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Amazon I think is sandbagging the estimates. We got a gift card during the holidays and decided to spend it, and we're non-prime and put in 2 orders. Both shipp

by sct202 6y ago

Amazon I think is sandbagging the estimates. We got a gift card during the holidays and decided to spend it, and we're non-prime and put in 2 orders. Both shipping estimates were 1 month out and then suddenly delivered 2 days after the order.

cheez 6y ago
Same, re Amazon.
marcusverus 6y ago
I've noticed the same pattern. Presumably they would rather lose business in the short term (by scaring away time-sensitive shoppers) than risk damage to the brand by delivering late.
- atomi 6y ago
  Considering that at least 5 Amazon employees have died, I would have a hard time crying about a late package right now. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/14/sixth-confirmed-amazon-worker-dies.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/14/sixth-confirmed-amazon-worke...
  - sib 6y ago
    Amazon has over 800,000 employees. 1/100,000 is not a high rate compared to general population. (Not trivializing deaths.)
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
moron4hire 6y ago
I've had a lot of stuff take significantly longer than even the extended estimate
iNate2000 6y ago
They probably _are_ being conservative in estimates, but I ordered a new Kindle on April 9 and it didn’t arrive until the 27th.
tachyonbeam 6y ago
In Canada they're really slow, it's taking 2-3 weeks to get Amazon packages delivered, so I end up using eBay and other vendors as much as I can.
greggyb 6y ago
There are some legitimate reasons for this. Perhaps you were ordering high-volume items that had low inventory, and it was unclear when they populated the shipping estimate for you whether you'd be getting items currently in stock, or waiting on Amazon to first receive a shipment. Additionally, there is little reason to commit to a delivery timeline that they cannot commit to. Prime 2-day delivery is not actually a guarantee, as far as I understand it (and in some places it is not 2-day, e.g. Hawaii, from what I've heard), but it is a much firmer commitment, because Prime members are paying a fee for improved service. Regardless of whether Prime delivery is guaranteed, Amazon has optimized much of its logistics chain around <=2-day delivery. So you may be reaping some benefits from that. Finally, Amazon is almost definitely using the cheapest possible shipping option (unless you are opting to pay more for improved options). Just because the rate paid is low does not mean that carriers will purposefully slow down. Once those items are picked, the cheapest thing to do is to move them quickly. Regardless of shipping option, that package still incurs a cost everywhere it sits, and every time it moves. So it will be routed as efficiently as it can to you. Holding it is just accruing liability (more options for loss or damage). If you happen to be near the DC, or near to the shipping carrier's hub, it's likely you will get stuff very quickly, even if it is estimated at longer. You may be seeing the worst-case estimate for cross-country shipment, but benefit from one or several of the things above.
dawnerd 6y ago
I dunno. I think you just got lucky. I’m still waiting on some packages. But also I think they’re using it as an excuse to use cheaper shipping. I know bestbuy is doing this for sure. I think they figure no one will notice they’re using smartpost and if you complain just blaming the speed on the pandemic.
- jcims 6y ago
  I'm in the middle of a large project at home. I've made probably 10-15 orders from Amazon in the past six weeks as I find my way through it. All but two of them arrived within 3 days, despite most showing weeks out. No difference in shipper, shipping tier or anything else that I could see. Of the two outliers, one arrived within the estimated time and the other was lost in shipping.

by sct202 6y ago

cheez 6y ago

Same, re Amazon.

marcusverus 6y ago

I've noticed the same pattern. Presumably they would rather lose business in the short term (by scaring away time-sensitive shoppers) than risk damage to the brand by delivering late.

atomi 6y ago
Considering that at least 5 Amazon employees have died, I would have a hard time crying about a late package right now. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/14/sixth-confirmed-amazon-worker-dies.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/14/sixth-confirmed-amazon-worke...
- sib 6y ago
  Amazon has over 800,000 employees. 1/100,000 is not a high rate compared to general population. (Not trivializing deaths.)

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

moron4hire 6y ago

I've had a lot of stuff take significantly longer than even the extended estimate

iNate2000 6y ago

They probably _are_ being conservative in estimates, but I ordered a new Kindle on April 9 and it didn’t arrive until the 27th.

tachyonbeam 6y ago

In Canada they're really slow, it's taking 2-3 weeks to get Amazon packages delivered, so I end up using eBay and other vendors as much as I can.

greggyb 6y ago

There are some legitimate reasons for this. Perhaps you were ordering high-volume items that had low inventory, and it was unclear when they populated the shipping estimate for you whether you'd be getting items currently in stock, or waiting on Amazon to first receive a shipment. Additionally, there is little reason to commit to a delivery timeline that they cannot commit to. Prime 2-day delivery is not actually a guarantee, as far as I understand it (and in some places it is not 2-day, e.g. Hawaii, from what I've heard), but it is a much firmer commitment, because Prime members are paying a fee for improved service. Regardless of whether Prime delivery is guaranteed, Amazon has optimized much of its logistics chain around <=2-day delivery. So you may be reaping some benefits from that. Finally, Amazon is almost definitely using the cheapest possible shipping option (unless you are opting to pay more for improved options). Just because the rate paid is low does not mean that carriers will purposefully slow down. Once those items are picked, the cheapest thing to do is to move them quickly. Regardless of shipping option, that package still incurs a cost everywhere it sits, and every time it moves. So it will be routed as efficiently as it can to you. Holding it is just accruing liability (more options for loss or damage). If you happen to be near the DC, or near to the shipping carrier's hub, it's likely you will get stuff very quickly, even if it is estimated at longer. You may be seeing the worst-case estimate for cross-country shipment, but benefit from one or several of the things above.

dawnerd 6y ago

I dunno. I think you just got lucky. I’m still waiting on some packages. But also I think they’re using it as an excuse to use cheaper shipping. I know bestbuy is doing this for sure. I think they figure no one will notice they’re using smartpost and if you complain just blaming the speed on the pandemic.

jcims 6y ago
I'm in the middle of a large project at home. I've made probably 10-15 orders from Amazon in the past six weeks as I find my way through it. All but two of them arrived within 3 days, despite most showing weeks out. No difference in shipper, shipping tier or anything else that I could see. Of the two outliers, one arrived within the estimated time and the other was lost in shipping.