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A few weeks ago I bought a "new" coffee maker which arrived physically broken and with used coffee grounds in the hopper. I don't understand how this is even po

A few weeks ago I bought a "new" coffee maker which arrived physically broken and with used coffee grounds in the hopper. I don't understand how this is even possible. That's the last thing I'm buying on Amazon. Amazon pre-COVID was amazing. But 2-day shipping is now 5+ day shipping. It's chock full of cheap/fraudulent junk. It's been interesting to watch it go downhill so fast.

rdn 1y ago
That's return fraud, someone orders a new version of a product they have, put their old product in the new box and file a return immediately. Amazon probably doesnt take the time to check it or check it thoroughly. Goes back on the shelf and you receive it.
- blagie 1y ago
  It's double-return-fraud. Amazon shouldn't sell returned products as "new," but as "open box." The other way it happens is co-mingling. Some vendor sends an "open box" product to Amazon as new, or a fake product, and Amazon ships it out when sold by Amazon since it considers goods to be fungible. I stopped buying anything which goes in my body from eBay, Amazon, and similar after receiving a premium food product with very clearly fake packaging.
  - rkomorn 1y ago
    Man, I don't think this co-mingling thing was big or existed when I moved to a country that Amazon doesn't ship to directly almost 6 years ago. Reading about it on HN makes me feel fortunate. I can't recall ever running into something like this back then.
    - blagie 1y ago
      Amazon broke in 2020, when most shopping went online. It never recovered. I doubt it ever will. Trust takes a long time to earn, and a little bit of time to break. I had four or five incidents on Amazon, cancelled Prime, and I doubt it will ever make business sense for Amazon to get me back. I do think there's a place for a competitor to Amazon right now which looks more like the old Amazon. Starting one would be super-capital-intensive. It's not a lean startup. There's only a handful of organizations with the capital to do that, and I doubt any of them will, in fact, do it.
      - lazystar 1y ago
        > Amazon broke in 2020 nah. jassy taking the reigns in 2021 is when the nosedive began.
        calenti 1y ago
        He was representative, not causative. The rot had been settling for years.
      - krackers 1y ago
        >I do think there's a place for a competitor to Amazon right now which looks more like the old Amazon. If walmart plays their cards right, they can do it (I mean they did acquire Jet). Unfortunately they also seem to be OK with becoming a dropship frontend for aliexpress
        ethbr1 1y ago
        I think modern Walmart understands the problem better than modern Amazon. Walmart just needs the volume to be able to compete with Amazon's logistics, so is getting volume where it can.
  - chaostheory 1y ago
    There is some good news. After years of customer and company complaints, Amazon finally ended commingling recently.
- bigbuppo 1y ago
  They weigh it. That's all they do. I know someone that bought an open box camera off Amazon and received a piece of wood that weighed the same as the camera.
- jader201 1y ago
  > That's return fraud, someone orders a new version of a product they have, put their old product in the new box and file a return immediately. Not necessarily. What’s more likely is that people try something, change their mind, and return it now used. Amazon actually allows this for some products, as long as it’s still within the return period. The problem is, they shouldn’t be shipping them back out as new.
  - wiether 1y ago
    Maybe local laws, but probably a third of what I buy on Amazon is sold as "refurbished" which, 90% of the time is just damaged packaging or products that spent a few minutes outside it.
whateveracct 1y ago
Maybe it's because I'm in WA, but my average Amazon deliver is <2 days. This "2-day shipping is now 5+ day shipping" is just outright untrue out here. I usually get stuff next day, free. Although I also do Amazon Day for that extra cashback on my card. That card has paid a mortgage payment or two since I got it a couple years ago. And I still haven't gotten a single fraudulent item despite a steady stream of Amazon boxes to my house (I requested an extra recycle bin I get so many.)
- blincoln 1y ago
  I'm also in Washington, and delivery times are inconsistent. Sometimes it's 1-2 days. Sometimes it's 3-5. There's no way to tell in advance which it will be. I haven't ended up with any fraudulent items, but I have had packages "delivered" and "signed for" using my name that never arrived, with the telltale being that my packages go to a business address, and someone else signs for them.
- mlrtime 1y ago
  Same, I'm amazed how I can get things same day even though I don't need it for a few days. I've had 1 item that came wrong , I just returned it.
- jinushaun 1y ago
  I’m in WA. I’m probably 50% for 2-day shipping vs 5-day “prime” shipping. I guess we buy different things.
typpilol 1y ago
I live in rural Michigan and almost all of my stuff is next day. Hell some stuff is even same day if you order early
lazystar 1y ago
one wonders what jassy's list of accomplishments is after 3 years at the helm....

rdn 1y ago

That's return fraud, someone orders a new version of a product they have, put their old product in the new box and file a return immediately. Amazon probably doesnt take the time to check it or check it thoroughly. Goes back on the shelf and you receive it.

blagie 1y ago
It's double-return-fraud. Amazon shouldn't sell returned products as "new," but as "open box." The other way it happens is co-mingling. Some vendor sends an "open box" product to Amazon as new, or a fake product, and Amazon ships it out when sold by Amazon since it considers goods to be fungible. I stopped buying anything which goes in my body from eBay, Amazon, and similar after receiving a premium food product with very clearly fake packaging.
- rkomorn 1y ago
  Man, I don't think this co-mingling thing was big or existed when I moved to a country that Amazon doesn't ship to directly almost 6 years ago. Reading about it on HN makes me feel fortunate. I can't recall ever running into something like this back then.
  - blagie 1y ago
    Amazon broke in 2020, when most shopping went online. It never recovered. I doubt it ever will. Trust takes a long time to earn, and a little bit of time to break. I had four or five incidents on Amazon, cancelled Prime, and I doubt it will ever make business sense for Amazon to get me back. I do think there's a place for a competitor to Amazon right now which looks more like the old Amazon. Starting one would be super-capital-intensive. It's not a lean startup. There's only a handful of organizations with the capital to do that, and I doubt any of them will, in fact, do it.
    - lazystar 1y ago
      > Amazon broke in 2020 nah. jassy taking the reigns in 2021 is when the nosedive began.
      - calenti 1y ago
        He was representative, not causative. The rot had been settling for years.
    - krackers 1y ago
      >I do think there's a place for a competitor to Amazon right now which looks more like the old Amazon. If walmart plays their cards right, they can do it (I mean they did acquire Jet). Unfortunately they also seem to be OK with becoming a dropship frontend for aliexpress
      - ethbr1 1y ago
        I think modern Walmart understands the problem better than modern Amazon. Walmart just needs the volume to be able to compete with Amazon's logistics, so is getting volume where it can.
- chaostheory 1y ago
  There is some good news. After years of customer and company complaints, Amazon finally ended commingling recently.
bigbuppo 1y ago
They weigh it. That's all they do. I know someone that bought an open box camera off Amazon and received a piece of wood that weighed the same as the camera.
jader201 1y ago
> That's return fraud, someone orders a new version of a product they have, put their old product in the new box and file a return immediately. Not necessarily. What’s more likely is that people try something, change their mind, and return it now used. Amazon actually allows this for some products, as long as it’s still within the return period. The problem is, they shouldn’t be shipping them back out as new.
- wiether 1y ago
  Maybe local laws, but probably a third of what I buy on Amazon is sold as "refurbished" which, 90% of the time is just damaged packaging or products that spent a few minutes outside it.

whateveracct 1y ago

Maybe it's because I'm in WA, but my average Amazon deliver is <2 days. This "2-day shipping is now 5+ day shipping" is just outright untrue out here. I usually get stuff next day, free. Although I also do Amazon Day for that extra cashback on my card. That card has paid a mortgage payment or two since I got it a couple years ago. And I still haven't gotten a single fraudulent item despite a steady stream of Amazon boxes to my house (I requested an extra recycle bin I get so many.)

blincoln 1y ago
I'm also in Washington, and delivery times are inconsistent. Sometimes it's 1-2 days. Sometimes it's 3-5. There's no way to tell in advance which it will be. I haven't ended up with any fraudulent items, but I have had packages "delivered" and "signed for" using my name that never arrived, with the telltale being that my packages go to a business address, and someone else signs for them.
mlrtime 1y ago
Same, I'm amazed how I can get things same day even though I don't need it for a few days. I've had 1 item that came wrong , I just returned it.
jinushaun 1y ago
I’m in WA. I’m probably 50% for 2-day shipping vs 5-day “prime” shipping. I guess we buy different things.

typpilol 1y ago

I live in rural Michigan and almost all of my stuff is next day. Hell some stuff is even same day if you order early

lazystar 1y ago

one wonders what jassy's list of accomplishments is after 3 years at the helm....