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I bought a $120 book from Amazon a couple of months ago, internationally, and they sent the wrong book. I told them, and they said they'd refund it, don't need

by dwedge 1y ago

I bought a $120 book from Amazon a couple of months ago, internationally, and they sent the wrong book. I told them, and they said they'd refund it, don't need to send it back, and they'd even add $15 credit. The refund never arrived so a few weeks later I got in touch again and they said I need to send it back if I want a refund. They told me the previous CSR had lied to improve ratings. I asked who I can complain to and they said nobody and closed the chat. I reopened it, restarted the refund, it was accepted and then 2 hours later I got an email saying that unless I sent them ID my refund would be rejected and that I can "no longer contact them" about this refund. I ignored that email, sent the book back and got the refund. Another time I bought a Samsung Fold and it cracked down the middle. I told Amazon and they said they'll refund it under warranty. I sent it back and got a warning that if I return anything else in "non original condition" I'd be banned. Even though it was a warranty return. That level of service would have been totally unheard of for Amazon 5 years ago.

decremental 1y ago
[dead]
madaxe_again 1y ago
Yeah - I think they’ve put a big focus on reducing returns over the last year. I bought a Quest 3 last year. One of the controllers totally packed in within half an hour - thumb stick permanently locked to full. Wanted to do an RMA. Amazon told me to go hang, said I couldn’t return used goods, it would have to be unused in the box, and that I should contact meta. I contacted meta, who told me to go hang, as they don’t officially support Portugal, which is where Amazon Spain happily shipped it. So it’s just sat in a box gathering dust since, and I now avoid using Amazon whenever possible. I had already ditched meta so frankly I should have known that I was going to step on a rake.
- monegator 1y ago
  > Amazon told me to go hang, said I couldn’t return used goods I don't buy it. Don't we have actual consumer protection laws here in europe? We can return anything we bought online in 14 days time, full refund, no questions asked.
  - madaxe_again 1y ago
    That’s the law, yeah - and if the goods are faulty it’s actually up to two years. But this is Amazon - they don’t need to follow consumer protection laws - I think their specific get out is that they’re Amazon Spain, and I’m having stuff shipped to Portugal, and Spanish consumer protection regs (which implement the EU regs) only protect consumers in Spain. That was meta’s get-out, too.
    - thaumasiotes 1y ago
      > But this is Amazon - they don’t need to follow consumer protection laws No one needs to follow consumer protection laws if you don't sue to make them.
      - madaxe_again 1y ago
        Yeah, I’m not spending hundreds of thousands of euro on legal fees to fight a trillion dollar company over a €300 piece of crud. That’s part of their calculus, too.
        b112 1y ago
        You don't have small claims court? Here in Canada, it's $150 to register, you fill out the form yourself, no lawyers are allowed, and you argue your case in front of a judge. (A company can have someone represent them, but if it's a lawyer, they must also have a rep. from the company there. and there can be no legalise, and the judge must explain anything to you if you ask) There is no forced discoverability. EG, the other side cannot ask for all sorts of documents. You just include your evidence in the filing. There is no ability for the company you sue, to compel costs if you lose. For $150 you get a lot of joy out of hassling a company behaving like this. And amusingly, they still consult lawyers, and spend on a lot on lawyers. They can't be used in court, but they of course as a company consult legal experts. I napkin mathed it, the one time I sued a company. I figured it cost them $25,000 to defend when I spent $150. If even a small percentage of people take them to task for breaking the law, they'll turn around quick. Always use your enemies strengths as a weakness against them. You should look at the process, but view if from the perspective of a hobby.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
OutOfHere 1y ago
CSRs lying has been a serious problem at Amazon and it's astonishing that Amazon hasn't duly addressed it.
- pfexec 1y ago
  [flagged]
  - harvey9 1y ago
    Anyone who needs that job to pay their rent is going to follow the script the company gives them.
    - pfexec 1y ago
      Well they must give the stateside CSRs a different script because whenever I win the lottery and get an American on the phone it's a night and day difference. Notably they seem capable of solving complex problems without lying or smoke and mirrors. An actual example, I recently had an issue that while straightforward and not that difficult to solve, was likely "off script". After being handed off between 4 different chat agents, and subsequent phone calls with two different Indians (who lied and made promises that weren't kept), my problem was not solved. At my wits end (and nearly 2.5 hours of my time wasted) I called back one more time. Inexplicably, I got a lady with a Southern accent. She solved my problem in under 10 minutes (and that included the approval she had to get from her supervisor).
- bornfreddy 1y ago
  I don't think there even is a problem, from Amazon's point of view. CSRs can't tell you the truth ("we will try to avoid refunding you or will delay it as much as possible"), they can't stay quiet (because then delaying won't be as efficient) and they can't blame the company (because... well, they can't). So lying is basically all they can do.
  - OutOfHere 1y ago
    They should speak the truth, citing the Amazon policy on the matter, and provide the path for escalation. As it stands, I will vote negatively for any CSR interaction that doesn't resolve my issue immediately while the conversation is still active, irrespective of whether they say they have addressed it.
tacker2000 1y ago
The moment amazon.de turns into this, im gone. The only thing keeping me there is the no-nonsense, helpful, customer support. Any issues i have are always resolved, so it still seems to be working over here.
- bornfreddy 1y ago
  Being subject to german laws sure helps there.
  - mschuster91 1y ago
    ... and not just the law but consumer protection agencies. The Verbraucherschutz does not mess around - break the law strategically and you will get banged up hard.
  - bschwarz 1y ago
    Amazon.de customer service has consistently been much better than anything else in Germany, so it's probably not the law.
    - spwa4 1y ago
      It's "loss leader", selling under the price to make your competitors go bankrupt, then use monopoly power. It's illegal under German law, EU law, and I'm sure it's also explicitly called out as illegal in at least 5 trade treaties Germany signed. Needless to say, like everything in the EU, it's only enforced against local companies, in this case German ones.
      - mlrtime 1y ago
        Or, it's easier for Amazon to have a consistent customer experience everywhere in the world. But that would make too much sense?
        spwa4 1y ago
        Yep, I'm sure it's the brilliance of Amazon and not the same old trick of creating a monopoly then exploiting it that people have been using since the early middle ages and regularly outlawed because it destroys economies. Say ... what was Amazon's initial reason for success? Being cheaper by exploiting the interstate commerce clause to avoid paying sales tax when it's competitors weren't allowed to do so? You don't say. Amazon is famous for losing money on their delivery business (up until recently)? It's constantly repeated in 10+ years of their financial statements ... So either Amazon has completely changed tactics and become truly brilliant and we still don't understand the plan ... or they're up to their old tricks, being slightly cheaper, now with less legality!
mykowebhn 1y ago
How did you even tell them that they sent the wrong book? When an item I ordered is delivered as the wrong item or when it never arrives, I can only select from a list of items in order to inform them about the bad delivery and none of the items lists "item never arrived" or "wrong item arrived". And there is no other way to complain about the delivery/item--no help chat, no email I can contact.
- dwedge 1y ago
  Off the top of my head I can't remember but something like I need help with an order, then click "something else" or ask the automated chat to put you through to someone.
- OJFord 1y ago
  One of the return options is 'item did not arrive'. You can also select 'I need help with another issue' or something like that, and either chat with support and explain or request a call. (At least, in the UK. Like sibling comment to yours it's the amazing support and returns that makes me shop at Amazon (.de in their case) - I don't recognise the disaster described elsewhere in thread and I probably wouldn't shops there!)
  - b112 1y ago
    In Canada .ca site at least, it's getting harder and harder to even find how to get help. To get to chat, there are maybe 20 clicks to do. It's a series of menus and the wrong answer at any point leads you back to the prior purchases page. If you finally get to 'chat', it's a terrible AI which never helps. If you respond incorrectly, AI closes the chat or gives dead end answers. Only after all of this, do you finally have the opportunity to chat to a person. Often this person has a poor command of the english language too. I just call now. They've literally made it so calling is 1000x easier. Amazon is just hilariously, horribly managed these days.
    - beloch 1y ago
      I boycotted Amazon in January because of you-know-who and Bezo's swift and utter obeisance to him. It's surprisingly easy to go back to the old ways of waiting a little while for shipments if you're capable of planning ahead. (Speaking of which, it might be time for those of us who are post-Amazon to start thinking about our Christmas shopping.) Unlike the author of the article, I don't believe it's possible to fix Amazon. He's talking about regulations as a remedy, but the U.S. is not likely to pass such regulations any time soon. The U.S. government is far more likely to threaten other nations for imposing such regulations or taxes on American companies operating in their jurisdictions. We saw this very thing happen when Canada was forced to delete its digital services tax. If you don't think Amazon is delivering good value for your money, stop giving Amazon your money. Even though there is no direct competition for delivering Chinese junk to your doorstep overnight, stop giving Amazon your money. "Good, fast, cheap. Pick two." Amazon promised us all three, but failed to deliver just like all the rest.
qurashee 1y ago
I recently had a similar experience with Amazon. I bought a pair of AirPods but didn’t like them, so I returned them the next day. Amazon confirmed they’d received the package, but when the estimated refund date passed, I got a message saying they needed more information. When I contacted customer service, they told me I had to send them a copy of my ID to process the refund. I was really frustrated; I’ve had this account for over 20 years and never had any issues before. I spoke with several representatives, but they all gave me the same response, and a few were even rude and aggressive, something I’d never experienced with Amazon before. Since I didn’t want to share my ID, I decided to go through my credit card provider (Visa) instead and filed a claim. Visa refunded my money, but shortly after, I got an email from Amazon asking why I’d raised a Section 75 claim (the UK’s credit card protection scheme) and informing me that my account would be closed for fraudulent activity. I replied with proof that they had received my return and never issued a refund. That was the last I ever heard from them, and the last time I bought anything from Amazon.
- YokoZar 1y ago
  > I’ve had this account for over 20 years and never had any issues before. "Aged" accounts are a thing you can buy on the black market, as well as hacked accounts of users with long chains of legitimate activity. It's not as strong of an anti-fraud signal as you might think.
  - vdfs 1y ago
    But 20 years of regular purchases to the same address(es) is easy for them to verify
    - qcnguy 1y ago
      Yes but so what? All that proves is the account is aged. It doesn't prove it's not been taken over or sold. People move pretty regularly or order things for friends/family, a change of address doesn't mean anything.
      - 1y ago
Symbiote 1y ago
> Another time Why is there another time? I don't understand why someone would continue purchasing from a shop after the first experience.
- dwedge 1y ago
  They are in reverse chronological order. I only buy cheap crap from them now, like Ethernet cables, sd cards, books. Never anything over $20 and I never will
- bluebarbet 1y ago
  Because it's still better than the alternatives. I recently ordered a small item from a specialist retailer. Payment by Paypal was easy enough (ethically questionable, yes, but faffing about with credit cards on the internet in 2025 is just a complete PITA not to mention insecure). But the delivery was a nightmare. It took weeks, to the point that I needed to change the delivery address. But customer service turned out to be an AI bot which ignored everything I wrote while confidently reassuring me that it had understood and was acting on it. In the end I had to cancel the whole purchase. A terrible experience, alas worse than anything I've ever had from the evil monopolist of Seattle.
- danaris 1y ago
  Amazon has so dominated online retail that there are many vendors that only sell through them. So if you want a certain item, your options are, if you're lucky, find a physical retail store that sells the item, or order it from Amazon. If you're not very lucky, they don't sell in retail stores, only online. Only on Amazon. My family has vastly reduced our purchases from Amazon over the past several months, but there are still some things that we basically don't have a choice in, especially given that we live in a rural area without ready access to many physical retail stores.
svelle 1y ago
> Another time I bought a Samsung Fold and it cracked down the middle. I told Amazon and they said they'll refund it under warranty. I sent it back and got a warning that if I return anything else in "non original condition" I'd be banned. Even though it was a warranty return. I once ordered a new pair of Jeans, expensive ones because I wanted them to last, from Amazon and got an obviously used and ripped pair sent to me. I sent it back, noted that in my reason for sending it back only to receive an email from them with the same sentiment as you got. Luckily I kept all the receipts (figuratively) and took a lot of photos and screenshots. Reaching out to support they apologized profusely to me but still it left a very bad taste in my mouth and I'm sure it'll happen again sometime in the future.
- ffsm8 1y ago
  Why would you go back to buy from their shop of you're sure it'll happen again? It's not like Amazon is an actual monopoly for clothing.
  - rickydroll 1y ago
    I keep going back to Amazon, even though I've been burned occasionally, because the retail shopping experience is that more horrible. In the context of buying jeans (or really anything), if I go to a retail store, it's a multi-hour, multi-store event that usually leaves me empty-handed. My solution to that was to go directly to Levi's with the model and size of the last pair that fit, and buy a few pairs of them. I recently went back to buy to restock my supply of jeans, only to find that the style that fits has been discontinued—yet another form of enshitification.
ivape 1y ago
That level of service is for on-boarding customers. Sounds crazy, but they had a multi year on-boarding plan. We are now on-boarded, so why would they keep funding an on-boarding program that accepts any and all returns? The on-boarding process was complete awhile ago. Retention is the next program they’ll have to initiate, but no reason to finance this now as there are no competitors just yet. Listen, when it was said that corporations are amoral and sociopathic, it was not a joke.
grues-dinner 1y ago
> They told me the previous CSR had lied to improve ratings. If anything it feels like the second CSR who actually told you the truth was acting more in defiance of the system than the first one.
StopDisinfo910 1y ago
I stopped buying anything significant from Amazon three years ago when I realised I was spending more time trying to understand where my packets allegedly delivered to a neighbour actually were than it would have taken me to just go buy the damn thing in a store. And that’s in Europe. The research is also completely useless nowadays. 90% of what you find is just people reselling stuff they bought on AliExpress and reviews are all fake.
blibble 1y ago
> I sent it back and got a warning that if I return anything else in "non original condition" I'd be banned. I have a similar story, they "delivered" when I was out, hidden behind a wall in my garden when I found the package two days later, the expensive books had been ruined by the rain I explained to their CS, they issued the return authorisation then after they received the return they threatened me for not returning in "original condition" I was a customer since the early 2000s, a prime member since it started, with something like 2 returns total in that time, with tens of thousands of spending (to this exact address) I deleted my account
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
mlrtime 1y ago
>They told me the previous CSR had lied to improve ratings This was over chat? You have the transcript? I find it hard to believe they would say this. Amazon CSR have a very strict script they have to go by. But they do lie, get everything in writing.
- dwedge 1y ago
  Transcript doesn't get emailed out. I have screenshot but realistically who is going to care?
gniv 1y ago
My refund experience on Amazon (France) has been the best I've ever had. Just a wizard that led me through about 6 questions, at the end of which it said your refund is approved. Took about 5 minutes, all automated.

by dwedge 1y ago

decremental 1y ago

[dead]

madaxe_again 1y ago

Yeah - I think they’ve put a big focus on reducing returns over the last year. I bought a Quest 3 last year. One of the controllers totally packed in within half an hour - thumb stick permanently locked to full. Wanted to do an RMA. Amazon told me to go hang, said I couldn’t return used goods, it would have to be unused in the box, and that I should contact meta. I contacted meta, who told me to go hang, as they don’t officially support Portugal, which is where Amazon Spain happily shipped it. So it’s just sat in a box gathering dust since, and I now avoid using Amazon whenever possible. I had already ditched meta so frankly I should have known that I was going to step on a rake.

monegator 1y ago
> Amazon told me to go hang, said I couldn’t return used goods I don't buy it. Don't we have actual consumer protection laws here in europe? We can return anything we bought online in 14 days time, full refund, no questions asked.
- madaxe_again 1y ago
  That’s the law, yeah - and if the goods are faulty it’s actually up to two years. But this is Amazon - they don’t need to follow consumer protection laws - I think their specific get out is that they’re Amazon Spain, and I’m having stuff shipped to Portugal, and Spanish consumer protection regs (which implement the EU regs) only protect consumers in Spain. That was meta’s get-out, too.
  - thaumasiotes 1y ago
    > But this is Amazon - they don’t need to follow consumer protection laws No one needs to follow consumer protection laws if you don't sue to make them.
    - madaxe_again 1y ago
      Yeah, I’m not spending hundreds of thousands of euro on legal fees to fight a trillion dollar company over a €300 piece of crud. That’s part of their calculus, too.
      - b112 1y ago
        You don't have small claims court? Here in Canada, it's $150 to register, you fill out the form yourself, no lawyers are allowed, and you argue your case in front of a judge. (A company can have someone represent them, but if it's a lawyer, they must also have a rep. from the company there. and there can be no legalise, and the judge must explain anything to you if you ask) There is no forced discoverability. EG, the other side cannot ask for all sorts of documents. You just include your evidence in the filing. There is no ability for the company you sue, to compel costs if you lose. For $150 you get a lot of joy out of hassling a company behaving like this. And amusingly, they still consult lawyers, and spend on a lot on lawyers. They can't be used in court, but they of course as a company consult legal experts. I napkin mathed it, the one time I sued a company. I figured it cost them $25,000 to defend when I spent $150. If even a small percentage of people take them to task for breaking the law, they'll turn around quick. Always use your enemies strengths as a weakness against them. You should look at the process, but view if from the perspective of a hobby.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]

OutOfHere 1y ago

CSRs lying has been a serious problem at Amazon and it's astonishing that Amazon hasn't duly addressed it.

pfexec 1y ago
[flagged]
- harvey9 1y ago
  Anyone who needs that job to pay their rent is going to follow the script the company gives them.
  - pfexec 1y ago
    Well they must give the stateside CSRs a different script because whenever I win the lottery and get an American on the phone it's a night and day difference. Notably they seem capable of solving complex problems without lying or smoke and mirrors. An actual example, I recently had an issue that while straightforward and not that difficult to solve, was likely "off script". After being handed off between 4 different chat agents, and subsequent phone calls with two different Indians (who lied and made promises that weren't kept), my problem was not solved. At my wits end (and nearly 2.5 hours of my time wasted) I called back one more time. Inexplicably, I got a lady with a Southern accent. She solved my problem in under 10 minutes (and that included the approval she had to get from her supervisor).
bornfreddy 1y ago
I don't think there even is a problem, from Amazon's point of view. CSRs can't tell you the truth ("we will try to avoid refunding you or will delay it as much as possible"), they can't stay quiet (because then delaying won't be as efficient) and they can't blame the company (because... well, they can't). So lying is basically all they can do.
- OutOfHere 1y ago
  They should speak the truth, citing the Amazon policy on the matter, and provide the path for escalation. As it stands, I will vote negatively for any CSR interaction that doesn't resolve my issue immediately while the conversation is still active, irrespective of whether they say they have addressed it.

tacker2000 1y ago

The moment amazon.de turns into this, im gone. The only thing keeping me there is the no-nonsense, helpful, customer support. Any issues i have are always resolved, so it still seems to be working over here.

bornfreddy 1y ago
Being subject to german laws sure helps there.
- mschuster91 1y ago
  ... and not just the law but consumer protection agencies. The Verbraucherschutz does not mess around - break the law strategically and you will get banged up hard.
- bschwarz 1y ago
  Amazon.de customer service has consistently been much better than anything else in Germany, so it's probably not the law.
  - spwa4 1y ago
    It's "loss leader", selling under the price to make your competitors go bankrupt, then use monopoly power. It's illegal under German law, EU law, and I'm sure it's also explicitly called out as illegal in at least 5 trade treaties Germany signed. Needless to say, like everything in the EU, it's only enforced against local companies, in this case German ones.
    - mlrtime 1y ago
      Or, it's easier for Amazon to have a consistent customer experience everywhere in the world. But that would make too much sense?
      - spwa4 1y ago
        Yep, I'm sure it's the brilliance of Amazon and not the same old trick of creating a monopoly then exploiting it that people have been using since the early middle ages and regularly outlawed because it destroys economies. Say ... what was Amazon's initial reason for success? Being cheaper by exploiting the interstate commerce clause to avoid paying sales tax when it's competitors weren't allowed to do so? You don't say. Amazon is famous for losing money on their delivery business (up until recently)? It's constantly repeated in 10+ years of their financial statements ... So either Amazon has completely changed tactics and become truly brilliant and we still don't understand the plan ... or they're up to their old tricks, being slightly cheaper, now with less legality!

mykowebhn 1y ago

How did you even tell them that they sent the wrong book? When an item I ordered is delivered as the wrong item or when it never arrives, I can only select from a list of items in order to inform them about the bad delivery and none of the items lists "item never arrived" or "wrong item arrived". And there is no other way to complain about the delivery/item--no help chat, no email I can contact.

dwedge 1y ago
Off the top of my head I can't remember but something like I need help with an order, then click "something else" or ask the automated chat to put you through to someone.
OJFord 1y ago
One of the return options is 'item did not arrive'. You can also select 'I need help with another issue' or something like that, and either chat with support and explain or request a call. (At least, in the UK. Like sibling comment to yours it's the amazing support and returns that makes me shop at Amazon (.de in their case) - I don't recognise the disaster described elsewhere in thread and I probably wouldn't shops there!)
- b112 1y ago
  In Canada .ca site at least, it's getting harder and harder to even find how to get help. To get to chat, there are maybe 20 clicks to do. It's a series of menus and the wrong answer at any point leads you back to the prior purchases page. If you finally get to 'chat', it's a terrible AI which never helps. If you respond incorrectly, AI closes the chat or gives dead end answers. Only after all of this, do you finally have the opportunity to chat to a person. Often this person has a poor command of the english language too. I just call now. They've literally made it so calling is 1000x easier. Amazon is just hilariously, horribly managed these days.
  - beloch 1y ago
    I boycotted Amazon in January because of you-know-who and Bezo's swift and utter obeisance to him. It's surprisingly easy to go back to the old ways of waiting a little while for shipments if you're capable of planning ahead. (Speaking of which, it might be time for those of us who are post-Amazon to start thinking about our Christmas shopping.) Unlike the author of the article, I don't believe it's possible to fix Amazon. He's talking about regulations as a remedy, but the U.S. is not likely to pass such regulations any time soon. The U.S. government is far more likely to threaten other nations for imposing such regulations or taxes on American companies operating in their jurisdictions. We saw this very thing happen when Canada was forced to delete its digital services tax. If you don't think Amazon is delivering good value for your money, stop giving Amazon your money. Even though there is no direct competition for delivering Chinese junk to your doorstep overnight, stop giving Amazon your money. "Good, fast, cheap. Pick two." Amazon promised us all three, but failed to deliver just like all the rest.

qurashee 1y ago

I recently had a similar experience with Amazon. I bought a pair of AirPods but didn’t like them, so I returned them the next day. Amazon confirmed they’d received the package, but when the estimated refund date passed, I got a message saying they needed more information. When I contacted customer service, they told me I had to send them a copy of my ID to process the refund. I was really frustrated; I’ve had this account for over 20 years and never had any issues before. I spoke with several representatives, but they all gave me the same response, and a few were even rude and aggressive, something I’d never experienced with Amazon before. Since I didn’t want to share my ID, I decided to go through my credit card provider (Visa) instead and filed a claim. Visa refunded my money, but shortly after, I got an email from Amazon asking why I’d raised a Section 75 claim (the UK’s credit card protection scheme) and informing me that my account would be closed for fraudulent activity. I replied with proof that they had received my return and never issued a refund. That was the last I ever heard from them, and the last time I bought anything from Amazon.

YokoZar 1y ago
> I’ve had this account for over 20 years and never had any issues before. "Aged" accounts are a thing you can buy on the black market, as well as hacked accounts of users with long chains of legitimate activity. It's not as strong of an anti-fraud signal as you might think.
- vdfs 1y ago
  But 20 years of regular purchases to the same address(es) is easy for them to verify
  - qcnguy 1y ago
    Yes but so what? All that proves is the account is aged. It doesn't prove it's not been taken over or sold. People move pretty regularly or order things for friends/family, a change of address doesn't mean anything.
    - 1y ago

Symbiote 1y ago

> Another time Why is there another time? I don't understand why someone would continue purchasing from a shop after the first experience.

dwedge 1y ago
They are in reverse chronological order. I only buy cheap crap from them now, like Ethernet cables, sd cards, books. Never anything over $20 and I never will
bluebarbet 1y ago
Because it's still better than the alternatives. I recently ordered a small item from a specialist retailer. Payment by Paypal was easy enough (ethically questionable, yes, but faffing about with credit cards on the internet in 2025 is just a complete PITA not to mention insecure). But the delivery was a nightmare. It took weeks, to the point that I needed to change the delivery address. But customer service turned out to be an AI bot which ignored everything I wrote while confidently reassuring me that it had understood and was acting on it. In the end I had to cancel the whole purchase. A terrible experience, alas worse than anything I've ever had from the evil monopolist of Seattle.
danaris 1y ago
Amazon has so dominated online retail that there are many vendors that only sell through them. So if you want a certain item, your options are, if you're lucky, find a physical retail store that sells the item, or order it from Amazon. If you're not very lucky, they don't sell in retail stores, only online. Only on Amazon. My family has vastly reduced our purchases from Amazon over the past several months, but there are still some things that we basically don't have a choice in, especially given that we live in a rural area without ready access to many physical retail stores.

svelle 1y ago

> Another time I bought a Samsung Fold and it cracked down the middle. I told Amazon and they said they'll refund it under warranty. I sent it back and got a warning that if I return anything else in "non original condition" I'd be banned. Even though it was a warranty return. I once ordered a new pair of Jeans, expensive ones because I wanted them to last, from Amazon and got an obviously used and ripped pair sent to me. I sent it back, noted that in my reason for sending it back only to receive an email from them with the same sentiment as you got. Luckily I kept all the receipts (figuratively) and took a lot of photos and screenshots. Reaching out to support they apologized profusely to me but still it left a very bad taste in my mouth and I'm sure it'll happen again sometime in the future.

ffsm8 1y ago
Why would you go back to buy from their shop of you're sure it'll happen again? It's not like Amazon is an actual monopoly for clothing.
- rickydroll 1y ago
  I keep going back to Amazon, even though I've been burned occasionally, because the retail shopping experience is that more horrible. In the context of buying jeans (or really anything), if I go to a retail store, it's a multi-hour, multi-store event that usually leaves me empty-handed. My solution to that was to go directly to Levi's with the model and size of the last pair that fit, and buy a few pairs of them. I recently went back to buy to restock my supply of jeans, only to find that the style that fits has been discontinued—yet another form of enshitification.

ivape 1y ago

That level of service is for on-boarding customers. Sounds crazy, but they had a multi year on-boarding plan. We are now on-boarded, so why would they keep funding an on-boarding program that accepts any and all returns? The on-boarding process was complete awhile ago. Retention is the next program they’ll have to initiate, but no reason to finance this now as there are no competitors just yet. Listen, when it was said that corporations are amoral and sociopathic, it was not a joke.

grues-dinner 1y ago

> They told me the previous CSR had lied to improve ratings. If anything it feels like the second CSR who actually told you the truth was acting more in defiance of the system than the first one.

StopDisinfo910 1y ago

I stopped buying anything significant from Amazon three years ago when I realised I was spending more time trying to understand where my packets allegedly delivered to a neighbour actually were than it would have taken me to just go buy the damn thing in a store. And that’s in Europe. The research is also completely useless nowadays. 90% of what you find is just people reselling stuff they bought on AliExpress and reviews are all fake.

blibble 1y ago

> I sent it back and got a warning that if I return anything else in "non original condition" I'd be banned. I have a similar story, they "delivered" when I was out, hidden behind a wall in my garden when I found the package two days later, the expensive books had been ruined by the rain I explained to their CS, they issued the return authorisation then after they received the return they threatened me for not returning in "original condition" I was a customer since the early 2000s, a prime member since it started, with something like 2 returns total in that time, with tens of thousands of spending (to this exact address) I deleted my account

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

mlrtime 1y ago

>They told me the previous CSR had lied to improve ratings This was over chat? You have the transcript? I find it hard to believe they would say this. Amazon CSR have a very strict script they have to go by. But they do lie, get everything in writing.

dwedge 1y ago
Transcript doesn't get emailed out. I have screenshot but realistically who is going to care?

gniv 1y ago

My refund experience on Amazon (France) has been the best I've ever had. Just a wizard that led me through about 6 questions, at the end of which it said your refund is approved. Took about 5 minutes, all automated.