The Healing Butterfly-Small vs Big Business
Amazon Is Taking Advantage
6 months into the pandemic and we’re still waiting weeks for our PRIME orders. What’s up with that?
“People who own the world outright for profit will have to be stopped by influence, by power, by us.” ― Wendell Berry
Do you remember the days when you could order something off of Amazon and it would get to you in ONE DAY? Maybe two?
It was called PRIME.
It’s still called PRIME, but it can take WEEKS to get your items.
Why?
It’s the pandemic, of course.
I realize they have a lot going on, more business than usual, more demand with most people buying online, and they had to prioritize deliveries by what they decide is essential or important for people to get right away, regardless of actuality of any individual need for any given item — because of higher demand and less workers.
But, is that still the case? You would think that by this point in the game, they would have this figured out. It’s just a couple of days from September and it is AMAZON after all, the biggest store in the world, headed by the richest man in the world. Only second to Apple worldwide.
It’s time we get back to that it’s time that Amazon stops taking advantage of the situation.
How could they possibly still be short staffed? With them hiring like crazy and people needing jobs, I would think that for the most part in most places that they have a full staff working, they’ve made their adjustments to expedite their orders etc, etc.
The same goes for all of the delivery companies, so that’s not an excuse anymore.
Obviously, I’m not talking about the issues that are currently going on with the USPS, and how Amazon uses the USPS at a fraction of the rate that they could or should and maybe will in the future.
Besides, not all deliveries get handed to USPS through Amazon, some do not. I get almost all of my Amazon packages delivered through UPS, so they aren’t even a factor.
I’m not even counting shipping time in this rant about Amazon, I’m counting the time it takes between when I order and when Amazon ships it. It is taking up to 3 weeks! Things are taking so long to get to me, I’m forgetting what I ordered and it’s not because they don’t have it in stock.
No longer are the days of long waits because of low or no inventory or few suppliers or shippers with enough drivers able to keep the supply chain moving — especially when it comes to things being fulfilled within the United States by Amazon.
While delivery companies site the pandemic as an issue in the supply chain, that’s more about international shipments. They are not siting short staff as an issue for delivery delays.
So, it seems that if there’s an issue with getting your IN STOCK items to you from Amazon that it’s because Amazon has decided to change their system so it’s less expensive for them to get us our stuff within 2 days, even after they have the capacity to do so.
Maybe I’m wrong, but if I am — why am I wrong?
It’s been 6 months. I think it’s about time that PRIME means PRIME again. Or at least something way more reasonable than a 3–4 week time frame for 99% of the things that we order.
Here’s an example:
I ordered an item on 8.16.2020 and I am not due to receive it until 9.9.2020. It is IN STOCK. I’ve reached out to Amazon twice and they say there’s nothing they can do. That doesn’t even make sense-you’re selling me something but you cannot control when I get it? I’ve reached out to the seller directly.
I don’t mean to start a fight, but if I was the seller I wouldn’t be too happy with my customer having to wait that long. This isn’t the first time. I order my coffee beans from a seller on Amazon, the wait time was OVER A MONTH. I reached out to the seller and they were not happy with Amazon (apparently coffee is essential and I think many would agree) and they sent me a bag directly.
The idea that I’m buying something from you that is in stock and you have decided that I should wait nearly a month to receive it is absolute insanity to me.
Listen, if we were in it really badly and it was a skeleton crew running things then that would make sense and I wouldn’t be complaining but that’s just not the case and hasn’t been for a long time.
Things are averaging 10–15 days when coming from Amazon PRIME.
When things are coming from the sellers directly I’m getting them much faster like 1–2 days. It used to be the opposite. Things would take way longer if you got them from the seller.
PRIME WAS THE WAY TO GET YOUR STUFF FAST!
There was a time when most things on Amazon was PRIME that meant 1 or 2 day delivery. Then the pandemic hit February-March and everything changed but now it’s nearly September.
It’s time we get back to at least some normalcy, it’s time that Amazon stops taking advantage of the situation.
They allowed for severe price gauging on their platform for all sorts of things when the pandemic hit, and it’s still do to a certain degree. Shipping has become a joke, and I’m not the only one who’s tired of it.
Anyone I talk to feels the same way. 3–4 weeks for your stuff, STILL?
Are you freakin’ kidding me? Nope.
My last charger cable for my iPhone has decided to semi-work and only charge my phone when it’s off and very slowly. I ordered new cables through Amazon on 8.28.2020 Expected delivery: Sunday, August 30, 2020 — Monday, September 21, 2020 by 8pm. It is 8.30.2020 and the current status: NOT YET SHIPPED.
So I have to go buy other more expensive crappy cables at my local grocery store AND wait for upwards of 3 weeks (maybe) for the ones I already ordered. Have I reached out to Amazon? Yes I have. Can they make these get to me any faster, given the URGENCY of the fact I can’t use my phone? NOPE.
Yeah, I’m over it.
As I’ve mentioned, I’m not willing to wait for certain items without at least trying to get them sooner and I’ve contacted Amazon directly to expedite my packages to the point where I feel that it’s a part-time job contacting them and going through the tedious process of determining if I can get my items shipped to me sooner than later.
It always ends the same way, “We send a message to the warehouse to expedite your shipment.” When that happens, I get it within a week, after I’ve waited a week to see if it would automatically come sooner.
I live on a mountain with extremely limited resources as far as stores goes and that’s when things are normal and to get anywhere that’s open down on the flat lands is a major challenge, expensive and very time consuming as well.
When about 80% of what I buy comes through Amazon, for years it’s been mostly Amazon and if I could get groceries delivered through them where I live like I did before I moved here, then it would be nearly 100% of what I consume.
Am I thrilled with my contribution to the wealth of Jeff Bazos?
Honestly, if it wasn’t for the fact that his company doesn’t pay taxes, I would feel much better about it. I appreciate the company and have been a customer since 2012.
However, the fact that they don’t pay taxes it is extremely unfair and it drives me nuts (and you, too I bet!) however, a lot of things in this world drive me nuts, yet I am stuck with the way things are and have to weigh my contribution to those things as they arise.
My hope is that legislation gets passed so Amazon is forced to play fair, not just about taxes, or shipping practices, or employee benefits and hours, PPE and work conditions, but many of the shady ways they practice business.
But when it comes to taxes, it’s beyond unfair that I (and everyone else) has to pay taxes on the money I earn for what I buy, and then pay taxes on what I buy from Amazon, but Amazon doesn’t have to pay taxes.
What the hell kind of crap is that?
Plus I have to wait 3–4 weeks for my orders now?
Seriously?
Oh yes. Seriously.
I even suggested on one of my chat calls with customer services that they charge us more, like a PRIME+PLUS so we can (sorta) go back to the way things were.
I don’t know exactly what that would look like, but I’d be willing to drop a few more bucks per month to guarantee that I know that I’m getting my things in just a few days versus weeks, because this business of maybe getting my things in 2 days or 3 weeks, like my iPhone cables, feels extremely manipulative.
I ordered something because I want it or need it NOW.
As I look at my order it tells me that it may be to be in two days or it may be to me in the 3rd week of next month. So, I’m still not done shopping for this essential item.
Do I go elsewhere, buy something in the meantime, do I end up with 2 of whatever, or do I just play this game and hope it gets to me sometime before a month closes?
Amazon, what the hell?
If other sellers can manage getting my things to me in a decent and respectable time frame, why can’t you? This is your thing. Especially when I pay extra for it.
Is a breakup on the horizon? Are things changing that much?
I may take some of the time wasted in trying to get my stuff from them faster and start by shopping around and see what it’s like when I don’t automatically default to shopping for everything on Amazon.
Trust me, I’m not for a moment thinking that anyone at Amazon would give it a second thought it I never spent a dime there again. It’s not like my orders are going to make it or break it for Amazon.
It’s just that I am beginning to really resent this relationship, and how they seem to care less and less about my needs, time and money, and it’s clear — now they’re taking advantage of the pandemic.
❤︎ Thanks for reading.
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