• The rules for The Exchange can be found here. Please read and follow them. Stop using Paypal Friends & Family and follow our best practices to prevent getting ripped off or having a bad deal.

Amazon -Any Gripes?

I have never done that, but I have ordered the same item again directly at a much lower price point in the past. I usually just hit my usual knife dealers if I am looking for a particular knife. The only thing I use Amazon for in that regard is sometimes looking a knife up mentioned here on BF that I am not familiar with.

Overall, I am satisfied with Amazon's service and just have little gripes here and there.
 
I once did order from amazon years ago but stoped mainly because they are just another retailer and there's other places to order from, besides the fact that Jeff bezos trees his employees like shit/crap! :oops:
 
Other retailers don’t treat employees bad? Every job I have had except my current one has less than stellar employee satisfaction, one even told me that they didn’t care if I quit because there were 10 people waiting for my job.
 
I've been buying from Amazon since they started. Yes their shipping has gotten slower, even items from amazon marketplace will sit for 5 business days without shipping just because you're not a prime member.
It's pretty obvious. When i have had 'Prime' i've always been impressed with the speed. How can they ship me some 6$ bulky item cheaper and faster then buying locally and still make money?
Sometimes i will get the 2$ week of prime and i get some 'free' 'in game items' that i value for that but don't buy enough to be a constant prime member.
So if i need something quick i'll order else where or just figure its gonna take an extra week to get here.
 
They should me a spyderco pm 3 that was a clone about 2 years ago. Luckily they have a great return policy and no problem getting my money back. Other than that there good to go
 
jp9mm said:
I've been buying from Amazon since they started. Yes their shipping has gotten slower, even items from amazon marketplace will sit for 5 business days without shipping just because you're not a prime member.
It's pretty obvious. When i have had 'Prime' i've always been impressed with the speed. How can they ship me some 6$ bulky item cheaper and faster then buying locally and still make money?
Click to expand...
That's pretty much my dominant grip and it has to do with order processing which includes the packing and ultimately the shipping. They use some of the discount shipping options from FedEx and UPS where the USPS delivers the package. This usually adds one day to the shipping time beyond a generally slow transit time.

I have also been using Amazon since they started. At the beginning, it was mostly bound books. That changed when I switched to a Kindle or tablet with the Kindle app. Now most novels are electronic versions. You don't generally have to wait long for the download.

Sales tax was an issue for a time. Now they have fullfillment centers in my state and I always get charged sales tax. So that "advantage" disappeared. I generally have no problem with this as I prefer a level playing field in the market place.

The one shopping type I can't see myself doing is grocery shopping via Amazon. For me, that is a brick and mortar experience. Prices would have to be insanely better online to prompt me to buy groceries online. First choice would probably be Walmart if I did this and second choice would be Sam's Club (both Wally world companies).

Added: I read that there is a shipping issue post Black Friday and cyber Monday sales. Weather and too much stuff all at one time. I know I received a UPS shipment a day after the originally estimated delivery date. No problem on my end and at least it didn't fall after the weekend.
 
Last edited:
I've never bought a knife from Amazon (and don't plan to), but I do buy other things from them.

My only complaint is their packaging can defy logic. Sometimes they'll ship a fragile item in a bubble satchel, and other times they'll ship a completely indestructible item (i.e. microfibre towels) in a thick wall cardboard box & pad the living bejeezus out of it with those air-filled pillows.

They're beyond excellent about sorting out any problems, so I will continue to buy from them.
 
I buy knives from amazon all the time. I only buy from the ones fulfilled by amazon, and I pay attention to who I buy them from.

I've always received perfect, genuine knives.
Shipping has never been late, even during the holiday season.
Sometimes, I even get my knife the same day I order it. I bought a spyderco shaman a month ago, and it was on my steps 10 hours later. Same day shipping is awesome.

If there's a problem as a prime member, you can always return it no questions asked(as far as I know).
 
I read this entire thread. Amazon haters by and large refuse to pay for Prime membership (which provides much more than free and faster shipping as some have pointed out), have had “bad” experiences as a result, don’t like Bezos, think workers who can’t do their jobs shouldn’t be fired, are suspicious of fakes and dishonest reviews and would rather shop at Wally-World. I probably missed some complaints.

Fine. Stay in the 1950s if you like. Amazon offers fast shipping, excellent customer service, fair prices and a vast selection of items that can’t be matched by any brick and mortar store. The amount I would save on gas to shop elsewhere in a year more than pays for my Prime membership. And I don’t give a damn about Bezos as a person one way or the other.

Rant over.
 
I cannot stay in the 1950s even if I liked.
My opinions and experiences:
Amazon is worth checking price-wise and sometimes has a good price. Sometimes they are higher than supporting members here.
Their deliveries were uneven in speed and security - including a large black plastic bag of camping goods left at our mail box out on the road 600 feet from out house and out of sight. They replaced the four stolen pack stoves and fuel bottles - after the campout.
Three boxes have been left on my neighbor's porch in the weather, but he got them to me and the contents were not damaged.
The "2"-thick" quilt was 1" thick and they replaced it within a week.
Many descriptions of items being sold are eBay-like in dishonesty. That does not make them special. Others lie and obfuscate.
We dropped Prime several months ago.
Best of luck.
 
I avoid Amazon for ethical reasons, but will use them if left w/o option. That rarely happens. Recently bought a stereo receiver, got it in 2hrs at Best Buy at a lower price. Only knives I've bought were with gift cards. I always check all the prices, but any knife I could get on Amazon I can usually get from a BF dealer for the same money. Bought books this Xmas, Bezos' starting turf, got every one either local or from another on-line firm.

When it comes to company ethics, you are dead wrong Maynardo. Amazon is like a predatory mythical animal, with one end a snake and the other a lion. Their business model is a perfect example of 21st century monopoly coupled with a ruthless approach to employees. I will gladly wait a day or two & pay a little more to avoid Amazon. Bezos said once in the beginning years of his company "it's not about the books" and it's not. It's about power, control and subjugation of competition and America. It's also about lost dreams, stolen dreams/ideas and the destruction of capitalism and commerce.
 
I have been using prime for many years. Some products we use just aren't available locally. I have only bought a couple knives off of Amazon, Kershaws that were discontinued and Amazon had them, otherwise I like to use Forum supporting vendors for knife and sheath purchases.

Amazon is very efficient at using data to do things like "price optimization"; I have noticed that things that I search for will have a price, then when I check on that item later the price has changed, usually upward a little. Also, I note that things that I purchase which I am likely to buy again seem to go up in price the next time I go looking for them.

I also read that they use an "anticipatory shipping model" whereby they anticipate what you might order and when you might order it and move the product to a warehouse closer to your location.

You can read a little more about the above and other ways Amazon uses data to reduce their cost and increase your likelihood of buying at the following link:
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/insights/090716/7-ways-amazon-uses-big-data-stalk-you-amzn.asp

Walmart has gotten very good in the online sales game, and I am getting most things in a couple of days from them when they are shipped. What I like is that I can order and pay online and then go to the store and pick it up, and I can see if the item is in stock etc. I am lucky to live about 2 miles from a Walmart.

best

mqqn
 
Oh - I forgot the gripes lol.

When streaming, I notice that, particularly for "free prime content", there will be some pausing during the content, but the commercials are always lag/pause free.....Hmmmmm.

I also note that most movies that we ever want to watch are now an additional charge, when early on when watching Prime Video I think there were many more titles available with the base prime package. For instance - The Money Pit - an older movie, cost us $3.99 plus tax to watch. Not going to keep the kids from gettin new shoes but still.....

And finally - I bet you it is Jeff Bezos himself that is causing the forum to be laggy and have many multi-posts, probably because of analytics of THIS THREAD........

best

mqqn
 
Jason Chambers said:
Other retailers don’t treat employees bad? Every job I have had except my current one has less than stellar employee satisfaction, one even told me that they didn’t care if I quit because there were 10 people waiting for my job.
Click to expand...

Very true words folks.

Hate Bezos all you want. Hate Sam Walton too and all owners of every major retail organization in the world but unfortunately, thats the reality we live in. What, you don’t buy food, clothes, gas, cars, etc, etc, ...
We are such hypocrites. We profess to hate these people yet the reason they are in business is solely BECAUSE of us. Doesn’t make sense to me.

Mark T.
 
I used to LOVE Amazon. That was years ago when the "free saver shipping" was equivalent to the "PRIME free shipping." And it seemed like most reviews were genuine and not bots or forced.

Now it takes a while for any (free/Prime) shipments to actually ship. I live in Alaska and it's always taken a day or 2 longer for shipments, but Amazon PRIME 2 day shipping no longer applies to AK/HI (don't know if it ever really did) and if I order something at the start of the week I'm lucky if it even ships before the weekend. Most reviews are crap and fake. If an item is truly 4 or 5 stars then ~90% should be 4-5 stars, not 70% consisting of 4/5* and the other 30% is mainly 1*.

I've had countless issues with Amazon changing delivery dates and taking forever to ship items. I think it was last year when I bought an item on a lightning sale that was maybe 50% claimed and when I asked why it was delayed they told me it was out of stock...

I will say that their CS isn't bad. When I've contacted them about late shipments/deliveries they have always been helpful. They always gave partial refunds/upgraded shipping. BUT when you are a Prime member you shouldn't have to contact CS almost every order.

Nowadays, I prefer to scout out other online retailers before finalizing an order on Amazon. Many places have FREE 2 or 3 day shipping and it arrives on time (even in AK). Anytime I purchase something on Amazon it's something I'm not in a hurry to get or I can't find it elsewhere.

Never had counterfeit knives, but then again I buy most of my knives from reputable dealers.

Prime is pointless unless you really want the video service. Maybe it's different in the lower 48. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
I have had Prime for years with only 2 late deliveries. When an item says that I can have it the same day, it arrives the same day. I enjoy the convenience of doing my research, ordering what I want, and having it next day. I have never run into an item I wanted that was cheaper locally. Hate 'em or love 'em, they do offer a lot in one location and are convenient (although I won't have one of their listening devices in my home). I have also ordered about 3 knives from them and never had a problem.
 
I do side with how poorly workers are treated but it maybe a thing of the past as they progress.

I have only purchased two knives from amazon they were either not available else where or a really large item like a machete.

I have purchased add-on items time to time.One time it was a bag of potato chip(not third party)which arrived expired.Dont remember if it was a week or few months.I contacted them,was promptly refunded and told to dispose of it.

I also just had my first lost amazon shipment, seven weeks ago.It wasn't stolen from my front door but lost in transit.It originated from the same city where I live but never arrived which puzzles me.It should of arrived a day or two later. I could not contact customer service right away but had to wait two weeks after it was shipped in order make an inquiry and to be issued a refund.Re-shipping my order was not an option.I think because I had a third party item.The way they responded back to my inquiry about why the order could not be reshipped was really blunt.Along the lines "if it was possible it would of been done" using their online chat option.

My interaction with the customer service agents were really nice initially but the last few times were ok except they would sign off using the words, "Bless or Blessed".As a person who is not very religious.It can be taken the wrong way.Not like if I was in Church and leaving a service which is totally fine.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top