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As an aside, I've been screwed several times by Prime's "guaranteed two-day" shipping. I had package which was very late December last year. When I went to the

by vdnkh 11y ago

As an aside, I've been screwed several times by Prime's "guaranteed two-day" shipping. I had package which was very late December last year. When I went to the USPS tracking page to check the location, it turns out Amazon had requested the 8 day shipping option. After several angry calls I finally had the item cancelled and a new one on the way with Saturday shipping (the lower-tier rep said that it wasn't possible, so I elevated to the manager). Lo and behold, about a month later my original item showed up and I had to return it immediately. This was my worst experience, but not my first with late shipping. I've never had so much as a prime extension offered for my trouble.

stordoff 11y ago
Next day shipping for Amazon UK is pretty reliable, but I have to say I'm relived every time delivery is by someone other than "Amazon Logistics". Last time they delivered a parcel (value ~£100) I got an email saying it had been left in "my preferred safe space" (which I have never set) and had to go looking for it. Turn out they had left in my bin, at 9pm the night before the bins were due to be emptied.
dsmithn 11y ago
You have to ask for the prime extension. I've ordered probably 100 items and the few times an item was late I just chatted with an amazon rep and a month of prime was added.
- degenerate 11y ago
  I can confirm this works. I only do it when I really needed the item on time and got screwed. I believe each account is limited to X requests, currently about 10 according to some folks on Slickdeals.
joesmo 11y ago
I paid for Prime and had my account cancelled for "too many returns," something that doesn't exist in any of their terms of service. Late and lost packages all the time, that goes without saying. Fuck Amazon.
CPLX 11y ago
The problem might be Amazon here in this specific case, but I'd hazard a guess that this is just a subset of the massive drop-off in service that Amazon is experiencing due to a major transition to using USPS instead of UPS. Here in NYC Amazon delivery has gone from being amazing and magical to nearly worthless seemingly overnight with this change. UPS (and Fedex) didn't seem to have any trouble delivering even to challenging buildings without doormen, giving accurate tracking etc. Now every time I see USPS as the option I cringe knowing the package won't be delivered, there won't be a door tag left, and at some random arbitrary time the status will change to "attempted delivery" even if someone was sitting on the front porch waiting for it the entire time. It's getting really bad, we'll see how long it takes Amazon to figure it out.
- dceddia 11y ago
  Twice in the last few months I've had a package change status to "delivered" -- while I was home, and suspiciously just a few minutes before 5pm. One of them was never delivered. The other one showed up 2 or 3 days later... I'm losing faith in those 2-day guarantees, and the number of items available for Prime has been slowly dwindling. That, and their minimum spend for certain items went from $25 to $35. Starting to wonder whether renewing my Prime membership is actually a good idea.
- EwanG 11y ago
  My solution to this problem (and yes I've noticed the same) is to generally pay the price to change to one-day shipping which never (so far at least) goes USPS. Of course we are in one of the areas with Prime Now service, and I am willing to consider that this may be to make me think "Do I pay a driver a $5 tip if the item(s) are available or pay $5/item for one day delivery".
- glenntzke 11y ago
  NYC's USPS is notoriously unreliable, especially for those of us without the luxury of doormen. Despite living in a nice neighborhood with a vestibule that would certainly house a package just fine - and then include that the postman has keys to get to just outside my apt door - USPS packages are routinely lost, yet "delivered". Amazon at least mitigates this loss risk by unquestionably resending the package without additional charge. This exercise has grown tiresome.
rogerbinns 11y ago
For us they seem to delay the shipping the item yet still claim two day shipping. For example ordering around midday (Pacific timezone) on a Thursday often results in the item not shipping until later on Monday, which then arrives Wednesday but more often Thursday morning. Every step on the way can be contrived as "two day", but it really took a week and that is the number we care about. We likely won't be renewing Prime. Amusingly there are also those orders of things you don't care about getting immediately. Those seem to come fast, often less than 24 hours from ordering. Amazon doesn't know which items fall in which category (their media $1 credit is not worth it). Nor do they seem to notice breaking their own promises and proactively doing something about.
- knowaveragejoe 11y ago
  To counter this anecdote with my own, I often get "2 day" shipping items delivered the day before they were supposed to arrive. Likewise, there's been multiple times where I've walked out the front door on the way to work at ~8AM and my package is already sitting there. Maybe it has something to do with location?
  - cozzyd 11y ago
    Same here, both now (in Chicago) and previously (in Boston). I think there are Amazon warehouses nearby...
  - rogerbinns 11y ago
    The items are all fulfilled by Amazon so they know at the time of order what to promise, and also that it is Prime "2 day" shipping. As mentioned sometimes items come really quick, but it seems the ones you want the most are the ones delayed the most. (Of course those are also what you are paying most attention to.) My memory of prior years is that the vast majority of items arrived within time, and that it has been getting worse over the last year or so.
  - nerfhammer 11y ago
    Another interesting case is when you select the slowest shipping option and it shows up in 24-48 hours anyway. Happens all the time.
kwhitefoot 11y ago
Why did you have to return it? Surely it is up to Amazon to collect it.
- jonknee 11y ago
  Jeff Bezos isn't going to come to your house and find the duplicate item, you have to send it back to Amazon (they'll give you a label and you already have the packaging it came in).
torgoguys 11y ago
Amazon still pretty much never uses USPS to me in Wisconsin, unless you count SmartPost and the like if I select no hassle shipping. I celebrate when Amazon misses its Prime 2-day shipping guarantees. That means I can complain and they promptly give me extra free months of Prime as compensation. Not sure why you don't get the same. They always offer it in my experience. I always order stuff with at least a couple of extra days before I need the item so if you can't do that I could see why missing the 2 day target is bad.

by vdnkh 11y ago

stordoff 11y ago

Next day shipping for Amazon UK is pretty reliable, but I have to say I'm relived every time delivery is by someone other than "Amazon Logistics". Last time they delivered a parcel (value ~£100) I got an email saying it had been left in "my preferred safe space" (which I have never set) and had to go looking for it. Turn out they had left in my bin, at 9pm the night before the bins were due to be emptied.

dsmithn 11y ago

You have to ask for the prime extension. I've ordered probably 100 items and the few times an item was late I just chatted with an amazon rep and a month of prime was added.

degenerate 11y ago
I can confirm this works. I only do it when I really needed the item on time and got screwed. I believe each account is limited to X requests, currently about 10 according to some folks on Slickdeals.

joesmo 11y ago

I paid for Prime and had my account cancelled for "too many returns," something that doesn't exist in any of their terms of service. Late and lost packages all the time, that goes without saying. Fuck Amazon.

CPLX 11y ago

The problem might be Amazon here in this specific case, but I'd hazard a guess that this is just a subset of the massive drop-off in service that Amazon is experiencing due to a major transition to using USPS instead of UPS. Here in NYC Amazon delivery has gone from being amazing and magical to nearly worthless seemingly overnight with this change. UPS (and Fedex) didn't seem to have any trouble delivering even to challenging buildings without doormen, giving accurate tracking etc. Now every time I see USPS as the option I cringe knowing the package won't be delivered, there won't be a door tag left, and at some random arbitrary time the status will change to "attempted delivery" even if someone was sitting on the front porch waiting for it the entire time. It's getting really bad, we'll see how long it takes Amazon to figure it out.

dceddia 11y ago
Twice in the last few months I've had a package change status to "delivered" -- while I was home, and suspiciously just a few minutes before 5pm. One of them was never delivered. The other one showed up 2 or 3 days later... I'm losing faith in those 2-day guarantees, and the number of items available for Prime has been slowly dwindling. That, and their minimum spend for certain items went from $25 to $35. Starting to wonder whether renewing my Prime membership is actually a good idea.
EwanG 11y ago
My solution to this problem (and yes I've noticed the same) is to generally pay the price to change to one-day shipping which never (so far at least) goes USPS. Of course we are in one of the areas with Prime Now service, and I am willing to consider that this may be to make me think "Do I pay a driver a $5 tip if the item(s) are available or pay $5/item for one day delivery".
glenntzke 11y ago
NYC's USPS is notoriously unreliable, especially for those of us without the luxury of doormen. Despite living in a nice neighborhood with a vestibule that would certainly house a package just fine - and then include that the postman has keys to get to just outside my apt door - USPS packages are routinely lost, yet "delivered". Amazon at least mitigates this loss risk by unquestionably resending the package without additional charge. This exercise has grown tiresome.

rogerbinns 11y ago

For us they seem to delay the shipping the item yet still claim two day shipping. For example ordering around midday (Pacific timezone) on a Thursday often results in the item not shipping until later on Monday, which then arrives Wednesday but more often Thursday morning. Every step on the way can be contrived as "two day", but it really took a week and that is the number we care about. We likely won't be renewing Prime. Amusingly there are also those orders of things you don't care about getting immediately. Those seem to come fast, often less than 24 hours from ordering. Amazon doesn't know which items fall in which category (their media $1 credit is not worth it). Nor do they seem to notice breaking their own promises and proactively doing something about.

knowaveragejoe 11y ago
To counter this anecdote with my own, I often get "2 day" shipping items delivered the day before they were supposed to arrive. Likewise, there's been multiple times where I've walked out the front door on the way to work at ~8AM and my package is already sitting there. Maybe it has something to do with location?
- cozzyd 11y ago
  Same here, both now (in Chicago) and previously (in Boston). I think there are Amazon warehouses nearby...
- rogerbinns 11y ago
  The items are all fulfilled by Amazon so they know at the time of order what to promise, and also that it is Prime "2 day" shipping. As mentioned sometimes items come really quick, but it seems the ones you want the most are the ones delayed the most. (Of course those are also what you are paying most attention to.) My memory of prior years is that the vast majority of items arrived within time, and that it has been getting worse over the last year or so.
- nerfhammer 11y ago
  Another interesting case is when you select the slowest shipping option and it shows up in 24-48 hours anyway. Happens all the time.

kwhitefoot 11y ago

Why did you have to return it? Surely it is up to Amazon to collect it.

jonknee 11y ago
Jeff Bezos isn't going to come to your house and find the duplicate item, you have to send it back to Amazon (they'll give you a label and you already have the packaging it came in).

torgoguys 11y ago

Amazon still pretty much never uses USPS to me in Wisconsin, unless you count SmartPost and the like if I select no hassle shipping. I celebrate when Amazon misses its Prime 2-day shipping guarantees. That means I can complain and they promptly give me extra free months of Prime as compensation. Not sure why you don't get the same. They always offer it in my experience. I always order stuff with at least a couple of extra days before I need the item so if you can't do that I could see why missing the 2 day target is bad.