I’ve been having trouble with Amazon Prime lately. Prime promises free 2 day shipping. Barnes & Noble Fast&Free Delivery is B&N’s equivalent to Amazon’s free shipping program, but unlike Amazon, promises expedited delivery within 3 days. The problem I’ve been having with Amazon is that they charge my credit card, send a shipping confirmation and then the item sits. And sits. And sits. It’s almost to the point where they don’t ship until I call them and then, as if by magic, the shipment enters the shipping stream within an hour or 2. This happens with UPS, USPS and Airborne Home. (Why they are using Airborne Home on a shipment that is supposed to be guaranteed 2 day delivery is another thread.)
So I’m doing a little experiment. I ordered similar books at the same time, from each store. Both books normally ship within 24 hours. From B&N, Knitting On the Edge, from Amazon, Knitting Over the Edge. Amazon’s price is lower by $3, and B&N charges sales tax on their order, but I estimate my Internet sales tax come tax time, so I’ll be paying it sooner or later anyway.
Right now, I’ve received order confirmations from both, and a shipping confirmation from B&N. Both orders have charged against my credit card already. Amazon says that it is “shipping soon.”
I realized too late that I’ve used different addresses (work & home), but that shouldn’t make any difference, I live and work in the same city and UPS packages come from the same distribution center. Oh, and shipments from certain Amazon warehouses should be overnight delivery, since they are so close to my house. B&N usually ships cross-country to me.
Feel free to add your (lack of) problems with Amazon Prime and/or B&N, too.