Amazon: Service level declining?

[HarryT]

My last Amazon shipment (a "GoPro" video camera) shipped from a depot in France, and took four days to reach me (ordered on Wednesday, delivered on Sunday). But in fairness Amazon did tell me this at the time I ordered it, so it wasn't unexpected.

[pwalker8]

I ordered several pairs of reading glasses from Amazon on July 27th. Two of them arrived on July 29th, the other was shipped some time ago, but apparently they used USPS. I'm told that I should get them some time between August 20th and September 8th. All three were ordered the same day with the same delivery option chosen. No warning that it was going to take a month to be delivered.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by HarryT

My last Amazon shipment (a "GoPro" video camera)...

GoPro Hero 3+ Black?
I had considered it, but went for the Sony HDR-AS100VR instead 6 weeks ago.
I'm a fan of GPS in cameras, so it was either Sony or Garmin for me. As I wasn't sure about the picture quality of Garmin, I went for Sony.
Nice! Although GoPro still has more accessories.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

I ordered several pairs of reading glasses from Amazon on July 27th. Two of them arrived on July 29th, the other was shipped some time ago, but apparently they used USPS. I'm told that I should get them some time between August 20th and September 8th. All three were ordered the same day with the same delivery option chosen. No warning that it was going to take a month to be delivered.

One month?
Unbelievable!

I've ordered a card adapter for 6 Euro. They ship it from Italy! 500km for a gadget of 6 Euro! And of course it takes 5 days.
It's an "exotic" adapter, I probably wouldn't find it in any local store. Still: Far from entertaining!

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

GoPro Hero 3+ Black?

Yep, that's the one.

I had considered it, but went for the Sony HDR-AS100VR instead 6 weeks ago.
I'm a fan of GPS in cameras, so it was either Sony or Garmin for me. As I wasn't sure about the picture quality of Garmin, I went for Sony.
Nice! Although GoPro still has more accessories.

I needed the GoPro specifically, because the camera mount on my quadcopter "drone" (now there's a fun tech-toy!) is designed for the GoPro, and nothing else. It works extremely well. Great video.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by HarryT

...I needed the GoPro specifically, because the camera mount on my quadcopter "drone" (now there's a fun tech-toy!) is designed for the GoPro, and nothing else. It works extremely well. Great video.

I have the Parrot AR Drone 2.0.
Just saw the new MiniDrone Rolling Spider in my local Saturn Markt.
The "spider face" is a bit childish, but the smaller form factor is nice enough.
I'm waiting for the Bebop Drone from Parrot, though.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

I have the Parrot AR Drone 2.0.
Just saw the new MiniDrone Rolling Spider in my local Saturn Markt.
The "spider face" is a bit childish, but the smaller form factor is nice enough.
I'm waiting for the Bebop Drone from Parrot, though.

I had the Parrot AR2, too. I've recently bought a DJI Phantom 2, which is just amazing. That's what the GoPro's for .

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

I ordered several pairs of reading glasses from Amazon on July 27th. Two of them arrived on July 29th, the other was shipped some time ago, but apparently they used USPS. I'm told that I should get them some time between August 20th and September 8th. All three were ordered the same day with the same delivery option chosen. No warning that it was going to take a month to be delivered.

The reading glasses arrived yesterday, so they did beat their projection. Still almost 3 weeks after it was shipped is way too long. It seems that Amazon is going more and more with USPS and the longer delivery times for lesser priced items. I ordered some labels today and got the noticed that they were shipped and the expected delivery date is sometime between August 22nd and August 27th. Not exactly what I expected when I clicked on the 2 day free delivery button.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

I ordered some labels today and got the noticed that they were shipped and the expected delivery date is sometime between August 22nd and August 27th. Not exactly what I expected when I clicked on the 2 day free delivery button.

Didn't it give you the estimated delivery time before you ordered?

Were the labels Prime eligible? If so I'd complain. There have always been items that aren't Prime eligible of course.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Didn't it give you the estimated delivery time before you ordered?

Were the labels Prime eligible? If so I'd complain. There have always been items that aren't Prime eligible of course.

They were a bit tricky. They have ships in 2 days, not 2 days delivery. They are not Prime eligible. I'll ding them pretty good on the delivery review, once they actually get here. I understand that they are trying to save money, but I would have preferred for them to have been up front about it.

[shalym]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

They were a bit tricky. They have ships in 2 days, not 2 days delivery. They are not Prime eligible. I'll ding them pretty good on the delivery review, once they actually get here. I understand that they are trying to save money, but I would have preferred for them to have been up front about it.

If they weren't prime eligible, were they fulfilled by Amazon, or a third party? If it says "fulfilled by Amazon" on the product page, then yes...ding Amazon on the delivery review. If it doesn't say that, then Amazon has no control over shipping.

Shari

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by shalym

If they weren't prime eligible, were they fulfilled by Amazon, or a third party? If it says "fulfilled by Amazon" on the product page, then yes...ding Amazon on the delivery review. If it doesn't say that, then Amazon has no control over shipping.

Shari

I wasn't going to ding Amazon, I was going to ding the vendor.

Amazon's issue is that they have successfully made customers associate Amazon with the experience. It's a bit like being the boss. You are responsible for everything, good and bad. That may not be fair, but that's the way it is. If I need something by a certain time, I do make sure that the item is filled by Amazon and that I pay for the proper delivery method.

[Blossom]

For me yes Amazon service has changed drastically. Prime means 4 day shipping now instead of 2 day. It's been this way for months. I would get a package I order in two days. It now takes two days from the time I order for it to be shipped and two days to get it by UPS, FedEx or USPS.

Now if I order on say a Saturday it still wont ship until Tuesday and it shows up Wednesday. It use to shipped either late Sunday or Early Monday.

So it's like this if I order something Monday I will get it Thursday. What's more crazy alot of the stuff comes from the warehouse right here in Raleigh.

I use to be able to order anything. It was ship later that night and I got it two days later. Now I have to wait 4 days total so imagine without Prime what time it would get here.

I use Amazon gift cards earned through Swagbucks to buy essentials like Cat Litter, Nexium, and few other medicines I couldn't get any other way with my husband out of work but the two day processing is new and it misleading to call it two day shipping.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Blossom

For me yes Amazon service has changed drastically. Prime means 4 day shipping now instead of 2 day. It's been this way for months. I would get a package I order in two days. It now takes two days from the time I order for it to be shipped and two days to get it by UPS, FedEx or USPS.

Now if I order on say a Saturday it still wont ship until Tuesday and it shows up Wednesday. It use to shipped either late Sunday or Early Monday.

So it's like this if I order something Monday I will get it Thursday. What's more crazy alot of the stuff comes from the warehouse right here in Raleigh.

I use to be able to order anything. It was ship later that night and I got it two days later. Now I have to wait 4 days total so imagine without Prime what time it would get here...

Strange thing is, I can't see a clear trend.
For the last 2 weeks, a few shipments (maybe 30% of my orders) went smoothly. Shipped the very same day and delivered the next day - as it's supposed to be with Prime in Germany (smaller country = 1 day instead of 2 days like in the US).
Some other shipments did have strange logistics. They've shipped some small purchases below 10 Euro from Italy and Eastern Europe, without any explanation or pre-warning. And of course this sometimes took more than a week.
And some other purchases, about 50% of the total, simply took 3 to 5 days for no apparent reason.
All those shipments had been from Amazon directly, via Prima...

[shalym]

Originally Posted by Blossom

For me yes Amazon service has changed drastically. Prime means 4 day shipping now instead of 2 day. It's been this way for months. I would get a package I order in two days. It now takes two days from the time I order for it to be shipped and two days to get it by UPS, FedEx or USPS.

Now if I order on say a Saturday it still wont ship until Tuesday and it shows up Wednesday. It use to shipped either late Sunday or Early Monday.

So it's like this if I order something Monday I will get it Thursday. What's more crazy alot of the stuff comes from the warehouse right here in Raleigh.

I use to be able to order anything. It was ship later that night and I got it two days later. Now I have to wait 4 days total so imagine without Prime what time it would get here.

I use Amazon gift cards earned through Swagbucks to buy essentials like Cat Litter, Nexium, and few other medicines I couldn't get any other way with my husband out of work but the two day processing is new and it misleading to call it two day shipping.

In that case, I would be complaining every single time. 2 days is 2 days. Is Amazon telling you something different? I know that the (very) few times I've ever had a problem with Prime shipping I got a profuse apology and a credit applied to my account that was almost equal to the cost of what I was ordering.

Edit to add: Of course, when I say "2 days is 2 days" I'm talking about items that are listed as "In Stock". If the product description says that the item is not in stock at the time (and I've never seen an item that didn't say whether or not it was in stock) then I don't expect to receive it within 2 days.

Shari