Amazon

[skeith]

Recently on several orders with Amazon I see an item which is described as "in stock" and I order it and then for a week or more I see this message "shipping soon"

If the item is in stock ... why all the delay?

[J.A.W.]

Many Amazon stores incorrectly list items as being "in stock", while in reality they have to get them from their suppliers first, which in some cases takes a long time. It's a nuisance and I've complained about it a few times, to no avail.

Edited September 17, 2012 by J.A.W.

[Dan Gould]

Similar but different complaint:

Marketplace sellers who submit that they've "shipped" the item when in fact they've only printed out the label with the tracking info, and its three days later before the USPS even gets their hands on it.

Now we'll see if its really going to take two more weeks to get to south Florida from Chicago, Media Mail. :excited:

[J.A.W.]

Similar but different complaint:

Marketplace sellers who submit that they've "shipped" the item when in fact they've only printed out the label with the tracking info, and its three days later before the USPS even gets their hands on it.

Same complaint here. They're doing it to get their hands on the money asap, a disadvantage of the current Amazon Marketplace system.

[Dan Gould]

And I figured they did it because Amazon expects them to ship immediately, so they just print out the label and pretend ... but that make smore sense, get the money quicker.

[jlhoots]

Agree with all of the above + Amazon seems to be bundling some orders together & if something is out of stock it delays the entire order. OTOH sometimes they'll send an item or two while waiting for something else in the order. Wonder if this has to do with warehouse locations??

[skeith]

Agree with all of the above + Amazon seems to be bundling some orders together & if something is out of stock it delays the entire order. OTOH sometimes they'll send an item or two while waiting for something else in the order. Wonder if this has to do with warehouse locations??

Well in my case I am only ordering a single item and I have no other outstanding orders.. so it can't be a bundling issue.

[ejp626]

Similar but different complaint:

Marketplace sellers who submit that they've "shipped" the item when in fact they've only printed out the label with the tracking info, and its three days later before the USPS even gets their hands on it.

Same complaint here. They're doing it to get their hands on the money asap, a disadvantage of the current Amazon Marketplace system.

This happened to me one time as a seller. I was out of the country. I don't get a lot of orders and had forgotten to suspend the account. If I had waited to hit the ship button until I had actually shipped, it seemed Amazon was going to cancel. However, I contacted the buyer and explained that technically I should cancel and have her reorder in a few days. She was ok with me clicking I had shipped a few days early, but the main thing is to actually ask the customer ...

Edited September 17, 2012 by ejp626

[Chuck Nessa]

No problems with Amazon proper but a few marketplace sellers take their time. Note that I am a "prime" member.

[AllenLowe]

I never worry about shipping delays. I'm not going anywhere.

[BeBop]

I've had good luck cancelling orders right up until I get a "shipped" notice. These aren't recorded music orders, but seems like it'd be the same...provided the seller is Amazon, not a third party.

[Tom 1960]

I've never really had many issues with Amazon or Amazon Marketplace. Obviously some of the sellers are a little slower getting items shipped to you than others. Movie Mars springs to mind. Those guys are slow! Fortunately, most times anything I've ordered arrives on my doorstep in a week.

[Dan Gould]

Are Evanston IL and Forest Park IL adjacent, and is there a USPS facility that straddles those two cities?

I ask cuz I find this tracking info kinda surprising:

Date Time Location Event Details

September 16, 2012 09:04:00 AM Forest Park IL US Departure Scan

September 15, 2012 09:29:00 PM Forest Park IL US Departure Scan

September 15, 2012 08:14:00 PM Evanston IL US Arrival Scan

So my CD arrived in Evanston and departed, 13 hours later, from Forest Park?

[Quincy]

Similar but different complaint:

Marketplace sellers who submit that they've "shipped" the item when in fact they've only printed out the label with the tracking info, and its three days later before the USPS even gets their hands on it.

I've run into this with some other outfits that aren't associated with Amazon. It brings back the feeling of being a kid and opening a present that ends up being socks when 2 days after getting the shipped notice you get another one which this time really means shipped. Then it just sits there, ends up traveling by ground and disappears from tracking for 4 days out to Oregon.

My favorite trick is by the Grateful Dead's dead.net store. It's not uncommon for them to send a shipping email 2 days after your package has arrived.

[JETman]

I've had several packages sent through the Chicago post office (from what I understand, among the worst in the country), head out to CA, and then to me in NY. Let's not underestimate the problems with the USPS.

[skeith]

what's the longest anyone has seen the "shipping soon" message from Amazon when it does not involve a Marketplace seller and is only a single item and other outstanding items or bundling issues?

Edited September 18, 2012 by skeith

[GA Russell]

sk, I placed an order for two books with Amazon proper Sept. 3 which still hasn't shipped yet.

I'm not sure, but I suspect that one of the books is a lulu print-on-demand, which I think holds things up.

[T.D.]

what's the longest anyone has seen the "shipping soon" message from Amazon when it does not involve a Marketplace seller and is only a single item and other outstanding items or bundling issues?

I have a food item on automatic reorder every month. A one week delay from the "shipping soon" message to shipment is pretty much standard. That's actually my record longest delay (though frequently tied).

[Jazzmoose]

"Four to six weeks" wasn't that long ago; I can wait a week.

[skeith]

Interesting follow up. Yesterday I got a notice on My Account in Amazon that the item had shipped and when I got home it was in my mailbox. Since I did not request nor did there appear to be any evidence of expedited shipping.... I conclude that the "shipping soon" message I was getting from Amazon was not exactly accurate and that the item had actually shipped well before I got notice. Strange.

[alocispepraluger102]

parenthetically, walmart announced today that it will discontinue selling the kindle.

[GA Russell]

sk, I placed an order for two books with Amazon proper Sept. 3 which still hasn't shipped yet.

I'm not sure, but I suspect that one of the books is a lulu print-on-demand, which I think holds things up.

My credit card order of Sept. 3 was debited today, and the Amazon website changed my listing from "Not Yet Shipped" to "Shipping Soon".

[GA Russell]

sk, I placed an order for two books with Amazon proper Sept. 3 which still hasn't shipped yet.

I'm not sure, but I suspect that one of the books is a lulu print-on-demand, which I think holds things up.

My credit card order of Sept. 3 was debited today, and the Amazon website changed my listing from "Not Yet Shipped" to "Shipping Soon".

My order was shipped today, with an expected arrival date of Oct. 1.

That's four weeks from the order date.