Amazon Prime service is slipping

[neverlandsky]

We cancelled Prime last year. For us, there was no difference in arrival time with Prime & without. Just cancelled Prime Music subscription due to music having more and more hiccups with disappearing songs. Amazon overall was better 10 years ago vs. today. We don't shop it as much anymore.

 

[Colleen27]

As they eliminate more and more of their competition, their need for fast shipping to give them a competitive advantage diminishes. So I'd expect this trend to continue and accelerate as more and more brick and mortar stores close and more people find themselves in some degree dependent on Amazon as the only place to get certain products, because as that happens they no longer have to be fast enough to convince people not to go to the local Kmart or Sears or Barnes & Noble. They just have to be faster or cheaper than their online competitors, many of which take a week or more to get goods to the customer.

 

[DLgal]

One thing to keep in mind is that delivery promises are from the time the order is shipped, not when you place the order.

No, that isn't how Prime Next Day works. There are literally cutoffs for next day delivery (which used to actually be same day delivery).

 

[prairie_girl]

It sure doesn't read that way...It doesn't say "One Day Delivery."

It says "FREE delivery Tomorrow, January 28."
View attachment 642538

This is a cut and paste from my Prime account. It also says that if you live in certain cities, you can get same day delivery on over $25 if placed before noon.


The transit time begins the first full shipping day after the package leaves our facility. Allow an additional two to five days for delivery to remote locations. Refer to How Are Shipping and Delivery Dates Calculated? for more information.
Total shipping cost is per shipment cost plus a per item cost. If the per item cost is listed as price per pound, you can check the weight in the item's detail page.
One-day shipping can't be used for P.O. boxes.
A signature may be required for shipments over $1,300.
The following table lists the costs per item and per shipment (in Canadian dollars).

 

[barkley]

Amazon is also no longer the cheapest, perhaps the most convenient but not the cheapest.

I have started buying more stuff using Walmarts version of Prime. I get a subscription to it from a credit card. So far about 70% of the time Amazon is more expensive.

i used to order quite a bit from walmart but then i started noticing that their online prices were getting significantly higher than their in store for the identical products. i also notice that if i go into my shopping history with them (it goes back a year or more) that a good 50 percent of the items are no longer eligible for delivery, only order for in store pickup. delivery got so bad late summer/early fall-they ended up having to do multiple refunds for me when their 'partners' or whatever they call the vendors on their site would indicate something had been shipped but shipping showed nothing but a mailing slip had be printed and nothing happened for upwards of 2 weeks.

 

[Toolulu22]

I never understood why people are so impatient to get their deliveries like yesterday.

If I order something online (rare), a week to ten days seems very reasonable.

I shop online often. Its great to ship to family away in other parts of the country and so I run out to the store less, it’s convenient to order/reorder items from shopping lists stored online.

I sometimes use Amazon to order supplies for school projects, which saves me on Shipping. I rely on accurate shipping estimates, which though I have Prime, in some cases is longer than a day. If you say 3 days, then it takes 10, the items may no longer be needed and we’re left scrambling for replacements because we’ll allow for a day delay but not over a week.

This actually happened this holiday from Victoria’s Secrets- I ordered pajamas for my nieces and they arrived 3 weeks after the arrive by date. I’ll never order a gift from them again.

 

[Communicore1991]

We are fortunate to have a very large Amazon fulfillment facility here in Miami, so many of the items we look at are free next-day delivery with our Prime account. And typically the service has been spoiling us rotten.

Lately however I've been getting a LOT of "Free delivery TOMORROW!" orders that arrive late. Not one day late, but 3-4 days late.

I placed two orders yesterday, for delivery today. One arrived as promised; the other was now scheduled for delivery on Sunday -- 3 days late. I know it's not a USPS problem because they don't deliver on Sundays.

It could be supply chain, but if you don't have the item in stock, don't falsely advertise next day delivery! It could also be staffing issues due to Covid, but don't falsely advertise next day delivery if you can't do it!

I'm getting tired of that drill, so I canceled the order citing the delivery delay as the reason. I went right back to Amazon and got a virtually identical replacement for half the price -- for delivery Sunday! We'll see what happens with that.

Not sure if this is still the case but if your delivery was delayed you could contact Amazon and get a $5-$10 credit since they didn't meet their guarantee.

 

[slo]

Well, for starters it's because we are paying over $100/year for this fast delivery. It's not just free.

The majority of things I order via Amazon prime are things I need SOON. I often order from there because it's cheaper than going to Target, even. And a lot of times, Amazon is the only place that has something I need.

If I'm getting free shipping, I deal with the timeline given.

I agree with this.
I ordered something from Amazon on Sunday and was told it will be delivered Tuesday and it’s now Friday and the item isn’t here. I’m hoping it comes today

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

We are fortunate to have a very large Amazon fulfillment facility here in Miami, so many of the items we look at are free next-day delivery with our Prime account. And typically the service has been spoiling us rotten.

Lately however I've been getting a LOT of "Free delivery TOMORROW!" orders that arrive late. Not one day late, but 3-4 days late.

I placed two orders yesterday, for delivery today. One arrived as promised; the other was now scheduled for delivery on Sunday -- 3 days late. I know it's not a USPS problem because they don't deliver on Sundays.

It could be supply chain, but if you don't have the item in stock, don't falsely advertise next day delivery! It could also be staffing issues due to Covid, but don't falsely advertise next day delivery if you can't do it!

I'm getting tired of that drill, so I canceled the order citing the delivery delay as the reason. I went right back to Amazon and got a virtually identical replacement for half the price -- for delivery Sunday! We'll see what happens with that.

Mmhmm. It's even more infuriating when it's their delivery service, and not USPS/UPS/FedEx. When they have the package in your city, but there are 'delivery delays'. Or when you order and the delivery date (even on the email) is Tuesday, but then it changes to Saturday. However, I've been told it's two day delivery FROM the day of shipping, not the day of order.

I have the same issues with Target too. They say 'two day shipping' and when you place the order, it says 'delivery on two days from now', but it doesn't even ship until after that date. That's not on the shipping companies; that's on Target!

Walmart has been on target (pun intended) with their three day shipping; haven't missed a delivery yet.

Chewy has had some delays, due to stock issues.

 

[RedAngie]

$109 per year for “free shipping” hardly seems like a great deal to me. ( Yeah, I know you get some streaming services and other benefits too.)

I suggest ordering at least a week before you need the product. But I suspect most online orders are for wants, not needs.

 

[mjkacmom]

Yes, I just ordered a couple of things yesterday with one day delivery, they are scheduled for Monday. Just be honest so I have options if I actually need it the next day.

 

[SharonZ]

I have Amazon Prime, and get more than my moneys worth from my membership. I rarely have anything be delayed, but if it is it doesn't really bother me, and it wouldn't make me consider cancelling Prime.

 

[mikehn]

Delivery has definitely slipped. But I still get my delivery within a day or two of the promised date. The best part is free returns, and if you return it at Kohls, you get Kohls cash. I mean you get paid to make a return. You cant beat that with a stick.

 

[DisneyHardin]

I haven't noticed any delays in our Amazon deliveries. We have several huge warehouses near us too and anything that is "fulfilled by Amazon" is delivered by their own delivery drivers, not USPS in my city.

 

[SarahM1987]

That was happening here as well several years ago, UPS and USPS couldn't keep up with the amount of daily Amazon deliveries. Their trucks were completely full of mostly Amazon boxes causing some of the drivers to be out late delivering. Eventually several of their warehouses around here put in delivery hubs with their own vans, and the issue went away. Some are okay, but I can't say too much for a lot of the local Amazon drivers, they are constantly backing into peoples mailboxes in our neighborhood, and they can't seem to stay on the driveways when it's raining and the yards are soft.

 

[lynxstch]

We are fortunate to have a very large Amazon fulfillment facility here in Miami, so many of the items we look at are free next-day delivery with our Prime account. And typically the service has been spoiling us rotten.

Lately however I've been getting a LOT of "Free delivery TOMORROW!" orders that arrive late. Not one day late, but 3-4 days late.

I placed two orders yesterday, for delivery today. One arrived as promised; the other was now scheduled for delivery on Sunday -- 3 days late. I know it's not a USPS problem because they don't deliver on Sundays.

USPS DOES deliver Amazon pkgs on Sunday. I get them all the time. I have had no issues with Amazon Prime at all,,and we don't have any local Amazon fulfillment centers in our little town. Almost all Amazon pkgs come USPS..a few UPS, who don't deliver on Sunday. Sorry to hear you are having issues with them

It could be supply chain, but if you don't have the item in stock, don't falsely advertise next day delivery! It could also be staffing issues due to Covid, but don't falsely advertise next day delivery if you can't do it!

I'm getting tired of that drill, so I canceled the order citing the delivery delay as the reason. I went right back to Amazon and got a virtually identical replacement for half the price -- for delivery Sunday! We'll see what happens with that.

 

[tiana1989]

I’ve been having the opposite problem, where my deliveries have been coming as estimated but those estimates are usually pushed out a week or more. Like if I go on right now (1/28), most Prime items say “delivery 2/5” or later, which is quite obnoxious considering Prime built such a reputation on two day shipping. At this point I feel like all I’m paying for is free shipping. They’re building a facility in my city, so I’m going to wait and see if things improve then. Otherwise I’ll probably cancel my subscription because whenever I order from competitors, the stuff actually arrives quickly.

 

[LuvOrlando]

The expected deliveries are all over the road now, very unreliable. Then again, it's probably to be expected now that everything is direct shipped from another country 7,000 miles away. Best guess this is to avoid taxes, fees or oversight of some kind... could be it's just to collect data on us buyers.
Here we are, ducks in a barrel.

 

[DLgal]

$109 per year for “free shipping” hardly seems like a great deal to me. ( Yeah, I know you get some streaming services and other benefits too.)

I suggest ordering at least a week before you need the product. But I suspect most online orders are for wants, not needs.

We save far more than $109 on the lower prices offered by Amazon over the course of a year. It's not even close. Some of the vitamins/probiotics I need to take are $5/box cheaper than ANYONE else, so that is an annual savings of $60 just on that ONE monthly supply supplement. We order from Amazon about 3 times a week on average. It saves me a lot of money by keeping me out of the stores where I will go in for one $5 thing and end up spending $100. We also use the Prime Wardrobe free "try on before you buy" for clothing which saves a LOT of time an hassle with shopping, because a lot of clothing merchants still don't offer free returns unless you spend a certain amount.

We don't even use the streaming service.

It's fine that you don't see a value in it, but it is a major benefit to people who do a lot of online purchasing. It's so successful that numerous other companies have begun offering similar shipping "memberships."

 

[DLgal]

The expected deliveries are all over the road now, very unreliable. Then again, it's probably to be expected now that everything is direct shipped from another country 7,000 miles away. Best guess this is to avoid taxes, fees or oversight of some kind... could be it's just to collect data on us buyers.
Here we are, ducks in a barrel.

Really? I don't order anything that gets shipped directly from another country.

They can have all the data they want. I couldn't care less.