I placed an order with Amazon on February 20th. I'm not a Prime subscriber, so I bought enough to qualify for free shipping. They split the order into two packages. Both shipped via their own delivery service. Then, both were expected to be delivered last Wednesday. Wednesday morning, both packages showed up as being out for delivery. Around lunch time, one package arrived. As soon as the driver got back in their vehicle, the package showed up as having been delivered. The other package was still out for delivery, expected before 8 p.m. After 8 p.m., no package. The next day, it says it is on its way but running late. (I believe this is Amazon code for "We lost it.") Friday, it said I could expect delivery by Saturday and, if it hadn't arrived, I could request a refund or replacement. It did not arrive Saturday, but it said I could request a refund or replacement "now." I figured I would wait until Monday. Come Monday, no package. In the afternoon, I clicked the link where it said I could request a refund. That took me to a page that told me I would have to wait until Tuesday to request a refund. Come Tuesday, no package. I clicked to request a refund. Actually, I wanted a replacement but there was no link for that. Came to the page to request a refund. Said it wasn't eligible for replacement but I could request a refund. Did that. Said I could expect a refund in two to three days. Also, upon requesting a refund, they ask that if the package does show up to let them know.
Meanwhile, the one item showed as only having four left in stock. So, I reordered my items plus additional items to qualify for free shipping again. I did this before receiving the refund because I didn't want to miss out on that item with only four left in stock. Less than two hours after placing the order, my refund was credited to my gift card balance.
Now delivery is expected by March 13th, assuming, of course, they don't lose it again.
Yesterday, I received an eMail from Amazon asking me to review the items I never received.
So, to sum up, Amazon's own delivery service lost a package and, someday, it might or might not still be delivered and I need to let Amazon know if it is, so apparently, packages from Amazon might appear out of nowhere and Amazon has no idea. Second, one page says I can request a refund or replacement "now" but then, two days later, says I need to wait an additional day to do so and then, come that day, says I can only request a refund not a replacement. And, finally, after losing a package, they still send me an eMail asking me to review the product I never received.
Granted, much of this is automated but, obviously, not automated too well.
The bottom line is that if anyone thinks they can figure out what Amazon is doing in any given circumstance, it may be a colossal waste of time because I am not entirely convinced Amazon itself has any clue what they are doing. It's a lot like trying to find a pattern in winning lottery numbers in order to pick the right numbers for the next drawing.
