Amazon: Service level declining?

[Xanthe]

I'd rather they use UPS than FedEx, though. FedEx is a PITA.

[QuantumIguana]

I'd rather get packages from the post office than from FedEx or from UPS, because if I'm not here when the package arrives, I can just walk down to the post office to pick it up.

[shalym]

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

It's extremely rare that I don't get a package when it is promised to be delivered by Amazon. I am a Prime Member, and I expect them to take up to 24 hours to package and ship my 2-day package, which I then expect to arrive two days after shipment. I can't remember the last time a package arrived late. The cast iron pan I was told was out of stock and wouldn't be delivered for 2 weeks showed up in 5 days.

Fortunately, the UPS drivers in my area are particularly efficient, and most items are shipped to me via UPS. I can't say the same for the FedEx drivers. Or the mail carriers.

This is how it is for me, as well. The only time I've ever had anything delayed in any way (it was a set of sheets that was delayed by two days) I contacted Amazon and got a $5 credit to my account.

I'm sorry UPS sucks so badly in your area--I hope you call the UPS office and complain every single time...I know I would.

Shari

[faithbw]

I ordered a book Monday and it arrived yesterday. I didn't order two shipping. In fact my package came earlier than expected. It also was shipped by UPS. I was pleased and a little surprised. So maybe it depends on how good the shipping is in your area.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by faithbw

I ordered a book Monday and it arrived yesterday. I didn't order two shipping. In fact my package came earlier than expected. It also was shipped by UPS. I was pleased and a little surprised. So maybe it depends on how good the shipping is in your area.

It also depends on where you live and where the warehouse is in relation to where you live. For example, when I order from Newegg.com and they ship from New Jersey, I get it it sooner then expected because it's not that far away.

[faithbw]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It also depends on where you live and where the warehouse is in relation to where you live. For example, when I order from Newegg.com and they ship from New Jersey, I get it it sooner then expected because it's not that far away.

The package came all the way from Las Vegas but I live in Ohio. So that's a pretty good distance yet it still arrived in two days.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by faithbw

The package came all the way from Las Vegas but I live in Ohio. So that's a pretty good distance yet it still arrived in two days.

Dang! I'm in Ohio, and a large chunk of stuff I order from them ships out of the Lexington, KY warehouse. Hop, skip and a jump.

[Ekaros]

I have stopped using Amazon after they stopped offering free super saver delivery. For that reason I personally feel there is decline in service. It probably wasn't cost efficient for them...

[mgmueller]

I've just (Wednesday, 3pm German time) ordered the quick shot cover for the Lenovo Thinkpad 8.
On stock, via Amazon Prime.
In my shopping basket it stated: "Delivery tomorrow, Thursday".
That's what I've had in the past.
And by far most of my friends in Germany with Prime confirm: Amazon guarantees (and fulfills!) next day shipment.
I have to check the T&Cs, but "next day shipment" had been my experience in the past, even before Prime.
But as I stated in the thread: For the last 12 to 18 months, it had been 2 days instead of 1.
I'm curious, whether I'll have it tomorrow, as promised and experienced in the past.
(It won't really matter, I'm on the road until the evening anyway. But out of curiosity...)

[shanghaichica]

The last thing I ordered from amazon arrived a day late. I'd paid for next day delivery by 1pm and they didn't deliver it until the following day. Surprisingly the carrier was DPD who are usually reliable. However over the past year all my deliveries have come via amazon logistics and they have been superb.

[silverraven]

I was actually impressed with how fast I got my last order from Amazon. I ordered something last night around 8:30 pm. It was on my doorstep by 12:30pm today, so less than 24 hours. I have never had an order come that fast before! I'm sure it was just a fluke, it just surprised me.
Oh, and I did NOT pay for next day delivery. This was just Prime shipping.
S

[dakini]

I moved country, and Amazon couldn't transfer my Prime. Completely understood, each country's Amazon is separate. They *did* give me a six-month trial for free here. That was nice. I didn't renew it, because I didn't order much in the six months. I've been amazed how slow the non-Prime Amazon orders dispatch. My last order was for two cases for my ereader. One arrived mangled, and Amazon couldn't refill it, so I had to send it back and wait several weeks for a refund. The other arrived fine ... but arrived a month to the day after I placed the order. It was postmarked ten miles or so from my house -- same metro area.

Several of my colleagues say from their own experience there's a slowdown for people who give up Prime. I'm not sure about that ... but I don't order often enough to make the Prime costs worth it, and I'm not happy waiting a month for an order, so that's why it's been months since I last ordered from Amazon.

[faithbw]

There seems to be a lot of variance in how fast Amazon ships orders. The last couple of items I've ordered have come quickly. I ordered a book on a Monday and it came Wednesday. That was standard shipping. I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly it came.

I ordered another item (a Kindle case) on a Friday and it came on the following Wednesday. The book was fulfilled by Amazon while the Kindle case wasn't. I'm currently waiting for another book I ordered Friday. I again chose standard shipping and it's supposed to be here tomorrow. Tomorrow was the expected delivery date, so I'm ok with that.

[faithbw]

Speaking of Amazon shipping, I found this on CNET:

Amazon offers Prime members video credit for slower shipping

Amazon Prime subscribers who don't need an item right away can now opt to delay the shipping time in exchange for a credit toward a video.

In the past, Prime members trying to purchase an item would see a few choices, such as free standard shipping, free two-day shipping, and one-day shipping at an extra cost. Now a new option has appeared: "Free No-Rush Shipping (5-7 business days)."

One of the major features of Amazon Prime is free two-day shipping on many products. So why would Amazon play around with such a key benefit? The likely culprit is shipping costs. In March, Amazon raised the annual price tag of its Prime subscription to $99 from $79. In explaining the price boost, the retailer said it had never raised prices on the service despite increased fuel and transportation costs. Shipping costs will continue to rise, and the company can't justify another price increase. So it is trying to find more palatable and flexible ways to trim expenses.

[mgmueller]

Interesting development!

As a Prime member, for the last few weeks I often had received my deliveries the very next day, when placing the order early (around noon).

But in the last few days, things have changed drastically.
This seems to be solely a German problem, though.
My last 3 shipments are from Eastern Europe! They take 3 to 5 days! I've never had anything like that before with Amazon.
There was a brief article about this today. Because of the Trade Union Ver.di and the risk of union strikes in their German hubs, Amazon supposedly advised their partners, to make about 30% of their shipments via hubs outside of Germany.
Obviously, Amazon wants to put pressure on the Trade Unions. Something like "we, Amazon, don't need German hubs at all, we can ship from outside Germany".
But, in my opinion, they forget about 2 things:
a.) The German market has tenacious memory. Nokia never recovered from their disastrous retreat from the German plant in Bochum. Nowadays, given the low market share of Nokia, nobody bothers anyway. But back then, about 7 years ago, Nokia had been champion everywhere else, but lost dramatically in Germany.
b.) Ordering standard products (in my case, it's a gaming device, a cover and some memory cards) with a lead time of 3 to 5 days nowadays doesn't make any sense at all. I already had contemplated, whether to go to the Saturn Markt in my neighborhood. All in all, this will take 30 minutes and I can check online the availability of the products in each of their markets. If I frequently have to wait more than 2 days, I'll only order "exotic" stuff that's hard to find elsewhere from Amazon, but for the "standard" products there are tons of alternatives.

And, interesting enough, Amazon in Germany doesn't have any cost advantages anymore.
For the last 15 or 20 products I bought in the electronic markets in my neighborhood, I've checked the prices from Amazon for comparison.
In most (maybe 75%) of the cases, the prices had been more or less identical. One sales guy even told me, he's checking the Amazon prices at least 3 times per week and adjust the prices in his department (cameras) accordingly.
In the few cases, where there had been significant price differences, I directed the sales people to the Amazon website. With the exception of one case, they reduced their prices accordingly.
So, to me, Amazon solely is about convenience.
But that convenience isn't worth 3 to 5 days shipment.

I'm amazed by such decisions from Amazon. Obviously their pressure on finally generating some profits has increased and forces them to such measures...