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I've yet to encounter a situation where saving a few bucks on an item was worth the combined cost of paying shipping at another site plus risking having to deal

by Merad 11y ago

I've yet to encounter a situation where saving a few bucks on an item was worth the combined cost of paying shipping at another site plus risking having to deal with their customer service. Just in the last two months my Amazon experiences have included: - Bought a ~$60 item to give as a gift, that didn't arrive on time and the tracking info hadn't updated since it left the Amazon facility. Contacted them the day it had been scheduled to arrive and they overnighted a replacement, no questions asked. - Bought a pair of pants just before Christmas, ended up getting two pairs of pants for Christmas (go mom). Went to return the ones I purchased (hadn't been worn yet), and Amazon refunded me without even requiring a return (~$25 item). - Bought a heater a few weeks ago that arrived with one of the dials on its control panel knocked out of place, and no way to re-seat it without disassembling the unit. Amazon paid for return shipping and UPS pickup, and had the replacement item at my door on the second day after I requested a replacement. I'm not a fan of many of many aspects of Amazon... but in terms of customer service, I don't use any other site that comes close.

SwellJoe 11y ago
I agree that Amazon is amazing at customer service. But, then again, so is NewEgg (in my experience). I've rarely had to deal with returns, but they definitely ship and deliver when they say they will; probably more reliably than Amazon, in my experience (though I order more from Amazon, so I may be skewing it in favor of NewEgg due to less negative experiences, even if the percentages are the same). That said, two of your examples of great customer service are examples of poor quality in the shipping stage of your order. Amazon didn't deliver on time in one case, and Amazon didn't package the item properly in the third case. Amazon doesn't get an A+ from me for shipping me damaged goods or for losing something and then shipping a new one. (Though it happens to every vendor, and I'm sure Amazon is among the best at not screwing up the shipping process; the best customer service experience for me means I don't have to think about it...it just arrives, on time, complete, and functional.) But, smaller companies are often much more difficult to work with, in general. I had to order some replacement parts for my motorhome from a small RV parts dealer because Amazon didn't carry them, and handling a cancellation (before shipping) and ordering a new item instead, required multiple phone calls and emails. It also took them several days to get it shipped out (I mean, it was literally several days before they put it in a box and handed it to UPS to be delivered to me). It's hard to compete with Amazon on a small scale, is what I'm trying to say, but on big ticket items, I'm often willing to shop around. If a trustworthy vendor I've dealt with before has the item in stock for $100+ less, I'm buying from them and not buying from Amazon. It's just happening more and more often lately.

by Merad 11y ago

SwellJoe 11y ago

I agree that Amazon is amazing at customer service. But, then again, so is NewEgg (in my experience). I've rarely had to deal with returns, but they definitely ship and deliver when they say they will; probably more reliably than Amazon, in my experience (though I order more from Amazon, so I may be skewing it in favor of NewEgg due to less negative experiences, even if the percentages are the same). That said, two of your examples of great customer service are examples of poor quality in the shipping stage of your order. Amazon didn't deliver on time in one case, and Amazon didn't package the item properly in the third case. Amazon doesn't get an A+ from me for shipping me damaged goods or for losing something and then shipping a new one. (Though it happens to every vendor, and I'm sure Amazon is among the best at not screwing up the shipping process; the best customer service experience for me means I don't have to think about it...it just arrives, on time, complete, and functional.) But, smaller companies are often much more difficult to work with, in general. I had to order some replacement parts for my motorhome from a small RV parts dealer because Amazon didn't carry them, and handling a cancellation (before shipping) and ordering a new item instead, required multiple phone calls and emails. It also took them several days to get it shipped out (I mean, it was literally several days before they put it in a box and handed it to UPS to be delivered to me). It's hard to compete with Amazon on a small scale, is what I'm trying to say, but on big ticket items, I'm often willing to shop around. If a trustworthy vendor I've dealt with before has the item in stock for $100+ less, I'm buying from them and not buying from Amazon. It's just happening more and more often lately.