On Saturday, March 11, 2017 at 5:20:43 PM UTC-5, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per notbob:
Fortunately, I
spent less than $20 on this particular Amazon scam.

I am totally hooked on Amazon Prime: free shipping, and returns are
about as painless as they can be.

I want to return something:

- Click on the "Return" option

- Print out the FedEx (or is it UPS?)
label.

- Box the item, stick on the label

- Either find a UPS/FedEx truck or drop
it off at the nearby facility.

No shipping costs on the return, no if's-and's-or-but's... a beautiful
thing.... unless, of course, you are brick-and-mortar merchant.
--
Pete Cresswell

I'll agree with the painless returns, but don't be fooled by the "free
shipping".

Less than a minute ago I ordered an new clock movement for my classic
"circular saw blade shop clock".

$11.99 Prime, arrives by March 14.

$10.99 with free shipping from a different seller, arrives March 14-17.
If things go as they typically do, it'll be here no later than the 15th,
but even the 17th is fine.

The other day I was looking at LED bulbs for my trailer. $12.98 Prime,
$9.99 + $2.99 shipping ($12.98) from a different seller. So maybe they
show up a day or 2 later. Rarely is the shipping time that critical,
at least not for me.

What some folks call "free shipping" with Prime, I usually describe as
"free guaranteed 2 day delivery". That's what you actually get with Prime,
but it's often built into the price and subsidized by your membership fee.

Now, one thing I am impressed with as far as Amazon goes is their phone-based
customer service. I don't think I've ever been on-hold for even a minute
waiting for a rep. I don't know how many call centers they have or how big
they are, but for a company with as many customers as Amazon to have
virtually no wait time for a live person is pretty amazing.