Fight with Amazon

i go back and forth between Amazon and EBay.
neither system is perfect

Amazon Prime has save me HUNDREDS of dollars in shipping costs , albeit i have had many moments of dissatisfaction with their 2 day shipping-or lack thereof- but as a whole i'm ok with their minor screwups. (i have a Prime Hub less then 3 miles from me- my service is very good)

Ebay has down home folks who often sell products at a huge discount, which often offsets or negates the shipping fees in the bottom line
they also have the dark side, but as a whole i have not had a lot of problems there either- EBay has supported me in all but 2 cases for more than 1500 purchased items.
i'm definitely PRO EBay
 
It depends on the item, There have been a couple of times that I used Amazom Primes same day delivery and sure enough it was in my grubby mits the same day. It was items that I needed on a Sunday and there was no open store to go to and I had part of the house tore apart and I really needed the part NOW.
 
I pay the shipping cost up front, I try to avoid Amazon and EBay, I try real hard to buy or order everything I can locally. I’ll gladly pay 10-15% more to do it. If EBay or Amazon is say $100 and local is $150, then I have to bite the bullet, I personally believe Amazon and EBay are the evil empires, I avoid giving either of them any of my money.
 
Well, I think that Walmart is screwing America long-term by pushing offshore goods. But they're only half the equation; who are the people perpetuating the relationship... it's us, and likely includes many of the "patriots" doing the complaining. The point is, it takes two.
 
Walmart is in a whole different category. Their business practice is to get as many Americans unemployed or at least working for low wages as possible so that they can not afford to shop elsewhere. They do this by squeezing their suppliers for lower and lower prices till the supplier has to start laying people off and/or reducing wages or even close altogether. Walmart does not carry anything that is sole source or at least not for long. On the other end they open a store near other local stores and have super low prices till the other local stores go out of business, then the walmart prices go up because they are the only local store left. There are many stores in my city that have closed due to walmart. All the small shops are gone, the local grocery store are gone, the big department stores are gone.

I avoid walmart like the plague.
I will gladly pay a few extra $$ to buy local.
 
When the knockdown began, I stopped driving in to town for miscellaneous items. Rather than risk contracting the virus, I can take advantage of the Amazon Prime shipping. The latest was a $5 purchase tor a repair part for my chainsaw. Free shipping and I had the pert in 24 hours. Running into my dealer would have used $5 for fuel, taken 2 hours of my time, and caused me unnecessary exposure.

One big stumbling block in online or mail order purchases has been the added cost of shipping. I have had a 2-1/2" sine bar on my want list for several years. There are only a few vendors who sell them and the shipping charges almost double the cost so I'm still waiting for a free shipping offer. Whrn I need to replace a broken drill or tap, I don't order just that item but wait until I can build a larger order. As a result, I often have to purchase a "make do" drill or tap, usually at a higher cost, to satisfy an immediate need. Amazon has removed that barrier, at least for some items.

Two thoughts regarding the 2 day shipping guarantee. First, shipping time is from when the common carrier actually takes posession of the shipment to when an attempt is made to turn possession to the customer. Amazon cannot control delays caused by the common carrier and/or unforeseen circumstances. Second, on my case, on a number of occasions, the vendor has delayed actual shipment by as much as a week, The only recourse that Amazon would have would be to contact the vendor demanding better service in the future, of the customer bothered to complain. As a customer service, Amazon could issue a credit to the customer but that would be their expense rather than the vendor who was at fault.

Finally, for the $120 annual fee, you get not only the video and music streaming. We originally subscribed for the video as a replacement for Netflix. I had not really been a fan of their shipping benefit, largely because the product specifications usually leave a lot to be desired and generally, theit prices tend to be somewhat higher than the eBay vendors. The free shipping has proven to be a boon these last few months though.
 
Amazon does that with Prime shipping, too. You order it today but that doesn't mean you'll get it in 2-3 days. It means after they actually ship it you'll get it in 2 to 3 days.
 
Which is what I said in post #7 three days ago.
 
A friend of mine owns a business in town. He told me last week that ALL his shippers (Fed Ex, UPS, USPS, etc.) had told him that none of them will guarantee a shipping or arrival date. He said it doesn't matter if you pay extra for next day or two day shipping or not, there is no guarantee.

Yup, COVID has provided cover for the big carriers to refuse refunds, etc., and easily throw up their hands and shrug a “whaddya gonna do?” In your direction. Unless you have an annual agreement with them, don’t sign up for expedited shipping right now.


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