it will take two business days after an item ships to reach you with Two-Day Shipping.

They've limited access to some warehouses and some suppliers have limited their deliveries to Amazon. If they don't have the item immediately available, the clock doesn't start until the item is available.

I don't use Amazon much anymore due to their higher prices. They were the lowest price or competitive on almost anything without shopping around and had free shipping if you bought some minimum amount.
Now many sites offer free shipping with a minimum purchase and many have better, often much better, prices and no annual fees.
They've simply priced themselves out of the market for me.

Uhhh, did you NOT notice the Banner at the top of the Amazon webpage....

'We are giving priority to essential items that our customers need most. You may experience shipping delays. Learn more on our COVID-19 page."

AMAZON AND COVID-19

The linked page lists 14 FAQS re: Orders and Deliveries due to COVID-19!

Here's Item # 3....

"Why are some, Prime and Non-prime, items taking longer to ship?
As COVID-19 has spread, we have seen an increase in people shopping online. To serve our customers while also helping to ensure the safety of our associates, we have changed our logistics, transportation, supply chain, purchasing, and third-party seller processes to prioritize stocking and delivering items that are a higher priority for our customers. This has resulted in some of our delivery promises being longer than usual. We're also hiring over 100,000 positions across the U.S. to enable us to provide this vital service to people everywhere, especially to those, like the elderly, who are most vulnerable."

Seems like smart, comprehensive and well thought out policy to me. It assures they're able to prioritize the most urgent needs of their customers while everyone is served in the best possible manner given the circumstances....Unless you feel you're special, thus deserving priority service/compensation beyond what the rest of the customers expect during the 'Global Pandemic'

quote:

Buuuuut...I didn't get what I paid for ,so I want a refund on my Prime.

NO, you're NOT 'entitled' to a Refund....Even asking for a Refund seems a bit presumptuous! Seriously, we're a little over six weeks into the 'Coronapanic' here, and you're complaining about the inconvenience of extended delivery times?? There are bigger things to worry about than a $16 Refund....Just Sayin'

There is more to Prime membership than the shipping. Those things may not be valuable to you, so certainly cancel if you aren't satisfied, but I wouldn't expect Amazon to agree that a short-term interruption in service qualifies for a refund. At least not a full one.

Six seasons of Bosch during the lockdown is well worth the price of admission.

Its odd what they consider important for COVID, some office supplies, delayed 20 days, ran out yesterday, ordered 20 days ago, supposedly here tomorrow.

Wife and daughters make-up, dog toy, drapes, and other things delivered in one to two days..

Guess business supplies are not priority

I've decided to boycott Giant, Safeway, Wegmans, and Food Lion because they don't have toilet paper fast enough for me.

I was already using Amazon less-and-less. Were it not for Prime Video, we probably would not have renewed last time.

I'm giving them a bit of a pass, right now, because the world's gone crazy, and Amazon's not immune. But if they don't get their act together by the time the next renewal comes around, Amazon Prime may be history for us.

There is a plethora of other streaming services and we're trying to buy more locally, anyway.

quote:

Originally posted by joel9507:

their service gets a bit slower.

I would have no gripe with "a bit slower," given the current conditions.

However, a small item that is in stock in the Amazon warehouse, an item that normally is shipped with two day delivery for Prime members, and now takes more than three weeks, is not "a bit slower." A few days might me acceptable, a few weeks is not acceptable.

I did not request a refund from Amazon, I requested a reasonable pro-rated reduction in Prime membership renewal. My request was worded diplomatically. The rather rude, brusque, reply translated to "We are Amazon, we don't care about this, you can pound sand."

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:
There are bigger things to worry about than a $16 Refund....Just Sayin'

You're right. $16 times 100-116 million Prime users. That's a "bigger thing".

You can see why a company wouldn't want to give out a billion and a half dollars in refunds.

On the other hand, collecting money from 100 million people on a service you're not providing is no small matter.

Ever notice how "there's more important things to worry about" always seems to be at your expense?


Anywho.. I went to order an oil filter. Shipping/estimated delivery is a month from now. I get virus, high demands, reduced work force... but a month is not a "slight delay". It's not 1964 and I'm ordering it from the Sears catalog.

Does it matter the reason? If the realities of the world make that service not realistic and unavailable, so be it. But you're being charged and paying for a service you're not getting and they can't provide. How's that okay? (especially when you're talking $1,760,000,000-ish being pocketed (based on the $16 number)