For years we have ordered from Amazon and had it sent to a friends house to bring down for us. Lately we have read some negative things about Amazon
and their predatory practices. We have questioned our future use of their service. In Sept. we had a rather large order sent to a friend in Vegas to
bring down for us. They just showed up missing one large item worth over $200. They say they never saw the item in question. We contacted Amazon
this AM thinking that since it was over a month ago we were sol. This is Amazon's response:
"Hello,
I'm sorry about the problem with your recent order. This is certainly not what we want our customers to experience.
To help you with this, I've immediately created a replacement for you at no additional charge. I've also upgraded the shipping speed to make up for
the inconvenience. Here are the details:
Order Number:
Guaranteed Delivery Date: November 2014
You can also check the status of your replacement order by clicking the link provided below:
I hope this helps. We look forward to seeing you again soon.
Best regards,"
It's pretty hard to NOT do business with Amazon.
similar experience
John M - 11-20-2014 at 03:31 PM
We had a similar experience during this past month. A shipment we ordered to be delivered in Texas apparently never got there on the date Amazon told
us it had arrived. Two days later we called Amazon, they immediately sent a replacement order, and it arrived the very next day.
Later we found out the original package had in fact been delivered but the person receiving the order didn't tell anyone and put it where no one
thought to look.
So, the receiver now had two packages. We called Amazon to pay for the extra shipment and they told us they had already written it off, declining our
offer of payment. Not an expensive purchase ($25) - but the prompt response was actually unbelievable.
That action has solidified our opinion of Amazon.
John Mchuckie - 11-20-2014 at 04:15 PM
I bought an item through Amazon on sale and was charged regular price + shipping.(supposed to be free) . Contacted them and by the time I got back to
my email...correction had been made! Great folks!bajabuddha - 11-20-2014 at 04:23 PM
Ditto. Just a few weeks ago, I purchased some 'stuff', and my order came only a quarter-filled of the items; I contacted the seller with my
complaint; no packing list supplied, just 'my word' for it... Amazon also sent me an email they were monitoring the situation and wanted to make sure
of satisfaction. The seller not only immediately sent me my missing items, but threw in a couple of extra ones as a 'oops, sorry!' gift.
My only questionable feelings for them are cookies; once I've perused any item on Amazon, not purchasing, mysteriously all the ads on my MSN home page
are of that item or similar items... I don't like being 'tracked', but ...... 99% HOORAY for 'em. Being in the middle of nowhere it's a great way to
get stuff.dasubergeek - 11-20-2014 at 04:33 PM
bajabuddha, download Ghostery. You can decide, page-by-page or browser-wide, what cookies, trackers and beacons you want or don't want.David K - 11-20-2014 at 04:41 PM
They have been moving our Old Mission books very well from all that I have heard.
Originally posted by dasubergeek
bajabuddha, download Ghostery. You can decide, page-by-page or browser-wide, what cookies, trackers and beacons you want or don't want.
Thanks for the tip, will try it. We too have noticed the tracking.weebray - 11-20-2014 at 07:05 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by David K
They have been moving our Old Mission books very well from all that I have heard.
Interesting comment. I'm not sure if you're promoting your book or praising Amazon but one of the most damning things I have read about Amazon is
their squeezing of the "little guy" authors. Do they allow you a decent profit? I happen to believe you are entitled to a handsome remuneration.
Amazon Smile
bajaguy - 11-20-2014 at 07:16 PM
If you order through Amazon Smile, Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible Amazon Smile purchases to the charitable organization of your
choice. Same Amazon service, help out a good causeSkipjack Joe - 11-20-2014 at 07:21 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by weebray
Quote:
Originally posted by David K
They have been moving our Old Mission books very well from all that I have heard.
I'm not sure if you're promoting your book or praising Amazon.
Yes, he does that a lot.
willardguy - 11-20-2014 at 07:38 PM
on a side note, it use to be I had to order amazon using a virtual IP address, now they don't seem to care? but yeah, how america shops! just try to
have deliveries go to the work place if you canPappy Jon - 11-20-2014 at 07:56 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by weebray
Interesting comment. I'm not sure if you're promoting your book or praising Amazon but one of the most damning things I have read about Amazon is
their squeezing of the "little guy" authors. Do they allow you a decent profit? I happen to believe you are entitled to a handsome remuneration.
I also sell books through Amazon ... but I won't let them inventory and ship. I receive orders by email and I ship. Their commission is about 30%,
which is acceptable considering I give regular bookstores 40%. They were persistent that I change this for awhile, but I didn't cave in. Call me a
control freak.
[Edited on 11-21-2014 by Pappy Jon]CP - 11-20-2014 at 08:03 PM
Have 'heard' negative things about Amazon but our experience, and that would be spending close to half of our annual purchases via them, has been
fantastic. And any customer service issues have been solved quickly and to our benefit as best or better than could be expected. And always on-line
as we have no telephone.Gulliver - 11-20-2014 at 08:11 PM
Is it possible to get stuff shipped (from, for example Amazon) to Baja without having it disappear into customs in Mexico City or some such horror?
I don't mind having to pay some duty. I was told that the duty on construction supplies coming South across the border was something like 16%?
When I was cruising down here 25 years ago I used Downwind Marine and cruisers driving down would pick stuff up from them and deliver it to cruiser
hangouts like Santa Rosalia, Puerto Escondido and LaPaz. I dunno if anyone would stop at Mulege.
Sometimes I might like to get a book or some small electronics part. Too for to drive to San Diego for such a small thing.Bill Collector - 11-20-2014 at 08:32 PM
We have all our Amazon stuff sent straight to ACV Transport. Then it comes straight to our front door here in BCS.toneart - 11-20-2014 at 08:51 PM
Amazon has done a fantastic job over the years. Glad to hear their customer service is responsive.
All companies track you with cookies. It is a nuisance, but you just have to go into your history tab at the top of your browser and clear the first
four items; Browsing and download history, Form and search history, cookies, and cache. Download Malwarebytes for free. They scan for malware and
quarantines it all. Then you can delete them. Do this often.
The only quarrels I have with Amazon is: how they held up delivery of small authors' works. I think that is settled now. And they want to be first in
using drones for delivery to your door. I wouldn't like that. I hope the FAA disallows it. I don't like drones at all. They are invasive, used to spy,
perilous to aircraft, and used to deliver bombs to "war zones", killing too many innocent victims. The negatives outweigh the positives.
I have never read any political opinions from David K with which I agree. However, I have no problem with him promoting his books. He does a great job
with Baja History and his passion is quite evident.DavidT - 11-20-2014 at 09:41 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by bajabuddha
My only questionable feelings for them are cookies; once I've perused any item on Amazon, not purchasing, mysteriously all the ads on my MSN home page
are of that item or similar items... I don't like being 'tracked', but ...
This sight uses a program, from Google I believe, that picks cookies from your computer and displays the ads you see at the top of the forum pages.
Skeet/Loreto didn't know that and he posted a hilarious rant about leaving Bajanomad because the ads at the top of his page were for the strip clubs
in the area of Texas where he lives.BajaBlanca - 11-21-2014 at 09:16 AM
Tony - good to hear from you!
David - good point about the books.
Amazon - great job all around it seems .... pretty amazing for such a huge company.mtgoat666 - 11-21-2014 at 09:37 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by David K
They have been moving our Old Mission books very well from all that I have heard.
dk,
i see on amazon that you wrote 50% of the "customer reviews" of your book. "customer reviews" are supposed to be by customers, not authors!
p.s. i like amazon, but i also like many other internet retailers. i find i can still shop around and find a few non-amazon vendors that will sell
without collecting sales tax, though they seem to be vanishing breed.David K - 11-21-2014 at 10:06 AM
Max set up the Amazon deal, so I don't know what their share is. I added my comment to ditto what weebray posted. After Max set it up, I went back and
changed and added some images of the book and contents.
I also wanted to add what was in the book and the only way I could figure out how to do that was to review it myself. I didn't use a ghost name but my
own mtgoat666, so no mischief intended.
Igor, there is so little money earned from writing guidebooks or history books in most cases, one must promote it whenever possible. Have you seen the
Holiday Special for this year http://oldmissions.com ? LOL Not available on Amazon or any other distributor, only from the publisher. Oh, and we publish our own book because of
the tiny percentage publishers give back to authors. Sunbelt had published Max's El Camino Real and its Bells book and they were the ones we intended
to use, but this was too much work to only make a buck a book on.
I am happy that the book is still selling after two years, but it is our promoting and live updates on our Facebook page http://facebook.com/oldmissions and our PowerPoint mission lectures that are keeping it of interest. It's not just a Baja book but a California
(Old and New/ Lower and Upper) book covering Spanish and Mexican California. The truth must be told!
[Edited on 11-21-2014 by David K]Pappy Jon - 11-21-2014 at 12:59 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by David K
Oh, and we publish our own book because of the tiny percentage publishers give back to authors. ... but this was too much work to only make a buck a
book on.
Which is why I self-published. Lots of work, but worth it.
[Edited on 11-21-2014 by Pappy Jon]David K - 11-21-2014 at 01:02 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Pappy Jon
Quote:
Originally posted by David K
Oh, and we publish our own book because of the tiny percentage publishers give back to authors. ... but this was too much work to only make a buck a
book on.
Which is why I self-published. Lots of work, but worth it.
[Edited on 11-21-2014 by Pappy Jon]
So Jon, please show us the link to your book. Maybe add it to your Nomad signature? Thank you!gator - 11-21-2014 at 02:21 PM
Several years ago I made a purchase from Amazon. When the package arrived the box was empty!?! ......Just took an email and they corrected their mistake. Pappy Jon - 11-21-2014 at 07:31 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by David K
So Jon, please show us the link to your book. Maybe add it to your Nomad signature? Thank you!
Regarding annoying ads - this comes up every so often, but the easiest and cheapest way to eradicate annoying ads is to install AdBlock Plus. The
developer asks only for a $30 donation if you're so inclined. If you're cheap, it's free.
Originally posted by danaeb
Regarding annoying ads - this comes up every so often, but the easiest and cheapest way to eradicate annoying ads is to install AdBlock Plus. The
developer asks only for a $30 donation if you're so inclined. If you're cheap, it's free.
......Just took an email and they corrected their mistake. 