Be aware defective products from Amazon NO recourse

[tooki]

I don’t think that sending me fleeing into the arms of their competition is profitable for them.

[bd139]

There are plenty of morons to the left of you on the bell curve who are customers still

[thm_w]

If you pay for Prime they give you a "Prime eligable" search option.
If you DONT pay then you can't easily search local stocked items.

There is probably some way around this but didn't bother to find out, just saw one questionable extension.

[james_s]

I have never seen any real point in Prime. I already get free shipping on every order I place from Amazon, all I have to do is pool up enough items in my cart to cross the $35 threshold which is rarely difficult. If I couldn't plan ahead and really needed something quickly, I could pay for expedited shipping on quite a few orders before I had spent as much as prime costs. I'm not sure why so many people fall for the "free" expedited shipping and don't realize that it isn't free at all, they're paying for it ahead of time in the form of the membership dues.

[thm_w]

The point is, "Prime eligible" means you will get it within a few days, regardless of if you are paying for a Prime membership. Which is why they make it hard to filter it.

[PlainName]

I have never seen any real point in Prime. I already get free shipping on every order I place from Amazon, all I have to do is...

Prime isn't for you, then. But everyone else isn't you, so maybe it works for them even though it doesn't for you? Worth considering.

[Stray Electron]

I couldn’t agree more. I used to enjoy Amazon back when, other than used books, it was just them selling. The search worked well, and Amazon’s prices, while not always the lowest, were always decent.

Now I literally can’t be bothered. Ordering just takes way, way, WAY too long. Between wading through pages of keyword-stuffed third party crap that isn’t the specific thing I want,

    I have to say that I completely agree.  I can search for one very specific items and Amazon shows me hundreds of items that have to relationship to what I'm looking for.  Then bombards me with numerous large banner ads of "Similar items" (NOT!), "people also bought", "children's toys" and other ridiculous categories.  It's become impossible to find what you're looking for an Amazon and I rarely bother to even look now.  It's much easier to go Ebay, and immediately find what I want and order it and pay for it with PayPal. I also KNOW that E-bay/PayPal will stand behind the product.

   Several weeks ago I ordered one item from Amazon, the first thing that I've ordered in months. Delivery was quoted as taking almost two weeks!!!  I had ordered well in advance so I agreed to that.  But since then, the deliver date has been extended FOUR times!  FYI this is pet food made in the US and shipped within the US. There is no "china", "overseas shipping" or other "Covid" related excuses, just very slowing shipping time from the seller (two weeks) and now I think they're sending it via tortoise post.

    I'm just about DONE with buying anything on Amazon!

[Bud]

Only buy items that are marked as "sold and delivered by Amazon" or something to that extent. This stuff is delivered promptly from their warehouse. Otherwise you are buying from a private seller.

[james_s]

I have never seen any real point in Prime. I already get free shipping on every order I place from Amazon, all I have to do is...

Prime isn't for you, then. But everyone else isn't you, so maybe it works for them even though it doesn't for you? Worth considering.

I never claimed it didn't, I'm not sure why you sound so defensive. Perhaps you could explain what is so great about it? It's not charity from Amazon, they offer it because it generates profit. The shipping isn't free, you pay for it in the membership cost and by buying things from Amazon instead of other places where they might be cheaper. The main thing I don't get is what the draw of faster shipping is and why that's worth so much money. I have never once paid for shipping on an Amazon order since I never order less than the threshold anyway, so I don't understand why SO many people are willing to pay such a large sum each year just to get their orders a bit quicker. If I need something by a certain date I simply order it sufficiently prior to that. I am one of the only people I know who doesn't have prime and I don't see what I'm missing.

[xrunner]

I never claimed it didn't, I'm not sure why you sound so defensive. Perhaps you could explain what is so great about it?

There's more to Prime than shipping. 

For example, I want it because Amazon has exclusive broadcast rights now to NFL Thursday Night Football. Now whether or not you care about that isn't my point, I'm simply pointing out what Prime offers.

[james_s]

    I have to say that I completely agree.  I can search for one very specific items and Amazon shows me hundreds of items that have to relationship to what I'm looking for.  Then bombards me with numerous large banner ads of "Similar items" (NOT!), "people also bought", "children's toys" and other ridiculous categories.  It's become impossible to find what you're looking for an Amazon and I rarely bother to even look now.  It's much easier to go Ebay, and immediately find what I want and order it and pay for it with PayPal. I also KNOW that E-bay/PayPal will stand behind the product.

   Several weeks ago I ordered one item from Amazon, the first thing that I've ordered in months. Delivery was quoted as taking almost two weeks!!!  I had ordered well in advance so I agreed to that.  But since then, the deliver date has been extended FOUR times!  FYI this is pet food made in the US and shipped within the US. There is no "china", "overseas shipping" or other "Covid" related excuses, just very slowing shipping time from the seller (two weeks) and now I think they're sending it via tortoise post.

    I'm just about DONE with buying anything on Amazon!

Amazon still has two very significant advantages. Returns are super simple, I fill out the request and then I drop the item off at the UPS store down the street from me, it doesn't cost me anything to ship it back. The other big advantage is they handle their own shipping so they can provide free shipping, that's a substantial savings, and it's FAR more reliable than FedEx which is the most common "free" shipping service offered by other retailers. Amazon is the only retailer that owns the whole process end to end. Ebay has some advantages but it has its own issues too.

[james_s]

There's more to Prime than shipping. 

For example, I want it because Amazon has exclusive broadcast rights now to NFL Thursday Night Football. Now whether or not you care about that isn't my point, I'm simply pointing out what Prime offers.

Well there's the streaming video service which I have used at friend's houses and was never impressed with. I did not know about the NFL tie in, I don't personally care about that but I can see how some would. Is there anything else compelling that it offers? The only thing I ever hear anyone talk about is the shipping.

[LaserSteve]

Did you mention Texas? They have a Deceptive Products Act in liu of a Consumer Product Safety Commission like many states and our Federal government here in the US.  Even if you don't have legal standing in Texas, they can  possibly choose to take corrective action on behalf of safety of the general public, depending on how the local law is worded.

 Overseas law suits are communicated by the foreign court in question to a US Court  via  the  US Secretary of State's office.  That is one of SecState's lessor known functions, certifying and  relaying international judicial communications. Depending on how the treaties between our nations are worded, and how much  Texas or Federal  law  has in common with your laws, you may actually have standing in a US Court via your local court, your diplomats, and one heck of a lot of slow international processes.

Drop this agency an email:

https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/

The US CPSC  takes their duties seriously, like forcing horrid changes to lawn mowers and spare gas tanks.  Your welcome to send them an email.  I seem to remember a vague Federal law on exporting dangerous goods as a no-no.

I'm not saying you'll get justice, but never doubt the possibility of a state agency to pop in on a small business for an inspection.

Steve

[Bassman59]

    I have to say that I completely agree.  I can search for one very specific items and Amazon shows me hundreds of items that have to relationship to what I'm looking for.  Then bombards me with numerous large banner ads of "Similar items" (NOT!), "people also bought", "children's toys" and other ridiculous categories.  It's become impossible to find what you're looking for an Amazon and I rarely bother to even look now. 

It's remarkable how you can enter specific details about an item, including manufacturer SKU, and get complete nonsense as search results.

I'm convinced they're using artificial intelligence, because as we know, "To err is human. To really fuck things up requires a computer."

[tooki]

It's remarkable how you can enter specific details about an item, including manufacturer SKU, and get complete nonsense as search results.

”Remarkable” really is the right word for it. It’s impressively bad. I’ve experienced the exact same thing, where even a specific SKU doesn’t find the right item (even if they have it, with the same SKU saved in the item’s metadata).

I’m sure part of the search sucking has to do with the fact that third party sellers can modify the dataset: if they add the ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number) to their list of items they sell, they can then modify the authoritative metadata of that ASIN. This is how they steal obsolete listings for highly-rated products, resulting in an ice cube tray becoming a trashy smartphone gimbal, with the hundreds of positive reviews of the former outweighing the overwhelmingly bad reviews of the latter.

But even when not used for outright fraud, third party metadata editing is likely how we end up with inconsistent product options, with some variants missing and listed as their own separate item, while other variants are listed multiple times, etc. I wonder whether former/discontinued variants are still considered in the search, perhaps due to reviews. Maybe the content of reviews is also part of the search index.

Either way, what a goddamned joke it’s become. Thank goodness that, at least for consumer electronics, computers, cameras, etc. Switzerland is now one of the cheapest countries in Europe to buy in, so that there’s no need to import and I can happily use a local online shop whose standard shipping will have the goods at my door by the next day.

[boneDragon]

Looks like this is the item in question: https://www.amazon.ca/Spy-Camera-Charger-Premium-Surveillance/dp/B083QNJQK2/

reminds cheap noname chargers with poor primary-secondary isolation and questionable design/assembly, primary elements can touch secondary.
phone-killers/burners: https://www.epanorama.net/newepa/2014/09/01/teardown-of-cheap-usb-charger/
"Designed by California": https://www.righto.com/2012/10/a-dozen-usb-chargers-in-lab-apple-is.html

[PlainName]

I have never seen any real point in Prime. I already get free shipping on every order I place from Amazon, all I have to do is...

Prime isn't for you, then. But everyone else isn't you, so maybe it works for them even though it doesn't for you? Worth considering.

I never claimed it didn't, I'm not sure why you sound so defensive.

Perhaps it's just the way you tell them. Similar to how you "never really understood the point of a static IP", and then rubbish someone who does.

Perhaps you could explain what is so great about it?

For me, I buy enough that it covers the shipping I'd otherwise pay, and the post-sales support is better than most other online resources. I may have watched one or two films (not my bag, so not a significant driver) and downloaded a number of books (but the range is limited and I think I've exhausted their stock).

So, not one thing in particular but the overall experience. I guess they could change something for the worse and the other benefits (for me) might keep me there.

The main thing I don't get is what the draw of faster shipping is and why that's worth so much money. I have never once paid for shipping on an Amazon order since I never order less than the threshold anyway, so I don't understand why SO many people are willing to pay such a large sum each year just to get their orders a bit quicker. If I need something by a certain date I simply order it sufficiently prior to that.

That's certainly a biggie. A couple of weeks ago we had an issue with our boiler and figured the on/off switch could usefully be replaced by an IoT doobrey (as you do). A fairly long browse of Amazon turned up the exact thing which didn't seem to be available from anywhere else. Ordered, delivered, fitted and programmed within 22 hours of having the idea. That's worth a couple of bob. Maybe you could have foreseen your need a few weeks previous and arranged a cheaper delivery.

I am one of the only people I know who doesn't have prime and I don't see what I'm missing.

Like I said, Prime isn't for you, then.

It's not charity from Amazon, they offer it because it generates profit.

Of course. And the benefit I get is worth the cost to me - it's a two-way thing, you know. Do you always choose the cheapest of anything and everything, or do you perhaps grudgingly accept that some things are worth paying for?

[Jester]

Did you mention Texas? They have a Deceptive Products Act in liu of a Consumer Product Safety Commission like many states and our Federal government here in the US.  Even if you don't have legal standing in Texas, they can  possibly choose to take corrective action on behalf of safety of the general public, depending on how the local law is worded.

 Overseas law suits are communicated by the foreign court in question to a US Court  via  the  US Secretary of State's office.  That is one of SecState's lessor known functions, certifying and  relaying international judicial communications. Depending on how the treaties between our nations are worded, and how much  Texas or Federal  law  has in common with your laws, you may actually have standing in a US Court via your local court, your diplomats, and one heck of a lot of slow international processes.

Drop this agency an email:

https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/

The US CPSC  takes their duties seriously, like forcing horrid changes to lawn mowers and spare gas tanks.  Your welcome to send them an email.  I seem to remember a vague Federal law on exporting dangerous goods as a no-no.

I'm not saying you'll get justice, but never doubt the possibility of a state agency to pop in on a small business for an inspection.

Steve

Steve, thanks for your post. I spoke with a Texas lawyer and she recommended the same thing. Prerequisite before SCC is to send a demand letter, I just took that step.

Thanks.

[james_s]

Of course. And the benefit I get is worth the cost to me - it's a two-way thing, you know. Do you always choose the cheapest of anything and everything, or do you perhaps grudgingly accept that some things are worth paying for?

I'm too lazy to quote inline to all that stuff but yes, some things are worth paying for, in general I have a policy of buying good tools, buy cheap, buy twice and all that. If I need fast shipping I can pay for it as needed, last I ran the numbers I'd need to expedite around a dozen orders just to break even.

I also did not "rubbish" the guy who claims he needs a static IP, in fact he's one of my best and longest term friends, he's a great guy but he's also like me a bit odd and that is one of his quirks. I know what he's doing with his internet service and it isn't something that really needs a static IP, and he's gone through a great deal of effort and paid considerably more for much slower service than I have over the years.

I'm not saying Prime has no value to anyone, but what I do find shocking is that literally EVERYONE I can think of has it, except for me, and I am confused as to how so many people find value in something that I can't see much value in. I think most people get suckered in by the "free" shipping and don't realize that they are paying for it. I also get annoyed at the way Amazon is constantly hounding me to sign up for it, in fact I have accidentally enrolled on two different occasions and had to go find out how to cancel it. They very deliberately make you jump through hoops to not enroll.

[bd139]

I work from home. Prime means I don’t have to go to the shops or piddle around trying to find the cheapest shipping combo for stuff or have to queue stuff up reduced cost shipping. I did 255 separate orders in the last 12 months. Works for me.

[james_s]

I work from home. Prime means I don’t have to go to the shops or piddle around trying to find the cheapest shipping combo for stuff or have to queue stuff up reduced cost shipping. I did 255 separate orders in the last 12 months. Works for me.

Have you tried just keeping a cart open and pulling the trigger as soon as you have $35 worth of items in it? I also work from home and have ordered quite a bit from them lately so a similar use case and I can almost always hit that threshold within a couple of days. If I really want to order something today I can usually find something else like toilet cleaner, cat treats, shop towels etc that I'm not out of yet but that I'll need to replenish sooner or later so I just toss one of those in the cart or I go look at my wishlist and see if there's anything I want to grab now. I have the option of just paying a few bucks for fast shipping but so far I haven't had to resort to that, the free shipping threshold is so low that I don't have to go out of my way to hit it.

[bd139]

Sometimes I need a roll of tape or something same day. And that’s it.

I’m in London in UK so we have same day, sometimes under 4h delivery.

[james_s]

Sometimes I need a roll of tape or something same day. And that’s it.

I’m in London in UK so we have same day, sometimes under 4h delivery.

But it's a whopping $140 a year these days, how often do you really need just a roll of tape? You can get that same rapid shipping as needed by paying for it when you order. Personally I toss tape in my cart when I notice I'm down to the last couple of rolls, that avoids that whole situation of needing something NOW. I also have the option of just stopping at a store when I go out to buy groceries, at least for now Amazon hasn't completely put all the local shops out of business but they certainly are trying.

Prime is one of those things that is a good deal for a handful of people, you may be one of those, but most people that have it do not get their moneys worth, otherwise it would not be so profitable for Amazon and they wouldn't push it so hard. It is a psychological trick.

[bd139]

I’ve got three kids, work from home, run my own company so plenty of last minute purchases. I do buy in bulk where possible.  $113 equivalent a year here is the pricing and it isn’t a big deal for me. Also Prime video is ok. I got The Expanse and The Boys 

[tooki]

I’ve got three kids, work from home, run my own company so plenty of last minute purchases. I do buy in bulk where possible.  $113 equivalent a year here is the pricing and it isn’t a big deal for me. Also Prime video is ok. I got The Expanse and The Boys 

You’re clearly just the hapless victim of psychological sorcery.