5 ms·

This is anecdotal and not 100% related, but I had Prime for awhile for the fast shipments. When I signed up, Prime was substantially faster than the average st

by daenz 11y ago

This is anecdotal and not 100% related, but I had Prime for awhile for the fast shipments. When I signed up, Prime was substantially faster than the average standard ship times. When the cost of Prime went up, I cancelled because it wasn't worth it to me anymore. However, I noticed my stuff was still arriving fast. It wasn't marked as "Prime", and it wasn't guaranteed 2-day delivery, but it was much faster than I remember the average standard shipping to be. I am wondering if the Prime shipping infrastructure is the cause of this...everything is faster now, and it would cost money to artificially slow non-Prime shipments down, so they get the ancillary benefit of Prime-ish speed.

maxxxxx 11y ago
I experienced the opposite last year. after cancelling Prime my shipments became extremely slow.
- thomnottom 11y ago
  Same here. And it's not a matter of the actual shipping taking longer. I noticed that once I stopped subscribing to Prime, my orders would wait a few days to a week before shipping and then get to me the next day. It feels like, since I'm so close to a distribution center they can only make Prime worth my while by sitting on the packages longer unless I pay them. And probably the only time I paid extra to have something next day they botched it.
  - maxxxxx 11y ago
    That's right. The shipping itself was fast but orders would just sit for days and sometimes weeks before being shipped.
maratd 11y ago
Prime really doesn't have anything to do with 2-day delivery. They wouldn't be able to afford to ship everything by air for free. The advantage of Prime is really that you can have everything shipped for free without worrying about minimums. Well that and all the other perks, like streaming video, photos, etc. They now have warehouses located within 1 day ground shipping distance of everywhere in the continental US. It's not that hard, I doubt they need more than a dozen locations. That said, and I have run into this, if your item isn't commonly ordered and is in one of the warehouses that isn't close to you ... they will adjust the delivery date and still ship it to you over Ground. I have called to complain and they said that Prime 2 Day guarantee only applies to Prime items that are geographically close to you. If it it's a Prime item and for whatever reason it has to travel pretty far to you, no 2 day delivery. I've had items arrive a week after order and they still considered that OK and quoted some legalese. Now, this happens rarely, but it does happen.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- chrisper 11y ago
  Amazon also has their own delivery service in some areas. Some of the shipments I ordered come with AMZN_ML or so.
- mikeash 11y ago
  Amazon heavily talks up the two-day shipping speed of Prime: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201118070 http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=2... There's nothing in there about it being different if it's not close to you. The only exception to "two days" is the typical "it's business days, not actual days" exception, and an exception for stuff that can't be sent right away. If they are indeed behaving as you say then it's a flat-out lie. The advantage of Prime is, as stated, that you can have everything shipped for free without worrying about minimums and get it fast.
  - maratd 11y ago
    From the page you linked, the very first note. Click that link. Here it is: http://smile.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201118050 http://smile.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId... The first line is very important: "Items sold by Amazon.com that are marked on the product page and at checkout." Emphasis mine. As an example, I ordered a Logitech Mouse. The item was listed as Prime. It was shown in stock. It showed a guaranteed delivery date within 2 days in the item page. I simply ordered and didn't pay attention to anything else. It showed up a week later. When I called, it was pointed out to me that the "guaranteed delivery date" that matters is NOT on the item page. It's on the checkout page and those emails they send you after you order. They were correct, the email I got said a week later ... of course, I didn't pay attention, because most things come in 2 days and the item page did say it'll come within 2 days time before I ordered. Is that false advertising? Sure. I forgive them. I've also ordered Prime items that were listed in stock and had a guaranteed delivery date on the item page, but then mysteriously went out of stock later and simply weren't shipped at all. I order a lot. Maybe 2-3 items every week. This has happened only a few times. With the breadth of their operations, these hiccups are understandable. I did manage to get a few 10 dollar credits once in a while, but sometimes they just refuse to own up to it and tell you to get lost.
bobbles 11y ago
Amazon US gets stuff to me in Aus faster than most australian online retailers.. theyve really sorted their shit out
matmann2001 11y ago
They're definitely way faster now. The last time I ordered a non-Prime item, the estimated delivery time was 7-10 days shipping from an Amazon warehouse somewhere. Following the tracking information, it looked like they just delayed the processing for 7 days. Because the package was transferred to UPS 7 days after I placed the order, and it arrived at my door in less than 2 days after that.

by daenz 11y ago

maxxxxx 11y ago

I experienced the opposite last year. after cancelling Prime my shipments became extremely slow.

thomnottom 11y ago
Same here. And it's not a matter of the actual shipping taking longer. I noticed that once I stopped subscribing to Prime, my orders would wait a few days to a week before shipping and then get to me the next day. It feels like, since I'm so close to a distribution center they can only make Prime worth my while by sitting on the packages longer unless I pay them. And probably the only time I paid extra to have something next day they botched it.
- maxxxxx 11y ago
  That's right. The shipping itself was fast but orders would just sit for days and sometimes weeks before being shipped.

maratd 11y ago

Prime really doesn't have anything to do with 2-day delivery. They wouldn't be able to afford to ship everything by air for free. The advantage of Prime is really that you can have everything shipped for free without worrying about minimums. Well that and all the other perks, like streaming video, photos, etc. They now have warehouses located within 1 day ground shipping distance of everywhere in the continental US. It's not that hard, I doubt they need more than a dozen locations. That said, and I have run into this, if your item isn't commonly ordered and is in one of the warehouses that isn't close to you ... they will adjust the delivery date and still ship it to you over Ground. I have called to complain and they said that Prime 2 Day guarantee only applies to Prime items that are geographically close to you. If it it's a Prime item and for whatever reason it has to travel pretty far to you, no 2 day delivery. I've had items arrive a week after order and they still considered that OK and quoted some legalese. Now, this happens rarely, but it does happen.

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
chrisper 11y ago
Amazon also has their own delivery service in some areas. Some of the shipments I ordered come with AMZN_ML or so.
mikeash 11y ago
Amazon heavily talks up the two-day shipping speed of Prime: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201118070 http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=2... There's nothing in there about it being different if it's not close to you. The only exception to "two days" is the typical "it's business days, not actual days" exception, and an exception for stuff that can't be sent right away. If they are indeed behaving as you say then it's a flat-out lie. The advantage of Prime is, as stated, that you can have everything shipped for free without worrying about minimums and get it fast.
- maratd 11y ago
  From the page you linked, the very first note. Click that link. Here it is: http://smile.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201118050 http://smile.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId... The first line is very important: "Items sold by Amazon.com that are marked on the product page and at checkout." Emphasis mine. As an example, I ordered a Logitech Mouse. The item was listed as Prime. It was shown in stock. It showed a guaranteed delivery date within 2 days in the item page. I simply ordered and didn't pay attention to anything else. It showed up a week later. When I called, it was pointed out to me that the "guaranteed delivery date" that matters is NOT on the item page. It's on the checkout page and those emails they send you after you order. They were correct, the email I got said a week later ... of course, I didn't pay attention, because most things come in 2 days and the item page did say it'll come within 2 days time before I ordered. Is that false advertising? Sure. I forgive them. I've also ordered Prime items that were listed in stock and had a guaranteed delivery date on the item page, but then mysteriously went out of stock later and simply weren't shipped at all. I order a lot. Maybe 2-3 items every week. This has happened only a few times. With the breadth of their operations, these hiccups are understandable. I did manage to get a few 10 dollar credits once in a while, but sometimes they just refuse to own up to it and tell you to get lost.

bobbles 11y ago

Amazon US gets stuff to me in Aus faster than most australian online retailers.. theyve really sorted their shit out

matmann2001 11y ago

They're definitely way faster now. The last time I ordered a non-Prime item, the estimated delivery time was 7-10 days shipping from an Amazon warehouse somewhere. Following the tracking information, it looked like they just delayed the processing for 7 days. Because the package was transferred to UPS 7 days after I placed the order, and it arrived at my door in less than 2 days after that.