3 ms·

Previous to buying Prime, I ordered things that would be in a "Preparing to Ship" status for a week before actually shipping out. Upon contacting Amazon they i

by zodPod 10y ago

Previous to buying Prime, I ordered things that would be in a "Preparing to Ship" status for a week before actually shipping out. Upon contacting Amazon they informed me that they literally will not ship for a period of time if you got the over $35 free shipping deal. I complained and told them that was bullcrap and I didn't know that and I needed the things the next day and they overnighted them to me but still I was surprised. They basically admitted they'll hold things to make sure that shipping takes longer!

mikeash 10y ago
I agree that it's crap, but why would you use the Super Saver Slow Shipping for something you needed the next day?
- comex 10y ago
  It sounds like they needed it the next day after they called support, at which point they had already waited some time without it shipping.
  - mikeash 10y ago
    Good point. Still sounds like the commenter expected it before the guaranteed date, but maybe Amazon just screwed it up that badly.
    - zodPod 10y ago
      The guy above is correct. The order said 5-8 days and I ordered it on Monday and needed it Saturday. 5 days could have possibly allowed it to arrive on time even within the window and I had past experiences where Amazon had just shoved stuff in the mail and it arrived in 2 days. HOWEVER, they waited until Thursday to even start the shipment process because then it would've arrived on/around Tuesday of the next week making it 7ish days which is the longer of the range as well.
brwnll 10y ago
This is likely true, but for a less nefarious reasons. It's very unlikely they received your order and were sitting around twirling their thumbs until the last possible moment. Instead Amazon has algos that know exactly when they need to get an item in the mail to make it before the deadline. Every time an order comes in, the pickers list is updated. Meaning that every time a customers order comes in with a tighter deadline, their order will be picked prior to yours, until you deadline is sufficiently close (or there is a lack of more pressing orders) for your items to make it to the top of the list.
- ac29 10y ago
  I'm pretty sure it is for nefarious reasons. For the last year or two (maybe more), Amazon has never failed to deliver my free shipping (non-prime) orders in 1-2 days from when they ship. Since this would be a disincentive to subscribe to Prime if they shipped it within a day or so of receiving the order, they just do nothing for 4 or 5 days so that it arrives in the 5-8 day quoted window. Its clearly in their best interest to push people to subscribe to Prime to recover their costs, their order fulfillment is so streamlined that a standard free shipment and a prime shipment probably cost the same in 95% of cases.

by zodPod 10y ago

mikeash 10y ago

I agree that it's crap, but why would you use the Super Saver Slow Shipping for something you needed the next day?

comex 10y ago
It sounds like they needed it the next day after they called support, at which point they had already waited some time without it shipping.
- mikeash 10y ago
  Good point. Still sounds like the commenter expected it before the guaranteed date, but maybe Amazon just screwed it up that badly.
  - zodPod 10y ago
    The guy above is correct. The order said 5-8 days and I ordered it on Monday and needed it Saturday. 5 days could have possibly allowed it to arrive on time even within the window and I had past experiences where Amazon had just shoved stuff in the mail and it arrived in 2 days. HOWEVER, they waited until Thursday to even start the shipment process because then it would've arrived on/around Tuesday of the next week making it 7ish days which is the longer of the range as well.

brwnll 10y ago

This is likely true, but for a less nefarious reasons. It's very unlikely they received your order and were sitting around twirling their thumbs until the last possible moment. Instead Amazon has algos that know exactly when they need to get an item in the mail to make it before the deadline. Every time an order comes in, the pickers list is updated. Meaning that every time a customers order comes in with a tighter deadline, their order will be picked prior to yours, until you deadline is sufficiently close (or there is a lack of more pressing orders) for your items to make it to the top of the list.

ac29 10y ago
I'm pretty sure it is for nefarious reasons. For the last year or two (maybe more), Amazon has never failed to deliver my free shipping (non-prime) orders in 1-2 days from when they ship. Since this would be a disincentive to subscribe to Prime if they shipped it within a day or so of receiving the order, they just do nothing for 4 or 5 days so that it arrives in the 5-8 day quoted window. Its clearly in their best interest to push people to subscribe to Prime to recover their costs, their order fulfillment is so streamlined that a standard free shipment and a prime shipment probably cost the same in 95% of cases.