Has Amazon Gone Downhill Recently
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Has Amazon gone down hill recently of have I just been really unlucky lately.
I've had issues with 7 out of my last 35 orders luckily reasonably low value as I certainly wouldn't purchase anything high value from them at the moment.
I've had an electric toothbrush that didn't work at all, I've had completely the wrong items arrive not even in the same category. (Both returned and refunded)
Then because of these returns I've haven't returned the other orders I had issues with which were more minor as I didn't want to lost my account as I've read Amazon banning people for too many returns.
My other issues were only half of an order arrived, I order 6 pairs of sock and only got 3. I received a damaged box funko as it was poorly packed in just an envelope, I had clothing arrived that looked nothing like the picture and lastly my new toaster is rubbish and doesn't toast the bread properly it's not even and I will no doubt have to buy another as it's that bad.
I've feel like I've just had to suck up these last ones, but I'm not feeling quite frustrated.
ebzy I was beginning to think it was just me and I was having a spell of bad luck. Amazon were always my go too online as I felt they have excellent customer service and super fast delivery, but alas it's seems no more. I know they won't miss me as a customer but I will be spending elsewhere in future.
ellengully glad you've not had any issues do you usually order direct from Amazon or 3rd party sellers. It's more the 3rd party sellers that I seem to be having issues with, but Amazon allow them to sell on their platform so should take some responsibility.
Will be interested to see the mix of who has and who hasn't had issues
I haven't had any issues recently apart from items taking a little longer to be delivered. I've been ordering direct from amazon though, I try to avoid 3rd party sellers if I can.
Midnightflower I order a lot from 3rd party sellers as I'm always on the look out for a bargain, but I'm not saving anything if stuff doesn't work. I don't think I'm going to be able to put up with this stupid toaster that won't toast bread properly.
ILOVEFANTA after seeing the which report on electronics bought from amazon and eBay I won't buy any electrical equipment from eithor. The problem is the 3rd party sellers aren't held to the same standards as a physical shop or large company. They do what they want and amazon doesn't seem to have any commitment to change that. So now I only buy directly from amazon or an actual company selling their own products on amazon.
Midnightflower So I presume you "dislike" all these Amazon obvious tat deals that flood this site ? (not that they are shown as only "likes" are counted and displayed freely admitted by LD ).
How many members just click "like" on the 25 deals they are presented with every few hours just to gain points ? So any deal posted on here will always get 20 - 30 "likes" within a few hours .
Unfortunately many members consider 20 "likes" on , say, a piece of Chinese tat jewellery to be a recommendation .
Latest Deals MUST be more honest with how "likes" are displayed - my suggestion has always been to display nett likes , ie Likes - Dislikes ? Latest Deals have those stats but choose not to display them (only likes) -Why ?
I would suggest that the problems you have experienced are not with Amazon itself but with their marketplace sellers ?
Sadly Amazon marketplace sellers have been selling useless Chinese tat for years - with Amazon effectively a guarantor . I think Amazon have at last got wise and are becoming much more selective with their "no quibble money back guarantee " that we have become used to .
I have noticed that other deals sites require minimum levels of EBay , Amazon feedback before allowing deals to be posted on their sites , a wise move to protect their members IMO ?
I have often said Latest Deals should do similar - perhaps time for LD, currently allowing anything , to have a rethink ?
Golfforall yes this is the problem I don't want to push for a refund and risk losing my account but Amazon should take some responsibility for the 3rd party seller ripping people off.
ILOVEFANTA In years gone by Amazon did take responsibility for it's Marketplace sellers - the reason why buying from Amazon or Amazon marketplace was always considered a safe buy (no questions asked refunds ).
I only buy mainstream Amazon stuff - golf balls ,coffee , crisps , batteries etc and have never had a problem .
I have noticed recently more and more complaints on here and indeed on reputable sites such as BBC , Which etc . Would you buy Chinese jewellery off Amazon Marketplace ? Yet there are dozens of items advertised on here every day all reduced from unfeasible original prices to £3-£4 . Never worth £3-£4 let alone the "reduced from " price of £30 -£40 .
Some members actually believe this site is all deals , whereas a deal is obviously in the eye of the buyer , most of us realise that Amazon marketplace tat is absolutely worthless . So where is the deal ?
The old guarantee , buy from Amazon (including marketplace ) and you can always get a refund if the item is rubbish no longer seems to apply ?
I've ordered 6 items over the last few months,
One I sent back as it wasn't the fabric I thought it was, that may have been my mistake though.
One I sent back because I was sent the wrong artwork (my parents had given me some money to order it as a Christmas gift for myself with a specific image and got the completely wrong artwork sent.)
I try not to order things I don't need, I often use Amazon if I need to send a gift directly to someone, I've tried to not use them as much now though, since they removed the Amazon Smile on the 20th Feb. I ordered some pet food through another company as it was the same price, I just had to wait a little longer.
I'm finishing any programmes I've started and interested in on Amazon Prime and will likely cancel my subscription.
It use to be next day delivery with prime now it takes days sometimes.
Also they never knock the door when I'm home I just get a notification a while later to say delivered.
This last time they dumped items in a bucket and it had rained instead of putting in safe place which was stated to them if I'm not in.
I also notice that sometimes of late I got to buy something and when I put in basket and checkout it's changed price or there is a minimum order for said item.
Not had any issues. Everything we've ordered has arrived on time and is exactly what we have ordered. Only had an issue once, few years ago now and it was very quickly rectified.
I'm always waiting months for deliveries of items from Amazon. One reason is I don't have prime and the other is I tend to trawl the site for bargains and big discounts. Just had a quick look at the current Amazon account I'm signed into and I have one item I'm waiting for from the end of December and a couple from early January. As a non prime member I think Amazon punishes you with very slow deliveries sometimes. I've ordered items clearly in stock and because they have delayed sending them the items have gone out of stock and I've had to wait which is appalling they should reserve stock for me even if they don't send immediately.
I buy a lot of Amazon warehouse stuff and always check to make sure there is a reasonable discount but recently some items have actually been more expensive than the new items. The new items have gone down in price a bit and this has not reflected in the warehouse price and it seems warehouse discounts have been reduced to make this more of an issue.
I've found Amazon to be a little less competitive recently and they may be finally ramping up to make a profit after years of loss making to take out their competitors. At which point hopefully people will shop elsewhere from the few surviving competitors.
BonzoBanana I would hazard a guess that the items you wait months for are shipped from China (hence very cheap ). At least on EBay you easily can see where they are being sent from . Often the same items that are "drop shipped" from China but in stock in UK are more expensive than the identical item that is shipped on the "slow boat " direct from China .
On Amazon , certainly without Prime next day delivery , it is hard to know where your item is being shipped from . But I would wager that the cheapest price will be direct from China (on the very slow boat !) . Rather than from an Amazon distribution centre where the next day deliveries come from .
I usually report issues and normally it’s sorted. Now and again the parcels are damaged, but they’re good at sorting it. Can’t fault them
Sounds bad.
I rarely buy from Amazon these days and always hope it arrives without any damage as I don't want to return it. I read they ban people who make too many returns.
How many returns is too many? No one knows exactly.
Yes, I’ve especially recently had issues with a lack of care taken with greetings cards. They have arrived damaged, creased, sticky or bent which renders them as not fit for purpose. I have mobility issues which is why I order cards from Amazon. Going to have to use a different retail outlet now. Also I have had the same experience with book orders and packing in general being bent or damaged. Again this renders them useless as gifts because it looks so unsightly and like you bought them from a bargain basement store. Not a happy customer right now.
As much as I don’t really like the size of Amazon and some of their ethics I do find them consistently reliable
Actually been very good so you must be unlucky. Try contacting them in the settings and ask for good will gesture nine times out of ten they will give you a Goodwill gesture.
I have had issues with so called prime delivery, a lot of items taking days if not weeks to turn up, if they turn up at all.
I guess faulty items isn’t really amazon’s fault since they are just selling that for a supplier but i think maybe with cost of running and business going up everyone is trying to cut corners to save £
Definitely, had problems a few days ago with an item that arrived 5 days late ( on Prime) , Amazon customer service via chat uninterested just said if it hasn't arrived by the end of the week get back to us. Had to return the item but the one single option they gave was unsuitable ,so tried to use the phone me option but it just kept cutting me off .
Learnt that there is no way of actually contacting Amazon other than via Chat and if they are uninterested or unhelpful nothing you can really do , there is no address, e mail or telephone number publicly available for this company , you cannot speak with manager or supervisor and there is no method of complaint , so yes they have definitely gone right down hill and have no regard for it 's customers whatsoever , unlike the days when it was trying to establish itself and build a customer base in this country.
I've had a few minor issues that have been addressed quickly. Recently a 3rd party seller used Yodel to deliver; they flat out lied about attempting a delivery (no surprise there) as the item could go through the letter box. They clearly couldn't manage to deliver it on the named day so delivered it the day after - and yes, it went through the letter box!
My biggest grip with Amazon is even once to pick sort in lowest it doesn’t perform your action. I’m still waiting for one order placed 5 weeks ago. I don’t want to cancel because it’s a great price from a leading brand.
Yes, the actually delivery, items packaged badly so they were damaged in transit and the delivery driver just dumping and running leaving them outside the front door for anyone to take and also one was left overnight and rain damaged a book. Drivers lying that they had handed to resident when it had been put outside door on more than one occasion despite there being instructions to leave in shed if out. It’s the lying I don’t like. I rang them up to complain as the items are still being despatched really quickly which is great but these other things are letting them down
I have to say with Amazon's now more environmental packaging i.e. just cardboard their items are more likely to get minor damage and if you don't have prime you can be really punished with slow deliveries many other online companies provide far better service. I mainly use Amazon for Amazon warehouse items. When it's something else I use price comparison sites and often Amazon is more expensive.
Amazon charge a lot to sellers so if the seller has its own site you often find items 20% cheaper there. I think it was Phoenix Nutrition where on Amazon it was £11.99 on ebay £10.99 and on their own site £9.99 for Vitamin 'B' complex tablets. I'm not paying £2 extra for the same item especially when Amazon is hugely damaging to the UK economy.
I have only ever had a couple of issues with products and they have been great sorting them out with replacments or refunds. Usually always happy with the products I buy.
Had another rubbish items since this thread a watch that won't keep time. I've sent it back and waiting for a refund. I've decided I'm returning all items if it's broken or rubbish and if Amazon want to ban me then so be it.
I’m absolutely raging with Amazon at the moment one example I bought an Apple Pencil for my daughter I opened it and the nib was broke I send a pic to amazon they told me to send it back and I’d be refunded brilliant I thought then I was checking my bank no refund went in and the parcel wasn’t showing as received by them a month passed and I contacted them they told me I had returned a fake pencil back to them that’s why they won’t refund me I said I returned to you what I was sent they came back with the same automated message and it kept going on and on this is dec so I ended up saying well you either give me a refund or return the item I sent them il take it to Apple and get a repair no reply from Amazon to that message now we’re on end of may and I’m still £120 down they have my money and my item also and I still use the dam ***** place as it’s also given me the disorder of when I buy some I get it either the same day or deffo the next so now I’m ordering small items every single day just so it costs them money think I need to go see a therapist I hate being taken advantage of terrible buisness il use them like they use us
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