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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 rea

by 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
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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.
  - berberous 11y ago
    I think you are falling victim to an admittedly sub-par UI rather than false advertising. If they clearly indicated that an item was not 2-day eligible and you clicked through too fast to notice or somehow ended up on a non-Amazon seller, that's really not false advertising. I also order a ton, and have never had such an issue. (I have shipped items to the wrong address, however, since like you it can become a habit not to read the order checkout carefully.)
    - joshstrange 11y ago
      I've have the same issue as maratd where on the product page it has said: * Prime * "Want it $DayOfWeek, $Month $Day? Order within XX hrs XX mins and choose..." where "$DayOfWeek, $Month $Day" is 2 days away and I've bought it and it didn't show up until 4,5,6,7 days later. Same thing with the email. It's not "sub-par UI" it's very clearly designed to make you think... no fuck that, it's not just "thinking" they TELL YOU when you will get it and even give you a countdown to "lock in". It's not even deserving of "shitty UI" if they can't honor that text they shouldn't show it. Period. You can't lie on your product page then turn around and point to emails no one reads confirming my purchase. I buy prime because I know it will get here within 2 days and if I can wait (which I normally can) then waiting is worth not having to deal with more shit traffic and going to the store. If it's not going to be here in 2 days I need that in FLASHING RED LETTERS, sometimes I will still be fine. Sometimes, like when it's medicine, I need to know it's not coming when I expect it. I've had times I've ordered something with the text from above, it not showed up after 2 days and then Amazon telling me it won't be here for another 3-4 days when ON THEIR WEBSITE it still say's "Want it $nowPlus2Days? Order within...". That's bullshit. All of that said I love Amazon and this inconvenience is minor compared to the value they provide. I just wish they would be a little more honest on the product page. They KNOW this is happening but are choosing to do nothing about it, that really disappoints me. I expected better from Amazon.
seany 11y ago
I had this happen just recently. I had actually clicked the box for 1 day shipment, and it got kicked back to ground. It ended up only showing up 2 days late ( monday instead of saturday), but it was still annoying.
varikin 11y ago
> They now have warehouses located within 1 day ground shipping distance of everywhere in the continental US. Amazon does not have a warehouse within 1 day ground shipping of me in Minneapolis, MN. I think the closest is Indiana which is 2 day ground shipping. There is a lot of the continental US that is not New York or California. Amazon still has more work to do cover all of if they want 1 day shipping everywhere. Now, they are planning on building a warehouse about 90 minutes of the Twin Cities so we will be within 1 day shipping in a couple years, but how many other metropolitan areas are outside of 1 day? Here is nice little map from UPS to figure out shipping times. If you put in 55414 as the zip code (Minneapolis), UPS only considers Minnesota and Wisconsin as 1 day. Hell, If I am reading these maps right, Chicago is just at the border of 1 day and 2 day ground shipping from Indiana, the closest warehouse. http://www.ups.com/maps?srch_pos=1&srch_phr=time+in+transit+map http://www.ups.com/maps?srch_pos=1&srch_phr=time+in+transit+...
- kw71 11y ago
  They can also line-haul trucks from the warehouse to a UPS hub every evening to extend their "one day delivery" reach. McMaster-Carr is one distributor that has been doing this successfully for years. I think that Amazon is already doing some transportation, some of my purchases during the last winter holiday came from the west coast but did not appear at UPS until Kentucky.
DenisM 11y ago
I see the opposite from Amazon - some stuff ends up being shipped to me across the entire country in giant boxes, clearly at a loss, just to make the 2-day deadline. Only couple of times, I think, the packages got held up for weather or errors, and I just sent them back without a hitch (they were too late to be useful).

by maratd 11y ago

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.
- berberous 11y ago
  I think you are falling victim to an admittedly sub-par UI rather than false advertising. If they clearly indicated that an item was not 2-day eligible and you clicked through too fast to notice or somehow ended up on a non-Amazon seller, that's really not false advertising. I also order a ton, and have never had such an issue. (I have shipped items to the wrong address, however, since like you it can become a habit not to read the order checkout carefully.)
  - joshstrange 11y ago
    I've have the same issue as maratd where on the product page it has said: * Prime * "Want it $DayOfWeek, $Month $Day? Order within XX hrs XX mins and choose..." where "$DayOfWeek, $Month $Day" is 2 days away and I've bought it and it didn't show up until 4,5,6,7 days later. Same thing with the email. It's not "sub-par UI" it's very clearly designed to make you think... no fuck that, it's not just "thinking" they TELL YOU when you will get it and even give you a countdown to "lock in". It's not even deserving of "shitty UI" if they can't honor that text they shouldn't show it. Period. You can't lie on your product page then turn around and point to emails no one reads confirming my purchase. I buy prime because I know it will get here within 2 days and if I can wait (which I normally can) then waiting is worth not having to deal with more shit traffic and going to the store. If it's not going to be here in 2 days I need that in FLASHING RED LETTERS, sometimes I will still be fine. Sometimes, like when it's medicine, I need to know it's not coming when I expect it. I've had times I've ordered something with the text from above, it not showed up after 2 days and then Amazon telling me it won't be here for another 3-4 days when ON THEIR WEBSITE it still say's "Want it $nowPlus2Days? Order within...". That's bullshit. All of that said I love Amazon and this inconvenience is minor compared to the value they provide. I just wish they would be a little more honest on the product page. They KNOW this is happening but are choosing to do nothing about it, that really disappoints me. I expected better from Amazon.

seany 11y ago

I had this happen just recently. I had actually clicked the box for 1 day shipment, and it got kicked back to ground. It ended up only showing up 2 days late ( monday instead of saturday), but it was still annoying.

varikin 11y ago

> They now have warehouses located within 1 day ground shipping distance of everywhere in the continental US. Amazon does not have a warehouse within 1 day ground shipping of me in Minneapolis, MN. I think the closest is Indiana which is 2 day ground shipping. There is a lot of the continental US that is not New York or California. Amazon still has more work to do cover all of if they want 1 day shipping everywhere. Now, they are planning on building a warehouse about 90 minutes of the Twin Cities so we will be within 1 day shipping in a couple years, but how many other metropolitan areas are outside of 1 day? Here is nice little map from UPS to figure out shipping times. If you put in 55414 as the zip code (Minneapolis), UPS only considers Minnesota and Wisconsin as 1 day. Hell, If I am reading these maps right, Chicago is just at the border of 1 day and 2 day ground shipping from Indiana, the closest warehouse. http://www.ups.com/maps?srch_pos=1&srch_phr=time+in+transit+map http://www.ups.com/maps?srch_pos=1&srch_phr=time+in+transit+...

kw71 11y ago
They can also line-haul trucks from the warehouse to a UPS hub every evening to extend their "one day delivery" reach. McMaster-Carr is one distributor that has been doing this successfully for years. I think that Amazon is already doing some transportation, some of my purchases during the last winter holiday came from the west coast but did not appear at UPS until Kentucky.

DenisM 11y ago

I see the opposite from Amazon - some stuff ends up being shipped to me across the entire country in giant boxes, clearly at a loss, just to make the 2-day deadline. Only couple of times, I think, the packages got held up for weather or errors, and I just sent them back without a hitch (they were too late to be useful).