# Has Amazon's quality control been iffy for you lately? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 28, 2012, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-amazons-quality-control-been-iffy-for-you-lately/614291 "2012-02-28T22:33:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-amazons-quality-control-been-iffy-for-you-lately/614291/41 "2012-03-04T05:29:04Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Amazon’s shipping can be a bit bizarre at times. I carefully grouped six items into an order that qualified for free shipping. They actually sent it in three packages. That’s cool. > > Except one item was about 2 inches long and a half inch wide. They sent that item by itself in a Amazon box 7 inches by 10 inches. Why they didn’t use a small padded envelope is beyond me. > > They’ve done that several times before. You’ll get this one small item in a big ass box. > > I don’t really mind since its free shipping, but it sure is wasting a lot of their money. My guess is that they have: [ol] [li]Multiple shipping centers each carrying different inventory[/li][li]Automated processes that determine the best-fitting box, from a limited selection, available in that shipping center[/li][/ol] Maybe it’s just logistically cheaper for them to pay for a little extra cardboard than to have a whole new size and/or personnel labor time to deal with exceptions. ---
**Author:** ![JampurSingh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e47774/32.png) [@JampurSingh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JampurSingh)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-amazons-quality-control-been-iffy-for-you-lately/614291/42 "2014-02-12T23:33:40Z")
I recently did purchase a Movie from Amazon, the disk had no image on it, the movie was grainy and distorted and there was none of the usual copyright warnings before the movie started. I checked that both sides of the DVD had no picture on to determin ‘this is the way up’. I think the movie was a copy and not a original. But the price was very fair. Amazon are not to me as good as they were before they were this way at the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-amazons-quality-control-been-iffy-for-you-lately/614291/43 "2014-02-13T09:38:38Z")
> [@JampurSingh](#): > > I recently did purchase a Movie from Amazon, the disk had no image on it, the movie was grainy and distorted and there was none of the usual copyright warnings before the movie started. I checked that both sides of the DVD had no picture on to determin ‘this is the way up’. I think the movie was a copy and not a original. But the price was very fair. Amazon are not to me as good as they were before they were this way at the beginning. You probably got a counterfeit from a third-party seller. Or maybe it was a returned product that somebody switched. Talk to Amazon and they’ll probably send you another copy. ---
**Author:** ![Carmady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@Carmady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carmady)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-amazons-quality-control-been-iffy-for-you-lately/614291/44 "2014-02-13T10:05:14Z")
> [@Carmady](#): > > Item quality? I bought an item new and it came missing a part that made me very suspicious that it had been previously used and returned (with that part taken). Since the thread got bumped, I’ll update. I have gotten more items sold directly from Amazon as “new” that were clearly used. That includes a fairly expensive camera. It seems that selling used items as new is the trade off for having an incredibly easy, no questions asked, return policy. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-amazons-quality-control-been-iffy-for-you-lately/614291/45 "2014-02-13T14:09:08Z")
We ordered a kitchen sink recently and got one that had clearly been opened, the box severely torn up and badly taped, items loose in the box and obviously rattling around. And from Amazon itself, not an affiliate. Had no time to return it so went ahead. No damage or missing parts so we lucked out. Charging full price for a returned item is wrong. One of many signs of the downward decline of Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-amazons-quality-control-been-iffy-for-you-lately/614291/46 "2014-02-14T00:22:25Z")
I’ve been receiving books ordered directly from Amazon that have noticeable wear lately. They shipped a replacement paperback loose in a bubble mailer and it arrived with creases. May as well order used copies. The Amazon warehouse used to have a Washington state address, but it’s been mainly a Las Vegas warehouse lately. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-amazons-quality-control-been-iffy-for-you-lately/614291/47 "2014-02-14T00:32:38Z")
So far it has been decent, but I notice pricing isn’t what it used to be. I got into the habit over a few years of always assuming things on amazon were cheaper. I keep finding more and more than brick & mortar stores carry the same items cheaper. Which sucks because their online web sites usually don’t list the items, I have to go in store and find out I could’ve saved money. To date I do not think I have gotten anything I ordered new that arrived used. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-amazons-quality-control-been-iffy-for-you-lately/614291.md?page=2)