Amazon Is Pissing Me Off

The BBQ Pit
1

I need to complain about Amazon. I have two issues:

  1. Shopping for an item on Amazon - I see an Amazon Prime item with a decent price and pretty fast delivery date two days from today. I place the item in my basket and check everything is good:
    Amazon Prime: check
    Good reviews: check
    Price: check
    Delivery date - day after tomorrow. Good
    I buy…AND THE DELIVERY DATE JUMPS TO LATE NEXT WEEK!
    Cancel purchase: check.
    The way that it has been in the recent past suits me fine - an item shows delivery late next week, and it gets delivered a day or three early. That’s fair. At least I know that it will not be delivered later than promised.

  2. I buy a mini-split heat pump on Amazon for around $1,400. System includes condenser (outside unit), air-handler (inside unit), and line set (refrigerant and control lines). About two weeks goes by and two of the three items are delivered, but is missing the line set. Can’t do anything without that.
    Additionally, the condenser has big dents on it. Possible internal damage? The condenser is more or less the heart and soul of the system, so I can’t let this go by.

I report the issues to Amazon and let them know that the line set is missing and the condenser is damaged, but if the Seller sends the missing item and replaces the condenser, I’ll wait.
Seller asks for photos of the damaged item and I send them.
Line set eventually arrives.

Researching the reviews on Amazon (and elsewhere) I see that a LOT of people have the same problem - missing parts (usually the line set) and damaged items. All around the same time frame. WTF?
Turns out that the Seller has no web presence (except on Amazon), and is associated with one of the major US HVAC suppliers in the US. Who ALSO has numerous complaints about missing parts (usually the line set), damaged items, and worse, warranty issues.
All of the items come from this major HVAC supplier. Maybe the Seller that I purchased from is a broker for the major HVAC supplier?
Or maybe just a front - a disguise?
Or (say it softly) a scam?

Uh, oh…this is not good. Bad reviews on Amazon, Better Business Bureau, Yelp and TrustPilot. NOT something you want to see on a big-ticket item.
I tell the seller that I want a refund.

Condenser is finally picked up, but the other two items are not. Emails are sent but no response. WTH?

I tell Amazon that I want a complete refund. I want nothing to do with this large HVAC supplier and their “subsidiary.” Amazon says they have an “A to Z Guarantee” that protects customers.
Two weeks go by and nothing from Amazon.

It seems to me that:
Since the mini-split heat pumps that I want are in short supply, the seller will send orders that are damaged or incomplete as a “placeholder,” then the customer has to wait for weeks to get a complete order. The customer is “hooked” and now has to wait.

I placed this order on July 11 and up until yesterday, I was still waiting. I suspected that the Seller AND Amazon is stalling, so I get entirely disgusted and today sent back the air-handler and line set via UPS on my own nickel.

I think both of these examples involve “3rd Party” sellers, but I haven’t had any problem with them before.

Has anyone seen anything like this recently?

Sorry this is so long - I needed to vent. Thanks

2

Remember if you pay by credit card, you can dispute the charge as a way to force the issue.

3

Yeah, if this Amazon “A to Z Guarantee” doesn’t work, I’m ready for that too.

4

Yes Amazon is a jungle of resellers imo. I pay utmost attention to the sellers info, and if I can buy direct from the manufacturer I prefer to.So just wondering why shop Amazon of all places for a split mini heat pump?

5

I did an Amazon search last week for a specific part. I entered the exact part name in the search field and got over a thousand results. None were the actual part. Some were other parts for the system in question. Others were farther afield.

6

“So just wondering why shop Amazon of all places for a split mini heat pump?”

I was after a very specific one and Amazon popped up in my search. It wasn’t available direct from the manufacturer.

I pay attention to the Seller info too, but at the time most of the reviews were positive.

7

Could this be the fault of the USPS slowdown?

8

“Could this be the fault of the USPS slowdown?”

When the coronovirus got real big, Amazon shipping dates were extended. When the items were purchased, chances were that the items were received before the extended promised date.
For me, that was no problem because I knew that ALL businesses were under pressure.

Now, advertised shipping dates are fairly short, but as soon as I purchase, the shipping date is suddenly extended within the time it takes to go from the Shopping Cart to the actual purchase.

Glitch in the system maybe? Or something more nefarious involving 3rd part sellers.

It’s getting hard to trust Amazon now, and I want to trust Amazon. Silly me.

9

No kidding! I ordered three things that all said “one day shipping with prime”. That was Wednesday. First they said Friday. Then Monday. Their scheduled arrival date is now Tuesday. Who knows when they’ll actually arrive.

I checked the listings - they still say one day shipping.

Note: I live in a city that has a big warehouse. I used to get packages the same day! Even on Sunday!

10

It’s looking like Amazon is giving you the shipping time once the item is actually shipped, NOT the time from when you order.
I don’t think it’s always been this way.

I say Amazon is being deceptive and dishonest.

11

It’s been that way for a long time. It’s frustrating, I know, but I know for the last 3 or 4 years definitely, it’s been shipping time, not delivery time. Very often the item is coming from a location nearby, but for larger items especially, there’s often prep time in getting it out the door.

12

If Amazon isn’t the seller, this is always a risk. They could/should be more upfront about it, of course.

We’ve seen sort of the inverse lately: Order Prime item on Monday; Tuesday night, get notification “It’s shipped, due Thursday”. Huh, that ain’t two-day, but whatever. It arrives Wednesday after all. I’ve only ever had problems with third-party items on Amazon, and Amazon has always helped make good (including a cellphone that was defective and the seller didn’t respond–Amazon took it back. So not just the $10 pan that arrived dented, and which they refunded and told me to keep.)

I’m also 100% convinced that Amazon has a buyer rating system, because many of the horror stories I’ve read (not yours) are from folks who seem sane but whose experience was very different from ours (OK, I’m not saying you don’t seem sane, I’m saying I don’t know enough about your story to have an opinion–just being clear!). We buy a ton of stuff and I believe that Amazon looks at our record and says “Don’t mess with these folks, they’re a solid customer”. I even returned and replaced a defective item 100% via bot last week–no human intervention required. And that one was third-party!

Given the behemoth that Amazon has become and the strain they’re under with the pandemic, it’s sort of amazing anything works at all. Which isn’t an excuse, but might be a slightly moderating factor.

I’m not 100% a fanboi here: there are things that irritate me, like the phony Fixr (look it up) that I bought 2x from two different Amazon sellers. Both were clearly counterfeit (missing some tools); they took them back, but deleted my negative reviews.

13

No way. Hasn’t been that way up until last week or two.

14

It’s been in the language on the website for a long time.

ETA very often it works out the same from the customer side, but it’s been “2 day shipping” for a long time.

15

It may have been in the fine print, but it hasn’t worked that way in practice. The Delivery Day shown in the Cart (before purchase) and the Delivery Day shown after purchase has always been the same until recently, in my experience.

16

Agreed here in Phoenix metro area.

17

I’ve noticed pricing for some items going up, and recently noticed a Sam’s club item (Maker’s Mark) at two or three times the price I could get it at Sam’s. Price gouging? of course, Amazon doing business with Sam’s is okay I suppose, but Amazon would be foolish to buy Sam’s items from Sam’s at a higher price than a regular customer like me would pay. That’s just one example. I don’t know how many customers do price comparisons these days, but as a retired purchasing manager I notice stuff like this.

18

Oh, it’s Member’s Mark.

19

My guess is the Sam’s Club merchandise you’re finding for sale on Amazon is being sold by third-party sellers and not Amazon.