Got burned on Amazon (well, sort of)

[gstrom99]

Being very rural here, I order from Amazon often. I check the "item location" and don't order when it's in China. I got suckered into free 30 day Prime membership and forgot (or they forgot to remind me) when to cancel before the (too high $) membership went monthly. I've never failed to get my item. When doing a return, sometimes they don't even want it back and will issue a refund/credit right away, which saves a 30 minute trip to the closest UPS dropoff spot.

 

[Oaktree]

Put otherwise, I saved myself maybe 300 trips to TSC, Home Depot, or Lowes, last year.

I just schedule visits to those places next time I'm in town, it's rare that I make a special trip. Not much that I'd get at HD or Lowes would be something Amazon would carry.

 

[DarkBlack]

My wife ordered herself some stuff off Amazon on Friday. She doesn’t have Prime, but it was delivered yesterday (Sunday)free shipping

 

[dmccarty]

I don't want to know what we spend on Amazon.

95+% of the time we get our orders in the time specified. There have been a few things that did not get delivered on time and showed up weeks later. By then Amazon had shipped a replacement and we got to keep both items. This has happened with small items and I think they get hidden on the truck. We did have one order where it was obvious the packer sent our stuff to some one else and we got their order. Amazon told us to keep what we got and sent our order.

Last week, I needed an air filter for the truck. Looked at one of the local parts stores and they wanted $82! It was not in stock. Amazon had the same product for $40 and it was installed in the truck less than 24 hours after ordering. I ain't in the city either. Most of our Amazon deliveries are made by Amazon now. No problems so far.

 

[Jchonline]

I dont do Amazon anymore for anything. Once we moved up to the mountains, their delivery service is slower than just about everyone else...Walmart, direct vendors, etc.

 

[WinterDeere]

I dont do Amazon anymore for anything. Once we moved up to the mountains, their delivery service is slower than just about everyone else...Walmart, direct vendors, etc.

Walmart does have a pretty viable competitive option for Amazon, nearly everywhere. I'll believe you, if you say they're better in your region, things will always vary by local conditions.

 

[Jchonline]

Walmart does have a pretty viable competitive option for Amazon, nearly everywhere. I'll believe you, if you say they're better in your region, things will always vary by local conditions.

Walmart has their own issues...poor packing, sometimes disorganized...but I have a store I can stop by when I go to town, and their customer service has been easier for me to contact. Not saying its amazing...but for us its better.

 

[ponytug]

The change made last year to Amazon reviews and the hiding of the question area has pretty much destroyed their usefulness to me. It was by reading both questions and 3 star reviews I got the best information on a product.

I agree that it isn't as easy to find, but the questions and sorting reviews by ratings is still available.

Amazon gets a chunk more business from me because often my local "fill in the blank" store (Lowe's /HD/ auto parts) often either don't have the item in stock, or worse say that they do, and then when I turn up and the "72 items in stock" turns out to actually be "oops, we quit stocking that here two years ago, funny, must be a computer glitch...". You get burned often enough and it just isn't worth it, at least to me. I've tried the online order, pick up at store routine a few times, but most times there is an error, which eats more time. Last time I need a few (six) fence posts for a repair in a height that I don't stock. The big box store had them in stock, and I put in a pickup order, along with a bunch of other items. The picker wanted to load six five packs of fence posts (or perhaps it was ten to a bundle) So it took another half hour to sort out the order.

I bought a $6 item at a local auction, and my spouse pointed out that the gas to go get it was twice the price of the item.

Because Amazon does do such a cost effective job, I keep an eye on time / fuel for buying items, but I do comparison price Walmart/eBay/big box stores. I've started grouping my lumber deliveries so that one truck load can cover a year or so of planned projects, and the delivery charge is less than my getting and hauling it.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Jstpssng]

I got suckered into free 30 day Prime membership and forgot (or they forgot to remind me) when to cancel before the (too high $) membership went monthly.

That's how they get you, and why I refuse to do business with nearly anybody who requires "Autopay." If something is "Free" they shouldn't need a CC #.
I paid for a "trial period" with my local newspaper and no longer even have the email account I signed up through. They never said a thing about renewal, yet keep charging my account every 3 months. I should cancel it but do use the subscription. I have to wonder how many people are paying for subscriptions which they don't even realize they still have.
Granted the onus is on them to check their statements every month but still...

 

[jyoutz]

I agree that it isn't as easy to find, but the questions and sorting reviews by ratings is still available.

Amazon gets a chunk more business from me because often my local "fill in the blank" store (Lowe's /HD/ auto parts) often either don't have the item in stock, or worse say that they do, and then when I turn up and the "72 items in stock" turns out to actually be "oops, we quit stocking that here two years ago, funny, must be a computer glitch...". You get burned often enough and it just isn't worth it, at least to me. I've tried the online order, pick up at store routine a few times, but most times there is an error, which eats more time. Last time I need a few (six) fence posts for a repair in a height that I don't stock. The big box store had them in stock, and I put in a pickup order, along with a bunch of other items. The picker wanted to load six five packs of fence posts (or perhaps it was ten to a bundle) So it took another half hour to sort out the order.

I bought a $6 item at a local auction, and my spouse pointed out that the gas to go get it was twice the price of the item.

Because Amazon does do such a cost effective job, I keep an eye on time / fuel for buying items, but I do comparison price Walmart/eBay/big box stores. I've started grouping my lumber deliveries so that one truck load can cover a year or so of planned projects, and the delivery charge is less than my getting and hauling it.

All the best,

Peter

That is really why I buy so many things on Amazon. Selection and availability. After I visit a few local stores and they don’t have what I’m looking for, I give up and buy online. And there are many things that I buy on Amazon that I know aren’t available in stores, so I go straight to Amazon. One small example is good quality double edged razor blades. I prefer shaving with old style double edge razors, but finding them in stores is almost impossible. Amazon has dozens of brands of blades and brushes to choose from, all delivered to my mail within 2-3 days. One small example, but there are so many things they carry that just can’t be bought locally.

 

[WinterDeere]

That is really why I buy so many things on Amazon. Selection and availability. After I visit a few local stores and they don’t have what I’m looking for, I give up and buy online. And there are many things that I buy on Amazon that I know aren’t available in stores, so I go straight to Amazon. One small example is good quality double edged razor blades. I prefer shaving with old style double edge razors, but finding them in stores is almost impossible. Amazon has dozens of brands of blades and brushes to choose from, all delivered to my mail within 2-3 days. One small example, but there are so many things they carry that just can’t be bought locally.

Ditto, on every point. I know Amazon is usually more expensive than I can find locally, but I'm paying for convenience and selection.

 

[MoKelly]

The other day I had a towel bar come loose. It had originally been hung with just screws in the drywall.

So, I was going to use anchor bolts to make tight.

Didn’t have the right size anchors at home.

So, I thought, I can get better dressed, get in the car, drive 30 minutes to Wally (closest place that would have the product), go in the store and spend 15 minutes finding the correct isle, spend more time checking out then driving 30 more minutes home.

Or - I can order on Amazon and get free next day delivery.

I didn’t think long and the towel bar was up by noon the next day.

I agree I am getting lazy in my older years!

But - to me - that is the appeal of Amazon for all the little everyday things we need that aren’t rocket science or require brand names.

 

[Darth_DMack]

We just moved to our forever home. Bought land and built my retirement home. The neighborhood we lived in for the past 3.5 years, spoiled us. Our mail carrier knew us by name, and we her. We were very lucky, being in a small town, to have the same carrier and same UPS / Amazon / FedEx drivers.

Our new house is literally 6 miles away, but we have different carriers now. So far, we've had several Amazon deliveries show as "Delivered", but not show up. Our USPS Mail Carrier has not shown up with mail for the past 7 days. Apparently, he went on vacation and never came back to work.

Hope things get better!

 

[jyoutz]

We just moved to our forever home. Bought land and built my retirement home. The neighborhood we lived in for the past 3.5 years, spoiled us. Our mail carrier knew us by name, and we her. We were very lucky, being in a small town, to have the same carrier and same UPS / Amazon / FedEx drivers.

Our new house is literally 6 miles away, but we have different carriers now. So far, we've had several Amazon deliveries show as "Delivered", but not show up. Our USPS Mail Carrier has not shown up with mail for the past 7 days. Apparently, he went on vacation and never came back to work.

Hope things get better!

I had some issues with mail delivery last year, not just packages. I made a visit to discuss this with the local postmaster. The problems stopped after that visit.

 

[Darth_DMack]

I had some issues with mail delivery last year, not just packages. I made a visit to discuss this with the local postmaster. The problems stopped after that visit.

Yes Sir... that is on my "to do" list for today after work!

 

[Jstpssng]

Friends live on a gravel road which used to get muddy in spring. (It probably still does.) The mail lady drove a Saab and refused to drive to their house in springtime. But she didn't leave their mail at the post office: she left it in her car, and lived about 25 miles away. They would go several weeks without getting their mail, 35 years ago when most of us still recieved our bills and checks in the mail.

 

[ponytug]

In the "Buyer Beware" category:

One type of item that I have gotten burned on at Amazon recently is NPT plumbing fittings. The vast majority of the advertised "NPT" products recently have all been metric G threads, aka BSPP/BSPT, which are the same diameter and thread pitch as NPT, but they are a parallel pipe thread that needs an o-ring or washer to seal. So, threading BSPT into NPT doesn't get to an interference fit, resulting in gobs of sealant and tape, or leaks.

(BSPP= British Standard Parallel Pipe (Thread))
(BSPT= British Standard Pipe Tapered (different thread profile)

I was looking for an NPT cap/plug set last night, and every plug/cap that I found with a high resolution image was not actually NPT. Grrr...

All the best,

Peter

More here for the curious;

The Difference Between NPT, BSPP and BSPT Seals

Pressure systems in the process industry use different ways of sealing depending on the geographical region, size of the pressure system, and…

www.ralstoninst.com

 

[WinterDeere]

In the "Buyer Beware" category:

One type of item that I have gotten burned on at Amazon recently is NPT plumbing fittings. The vast majority of the advertised "NPT" products recently have all been metric G threads, aka BSPP/BSPT, which are the same diameter and thread pitch as NPT, but they are a parallel pipe thread that needs an o-ring or washer to seal. So, threading BSPT into NPT doesn't get to an interference fit, resulting in gobs of sealant and tape, or leaks.

(BSPP= British Standard Parallel Pipe (Thread))
(BSPT= British Standard Pipe Tapered (different thread profile)

I was looking for an NPT cap/plug set last night, and every plug/cap that I found with a high resolution image was not actually NPT. Grrr...

All the best,

Peter

More here for the curious;

The Difference Between NPT, BSPP and BSPT Seals

Pressure systems in the process industry use different ways of sealing depending on the geographical region, size of the pressure system, and…

www.ralstoninst.com

You might want to check your figures there, ponytug. Non-tapered NPT is actually NPS, not BSP. BSP(P/T) is a completely different system, although there are similarities in some sizes.

I have bought a lot of plumbing fittings on Amazon, and I'll agree that's not their forte. Try McMaster-Carr instead, usually same day or next day delivery, easier to find the items (time is money), and you know you're getting quality fittings.

 

[ponytug]

You might want to check your figures there, ponytug. Non-tapered NPT is actually NPS, not BSP. BSP(P/T) is a completely different system, although there are similarities in some sizes.

I have bought a lot of plumbing fittings on Amazon, and I'll agree that's not their forte. Try McMaster-Carr instead, usually same day or next day delivery, easier to find the items (time is money), and you know you're getting quality fittings.

Sorry to mislead anyone. Yes, NPT is not BSP, nor BSPT.

My issue was with coupling normal US NPT, tapered pipe, to certain Amazon fittings that were not tapered. Not a great fit in my view, but more to the point, not what I supposedly purchased.

I agree with you on the McMaster-Carr endorsement. Their next morning delivery of parts has saved me more than a few times, and their customer service has often gone to bat for me to find slightly different versions of their parts. Worth every penny in my book.

All the best,

Peter