Amazon - is it a screw up, or is it deliberate?

VoucherMan

Credit to Amazon, they've fixed the system so the customer feels the full inconvenience of their screw-ups.

I ordered some items from them. (2 replacement shaver heads). The parcel arrived today, but instead of the correct item, they'd sent 2 completely different models. No chance of sending out the correct items though. I have to return these for credit, and they hope I'll re-order at their now inflated (by about 80%) new price. Sorry Amazon, but there are now numerous other sellers offering it at a cheaper price than your inflated one.

The cynic in me thinks that Amazon deliberately sent the wrong item, knowing I'd be screwed when I found it was wrong, and they could then sell it at their new higher price. Okay the inconvenience may cost them a couple of quid to sort, but they'll get an extra £30 from selling at a higher price.

The returns process is a farce too. Three options requiring a printer(sorry, don't have one), and 2 that don't require a printer. But guess what. Both the others require a smartphone. Guess what Amazon. I'm one of the 20% in the country who don't have one. I was tempted to try customer services to see what else they came up with, but really can't be bothered. Luckily I have access to a printer, so can print off the email with the QR code & take it to the store.

So if you're unfortunate enough to be sent the wrong item by Amazon, Tough. They don't care. Make the most of the inconvenience and realise this is one of the reasons they're often so cheap. The 'customer service' is a little more than a sham, unable to offer any more help than their help pages.

Vent over!

marlot

Hanlon's razor seems a more likely explanation.

EssexExile

I've always found Amazon to be very helpful when a problem has occured, did you buy from Amazon or a 3rd party seller?

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

I have found on the few occasion that I have returned things to Amazon, to be very good and nor did I need a printer!

RichardD1970

Last time I was sent the wrong items they sent replacements straight away and told me to keep, and dispose of the wrong ones however I liked.

tempus_fugit

I doiubt Amazon sent the wrong item deliberately. It’s pretty unlikely that they’d have the time to screw up individual orders out of the thousands they must get every hour just to make some more money.

VoucherMan

EssexExile said:

I've always found Amazon to be very helpful when a problem has occured, did you buy from Amazon or a 3rd party seller?

Trick question, or just me being pedantic? It was a marketplace seller(Fulfilled by Amazon), which is the reason they gave for not being able to send a replacement, but I still bought it from Amazon.

I don't even know if it would be possible to pursue it, but ultimately I expect the seller would lose out, even if Amazon had messed up, so I just want to send back the incorrect parts & forget about it.

Something does still look odd about it. When I originally ordered, the confirmation read

Placed on February 11, 2020 Delivery Estimate: Monday, March 2, 2020 - Tuesday, March 3, 2020.

It turns out the shaver heads were out of stock, and as I'd unwittingly ticked the box to send everything together, the whole order was delayed. As I couldn't find a way to change it post ordering, I decided to cancel the whole order & start again.

A day and a half after placing the order, I received another email.

We are pleased to report that the following item will dispatch sooner than expected:
    Previous estimated arrival date: March 03 2020 - March 04 2020
    New estimated arrival date: February 18 2020 - February 19 2020

The next email I got was on the 17th, to say the order was on the way.

Strangely, (or not?) I've checked that seller's page & it currently states

Due in stock February 27.

Much though I would like to know how they mysteriously managed to get just two items into stock a few days early, and then despatch two completely different items, I'm happy to admit there's no chance of doing so, so I'll forget about it all just as soon as the money is back in my account.

JReacher1

The marketplace seller provides the stock to amazon to be stored in their warehouse. If you’ve got the wrong model then I would suspect the marketplace seller mislabelled the products. 

I think five return options is very good and it seems like you’ve access to a printer so not sure why you’re complaining. 

badmemory

JReacher1 said:

The marketplace seller provides the stock to amazon to be stored in their warehouse. If you’ve got the wrong model then I would suspect the marketplace seller mislabelled the products. 

 

This is it I am sure.  I had it happen to me, it was obvious as soon as I opened the box & read the instructions, the part number inside it was not correct & it didn't work (charger).  Returned to Amazon for full credit.  A couple of emails to the seller about what I needed as opposed to what I got, kept it pleasant, they were very helpful & next thing I know they sent me the correct thing foc.  So mistakes happen, the time to get mad is when nobody tries to put it right.  So about £15 free less about 6 mile round trip to return & a couple of days delay.

[Deleted User]

VoucherMan said: It was a marketplace seller(Fulfilled by Amazon), which is the reason they gave for not being able to send a replacement, but I still bought it from Amazon.

In fact you bought the  item from a Market Place Seller. 

Please understand the difference and proceed with caution in future if you decide to purchase from a third party. 

VoucherMan

JReacher1 said:

The marketplace seller provides the stock to amazon to be stored in their warehouse. If you’ve got the wrong model then I would suspect the marketplace seller mislabelled the products. 

In that case, I'll move the finger of suspicion from Amazon to the seller.

As per my previous post, Amazon had no stock, but 2 items suddenly appeared in stock unexpectedly, apparently mislabelled by the seller.

Quite fortunate for the seller, as I now have little choice but to return the incorrect items, effectively waiving their need to honour any 'sale price'.  So assuming either Amazon erroneously displayed the item for sale at an incorrect price, or the seller passed the wrong figure to Amazon, the end result is the same.