amazon has changed

 

disclaimer: I am a prime member, and I am a shareholder.

It seems the return policy has become very liberal, no reason needed and drop off at Kohl's or UPS Store without anything.

Yesterday, I received an auto part that was clearly opened (seal broken) and dented. hmmmmm......

Then, in the middle of the night, I got an email that I may have purchased an item that was not genuine (naively until about 3 mos ago I was not aware of the problem). They suggested I discard the item and stop using immediately.

Then it said a refund has been issued and nothing is needed on my part, they have taken action. The purchase was from 1 1/2 years ago.

I suppose at the end of the day, the stock is more important lol but it would seem the products are in decline

p.s. I had bought some items on cyber Monday, and subsequently gotten emails a lower price was offered and refunds were issued. This to me is like giving money away, why?

Keeping customers.

Keeping customers.

--
Frank DriveSmart55 37.322760, -79.511267

A drop in the bucket

A drop in the bucket compared to their profits.

--
I never get lost, but I do explore new territory every now and then.

Not Amazon

KenSny wrote:

A drop in the bucket compared to their profits.

Throughout their history, Amazon has been known for large and rapidly expanding sales, not for high profit margins. Were it not for Amazon Web Services, their overall profits would still be remarkably small, given their size.

--
personal GPS user since 1992

How times have changed

At one time the "Anti-Trust Laws would have kicked in on Amazon a long time ago. As long as Bezos is not losing money and Company is growing he is happy, look at all the things Bezos is into, News, Communication, Entertainment, all kinds of Retail and on and on.

well

I got the refund and a replacement for the auto part is on the way. My wife pointed out to me Kohl's is always slammed now huge lines for amazon returns. Great way for Kohl's to get foot traffic.

Another remarkable co. is Costco, seemingly unaffected by amazon (starting their own chicken farms for their rotisserie chickens which some surmise are sold at a loss as are the $1.50 hot dog/soda deal).

Sun. morning I said what the?! Found 4 boxes of diapers in the basement. My son is 6 y.o. so um he doesn't use diapers. 3 were sealed and one was almost empty, so net 3.

Took them to Costco. Guy had a Zebra scanner and hip printer as the line was long. Scanned the diapers and membership, printed a receipt, and with it, unfortunately we got the stuff on sale, had $90 credited back.

A guy was there with a vacuum no box, they took it back.

On my car forum this guy says he gets a free battery every 2 years for his car even though the battery is fine--nobody at the store load tests it. Me, I think that's unethical but it's a big world out there, different strokes. We have 3 cars with Costco batteries, they are excellent--the oldest is 4 y.o. and it was 29F this AM no prob.

And although amazon stock was down $50 after hours, it bounced back.

My sister ...

...recently ordered some clothes on Amazon for my niece which turned out to be too small. She as going to send them back for a larger size but was told to just keep them. We ended up giving them away to someone else.

As for Costco, yeah they're rather easy on the returns as well. Once I bought a desktop computer from them, had it for a week or so and then was shopping and saw that the model of computer I had just purchased had been replaced at the same price for a more powerful unit. They told me to bring mine back (even though it was working fine) and I could swap it out for the newer model. Rather nice of them!

Amazon Experience

My experience with Amazon is outstanding, the few times I needed to return something was a pleasant one. Several years ago I purchased a portable air conditioning unit, these units can be moved from room to room on wheels. Back then I paid over 500.00 for a 14,000 BTU unit . The thing weighed about 70 lbs. It was horrible in cooling down a room. I returned the unit and Amazon had arranged for UPS to pick up the units from my home. I was credited the full price I paid and included the UPS shipping charges. I always shop on Amazon whenever possible for the peace of mind since they stand behind the products they sell.

--
Nuvi 2460LMT 2 Units

Amazon Returns

I had a couple of issues with Christmas items I ordered and I was very pleased with the way Amazon handled them.

Travel Safe!!

btw

this was the first time we returned at Kohl's.

My wife is a stay at home mom and so she took it to Kohl's yesterday, only 2 people in line.

The process is, scan the smartphone, spit out a receipt for the return, and spit out a 25% off coupon in store.

I thought wow, genius, what a way to generate foot traffic and revenue.

Wouldn't you know just yesterday Kohl's announced their 4th quarter was poor and the amazon returns did not boost them as anticipated....

My Amazon experience has been positive

I've not experienced that personally. I've been quite happy with the ordering process, returns, and delivery with my Amazon orders recently. I had an issue with a new Alexa device and they promptly shipped another and even issued a courtesy credit for the inconvenience. Can't beat that.

Returns?

Where I live we did have two large countrywide chain stores which at the time of their demise were about 100 years in business each and which had a very liberal return policy.

I'd heard of people buying all necessary clothing for a wedding or a real fancy party etc. This type of thing applied to much other merchandise too! Then returning the items for a full refund. So the stores took the loss since none could be sold again at full prices.

Needless to say those two chains have long ago closed down.

Maybe Amazon can afford these losses, but then again I do not think Amazon owns any of the merchandise. They are just a middleman between a wholesaler and the consumer.
So now who gets hit with these losses???

--
Nuvi 2797LMT, DriveSmart 50 LMT-HD, Using Windows 10. DashCam A108C with GPS.

amazon

does own the goods. My friend runs fulfillment centers full of their stuff.

Anyway, to me it's a simple as something my uncle said, who sets up and repairs car washes. He told me, you would never want to operate a car wash, unless you own the land that it's on. In places like Long Island and Los Angeles, that's not an easy feat.

I look at amazon, as the people who do in fact "own the land" and therefore it's shooting fish in a barrel. Meaning, trying to do what we do is simply going to drain your wallet. Is there any particular reason, why'd you want to?

I mean, look at costco starting chicken farms to supply their rotisserie chicken. Unstoppable.

"fulfilled by Amazon"

While mazon does own a lot of product, it's the ones listed as "fulfilled by Amazon" they truly own. The are still a lot of third party Sellers.

That said, I've been an Amazon Prime for over 10 years. They have more than their fair share of flubs, sent wrong items, late arrivals etc, in fact if their customer services wasn't second to none I wouldn't have stayed so long. Credits, keeping wrongly sent items, fee returns, you just can't beat them. Of course having nearly anything you could possibly want helps too.

--
. 2 Garmin DriveSmart 61 LMT-S, Nuvi 2689, 2 Nuvi 2460, Zumo 550, Zumo 450, Uniden R3 radar detector with GPS built in, includes RLC info. Uconnect 430N Garmin based, built into my Jeep. .

Having everything and the cost

soberbyker wrote:

While mazon does own a lot of product, it's the ones listed as "fulfilled by Amazon" they truly own. The are still a lot of third party Sellers.

That said, I've been an Amazon Prime for over 10 years. They have more than their fair share of flubs, sent wrong items, late arrivals etc, in fact if their customer services wasn't second to none I wouldn't have stayed so long. Credits, keeping wrongly sent items, fee returns, you just can't beat them. Of course having nearly anything you could possibly want helps too.

I surf for the best cost of every item I need and most of the tine it is Amazon that has the best prices.
I am not a prime member. I wait till I have enough for free shipping before I order what I want. If I don't have enough for free shipping I just go on a shopping spree to see if there is anything I need. I can always find something I need (or want) to bring the cost up to free shipping.

--
Mary, Nuvi 2450, Garmin Viago, Honda Navigation, Nuvi 750 (gave to son)

Ditto

mgarledge wrote:

I am not a prime member. I wait till I have enough for free shipping before I order what I want. If I don't have enough for free shipping I just go on a shopping spree to see if there is anything I need. I can always find something I need (or want) to bring the cost up to free shipping.

Me too!

I knew he would get us

soberbyker wrote:

While mazon does own a lot of product, it's the ones listed as "fulfilled by Amazon" they truly own. The are still a lot of third party Sellers.

That said, I've been an Amazon Prime for over 10 years. They have more than their fair share of flubs, sent wrong items, late arrivals etc, in fact if their customer services wasn't second to none I wouldn't have stayed so long. Credits, keeping wrongly sent items, fee returns, you just can't beat them. Of course having nearly anything you could possibly want helps too.

We would have multiple free Prime trials, then after about 3 of them we caved and paid the then $99/yr. This was when my son liked Thomas the Train and the movies were all there on Prime.

Then the next year we got a year free with Verizon FiOS.

This year we'll have to pay. As much of a saver as I am, I am willing to pay it, and also for Costco. Just the gasoline savings alone makes Costco worth it--yesterday, premium (top tier) was $2.599. Regular near work is $2.519. Also, Costco has a 20 cent spread with regular at $2.379. However, DE is $2.219. NJ *****! lol

But there was a phase where amazon was not usually cheapest. It seems now they are ready to drive everyone out of business, including rock auto, who used to spank amazon on auto parts. Not today, and not free shipping, and the SD v. Wayfair took the no sales tax advantage away too.

And again, yes I own amazon stock which has underperformed last couple of years.

sick

johnnatash4 wrote:
soberbyker wrote:

While mazon does own a lot of product, it's the ones listed as "fulfilled by Amazon" they truly own. The are still a lot of third party Sellers.

That said, I've been an Amazon Prime for over 10 years. They have more than their fair share of flubs, sent wrong items, late arrivals etc, in fact if their customer services wasn't second to none I wouldn't have stayed so long. Credits, keeping wrongly sent items, fee returns, you just can't beat them. Of course having nearly anything you could possibly want helps too.

We would have multiple free Prime trials, then after about 3 of them we caved and paid the then $99/yr. This was when my son liked Thomas the Train and the movies were all there on Prime.

Then the next year we got a year free with Verizon FiOS.

This year we'll have to pay. As much of a saver as I am, I am willing to pay it, and also for Costco. Just the gasoline savings alone makes Costco worth it--yesterday, premium (top tier) was $2.599. Regular near work is $2.519. Also, Costco has a 20 cent spread with regular at $2.379. However, DE is $2.219. NJ *****! lol

But there was a phase where amazon was not usually cheapest. It seems now they are ready to drive everyone out of business, including rock auto, who used to spank amazon on auto parts. Not today, and not free shipping, and the SD v. Wayfair took the no sales tax advantage away too.

And again, yes I own amazon stock which has underperformed last couple of years.

Woe, just looking at all the spelling errors in the post of mine you quoted. In my defense I've spent the past week and a half trying to recover from the flu.

As for Amazon, I'm hooked, have been for some time. Yes, I complained when they started taking tax, but in reality according to my state law, I was suppose to pay it directly all along anyway, a use tax.

When I was a kid there was a nearby store, a precursor to a mall, called The Bazaar of All Nations. A ton of little mom & pop you can't find it anywhere else kind of stuff stores, with a few well known stores thrown in, all under one roof. I've always likened Amazon to the Bazaar. I honestly can't think of very much I haven't able to find at Amazon. One stop shopping at it's best with hassle free returns.

I'm the kind of guy who when shopping in the real world will line up my stores in a big circle so I am not backtracking or wasting time and gas.

--
. 2 Garmin DriveSmart 61 LMT-S, Nuvi 2689, 2 Nuvi 2460, Zumo 550, Zumo 450, Uniden R3 radar detector with GPS built in, includes RLC info. Uconnect 430N Garmin based, built into my Jeep. .

Me Three!

CraigW wrote:
mgarledge wrote:

I am not a prime member. I wait till I have enough for free shipping before I order what I want. If I don't have enough for free shipping I just go on a shopping spree to see if there is anything I need. I can always find something I need (or want) to bring the cost up to free shipping.

Me too!

Me three!

Amazon Sales Tax

I've been a satisfied customer on Amazon for many years.
Like members Mgarledge and Craigw I too don't have a Prime account, only make purchases that will ship for free or add items that will cover the minimum price for shipping.. Usually I am in no hurry and can wait.

Unlike Ebay, since January 2019. now charges sales tax on purchases from 36 states out of 50. What is disturbing about Ebay is they also charge tax on shipping if the item lists sales tax on it. At least Amazon does not include tax on free shipping.

I never bought an item on Amazon that required shipping charges so I don't know if sales tax is charged added to the final price.
I'd be curious to know.

--
Nuvi 2460LMT 2 Units

shipping tax

muell9k wrote:

~snip~

I never bought an item on Amazon that required shipping charges so I don't know if sales tax is charged added to the final price.
I'd be curious to know.

Amazon's tax is based on the state being shipped to, (among other factors) if 'your' state charges tax on shipping, then Amazon taxes it.

--
. 2 Garmin DriveSmart 61 LMT-S, Nuvi 2689, 2 Nuvi 2460, Zumo 550, Zumo 450, Uniden R3 radar detector with GPS built in, includes RLC info. Uconnect 430N Garmin based, built into my Jeep. .

Amazon

We have amazon prime and both use it quite regularly and have had very good results. Use to just sign up for 30 day trial then cancel.

--
johnm405 660 & MSS&T

Ebay Sales Tax Compared To Amazon

My apologies, perhaps I did not word it properly in my post.

I realize I have to pay sales tax on Amazon, however, I don't pay tax on the free shipping charges like Ebay does. If the Ebay ad lists shipping charges. then you have to pay for the price of the item, plus sales tax, then also being charged for shipping.

As an example, I attempted to order ink for by HP printer, that particular ad showed 7.50 for USPS Priority Mail. There was no option other than USPS Priority mail. I did not bid on that item.
Somebody paid 7.50 shipping charges for the ink in addition to the item price of 47.00, plus tax (if applicable it the buyer lives in 36 states that have sales tax).

Condition:
New
Ended:
Jan 04, 2020 , 11:52AM
Winning bid:
US $47.00
[ 15 bids ]
Shipping:
$7.50 Expedited Shipping

Unlike Ebay, Amazon does not charge you for free shipping, only for the price of the item plus tax for in my area.

Another Ebay ploy to screw buyers to make commissions. I refuse to pay additional monies for shipping charges to be added on the total price. I will NEVER buy anything on Ebay that has shipping charges.

--
Nuvi 2460LMT 2 Units

.

That's actually a good business practice to retain their customers as well as gain new ones through word-of-mouth marketing, and it's also good for their share value.

--
Michael (Nuvi 2639LMT)

video

soberbyker wrote:

~snip~

When I was a kid there was a nearby store, a precursor to a mall, called The Bazaar of All Nations. A ton of little mom & pop you can't find it anywhere else kind of stuff stores, with a few well known stores thrown in, all under one roof. I've always likened Amazon to the Bazaar. I honestly can't think of very much I haven't able to find at Amazon. One stop shopping at it's best with hassle free returns.

I'm the kind of guy who when shopping in the real world will line up my stores in a big circle so I am not backtracking or wasting time and gas.

A few years ago someone put together a DVD about the Bazaar I mentioned above. Here's a "trailer" for that DVD. My childhood "Amazon"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aozC2a2qaUY

.

--
. 2 Garmin DriveSmart 61 LMT-S, Nuvi 2689, 2 Nuvi 2460, Zumo 550, Zumo 450, Uniden R3 radar detector with GPS built in, includes RLC info. Uconnect 430N Garmin based, built into my Jeep. .

We have been less happy with Amazon laely.

I can't say we have been real happy with Amazon lately. I do believe a lot of that is because of less ethical third party sellers that use Amazon as a store front. Things we have seen lately include too much Chinese “junk” that you could get much cheaper on Ali Express and price changes, shipping fees, and delivery delays when you change the size or color of an item. When we buy something we examine the Cart carefully to be sure that all the good Amazon advantages are still included on the final selection.

We did have a great experience this winter with Amazon's Customer Service when one their sellers did something that I considered a pure con.

It also seems like their search is getting much worse. With good search words Amazon pushes lots of products that have very little in common with the search. Then if you poke around long enough you might find what you originally asked for. It's especially irritating when you enter brand and model and you get related competitors items but not what you asked for, even though they actually sell it.

there

is some really bizarre pricing across many items--not 3rd parties, amazon. I get that some might say, no way he's just making it up (always like that).

But the #1 best seller of DOT 4 brake fluid was $1.90/pint on Saturday. That is imho about 1/3 the going rate--it was Castrol full synthetic, not Walmart brand. Sure enough it sold out, and on Sunday, the price was $14.98 and ships in 2-5 weeks.

I understand that amazon knows what it's doing. But what are they doing? LOL

Amazon Reviews and Listings

My only problems with Amazon relate to reviews and listings. Reviews will be grouped together and often don't relate to the item being reviewed. Makes it hard to know what is what. Also listings are "reused" where the item changes but the description stays the same. I use Amazon all the time but have become more leery about making sure the item and description match and that the reviews are correct (as much as I am able).

--
GPSMAP 76CSx - nüvi 760 - nüvi 200 - GPSMAP 78S

another thing ....

thrak wrote:

My only problems with Amazon relate to reviews and listings. Reviews will be grouped together and often don't relate to the item being reviewed. Makes it hard to know what is what. Also listings are "reused" where the item changes but the description stays the same. I use Amazon all the time but have become more leery about making sure the item and description match and that the reviews are correct (as much as I am able).

Another thing is the seller changes who may have a different rating. I have often come across a note telling me I purchased the item in the past and when I compare that order to the current item the price, seller, Prime, etc may have changed, and not always for the better.

Also, although I am a Prime member the Prime items are often more money, look for a link that says something to the effect "this item may be available for a lesser price from these non prime sellers"

Bottom line if you don't need it right away you can save by getting the same item but not listed as Prime. But only if the item is "fulfilled by Amazon" to be sure of the hassle free purchase/return.

--
. 2 Garmin DriveSmart 61 LMT-S, Nuvi 2689, 2 Nuvi 2460, Zumo 550, Zumo 450, Uniden R3 radar detector with GPS built in, includes RLC info. Uconnect 430N Garmin based, built into my Jeep. .

Good advice, but ...

soberbyker wrote:

Bottom line if you don't need it right away you can save by getting the same item but not listed as Prime. But only if the item is "fulfilled by Amazon" to be sure of the hassle free purchase/return.

My experience has been most "Fulfilled by Amazon" items are also Prime eligible. I suppose there are exceptions, but with the "Fulfilled by Amazon" things I have purchased (and there are many), they have all been shipped under the Prime umbrella.

--
Alan - Android Auto, DriveLuxe 51LMT-S, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, Nuvi 3597LMTHD, Oregon 550T, Nuvi 855, Nuvi 755T, Lowrance Endura Sierra, Bosch Nyon

ok

alandb wrote:
soberbyker wrote:

Bottom line if you don't need it right away you can save by getting the same item but not listed as Prime. But only if the item is "fulfilled by Amazon" to be sure of the hassle free purchase/return.

My experience has been most "Fulfilled by Amazon" items are also Prime eligible. I suppose there are exceptions, but with the "Fulfilled by Amazon" things I have purchased (and there are many), they have all been shipped under the Prime umbrella.

I've been a Prime member since it started. Most things I buy I don't need right away but I buy them anyway. The non Prime items they point to are often cheaper before they add shipping and even then only by a few cents so I normally don't bother. So I wouldn't really know if fulfilled by Amazon ONLY counts toward Prime items.

However, the whole concept of Prime has gotten watered down. Things listed as Prime don't always get the 2 day maximum delivery time, sometimes they have fine print like 'once processed' or even a date it will ship by a few weeks away but somehow still gets listed as Prime. I've complained a few times but it fell on deaf ears. Still can't beat the service and the ability to find stuff not in any store.

--
. 2 Garmin DriveSmart 61 LMT-S, Nuvi 2689, 2 Nuvi 2460, Zumo 550, Zumo 450, Uniden R3 radar detector with GPS built in, includes RLC info. Uconnect 430N Garmin based, built into my Jeep. .

Grouping is a problem

thrak wrote:

Reviews will be grouped together and often don't relate to the item being reviewed.

The Amazon reviews are very important to me. Yes, there is plenty of noise there, both from paid padders and from the ignorant, but I think sorting through all that is just part of the skill of using them. Nobody suggests doing away with libraries just because they have books with some falsehoods in them.

But inappropriate review amalgamation is a real problem. I understand that it can be beneficial in grouping together reviews on minor variants of the same item, but all too often I find that the version I want is buried in a huge stack of items that differ in the main characteristic of interest.

--
personal GPS user since 1992

I would think there is

I would think there is increasing competition from ALIEXPRESS.COM
A lot of things are up to 1/3 less with free shipping. Some things are more. YMMV.

Try https://www.fakespot.com/

archae86 wrote:
thrak wrote:

Reviews will be grouped together and often don't relate to the item being reviewed.

The Amazon reviews are very important to me. Yes, there is plenty of noise there, both from paid padders and from the ignorant, but I think sorting through all that is just part of the skill of using them. Nobody suggests doing away with libraries just because they have books with some falsehoods in them.

But inappropriate review amalgamation is a real problem. I understand that it can be beneficial in grouping together reviews on minor variants of the same item, but all too often I find that the version I want is buried in a huge stack of items that differ in the main characteristic of interest.

Go to https://www.fakespot.com/ after copying the Amazon URL of the item you are looking at and paste it in the box. What you will then see is a rating of the reviews that have been written for your item.
Pretty helpful sometimes.

--
Nuvi 2460LMT

Amazon

My biggest complaint with Amazon is their lack of price matching and refunding the difference if the price drops within 30 days.

They had those policies in the past and removed those options.

I bought some speaker stands a week before Christmas for $140. One week AFTER Christmas, the price went down to $100.

Rather than refund the $40, I had to ship the original stands back and re-purchase them for the cheaper price.

Kind of a stupid waste of time and money in my opinion.

Returns

mcginkleschmidt wrote:
CraigW wrote:
mgarledge wrote:

I am not a prime member. I wait till I have enough for free shipping before I order what I want. If I don't have enough for free shipping I just go on a shopping spree to see if there is anything I need. I can always find something I need (or want) to bring the cost up to free shipping.

Me too!

Me three!

I would do as you, but I use my sons Prime. While son was returning an item to UPS, I mentioned they were making money due to Amazon returns. (Lots of boxes in there). They said no, that UPS had a contract with Amazon. Only make a little money on the volume.
There seems to be used items sent to us lately.

--
nuvi 1390 LT, nuvi 1450 LMT, Win 10

Kohl's

returns are at the back of the store. They hope when you bring your Amazon returns in you will see something to buy as you walk thru the store.

--
TomTom built in and Garmin Nuvi 1490T. Eastern Iowa, formerly Southern California "You can check out any time you like...but you can never leave."

It's hard for brick and

It's hard for brick and mortar stores to compete with that.

Never had a problem returning

I have been a prime member for over 10 years and have nothing but good experiences with Amazon. Have had some trouble with their 3rd party sellers but Amazon stepped up and took care of it.

they

capst wrote:

returns are at the back of the store. They hope when you bring your Amazon returns in you will see something to buy as you walk thru the store.

announced that the amazon returns did not give them the sales boost that they wanted. As mentioned when my wife returned an item they also gave her a coupon I think 25% off but there's nothing to buy there anyway. It's the Bed Bath and Beyond conundrum. at 30% off the prices are still higher than everyone else. So they prey upon anyone who will pay full price.

UPS Store

capst wrote:

returns are at the back of the store. They hope when you bring your Amazon returns in you will see something to buy as you walk thru the store.

I use the UPS Store for returns, just bring the item, they'll do everything else including boxing it up.

--
. 2 Garmin DriveSmart 61 LMT-S, Nuvi 2689, 2 Nuvi 2460, Zumo 550, Zumo 450, Uniden R3 radar detector with GPS built in, includes RLC info. Uconnect 430N Garmin based, built into my Jeep. .

amazon returns at Kohl's

johnnatash4 wrote:

My wife pointed out to me Kohl's is always slammed now huge lines for amazon returns. Great way for Kohl's to get foot traffic.

I noticed that too. Kohl's was never noted for speedy service in purchases or returns, and their customer lines are even longer now that Kohl's will process an amazon return for free. I can imagine this has led to some grumbling among Kohl's employees. The odd thing to me is that people will endure a long wait in line at Kohl's just to avoid paying return shipping; okay, with a heavy item, I get it, but time has a money value too. You can prepay shipping online through amazon or any of the shippers and just drop the package off, and if it's not a lot of money to return the widget that way, I'd much rather do that.

I also thought it a little odd that Kohl's would cannibalize what was left of shopping mall retail by associating itself with amazon Internet shopping, but I hadn't considered your foot traffic idea. You have a good point. I'm sure that was Kohl's hope in agreeing to whatever deal was struck.

/Oh I see the later comment that it hasn't worked out as Kohl's hoped. They can probably track customers with cameras and see how many actually came into the store to return an item to amazon and then bought something from Kohl's, so they would be able to monitor it.

--
"141 could draw faster than he, but Irving was looking for 143..."

It's all about the fees

I've heard it said that the most profitable thing Costco sells is memberships. The automatically-renewing annual membership fees are hugely important to corporate Costco, and this is the reason, probably combined with the deals they have with suppliers in terms of who eats the cost of returned merchandise, that Costco bends over backwards to make customers returning an item (in many cases with no time limit) happier with a few-questions-asked refund. They do not want a Costco member to quit paying those fees.

And amazon lost major money for years, but one key factor in their better financial picture is the same thing, the automatically-renewing Prime membership fees. "Gold, Jerry, gold!" Prime fees are optional but can be a good deal to consumers who like the idea of ASAP shipping and bundled side purchases such as Prime Video or Music at a reduced cost. Amazon seldom questions a return, although they now strictly limit the time for returns to 30 days or less in most cases.

Nonetheless, computers can analyze every customer for value, and you absolutely can go too far with Costco, amazon, or any national store chain, and get permanently booted (at least for additional returns, if not as a customer altogether) for initiating too many returns:

https://www.thekitchn.com/costco-memership-return-policy-abu...
I loved this line in the article, and I imagine Costco did as well: "The [Costco] customer was not happy about having her membership [revoked after making too many returns, including as the last straw, an eight-year old printer], and she told Business Insider that her main problem was that she has items at home she was planning on returning, and now that her membership was canceled, she’s stuck with them."

Amazon has also booted some chronic returners:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/banned-from-amazon-the-shoppers...

I have no problem with this. The 1% of least reasonable customers who abuse return policies drive up prices for the other 99% of us. Retailers are *smart* to make a good effort to weed the 1% out.

--
"141 could draw faster than he, but Irving was looking for 143..."

I don't think

people should feel afraid of legitimately returning things. Bringing tires back on day 29 of a 30 day trial (have a friend who does this) or telling Costco your battery has failed (they don't even bother to load test it) when it hasn't (have another person I know who does that), wouldn't go that far.

This week I got a dented rental car that I chose. Never happened before wasn't sure what they would do. I don't want my employer paying for it when I didn't do it. well, they double-upgraded me and apologized and gave me another car. I have rented cars 13 years for work and never happened before. But now I'm going to have to look really closely.

I didn't re-read every post

I didn't re-read every post in this thread so this may have been brought up already, I have CRS so it may have even been by me but ....

Amazon "Prime" hasn't meant two day shipping (receiving the item in two days) for a while now. I don't need most things in two days, but recently it would have been nicer than the week or so they took.

I understand with the current COVID-19 situation things are slower but this was happening before that took ahold of the world.

The only reason I initially signed up with Prime was for the free two day shipping.

--
. 2 Garmin DriveSmart 61 LMT-S, Nuvi 2689, 2 Nuvi 2460, Zumo 550, Zumo 450, Uniden R3 radar detector with GPS built in, includes RLC info. Uconnect 430N Garmin based, built into my Jeep. .

interesting

I started this post, and so I had to look at the date. When I started the thread, I don't believe I was even aware of COVID-19. then, I see I was still traveling for work--I heard about it then, but in no way was concerned.

Through this crisis, amazon stock has soared. It didn't even go down as a result of the pandemic, it went up.

I have relied upon them for lots of goods--hair clippers, faucet grease, I could go on forever. Oh, 80-pack toilet paper at a fair price, like $43, 2 ply, 100% virgin, blah blah blah.

At any rate, yes, most of the deliveries have not been 2 day, some have, the most oddest things, like the faucet grease. Pliers. As if these are deemed necessary normal items we need.

My wife ordered my son a toy with the $10 promo--that's been over a week hasn't been delivered. I never got 2 items that showed delivered, and I found the pattern--amazon tells you to wait 48 hours, don't worry, if you don't get it, they'll refund or resend but you have to wait 48 hours. And guess what....both 2 items came later even though they showed delivered.

I dunno what the USPS angle is, but they show stuff delivered, and then the next day the carrier has it. It was never lost, just scanned as delivered, when it really was not.

Two stocks I actually bought during the pandemic were Costco and facebook--both are in the black luckily since I got them. Small amounts, now with fees of $0, very easy to buy any amount.

Just think, I sold 200 shares of facebook for $41, wow. I then bought and sold 200 around $119 to $125 to skim the $6. stupid.

I read the pandemic cleared the path for amazon to dominate once and for all.

I think the pandemic could

I think the pandemic could have tanked Amazon. It's just the way things unfolded, Amazon warehouses easily could have been overwhelmed by the virus affecting many of the workers, which would have resulted in shutting down any advantage of having only an online presence. So it happens that it did not and Amazon took off running being the online retailer that has the most variety to supply to the general public.

I

got Costco on April 29 to grab the dividend--stock seems to keep going up mildly. that was another winner, it's all hindsight. We all coulda shoulda woulda and would have been well off. Could have bought Tesla didn't it double during the pandemic?

But again, here's the point. Remember the Takata airbag scandal? Two car companies showed they stood out above the rest--BMW, and Honda. These two car co. provided indefinite loaners to anybody who felt unsafe in their cars. The process was riddled with flaws. BMW loaned out cars to people who no longer even owned the BMW in question. Some for over a year. Other cos, Mercedes Benz, Audi, were pretty awful. Stated death could occur, but loaner cars are unwarranted. In writing. Others were non committal, Toyota (they will go nuts over floor mats, but not airbags, go figure), Mazda, Subaru.

So it's the same with the pandemic. imho, Amazon, Costco, Trader Joe's, are true standouts. jmo, ymmv

I

muell9k wrote:

My apologies, perhaps I did not word it properly in my post.

I realize I have to pay sales tax on Amazon, however, I don't pay tax on the free shipping charges like Ebay does. If the Ebay ad lists shipping charges. then you have to pay for the price of the item, plus sales tax, then also being charged for shipping.

As an example, I attempted to order ink for by HP printer, that particular ad showed 7.50 for USPS Priority Mail. There was no option other than USPS Priority mail. I did not bid on that item.
Somebody paid 7.50 shipping charges for the ink in addition to the item price of 47.00, plus tax (if applicable it the buyer lives in 36 states that have sales tax).

Condition:
New
Ended:
Jan 04, 2020 , 11:52AM
Winning bid:
US $47.00
[ 15 bids ]
Shipping:
$7.50 Expedited Shipping

Unlike Ebay, Amazon does not charge you for free shipping, only for the price of the item plus tax for in my area.

Another Ebay ploy to screw buyers to make commissions. I refuse to pay additional monies for shipping charges to be added on the total price. I will NEVER buy anything on Ebay that has shipping charges.

I can attest to this--if sales tax is collected erroneously by eBay, good luck. They'll open a case, and never get back to you.

If sales tax is collected erroneously by amazon.com? they will reverse it.

Let's face it, hard to fault amazon other than you really have to watch their prices. A 100 pack of razor blades will be $4.99 one day, $10.99 next week. A genuine GM brake rotor will be $49 one week, $64 the next. And many online etailers seem to be indexed to amazon.