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Amazon Doubles Deliveries in 2016 For Third-Party Sellers (reuters.com)
Amazon.com shipped 50 percent more items this holiday season than last for third-party vendors and doubled the amount for 2016 overall, the retail giant said on Wednesday. From a report on Reuters: Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, has said the 2016 holiday was its best-ever shopping season. However, high spending on warehouses and video production are expected to drag on profits. More sellers are paying the company to store, pack and ship their goods through the Fulfillment by Amazon service. Amazon more than doubled the items it delivered for other sellers in 2016 from the year prior to exceed two billion, a spokesman said.
I abandoned Amazon for Xmas shopping this year after I got an order (hard drive related) delayed and then outright cancelled last month. I hadn't seen that yet.
Getting sick of having to sort through what is and isn't sold by amazon anymore. If I wanted to deal with some shady 3rd party, I'd be going to their store or their website. Also if you enjoy that experience, let me introduce you to Ebay or one of the many other websites that allows you to buy things from people or 'businesses'.
A 50 percent increase is not even close to doubling deliveries...
They're skimping on service and it's showing.
From third-party-sellers begging for reviews.
How does a company born on the internet have such contempt for developers and IT workers?
Yes, I often stop shopping at the most convenient location after a single issue. I also refuse to drink my coffee is not exactly 125 degrees when it is served. When puppies lose their cuteness I abandon them in the woods.
I am the most unreasonable man in the world.
Getting sick of having to sort through what is and isn't sold by amazon anymore.
If you are a prime member you just look for items labeled prime. That means Amazon stocks and ship it. Whether they are the ones actually selling it makes no difference at that point. It might not actually be Amazon owned inventory but it becomes a distinction without a difference.
If I wanted to deal with some shady 3rd party, I'd be going to their store or their website.
I've bought plenty of stuff from third parties through Amazon without any problems. On the rare occasions when there has been an issue Amazon has taken care of it no questions asked every single time. Last year I had about 150 deliveries from Amazon and maybe 30-40 of those were third party purchases. Sometimes the shipping took some extra time but I didn't have a single problem otherwise.
Also if you enjoy that experience, let me introduce you to Ebay...
The shopping experience on Amazon is NOTHING like eBay. I used to make my living selling stuff on eBay so I know better than most. I shop a lot on Amazon because they make it pretty much the least painful shopping experience I've ever had. Prices are (usually) decent, deliver is quick, most things are available, ordering is easy and returns (if necessary) are painless.
>> stop shopping at the most convenient location
In the world of ecommerce, there are a lot of others as convenient as Amazon (and some more) And yes, I get spooked by online shops that can't deliver my order (after promising "in stock" on their site), even if they are the 900-pound gorilla. I think we're all looking for the moment when Amazon jumps the shark and starts becoming Sears.
Amazon shipped 50% more counterfeit goods this year compared to last year.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
I try to let amazon know every time I possibly can with feedback. The 3rd party seller "please rate me with a positive review" email spam is awful. I'm about to stop buying online and buying at brick and mortar stores again -- why? because when I buy a stick on deodorant at Target, no one asks me to post a review. If I really really like something (or hate it), I'll find my way online and post a review if I so desire. That is how amazon (3rd party or not) should operate.
Amazon is a cesspool. For many products, you can't tell what you're ordering or what you'll be receiving. Example: I needed to buy a slightly non-standard air filter. Hey, Amazon has it... except they lump together 20 different suppliers. And the item description and pictures says it's OEM it's clear from the comments that most of them are made by a different company (that's fine, but label and price them correctly) or are chinese knockoffs.
There's way, way too much fake merchandise on Amazon. I'm at the point where I won't buy anything unless it says it's sold by Amazon.
At least if it's fulfilled by Amazon you know you should get a hassle free return, but most of that Chinese fake garbage you're going to have to pay to return yourself and it's going to be a hassle. Not worth it.
Talk about throwing the baby out with the bath water...
Seriously, you clicked a few buttons and because stuff didn't magically show up on your doorstep you get all bent out of shape. Did you ever try to work things out with the seller or even with Amazon themselves or did you just decide to go nuclear immediately?
Reminds me of the Futurama where Bender and Fry are sitting on the couch watching TV and the automated beer pouring device misses Bender's mouth by an inch. "What is this? The dark ages?!"
My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
>> stop shopping at the most convenient location
In the world of ecommerce, there are a lot of others as convenient as Amazon (and some more) And yes, I get spooked by online shops that can't deliver my order (after promising "in stock" on their site), even if they are the 900-pound gorilla. I think we're all looking for the moment when Amazon jumps the shark and starts becoming Sears.
In regards to third parties, Amazon are not like a retailer and more like a shopping centre. So the correct analogy is becoming like Westfield (buying up all the retail space near their shopping centres then leasing it out for insane rates)
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
I think we're all looking for the moment when Amazon jumps the shark and starts becoming Sears.
Not me, so no.
It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
So, you read them after the fact ...
It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
Great, so we can look forward to more great Amazon sellers like this guy. Don't worry though, Amazon will refund the money of the dozens of people affected (after an investigation and after your funds have been held up for possibly months depending on when you figure out the seller is fraudulent).
The best part is where they still need to "investigate" each case even though dozens of people have the same issue, and there's even a fricking Reddit thread about the scammy seller.
When you sell stuff on Amazon as a third party they have a rule that if you dont ship it within a certain time(15 days if I remember correctly) they cancel the order. Happens regularly at me work when we have something on backorder.
To be fair, it's his first order.
Which means he used "free shipping". And given Amazon of late, that really is a mistake.
If you're not a Prime member, this is how Amazon free shipping works now. You place your order, and select free shipping. Amazon then waits 7-10 days on your order (not Prime). Then they check again to see if your item is in stock, and if they can sell it to you (i.e., it didn't turn prime-only, and the price is what they're willing to sell you). If so, great, it's then packed and shipped to you. If not, then it's aborted and your order is cancelled (potentially).
Amazon really has become like Costco and is really a member's shopping club. The only difference is they let you browse and potentially may sell non-members stuff.
>Amazon is a cesspool.
They sent me 5 Insteon switches yesterday when I ordered and paid for 4. A rare screw up in my favour.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
I live in Toronto, Canada, their warehouse is in a sister city. I don't think this is how it works out here, maybe amazon.ca has different operating guidelines compared to amazon.com. I always choose free shipping and the order is at my door the very next day. I am not a Prime member.
Third party sellers don't charge me sales tax.
And before you mention that I'm starving the state of money, note that I've already paid $1800 in sales tax for 2016 (FL 6%). Pretty sure that's more than average.
In Amazon's defense (not really), as a Prime member, they usually wait one day after receiving my order and then ship it one-day, so it's not just non-Prime members they pull that BS on.
There's way, way too much fake merchandise on Amazon. I'm at the point where I won't buy anything unless it says it's sold by Amazon.
I know that Amazon are apparently binning different third party suppliers' stock together. That in itself means that goods sold by those companies but "fulfilled by Amazon" are completely untrustworthy, regardless of supplier. The obvious reason being that regardless who you (nominally) buy them from, you'll have no idea which third party the stock *actually* used to fulfil the order belonged to. Given Amazon's growing notoriety for blatant counterfeiting amongst third party suppliers, this obviously makes "fulfilled by Amazon" worthless if you're at all concerned by fakes or quality.
This- ironically- means it makes more sense to buy from suppliers who *don't* "fulfil by Amazon".
What concerns me are rumours that Amazon are even binning "their" goods (i.e. those "sold by Amazon") with these third-party-supplied items. In which case you could think you're buying something sourced and sold by Amazon *themselves*, but still end up with something supplied by the same random, utterly untrustworthy third party!
I have to admit that despite having been trying to reduce the amount of things I've bought on Amazon for several years now, since their dubious tax and employment practices came to light- I had to admit that I've still bought from them on occasion- not least because they *are* (or were) good at what they do. Convenient and reliable.
However, with the increasing level of nonsense like the above, even that appears to be going down the tubes. It's enough of a PITA to differentiate who you're buying from- which may well be their intent anyway- but the nonsense with Prime seems like it has the potential to really start playing silly buggers with their own service.
I was seriously pissed off on principle when I first saw goods- which had previously been on general sale- described as being "for Prime customers only". They went back to normal a day or two later, but this aggressive and (apparently) coercive behaviour into pushing people into paying for Prime really pissed me off.
By all means, sell the goods cheaper to people who (admittedly) have forked out £100 (or whatever) for Prime- and be open about that- but you can shove your weasellish "we're big enough to get away with this" arrogant coercion.
And no, I don't give a flying f*** about the incongruously bundled video service including that expensive show you produced with that hasn't-been-funny-in-fifteen-years right wing bellend Clarkson (never watched a whole episode of the "new" Top Gear since it launched in 2003); having that w****r and his chums plastered all over the site makes me less likely to sign up for your s****y service, particular as- by all accounts- the rest of the Prime video offerings are second rate tat designed to get you to pay for the non-free ones.
I've been using Amazon since late 1998, literally just months after they took over bookpages.co.uk (and probably just a few weeks after they actually started trading as Amazon.co.uk). I remember being quite pleased at what I saved on the oversized Windows 98 book I bought then, but to be honest, a lot of the other stuff wasn't that massively cheaper in the early days. However, it had a wide selection and was very reliable. Until recently, that was still mostly the case if you knew what you were doing.
Now, if- as some are suggesting- Amazon are stooping to cancelling "free shipping" orders because the goods became "Prime only" and cheaper in the intervening time... well, along with the other Prime b******t and the risk of receiving counterfeit goods from third parties and even Amazon themselves, it really smacks of a company that's becoming too big for its boots.
"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
They do that to me all the time but on a grander scale. At least a couple of times a year I receive a case box of something I ordered one of. I just got a case lot of shampoo when I ordered one bottle.
Amazon is having a serious problem with newly launched sellers who take the money and either ship nothing or ship something insignificant. It can often take a month for things to get worked out and by then the 'seller' is already gone with the money.
And aside from fake product reviews I've seen sellers with fake seller reviews. Here is my story.
I see a "new" pc from a seller with lots of great reviews for a decent but not absurdly low price. When I get the machine, the disk drive and some other stuff are loose inside the case so I open it up and put everything back where its supposed to be, but note in the process that the disk was made in 2012. Checking the smart data, its also been on and running most of those 4 years and is starting to get the "I'm going to die soon" whine. I also see that the windows license is a gray market job and the dvd drive was made in 2010.
I contact the seller, who lets me know he's just one guy working out of his garage. He insists that the PC contained 100% brand new parts when he shipped it, and that while I'm welcome to return it at my own expense if it has any old parts in it when he receives it he's going to charge me a restocking fee to replace them. I contact Amazon who completely "ole"s it and says that since the seller offered to let me return it, that's my only recourse. So much for the A-Z guarantee.
In going back to look at the seller reviews I see thousands, generally 15-20 per day. How does one guy selling mostly used computers out of his garage acquire and ship that many every day? About 5-6 pages of seller reviews in, I realize that almost all of them are titled "5 stars" and have one word in the review text, almost always "good" or "great", never any capitalization or punctuation. What are the odds that someone selling thousands of used computers every year never have a problem or complaint?
So I wrote a bad one star seller review with just the basic facts. Amazon accepted it and it got deleted about 2 weeks later, presumably when I wouldn't still look to see if it was there.
The message to me was clear. Amazon wants to make money and anything that disrupts that is quickly dispatched. They weren't interested in fixing my problem, the seller reviews were obviously faked through some means, and as long as the balance was positive they're okay with stuff like this happening.
I'd recommend only buying from amazon as the seller and fulfillment and not to count on the product reviews. I've already had plenty of companies show me how they end run around giving people free product in exchange for a review so it looks like I was a verified purchaser.
You got to keep it with their blessing?
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Amazon is basically great if you have Prime now and sucks if you don't. Their delivery acumen and warehousing operations are nothing short of amazing in scope. A lot of the time when you pick "free two day prime shipping", they wait an entire day to ship it because it's in the warehouse a state over and they can just slap a USPS First Class mail label on it for cheap and get it to you two business days later (or same but same day for $4/next day shipping). If you don't then Amazon waits forever to pick your items and sends them from the warehouse at the other side of the country so it takes weeks to get your item.
That being said, fulfilled by Amazon is great for avoiding tax in some states and getting some third party products that are quality quickly (e.g. a third party makes some of the best USB-C/Apple Lightning cables I know of and fulfills via amazon), but it's also made buying certain things impossible because the stock gets contaminated by counterfeits. Amazon goes to Apple and buys real iPhone chargers, someone else goes to China and gets cheap counterfeits, then Amazon says "they're the same item so we can put them on the same spot on the shelf", and then you end up in a situation where 90% of "real" Apple chargers sold by Amazon are fakes. It's made buying certain items on Amazon totally not worth it. I used to get Energizer/Duracell coin cell batteries in large packs for a fraction of the price per battery you'd pay at a brick and mortar store. Now most of those are fake too (same stock contamination as the iPhone cables) and they last maybe a week or two before you throw them out. I just buy them at the store now, because counterfeits aren't worth the hassle.
There has to be a pick priority so when you order something for $4 overnight, it actually arrives the next day. That being said, it's clear that Amazon could ship items faster to Prime members. Over 50% of my orders with two day shipping end up sitting on the order for the day it's placed, shipping it the next day, and while it still arrives in two days, it could have been one day if Amazon wanted.
That's fine by me since I pay for unlimited two day and the value is getting the item within two days. But what they do with the free shipping now is pretty criminal, and I think a way to basically force people into trying Prime and getting addicted to the unlimited two day gravy train.
Amazon prime is a hard value prop depending on your household size. They used to allow you to share it with "four household members", which was anyone with an email that you knew the MM/DD birthday of (meaning you could split it four ways and get $25/person prime, even if they lived at totally different addresses). Now you can only share with one other account AND both accounts share all saved payment methods, which most people who aren't engaged/married/closely related aren't going to want. The music and video and photo backup benefits are nice but it's still a hard pricetag to swallow.
I still have it. I don't think they know. Someone picked up five instead of 4 and dropped them in the box.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
I live in Europe and this is technically embezzlement. If I were you, I'd put a bit of money aside in case they find out afterwards. Otherwise, it's a nice gift :) Note I don't care about the profits of a faceless corp, just a heads up.
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They can ask for it back. I haven't installed it yet. But if they wait too long they will need to send an electrician to remove it.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.