15 Annoying Things about Amazon.
Other
Here is my reasons why I find Amazon a bit annoying nowadays. Please note I am not a prime customer so may not apply to you if you are a prime member. I only do prime membership trials.
- Constantly being nagged to join prime with every single non prime purchase even if its a marketplace purchase with no postage costs anyway or wouldn't benefit from prime membership as they have their own postage costs whether you are a prime member or not.
- Lots of fake goods from marketplace sellers and amazon warehouse who seem to sell on some marketplace returns. Memory cards with fake capacity for example.
- Being forced to organise a Royal Mail collection for an item when you return a item to a post office. So when the postman comes to collect it I have to tell them it was taken to a post office 4 days ago because there is no simple option to take to a post office without collection.
- Search engines that don't work. They throw up the wrong items most of the time and if you search for something initially it says lets say 150 items found but if you change to low price first suddenly its 4000 items which makes no sense at all. Absolutely hopeless search results that tries to push you towards more expensive products and hides better deals.
- I've had items I ordered over a year ago that are still not delivered. Small items typically and you can't get them refunded by cancelling the order as these small items made up a minimum free postage amount so you have to contact them via chat to get them to refund which is a slow and annoying service.
- Accessing chat has been made much more difficult nowadays they keep coming up with options not involving chat that simply don't have any relevance to your problem.
- Pricing is often terrible for many items especially food items. A simple search online finds much better pricing, who is paying these Amazon prices?
- Short life deals, i.e. listed on latestdeals only 20 minutes ago but gone when you click through to Amazon. The deal is now gone or a higher price than stated on Latestdeals.
- Fake information on many product listings. Typically listings for marketplace deals. Android tablets with fake specs i.e. 8GB stated but the tablet only has 2GB real memory and uses 6GB of virtual memory using the storage capacity or laptops that state its a quad core processor but in the details you can see a dual core Celeron is actually listed by product name. So many items now have misleading specifications you have to go through top to bottom to see if there is conflicting information.
- Getting nagged to join Amazon business when I'm not a business customer. I can save £25 off a purchase it says but of course I'm not eligible as don't run a business. However that doesn't stop them nagging me about it on every product page.
- Getting nagged about using any giftcard amount to pay for amazon prime which I have to untick with every purchase.
- Defaulting to charged postage even if I'm over the £35 limit and having to select free postage manually.
- Preventing click and collect for items randomly. One day it works one day it doesn't. So if it doesn't work today I just have to wait until tomorrow when it probably will work.
- No cashback site support. They only seem to allow cashback very rarely on very select items. It seems to be setup to provide affiliate income to other sites or youtubers but if you already know what you are purchasing and didn't need to come through another site I would like to get the cashback myself through sites like Topcashback or Quidco.
- Changing prices on the fly. I was looking to buy a amazon warehouse purchase the other day and it had 20% off but by the time I got to the basket the 20% had been removed even though the item was unsold. People are actively changing prices on Amazon as you shop which wastes the time of their customers. You have to actively check if the price in the basket is the same as when you put it in the basket.
So that is my 15 annoying things about Amazon do you agree do you have any more yourself?
Not sure why but the Latestdeal site has removed the numbering it just keeps saying '1.' for some reason. Glitch on the site I guess.
BonzoBanana I think you should copy and paste your list and send to the CEO. I often get all numbers showing as just number 1 but I think I get it other than on LD as well.
Amazon is not as good as it once was, deliveries are slower and more inefficient, prices are no longer that competitive they just price match others these days, customer service is now quite poor, to the extent that there is no complaints procedure whatsoever and no one to contact if your not happy with the response of what is usually a foreign call centre . Third party sellers and their items go totally unchecked , not all are bad some are genuine and supply good products, but I have received some misleading and fake items that when told Amazon continue to allow them to be sold onsite.
I think it's the case of so many large companies they have the monopoly now and don't care anymore , they just want to make as much money as possible.
Mango4 That has reminded me of another annoyance. They block negative reviews unless they are mildly negative. If I state in the review I have tested the memory card with multiple utilities which indicate the memory card has fake capacity for example it will not be posted. Useful information to other Amazon customers is blocked. However many of the positive reviews are very vague and uninformative. It could be buyers who haven't used the memory card yet or maybe somehow a fake review. Sometimes it reads like they haven't used the actual product at all.
There is only one option if your this dissatisfied with the company never use again
Imnotcheap I'm price focused so tend to buy where its cheapest which sometimes is still Amazon but Amazon have definitely become less competitive and more difficult to use and delivery times can be ridiculous if you don't have prime. It's all about weighing up the pros and cons.
BonzoBanana do you ever feel the need to smell the roses 
. Life is good. Smile more 
Imnotcheap Not sure how you can judge my mood from what I write. I was just watching a youtube video about funny cats and I'm in a very good mood. It's quite therapeutic I think to have a moan too though. If you took all the chat postings off this site that include moans about something be it shops, politicians, other people etc the chat section would probably only have 1% of its existing threads.
If I was as dissatisfied I'd just close my account and not bother with Amazon, but I rarely use them, anyway.
Amazon these days is just better to buy stuff from Amazon than third party sellers, so if you want the latter go on eBay or Vinted.
I can't really recommend Shpock as sellers on there seem pretty useless and unfriendly to answer basic questions about a product. Meanwhile, on Vinted and eBay they'll answer it even if they're not sure it's the correct answer.
I was planning to make a simmilar thread but never had a time.
The constant price changes may be annoying but I have alerts from camelcamelcamel straight to my email every time price drop also when you add item to basket and save for later you will get notifications about price drops.
Never had problems with returning items you have to choose if you prefer collection or post office drop off.
Buying "genuine" goods from 3rd party sellers is like buying same goods from Ebay. Additionally same sellers sell on both platforms. I only buy sold and dispatched by Amazon.
Subscribe and save is the best thing available on Amazon and if you buy at the lowest price with additional discounts you save a lot of money. I always cancel and wait for price to drop again to resubscribe.
I have to agree on search engine. I am yet to crack it as often you cannot find all products available. Like for example if you type lego you won't see all products available on Amazon only some. Cannot explain this
My biggest issue is the sizing as often Amazon fail to add correct size or list products with European/ Us sizes which are often different to the sizes in UK
Those items which you purchased and were temporarily oos after that time are already cancelled anyway by Amazon. Look in cancelled orders and I am sure you will find those product there.
Regarding the chat you just need to type chat to associate and you will be connected rather than going through all options.
Price fluctuate like everywhere you just need to buy when is low. Complaining about the fact you didn't purchase when price was low. You cannot blame Amazon. You can purchase and within 15-30 minutes cancel the order
I think the prime thing is very annoying, i have more than once joined by accident. Tbf to them they do refund if you contact them but they know exactly what they’re doing making it purposefully confusing.
Also on top of all these points listed, they treat their staff like dirt and don’t pay their taxes!
jms19 I see a lot about American business ethics on YouTube comparison videos, UK/USA and we always come off best. I must admit I don't like using Amazon but still do and hate myself for it. However, I have never had any real problems with it and always place orders very carefully to avoid prime and postage charges etc.
My biggest pet peeve has always been the search engine which provides search results in Amazon's favour. Never shows specific listings according to my search information and as you say, tries to push you towards more expensive products so 'forces' you to browse at length if you want to find the better deals. 
My peeves are with the broader Amazon family - Amazon Music no longer just plays the songs/artists you want, it now plays ".....and similar artists"
Prime Video now sticks adverts in TV programs, and they are not fast forwardable.
Amazon were market leaders when it came to their echo smart speakers, but they seem determined to throw that away and send people to Google or Apples devices.
BonzoBanana Then just don't use Amazon then. What is your problem?
I have Prime and am pretty happy with it. I can send items to friends and family all across the country with next day delivery. And you can get some super duper deals! I bought 200gm of dried red chillies for 75p this week.
TheChimp I'm only pointing out the issues with Amazon, I still use them if they are cheaper than other places and its not like ebay or other online retailers don't have their own set of problems. Ultimately its about what works for you. However it is my experience that the Amazon shopping experience has become much less competitive and more annoying to use. At the end of the day though if I can save money by using them I will do.
I've bought quite a few things from Amazon recently as it was a better price. Ultimately though I believe the difference in customer experience quality is getting to be a greater divide between prime and non-prime customers although writing that I remember now some other people have argued that prime is not as good as it used to be too. However non-prime customers seem to be getting a much faster deterioration in customer service.
I guess Amazon which historically has made huge losses in Europe as it expanded and out competed other online sellers with subsidised prices is now looking to finally move into a more profitable business as their competitors have diminished.
BonzoBanana Hasn't there just been an increase to a £30 spend for free delivery for non Prime shoppers?
I know it sounds a bit expensive to get Prime, but there are some good benefits. I couldn't believe that I could get 200g of dried chillies for 75p with next day delivery. That's less than the price of a stamp!
TheChimp If sold by Amazon couldn't you get them delivered to a local shop for free? I bought a tube of Pringles recently for £1.25 delivered to my local coop store (they were over £2 in the store) its only a 4 minute walk from my home. I must admit this is handy for me too as I re-use the packaging for items I sell on ebay.
I agree with all 15 points plus add in dump and run delivery drivers who ignore delivery instructions.
The original Amazon model worked well but they shouldn’t have introduced marketplace sellers (go to EBay) my last transaction following a Latest Deals Hunter’s post the other month the product advertised wasn’t what arrived it was a smaller version so wasn’t a good deal so I’ve been the loser on that (I will only be buying Amazon only own goods from now on) and they’ve become more expensive than high street/supermarket retailers, the difference is substantial on a lot of items.
Gromit22 That's a good point. I ordered some Clarks hydraulic disc brakes and they put the parcel in my rubbish bin and I didn't see the image on Amazon until the rubbish had been taken so one local tip worker probably got himself some free hydraulic disc brakes. I've had Amazon leave parcels in some ridiculous places but have got away with it and still been there when I got home but unfortunately you just assume no one would be stupid enough to put a parcel into a rubbish bin when you are checking for a parcel.
BonzoBanana Crikey, I’d heard of the bins before but I didn’t it was that common until now! At the weekend a friend neighbour’s parcel had been left in a random lane, (they do live in the countryside but there’s 10 houses in their lane close together and for once it’s signposted) the pin location shows no houses whatsoever - makes you wonder what they’re thinking - the annoying thing was he spoke to my friend who often to take the parcel but he said he couldn’t leave the parcel with them but instead left it on a lane on the other side which made no sense at all. It’s like he thought the other side of a field was their back entrance 
I use Amazon food for subscribe and save. I find lots of stuff is out of stock. I don't order fresh foods but tinned. I like that I can manage what I need and skip if I've enough of something. I make it work for me. I use other sites and if I can can something cheaper I do. I struggle to get companies to deliver food items where I am
I find Amazon frustrating when I pick to sort prices low to high. It never sorts correctly.
Lots of great points, search engine is a joke, and yes a lot of fake goods, I barely buy from Amazon now
If it wasn't for the fact that we are rural and can't get hold of many items and amazon are cheaper anyway, we wouldn't use them for the reasons you have stated. Amazon have become a pain in the ass really.
Most annoying thing about Amazon is the fact that some of people packing parcels just slap label on product's boxes. I had that on toys when I wanted them to be Christmas, birthday presents. On clothes ordered when they put label on clear plastic bag, when they could put in a box or envelope.
On the contrary sometimes they put excessive amount of paper, I had probably 20m of packing paper inside a massive box with small product.
I have prime & overall pretty happy with Amazon most of the time. I rarely have any issues but each time I have been refunded immediately so I cannot complain.
My only peeve iv had just recently is them delivering my parcel early. I had booked a delivery for the Saturday, knowing i wouldntt be in before hand, but they sent items out on the Thurs & then left my parcel with my neighbour whom I have an awkward relationship with & prefer to avoid.
I am an amazon fan but you do need to be careful and check everything, but then thats the same with most sites. I use the various comparison and price history plug ins so I know if I am getting a good price. If I am after a specific item I will often search for it and then wait a day - they will often offer a lower price on the same products or a very similar one. Never had any issues with returns but deliveries can quite often come earlier than they say, we live less than 10 mins from the distribution centre so that might make a difference. My general rule - start with Amazon and then see if I can get a better deal elsewhere. Occasionally I can but over 60% of the time I cant.
I always put lots of things that i'm wanting in my basket and just wait for the prices to go to something that i'd be happy to pay for, otherwise I don't really have a problem with Amazon. Also wait until I have enough for free delivery.
HEDGEHOGS I tend to be price focused so I want to buy the item when I've found it cheap on Amazon however I mainly buy Amazon warehouse purchases which if a reasonable size are free as a collect option from my local Coop store and I often go there at least once a week for my weekly offers.
HEDGEHOGS That's the reason I do have Prime as I Can just buy anything at low price when I want. You can wait for all products to drop before ordering but that never happen at the same time and otherwise you are missing on deals.
I do order a lot of household products with additional 15% off plus when on sale. Laundry, dishwasher tablets, cleaning products, shower gels etc etc. The savings not only cover the prime membership but I actually do save a lot compared to buying from supermarkets.
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