The Dark Side of Amazon Returns - Comments Page 1

EBay is my first stop when ordering online, NOT Amazon. First, they have much better customer service and shipping is often free or less than Amazon. And now that they have expanded beyond auction items, their inventory is almost as good.

Recently had an experience with Amazon on a "open box" tv soundbar. Remote was broken, optical cable was missing.
Sent it back, they sent me another unit & the remote was missing and the soundbar had damage.
Sent back, all on their dime & my time.
Finally, 2 weeks later I had my refund.
Have had other good experiences with "open box" from Amazon.
Basically....Luck of the draw.
As Clint would say....
"Do you feel lucky PUNK?? Well do ya?"

REALLY WRONG TITLE, BOB!

This article was poorly and inaccurately titled. The story was about the dark side of returns at sellers other than Amazon. Amazon remains a vendor one can trust to be fair and trustworthy. Stop, already, with the attention-grabbing, phony headlines. It's beneath you.

I subsribe to a service called "Woot" (woot.com), which is an Amazon owned company. They have daily offerings which are available for the one day, but if it sells out, it's removed from the site. On rare occasions I've had to return an item, and in many cases where and item was defective when received, my account was credited for the purchase price and sometimes some monies were added to my account which could be used on future purchases.

'Buying used, returned merchandise is a gamble unless the goods come with a dependable company’s warranty.'
That's pretty much my motto.

I have never had good luck with 'taking a chance.' Nor do I find it 'fun to drop $10 to $20 on an “amazing deal” just to see what you get.'

I always check Ebay as well as Amazon, but they rarely have significantly better deals and I disagree with Larry that their return policy is better than Amazon.

I am waiting right now for an ebook I ordered on Ebay several weeks ago (why would a download link to an ebook take weeks to be 'delivered" in the first place?

I live out in the sticks 40 miles from the nearest UPS store and it isn't open even 8 hours a day (maybe 5 or 6) so Ebay's
free returns' are never free unless I can catch the UPS guy as he drives by.

I do agree with John, 'wrong title.' My as I dislike Bezos on a political/personal/privacy level, he runs a good service.

Bob, I value the advice you give about computers, and I accept that you try to give good advice about value for money on related goods.

But I suggest you stop trying to promote Amazon, which does not need your help, and instead consider finding alternatives to Amazon.

I will not go into why I think Anazon is "a bad thing", but such reasons are not hard to find.
Best wishes, adj

I mostly buy from Amazon because of their return policy. Over the years I have returned a few items with no hassle
A few days ago I returned a new DOA Amazon Basics
UPS unit at their expense. The refund was credited to my charge card in 2 days

Buyer beware 3rd party Amazon sellers that Amazon allows to steal from customers! Bought a Canon camera from a seller in Brooklyn, NY, the camera was not as advertised, followed return instructions to mail to a PO box. I wasn't savey enough to get a tracking number and this is Amazon, no worries - wrong. The seller said he never received the package and Amazon would do nothing even though there were several other complaints for the company having denyed receiving return articles. CROOKS!

On Amazon watch out for "knock offs". This happens especially involving makeup, hair and beauty items. The formulas are not the same and people have sent in pictures showing the real thing and the cheapo one. It is often very hard to get a refund from some of these sellers.

Amazon and its resellers did not invent all this. Many years ago I bought my first camera at a famous store in NYC. Close examination showed me that it had been used and I had a big hassle to swap it out for a new one. Even then, it was "grey market"- meant to be sold overseas, with no US warrantee.
I haven't had to return too many items to Amazon, but, when I have, it went ok. I bought one open box item through them, and it was fine.

Title is misleading.
I've never had a problem with Amazon when I "Returned" an item to them. I can always get someone on the phone at Amazon when I have to "Return" an item to them.
If I ever have a problem "Returning" a item or getting a refund I will consider canceling my Amazon subscription.

Just purchased a 20 ft flag pole on amazon. Took 15 days to get it... then the end of the pkg was missing and was sealed with tape. Opened it up and All accessories were missing. Contacted Seller and blasted them first for waiting 15 days and second for the crappy product I received. They told me they would send a new one out...another 15 days... and to keep the old one...I am still waiting. Has to be coming from china....will not do biz w/those guys again.

I have purchased two "renewed" computer towers from Amazon that have a 90 day guarantee, and both run flawlessly just like a new system, and each costs less than $150.00 with an i5 processor and 8 mg. of RAM running Windows 10. These are not stripped down machines, and a third tower is being delivered tomorrow: a gift to my grandson.

On 21st July I ordered some electrical plug adapters on Amazon from a Chinese supplier. Easy to order, but..... the estimated delivery date is between 26th August and 3rd September! I live in Australia, but 7 weeks delivery time seems a bit much. It's coming via China Post.... I guess on a slow boat! Ah well, patience is a virtue my mother told me!

This buying frenzy will soon come to an end. The era of the cavalier shopper will soon be over. As we enter the greatest financial depression the world has ever seen, people will no longer be interested in "social media" and buying the latest useless gadget.

Massive unemployment, crashing housing prices, skyrocketing inflation - people are going broke, fast. Instead of fighting over a TV set at Walmart's black Friday sale, people will be fighting to their death in the streets over a scrap of rotting food. That's how hungry they'll be. The good times are over my friends.

I purchased game cameras from Amazon. There was no owner's manual. I complained to the seller who sent a replacement. Upon examining the replacement it became apparent to me that Amazon had sent me a item that had been returned. I complained to Amazon and after awhile I was sent a new replacement. When the issue of returning the original item came up I declined to pay for shipping. When I complained that UPS drivers don't pick up returns in rural areas Amazon waived having to return. I regularly have the problem of no pick-up - for me returning items to a drop off site for mailing is a poor option as the closest is about a 45 minute drive from where I live in the country. I buy less from Amazon these days as I have so much trouble returning problem items. Its getting easier to save up shopping and going to the big city - except for the increased risk of exposure to the Corona virus.

Well, sort of a return. I signed up for Amazon Prime and paid a not unsubstantial sum for it.

First item I ordered would not connect me with Prime, nor the second nor the third and so on, until I got smart and went over to eBay.

Amazon does not show my account as a Prime subscriber, but my bank statement sure as heck did.

I want to return the "Prime" for a refund, but every time I write, I just get a reply which avoids the question of the refund.

Amazon Prime to be avoided!

Misterfish
Call them on the 800 number
Every time I have a question or problem it has always been resolved to my satisfaction
I have to relation with Amazon, just a happy customer

We have received a number of items from Amazon that were clearly returns. As far as we could tell scammers had "returned" mechandise that was subsequently resold by Amazon. The problem was the scammers had returned inferior mechandise that had the same description. The Amazon clerk didn't check the returned merchandise and just put it on the shelf to be resold. We received 10 year old hard drives instead of new drives and a dime-store wooden picture frame instead of a $200 digital photo frame.
The scammer had even put the box sticker from the digital frame on the wooden frame.

"So Mom was right!"
But of course! Does anyone have a Mom that was never right - even if it took us a few years to appreciate it?
"One seller on Ebay had the exact model I needed for $30, which was the best price I could find."
If the price of something seems too good to be true then it probably is.
Caveat Emptor