Amazon is changing for the worse.

[Diggs]

I'm an Amazon Prime member and have been for years. Lately, nothing comes in under 4 days except the hard sales pitch to join "Amazon Business Prime" to get things in delivered 2 days. I thought that's why I had Prime? So Prime isn't good enough any more and isn't much different than a standard personal account around here. I go to my Amazon account page and can't even tell I'm a Prime member. It's all about Business Prime - pffft! Business Prime is a multi-tiered cluster f*** to bleed more money out of the users. Offers me nothing yet I'm losing the main reason I signed up for Prime in the first place was the next day shipping.

In local news about 30 local Amazon drivers quit in-mass and all that volume is back on the postal service and the USPS carriers aren't too pleased either. They don't like Amazon......

/rant off

(Not sure if this should be posted here. Most of my hardware comes from Amazon hence why I posted here but @Kitten Kong feel free to move.)

 

[Sky-Knight]

Amazon got the market by being unsustainably cheap. What you're feeling is the engine breaking down, expect things to get worse. Free shipping is impossible.

 

[phaZed]

Your particular location and warehouse locations will affect your shipping... Also, everything is slow to ship now days, Amazon or not... The 'world' is in a bad way right now and we're starting to see "lagging trends" of dealing with COVID for a full year+.

Not excusing Amazon, and @Sky-Knight touches on one of the problems with Amazon, among many.

 

[Porthos]

Your particular location and warehouse locations will affect your shipping

Exactly. It is about where and how many warehouses you have. I have 2 here. But it also depends if the item you ordered is at one of them.
Most of my usual items are next or second day. Some are longer.

the hard sales pitch to join "Amazon Business Prime" to get things in delivered 2 days.

The system is determined your purchase habits are business-like. Business or not, the delays happen to me as well with some items.
"Prime" does not automatically mean 2-day shipping. It only means free without a minimum purchase.
There are different levels of Business Prime. I am on a plan that is the same as regular Prime but with a few additions. I still have all of the consumer features like Prime video and music.

 

[Mike McCall]

I have a business account with Amazon that never gets used. I do buy most of my hardware via them, but only if the pricing is better and the seller is reputable. Due to my location, I often get ordered delivered the next day. However, I have also had orders take a couple of weeks. As @phaZed said, shipping (as well as manufacturing) is a bit of a random cluster right now.

 

[Porthos]

I do buy most of my hardware via them, but only if the pricing is better and the seller is reputable.

I like the way Amazon takes care of issues and returns. All I have to do is drop it off at the UPS store and they package it and return it for me.
Cannot get that with other vendors. Amazon gets 95% of my part purchases.

 

[britechguy]

Free shipping is impossible.

Free shipping, no matter who offers it, is rolled into the item pricing structure. The old saw, "There's no such thing as a free lunch," is true.

And when it comes to Amazon Prime (my partner is a member in this household) the fees that millions pay, and a very great many of them take minimal advantage of, subsidizes shipping as it was supposed to do.

I'm not seeing any real slowdown in Amazon Prime delivery time here, other than what's attributable to overload of our whole delivery infrastructure during lockdown or semi-lockdown. Amazon doesn't deliver most things themselves. So, as someone else pointed out, distance from the warehouse will potentially make a big difference in whether overnight delivery is overnight. When you add in supply chain problems for a raft of products that used just-in-time production methods for a long time now . . .

 

[britechguy]

I like the way Amazon takes care of issues and returns.

I absolutely agree with that. I'm even willing to pay a slight premium if I have a choice between Amazon and any other retailer (brick and mortar, or online) where the distinct possibility of a return exists.

When I was trying to shop for unlocked GSM smartphones that would be compatible with T-Mobile several years ago I had to return at least three due to various issues. It was simply print the return label and send it back.

 

[Mike McCall]

I like the way Amazon takes care of issues and returns. All I have to do is drop it off at the UPS store and they package it and return it for me.
Cannot get that with other vendors. Amazon gets 95% of my part purchases.

True. Returns are generally easy and painless.

I'm able to separate business purchases from personal by shipping addresses (both the same, but the To: is different), and by using different payment methods accordingly. I track the business purchases easily enough in QB.

 

[britechguy]

I have a business account with Amazon that never gets used.

I had not seen your post when I put that bit about, "a very great many of them take minimal advantage of, subsidizes shipping as it was supposed to do." You're one of the millions of QED for that point.

I can only imagine how much money Amazon rakes in solely from people who've signed up for their services with monthly fees who never drop those services later. I'm sure there's been plenty of actuarial action in Amazon corporate regarding just that.

 

[Metanis]

Walmart should buy Newegg and use their presentation and ordering systems while Walmart does the order fulfillment and shipping. It's the only way I see the 500 pound gorilla (Amazon) getting some serious competition.

 

[phaZed]

Walmart should buy Newegg and use their presentation and ordering systems while Walmart does the order fulfillment and shipping. It's the only way I see the 500 pound gorilla (Amazon) getting some serious competition.

F Walmart.. what a POS company... their shipping/logistics is laughable. On second thought, since I don't buy anything from Walmart nor Newegg... would make it easier for me not to buy from them, still, lol.

 

[Diggs]

"Prime" does not automatically mean 2-day shipping. It only means free without a minimum purchase.

Good point I'd lost track of and maybe the slowness is system issues but when it takes 3-5 days to get my prime stuff and they keep pushing the Business Prime to get it in two it feels more marketing created than system issues. I have good supply. I used to get most items next day but it keeps getting longer and longer.....

 

[britechguy]

I used to get most items next day but it keeps getting longer and longer.....

Serious suggestion, do a little research on how their customer base has grown over roughly the period over which you've been noticing changes.

The pandemic was a boom and a boon for online retailers and Amazon definitely did benefit handsomely. But resources for delivery (and even fulfillment) are finite. It wouldn't be the first time, and it won't be the last, that a business grew too quickly to keep the exact same levels of service as they did before the growth. And really fast growth tends to trigger that more severely.

 

[Mike McCall]

I had not seen your post when I put that bit about, "a very great many of them take minimal advantage of, subsidizes shipping as it was supposed to do." You're one of the millions of QED for that point.

I can only imagine how much money Amazon rakes in solely from people who've signed up for their services with monthly fees who never drop those services later. I'm sure there's been plenty of actuarial action in Amazon corporate regarding just that.

Perhaps I should clarify a bit more. I do have a business Amazon account, but it's not a Prime account. I saw nothing in it that saved me money or provided a service valuable enough to me to warrant paying the increased costs vs. an individual account. In fact, I found item pricing to be higher at times (eg. no discount/sale price) when such was available on the personal account. The higher cost for Prime and the shipping restrictions at the time (don't know if they still apply) caused me to give it a pass.

I do have a personal account with Amazon that is a Prime account. The perks I get with that include free shipping on most items, Prime Video, etc. which I do get additional value from. It's simple to have both a personal and a business shipping address and multiple payment methods making it easy to separate the two.

Amazon opened itself to 3rd-party sellers much like fleaBay. The result is entirely predictable. I ordered some olive oil and didn't check the seller as I should. Shipping was not 2-day, though it was free. The oil arrived several days later in a Walmart box and was shipped by a Walmart service. Walmart allows 3rd-party sellers as does Newegg. One should be wary and pay close attention to detail on all of them.

 

[pcservices]

We have Amazon Prime and I recently looked at the Business account option but didn't think it was worth switching over to it. I still get most of our shipments with the 2 day, however the delivery end has sucked lately. We have had several issues when it is being delivered by Amazon drivers instead of USPS or UPS. Missed deliveries, delivery when we are closed, leaving outside on the sidewalk at the plaza we are located in, etc... I hate that we can't choose who is delivering when we order. Also Newegg Business has been pretty bad lately for us.

 

[Porthos]

delivery when we are closed, leaving outside on the sidewalk at the plaza we are located in, etc.

I do not miss this since closing my shop.
I can specify business hours. With business prime.

 

[Porthos]

Do you have an Amazon locker in your area?

 

[timeshifter]

I'm with you @Diggs. For years Amazon has trained me to buy just about anything and everything from them, both business and personal items. What trained me was not just a low price, but the convenience and confidence of two day shipping with Prime and if I really needed it tomorrow it was $3.99.

Even during the pandemic deliveries were as I've been accustomed to over the years. It wasn't until recently that that has gone away. Right now nearly everything is at least 5-6 days. Prime items, shipped and sold by Amazon. Things I'd normally get in two days.

Here's a good example. Search Amazon for "iced tea maker". None of them will arrive before May 31. Or try "WD SSD". Same.

I actually called and complained. They said they'd look at my account and gave me a $15 credit (big whoop). This week I've been asking others in my area and they're reporting similar experiences. A friend of my that lives many states away said the same items I was looking at were delivering in two days to him.

Looking through my order history it seems the slow down started around late March / early April.

 

[timeshifter]

Amazon No Longer Offers 2-Day Prime Shipping (Here's What To Do About It)

Tired of Amazon not holding up their end of the 2-day shipping deal? Here's what you should do to put an extra $10 in your pocket.

www.rather-be-shopping.com