Amazon Gouges on Shipping

pking36330 · 12-17-2009, 09:19 AM

I placed an order on Amazon for several small items as stocking stuffers and requested the 'Ship Together' option with 'Standard Shipping'.

After the order confirmation email I get an email indicating that one item I ordered wasn't in stock after all (even though their web page shows it as in stock) and the item wouldn't ship until January. OK, no biggie.

I then got an email that one of the items had shipped ($3.96 shipping), and the other was shipping the next day.

Today I get an email indicating that the remaining item (four sets of earbud clips that cost $0.99 each) shipped and they are charging me $19.96 to ship these four items that weigh less than a half ounce a piece. 'Standard shipping' my tail feathers!

I've already fussed in an email, and if they don't adjust the shipping charge to something more reasonable, it'll be the very last order I ever make with Amazon. I guess they get enough people who don't read their invoice they routinely get away with this. Amazing.

daffy4u · 12-17-2009, 09:25 AM

Is it Amazon charging the $19.96 or a seller on Amazon?

Catire · 12-17-2009, 09:53 AM

Didnt Amazon give you a shipping price at checkout? they shouldnt charge more than what they first told you, even if they are shipping everything as a separate shipment.

desertgrandma · 12-17-2009, 10:06 AM

This sounds like a "third party" item......when you ordered, was it fulfilled by Amazon or another company?

Amazon doesn't have those high shipping charges for something like that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pking36330

Today I get an email indicating that the remaining item (four sets of earbud clips that cost $0.99 each) shipped and they are charging me $19.96 to ship these four items that weigh less than a half ounce a piece. 'Standard shipping' my tail feathers!

I've already fussed in an email, and if they don't adjust the shipping charge to something more reasonable, it'll be the very last order I ever make with Amazon. I guess they get enough people who don't read their invoice they routinely get away with this. Amazing.

pking36330 · 12-17-2009, 10:56 AM

It was 3rd party, but that wasn't clear when I made the order. Lick on me, but they'll never fool me again.

desertgrandma · 12-17-2009, 11:01 AM

So...........it wasn't Amazon that gouged you, it was the third party.

HarryT · 12-17-2009, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pking36330

It was 3rd party, but that wasn't clear when I made the order. Lick on me, but they'll never fool me again.

Why was it not clear? I don't use the US Amazon site very often, but on the UK site it's absolutely clear when you're buying from Amazon and when you're not, because for 3rd party items, below the price it says "Dispatched and sold by ..." followed by whatever the name of the company is.

I'm afraid that I have to agree with the previous posters that it appears as though your (perfectly reasonable) annoyance is being misdirected. It's not Amazon who've done anything wrong here.

PennyPie · 12-17-2009, 11:46 AM

I sell (occasionally) on Amazon. I'm locked into the price I charge for shipping...I don't have options on how much I can charge..it's set by Amazon. Not sure about multiple items tho.... Good luck getting it resolved!

desertgrandma · 12-17-2009, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PennyPie

I sell (occasionally) on Amazon. I'm locked into the price I charge for shipping...I don't have options on how much I can charge..it's set by Amazon. Not sure about multiple items tho.... Good luck getting it resolved!

You sell thru the "fulfilled by Amazon" feature, right? Yes, your prices are locked in.

The OP bought thru a third party, which wasn't "fulfilled by Amazon. They can charge whatever they want, apparently.

I've seen some ridiculous shipping charges, they are clearly on each page, and I just refuse to buy from those vendors.

wodin · 12-17-2009, 01:54 PM

Living on the beautiful Sandwich Isle, I am overly sensitive to shipping costs. I ALWAYS check the shipping cost before hitting the confirm button. And if the site doesn't calculate shipping before making me confirm the sale, I don't shop there.

My experience with Amazon is that whenever I'm buying directly form them, shipping is always fair and reasonable, and if for some reason they have to split the order the second package ships for free.

If, on the other hand the item is from a secondary vendor, all bets are off. I too have experienced someone wanting to sell me a two bit item and charge twenty bucks for shipping.

I have actually had vendors call me and say they had to charge more for shipping to Hawaii, and would I still like the item. My response is always "The post office charges the same to ship to Hawaii as any other state, send it USPS!" If they are unwilling to do that, I usually cancel.

BLUF: ALWAYS check shipping costs (and tax) before confirming a sale.

jinlo · 12-17-2009, 02:03 PM

Perhaps Amazon should be a bit more discerning in what companies they allow to utilize their on-line store as third party sellers. A $20 shipping and handling charge for a $4 ear bud order certainly sounds unreasonable to me. Yes, perhaps the OP should have caught that during the order process, but it still seems to be a valid complaint that Amazon is allowing this on their site. I mean if a guest in my house starts running a scam on my neighbors, he's not going to be a guest for long. I'll let others argue over whether or not the annoyance is being misdirected. The fact that it is being discussed shows that Amazon's reputation could be hurt by the actions of disreputable sellers. That's what they need to avoid.

daffy4u · 12-17-2009, 02:16 PM

3rd part sellers on Amazon are subject to customer ratings just as sellers on eBay are. If the seller is indeed gouging (I'm not sure if this was gouging or a typo on someone's part), enough complaints to Amazon would get the seller removed.

pking36330 · 12-18-2009, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jinlo

Perhaps Amazon should be a bit more discerning in what companies they allow to utilize their on-line store as third party sellers. A $20 shipping and handling charge for a $4 ear bud order certainly sounds unreasonable to me. Yes, perhaps the OP should have caught that during the order process, but it still seems to be a valid complaint that Amazon is allowing this on their site. I mean if a guest in my house starts running a scam on my neighbors, he's not going to be a guest for long. I'll let others argue over whether or not the annoyance is being misdirected. The fact that it is being discussed shows that Amazon's reputation could be hurt by the actions of disreputable sellers. That's what they need to avoid.

Jinlo, you are correct, I really should have been more vigilant.

I got an email from Amazon saying they notified the third-party seller of my dissatisfaction, but the terms of the sale are between me and that third party seller.

When buying from a third-party seller, your order is fulfilled directly by the seller. Amazon Merchants set their own shipping terms, and in general, their shipping charges reflect the costs for packaging each order and shipping costs.

I then got an email from the third part seller:

Dear buyer,

Please refuse the delivery, we are going to issue you full refund . Thanks, once you refuse it, let us know. FUll refund will be issued to you. Sorry, shipping cost is agreed before you purchase it, plus, the shipping cost is set by AMazon, not us

So I replied to Amazon and the reseller:

Someone is lying to me.

I complained about an order for 4 earbud covers costing $0.99 each resulting in charging me $19.96 for shipping.

The response email from Amazon says:
When buying from a third-party seller, your order is fulfilled directly by the seller. Amazon Merchants set their own shipping terms, and in general, their shipping charges reflect the costs for packaging each order and shipping costs.

Then I get a response email from this reseller stating:
Dear buyer, Please refuse the delivery, we are going to issue you full refund . Thanks, once you refuse it, let us know. FUll refund will be issued to you. Sorry, shipping cost is agreed before you purchase it, plus, the shipping cost is set by AMazon, not us

So who's idea was it to gouge me $20 shipping for a one ounce package worth $3.96? Amazon says 24HourDispatch sets the shipping cost and 24HourDispatch says Amazon sets the shipping costs. Finger pointing isn't giving me a warm fuzzy about the safety of making purchases through Amazon and its sellers.

This isn't near as bad as some of the other merchant issues I've seen discussed here and elsewhere and I hate mewling over twenty bucks. Despite this minor aggravation I'll still have a Merry Christmas, but it will make me leary of using Amazon in the future. I won't say I won't use them, but I know I'll look other places first now. I'm embarrassed I let this happen to me and my typical reaction is to avoid the opportunity to let it happen again. Live and learn, caveat emptor, and avoid the rapid checkout!

forkyfork · 12-18-2009, 10:45 AM

I think I would more likely to believe Amazon over some random 3rd party seller who doesn't quite have a firm grasp on English.

12-17-2009, 09:19 AM	#1
pking36330 FT Parent PT Reader Posts: 322 Karma: 187838 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: South Alabama Device: Shocked by how much I've read on an iPod Touch received as a gift!	Amazon Gouges on Shipping I placed an order on Amazon for several small items as stocking stuffers and requested the 'Ship Together' option with 'Standard Shipping'. After the order confirmation email I get an email indicating that one item I ordered wasn't in stock after all (even though their web page shows it as in stock) and the item wouldn't ship until January. OK, no biggie. I then got an email that one of the items had shipped ($3.96 shipping), and the other was shipping the next day. Today I get an email indicating that the remaining item (four sets of earbud clips that cost $0.99 each) shipped and they are charging me $19.96 to ship these four items that weigh less than a half ounce a piece. 'Standard shipping' my tail feathers! I've already fussed in an email, and if they don't adjust the shipping charge to something more reasonable, it'll be the very last order I ever make with Amazon. I guess they get enough people who don't read their invoice they routinely get away with this. Amazing.

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12-17-2009, 09:25 AM	#2
daffy4u I'm Super Kindle-icious Posts: 6,734 Karma: 2434103 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Long Drive, Calinadia Candafornia Device: KDXG, KT, Oasis	Is it Amazon charging the $19.96 or a seller on Amazon?

12-17-2009, 09:53 AM	#3
Catire Lord of the Universe Posts: 670 Karma: 737849 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Maturin , Venezuela Device: Sony Reader PRS-505 / PSP	Didnt Amazon give you a shipping price at checkout? they shouldnt charge more than what they first told you, even if they are shipping everything as a separate shipment.

12-17-2009, 10:56 AM	#5
pking36330 FT Parent PT Reader Posts: 322 Karma: 187838 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: South Alabama Device: Shocked by how much I've read on an iPod Touch received as a gift!	It was 3rd party, but that wasn't clear when I made the order. Lick on me, but they'll never fool me again.

12-17-2009, 11:01 AM	#6
desertgrandma Enjoying the show.... Posts: 14,270 Karma: 10462843 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Arizona Device: A K1, Kindle Paperwhite, an Ipod, IPad2, Iphone, an Ipad Mini & macAir	So...........it wasn't Amazon that gouged you, it was the third party.

12-17-2009, 11:46 AM	#8
PennyPie Cocoa & Toast...mmmmmm... Posts: 275 Karma: 1000 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Ohio Device: Sony PRS-700, iPhone	I sell (occasionally) on Amazon. I'm locked into the price I charge for shipping...I don't have options on how much I can charge..it's set by Amazon. Not sure about multiple items tho.... Good luck getting it resolved!

12-17-2009, 01:54 PM	#10
wodin Illiterate Posts: 10,279 Karma: 37848716 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: The Sandwich Isles Device: Samsung Galaxy S10+, Microsoft Surface Pro	Living on the beautiful Sandwich Isle, I am overly sensitive to shipping costs. I ALWAYS check the shipping cost before hitting the confirm button. And if the site doesn't calculate shipping before making me confirm the sale, I don't shop there. My experience with Amazon is that whenever I'm buying directly form them, shipping is always fair and reasonable, and if for some reason they have to split the order the second package ships for free. If, on the other hand the item is from a secondary vendor, all bets are off. I too have experienced someone wanting to sell me a two bit item and charge twenty bucks for shipping. I have actually had vendors call me and say they had to charge more for shipping to Hawaii, and would I still like the item. My response is always "The post office charges the same to ship to Hawaii as any other state, send it USPS!" If they are unwilling to do that, I usually cancel. BLUF: ALWAYS check shipping costs (and tax) before confirming a sale.

12-17-2009, 02:03 PM	#11
jinlo aka coco jinlo Posts: 415 Karma: 500002 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: NJ-USA Device: Just purchased Sony 505, but alas, it is for the wife	Perhaps Amazon should be a bit more discerning in what companies they allow to utilize their on-line store as third party sellers. A $20 shipping and handling charge for a $4 ear bud order certainly sounds unreasonable to me. Yes, perhaps the OP should have caught that during the order process, but it still seems to be a valid complaint that Amazon is allowing this on their site. I mean if a guest in my house starts running a scam on my neighbors, he's not going to be a guest for long. I'll let others argue over whether or not the annoyance is being misdirected. The fact that it is being discussed shows that Amazon's reputation could be hurt by the actions of disreputable sellers. That's what they need to avoid.

12-17-2009, 02:16 PM	#12
daffy4u I'm Super Kindle-icious Posts: 6,734 Karma: 2434103 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Long Drive, Calinadia Candafornia Device: KDXG, KT, Oasis	3rd part sellers on Amazon are subject to customer ratings just as sellers on eBay are. If the seller is indeed gouging (I'm not sure if this was gouging or a typo on someone's part), enough complaints to Amazon would get the seller removed.

12-18-2009, 10:45 AM	#14
forkyfork Zealot Posts: 145 Karma: 1664 Join Date: May 2009 Device: It's a long story ;)	I think I would more likely to believe Amazon over some random 3rd party seller who doesn't quite have a firm grasp on English.