Amazon Prime and two-day free shipping (new orders vs. exchanges)

I am an Amazon Prime member and have been enjoying their free two-day shipping for several years. There has of course been much discussion here about the pros and cons of Amazon Prime. Some folks have complained about not actually getting items in two days for one reason or another. My experience has been positive, but I just encountered something odd. Does Amazon place greater priority on new orders versus exchanges?

Yesterday (Wednesday), I received The Essential Duke Ellington, a two-CD set. The center plastic hub in the jewel case was broken into several pieces. As a result, the discs were loose in the jewel case and were scratched by the plastic shards. I immediately went online and requested a replacement. This was on Wednesday evening. The delivery date is shown as Monday. As of now, the set has not shipped.

Later on Wednesday evening, I placed an order for The Essential Johnny Winter, a two-CD set. That set is already in transit and is scheduled to be delivered on Friday.

This morning, I placed an order for The Essential George Duke, a two-CD set. That set is scheduled to be delivered on Saturday.

It seems strange that I will not get the replacement Duke Ellington set until Monday. The order shows "Amazon Prime: Two-Day Shipping is free".

 

They feel they have already kept their side of the deal once. Returns are after the fact, and as we've all seen recently, by banishments of members that have returned " too much," not a big priority with Amazon.
Remember, common thinking outside this forum is that a scratched CD, while cosmetically unappealing, likely still plays just fine.

 

I have experienced the same thing. However, the fact that their returns policy asks no questions, starts the replacement process immediately (i.e. before you send defective item back) I am prepared to live with this.

Quite frankly, I am more miffed that my Prime orders are now shipping via LaserShip again....so now I am dealing with packages delivered to the wrong address or BS tracking info on a regular basis.

 

First I've ever heard of LaserShip. Being a Prime member myself, with 5 distribution centers nearby, guess I'll just have to wait, and see if things change here. So far it's still UPS, USPS, and Fed Ex on Saturdays.

 

You are very lucky. When I first signed up for Prime all my orders were coming via LaserShip and they were a mess. Then they dissapeared for the longest time and now they are back. Check out the Yelp! reviews - in particular the East Rutherford, NJ branch to get an idea. Pray Amazon never ships your orders this way.

 

I've always received replacements in two days.

 

If you get turfed from Amazon for too many returns I would hope you get refunded partially for the amount invested with Prime?

 

Is it possible they don't ship the new copy until they receive the defective copy? Or maybe it's not in stock? It does sound odd.

 

Amazon does prorate if Prime is cancelled for any reason.

 

I am just showing concern for the people with a high return rate.

 

Yeah, I'm not complaining. Amazon makes returns very easy. I just find it odd that the replacement copy is going to take longer to get here than it should (ordered Wednesday and won't arrive until Monday).

I am not familiar with LaserShip. Amazon has been shipping items to me by UPS or FedEx lately. For awhile, they were using a shipping service called Premier. I never had a problem with them. The delivery person did not wear a uniform and drove a personal car.

 

Amazon does not wait to receive a defective copy before shipping a replacement. I have a month to return the defective copy or they will charge me for the replacement. The Ellington set was in stock when I requested a replacement copy Wednesday evening. They currently show 16 copies in stock, but my replacement still hasn't shipped. It is still slated to arrive on Monday. I ordered another CD set Wednesday evening (first copy), and it is in transit and scheduled to arrive today (Friday). Another CD set I ordered Thursday morning (first copy) has shipped and should arrive tomorrow (Saturday).

 

Exchanges are probably handled by a completely different department and are not part of the Amazon Prime Experience, so it is luck of the draw. Some may take a few extra days, just a hunch.

 

I just joined prime this week. My first order, a soundbar, should be here today for the two day shipping, but it's still in Dallas. So can I complain about it not coming in two days or do they peg whiners?

 

They'll likely give you an additional month of Prime free, to appease you. That's how they do me. 3 months free so far this year !!!!

 

So you don't get dinged for calling them out multiple times for missing two-day?

 

Not at all. For $99.00 per year, WE are the valued customer.

 

Go ahead and complain. I've gotten a couple months of Prime free as well.

 

I put my foot down last year, and stopped doing business with everyone online, except Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and @Bull Moose . Besides DHL, and UPS Mail Innovations being ridiculously slow, any USPS option other than First Class, or Priority literally passes me, and goes to Memphis to be sorted, then doubles back to arrive here.
Enough.
The 3 retailers that still treat me right, get all my money, and support, because they've clearly earned it.
.

 

Alright then! Thanks guys!

 

The worst idea. Ever.

A retailer in Atlanta used this service to send a package to my house before Christmas. It went from Atlanta, to South Carolina, then back to Atlanta before arriving here. Eight days. Probably saved the company nineteen cents, and they lost a customer for it.

 

I have had CDs shipped to Columbia, SC (100 miles away), and then travel another 1,000 miles before they arrive here in Greenville.

 

I am an Amazon Prime member and ordered a CD late Friday afternoon. My assumption that the best that could happen with this is that it would be delivered on Monday, probably Tuesday giving in two business days. The order indicated that it would be delivered on Sunday...

So now it is Sunday afternoon and I just took a look at the order status... Your package was delivered. Please look in your mailbox or wherever you typically get mail. It was delivered by the U.S.P.S. today. I think that is a first for me. I have never had anything delivered by the U.S.P.S. on a Sunday, let alone a CD.

 

Happened to my Mrs. and me a couple of weeks ago - and, get this, we are NOT Amazon Prime members. Outstanding!

 

I never signed up for Prime b/c I usually don't buy a enough from Amazon to make it worth it. It's never been an issue with shipping and ever since they starting using local warehouses sometimes my orders would arrive the next day, anyway. Seemed kind of moot to have it. However, on my last order I purchased an electric toothbrush which went on sale for $34 and I threw in the Hedrix Axix Bold as Love stereo reissue. Both in stock when I placed the order, a few days later toothbrush went of stock before it even prepared to ship. When it went into 'prepared to ship' toothbrush in stock, LP out of stock. Now they're both out of stock and I'm waiting who knows how long before they can ship my order. I've been doing a lot of Amazon orders this year, I may get Prime to prevent this from happening again.