Furious at amazon right now

[debthaven]

I bought vacuum cleaner bags last week. Albeit not a big expense.

They sent me the wrong bags.

The company (which I had bought from once before with no problem) finally answered today (I complained on Thurs.) They said no problem, go to the post office, lay out the money for the return, and we'll reimburse you for postage and the bags.

Um, no. THEY messed up, I feel the onus is on THEM. If I had time to go to the post office, I would have just gone to the store and bought the right bags in the first place. I ordered them on Amazon to make my life EASIER, not harder.

I contacted Amazon Chat who told me how generous they were, offering to pay the postage for ME to return the WRONG bags that THIS COMPANY sent. Usually (IME) Amazon sides on the customer's side, but not this time.

My life is hellishly busy right now. I will return the bags, but I need the right bags, so I ordered new ones elsewhere (on Amazon lol). I gave this company one star.

If I buy shoes on Amazon and they are the size I ordered but they don't fit, it is indeed MY responsibility to return them, possibly at my own expense. But I very clearly indicated my vacuum cleaner model, and someone either couldn't read, or mixed up two orders. THEY sent the wrong bags. So IMO, their problem, not mine.

Any thoughts? Am I being unreasonable?

ETA: We're on our LAST bag, so I just emptied it out by hand, again. Ugh.

[gs11rmb]

Sept 25, 2018 14:32:03 GMT -5 debthaven said:

I bought vacuum cleaner bags last week. Albeit not a big expense.

They sent me the wrong bags.

The company (which I had bought from once before with no problem) finally answered today (I complained on Thurs.) They said no problem, go to the post office, lay out the money for the return, and we'll reimburse you for postage and the bags.

Um, no. THEY messed up, I feel the onus is on THEM. If I had time to go to the post office, I would have just gone to the store and bought the right bags in the first place.

I contacted Amazon Chat who told me how generous they were, offering to pay the postage for ME to return the wrong bags that THIS COMPANY sent.

My life is hellishly busy right now. I will return the bags at some point, but I ordered new ones elsewhere (on Amazon lol) and gave the company one star.

If I buy shoes on Amazon and they are the size I ordered and they don't fit, it is indeed MY responsibility to return them. But I clearly indicated the model of my vacuum cleaner model, someone either couldn't read, or mixed up two orders. THEY sent the wrong bags. So IMO, their problem, not mine.

Any thoughts? Am I being unreasonable?

ETA: We're on our LAST bag, so I just emptied it out by hand. Ugh.

Well how else will they be returned?  I know it's frustrating to receive the wrong item but mistakes do happen.  

[debthaven]

I feel that I shouldn't have to be bothered to return them. THEY messed up, not me.

I probably wouldn't feel that way with an expensive item (but I don't order expensive items on Amazon). But for but 10 euros, I feel that THEY should eat it rather than make their customer return them because THEY sent the WRONG item. 

ETA: I would also have been OK with them asking me to return them, but telling me they were sending out the ones I ordered.

[hoops902]

I either don't follow completely, or you're asking for something I'm not understanding. What do you WANT Amazon to do (Amazon specifically, I understand you're unwilling to pay up front just to be reimbursed for shipping later).  How are they not on the customer's side by offering to pay for you to return an item that isn't yours?  

Are you thinking being on your side means that the other company will just send you the right thing while simultaneously telling you to just return the item that isn't yours whenever you feel like it?  

Are you thinking it means they're going to schedule a pickup at your house to pick the wrong bags up and deliver the other ones to you?   

I'm also not 100% clear on how Amazon is willing to pay the postage.  If they send you money on your account, that's one thing...if they send you a postage sticker/slip...then I'm not sure how much easier they could possibly make it?

[debthaven]

I either don't follow completely, or you're asking for something I'm not understanding. What do you WANT Amazon to do (Amazon specifically, I understand you're unwilling to pay up front just to be reimbursed for shipping later). How are they not on the customer's side by offering to pay for you to return an item that isn't yours?

I don't have a problem with paying up front to be reimbursed later. I just don't want to have to go to the post office and stand on line for 30 min (which is the case here) to send back a 10 euro ($11) order that THEY messed up.

[hoops902]

Sept 25, 2018 14:41:01 GMT -5 debthaven said:

I feel that I shouldn't have to be bothered to return them. THEY messed up, not me.

I probably wouldn't feel that way with an expensive item (but I don't order expensive items on Amazon). But for but 10 euros, I feel that THEY should eat it rather than make their customer return them because THEY sent the WRONG item. 

ETA: I would also have been OK with them asking me to return them, but telling me they were sending out the ones I ordered.

What did they say when you asked them to do that?

[TheOtherMe]

Sept 25, 2018 14:41:01 GMT -5 debthaven said:

I feel that I shouldn't have to be bothered to return them. THEY messed up, not me.

I probably wouldn't feel that way with an expensive item (but I don't order expensive items on Amazon). But for but 10 euros, I feel that THEY should eat it rather than make their customer return them because THEY sent the WRONG item. 

ETA: I would also have been OK with them asking me to return them, but telling me they were sending out the ones I ordered.

In the past, I've had Amazon tell me to keep items of small amounts that arrived broken or were the wrong item.

The last item I ordered that arrived broken was under $15 and I had to return it.  I didn't think I should have had to do that because in the past, I've been told to not return items that cost a lot more that $15 and just get rid of them.

[debthaven]

What did they say when you asked them to do that?

I asked them this evening after work, so I don't know yet. (I am a teacher so it's hard for me to answer emails during the day.)

[Deleted]

Sept 25, 2018 14:46:24 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Sept 25, 2018 14:41:01 GMT -5 debthaven said:

I feel that I shouldn't have to be bothered to return them. THEY messed up, not me.

I probably wouldn't feel that way with an expensive item (but I don't order expensive items on Amazon). But for but 10 euros, I feel that THEY should eat it rather than make their customer return them because THEY sent the WRONG item. 

ETA: I would also have been OK with them asking me to return them, but telling me they were sending out the ones I ordered.

In the past, I've had Amazon tell me to keep items of small amounts that arrived broken or were the wrong item.

The last item I ordered that arrived broken was under $15 and I had to return it.  I didn't think I should have had to do that because in the past, I've been told to not return items that cost a lot more that $15 and just get rid of them.

I would imagine the different policies depends on the seller.  A lot of the products on Amazon are being offered from third party retailers.  Some might not want to mess with returning items, and others might. 

[Gardening Grandma]

Sept 25, 2018 14:41:01 GMT -5 debthaven said:

I feel that I shouldn't have to be bothered to return them. THEY messed up, not me.

I probably wouldn't feel that way with an expensive item (but I don't order expensive items on Amazon). But for but 10 euros, I feel that THEY should eat it rather than make their customer return them because THEY sent the WRONG item. 

ETA: I would also have been OK with them asking me to return them, but telling me they were sending out the ones I ordered.

I've had mixed results with Amazon.  On more than one occassion, I initiated a return and was told "don't bother sending the item back".  On other occasions,  I had to send back the item even when the cost of sending it back was more than the worth of the item.

Differences between companies.  I've started to look at the reviews of the companies for complaints like yours.  Yes, when they send you the wrong item, it should be on them to make it right...

[debthaven]

Like TheOtherMe , I once had Amazon send the wrong order, tell me to keep it, and then send the right one. That one was more expensive, so I would have understood them asking me to send it back. I even kept the packaging for weeks, because at that price, I fully expected to be asked to return it.

But for this, 10 euros, $11, I don't get it. You'd think that at that price they'd rather just apologize and send out the right order, and ask nicely for you to resend the wrong one at your convenience/within a month.

Instead they got a crappy rating.

[hoops902]

Sept 25, 2018 14:52:30 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Like TheOtherMe , I once had Amazon send the wrong order, tell me to keep it, and then send the right one. That one was more expensive, so I would have understood them asking me to send it back. I even kept the packaging for weeks.

But for this, 10 euros, $11, I don't get it. You'd think that at that price they'd rather just apologize and send out the right order, and ask nicely for you to resend the wrong one at your convenience/within a month.

I'm guessing a LOT of people who fall into the "send it back whenever you feel like it" end up never sending it back.  I'm guessing Amazon doesn't really care to process the return, so they let people keep low cost items.  Individual, smaller sellers probably care a lot more about getting the return and re-selling it.

[TheOtherMe]

When I left a bad rating on the one I had to return, Amazon pulled it and warned me I may not be able to leave other ratings.

[debthaven]

Good point Gardening Grandma, it certainly does depend on the company. I always check reviews, this place had good reviews and we had no problem with them before. But I don't order vacuum cleaner bags very often LOL.

I'm seriously overworked right now so this seems like a big deal to me, but at the same time, I'm amazed that a company would mess up and then require the customer to send it back, with no mention of sending the right bags. 

[Gardening Grandma]

Sept 25, 2018 14:55:54 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

When I left a bad rating on the one I had to return, Amazon pulled it and warned me I may not be able to leave other ratings.

What!!!?  Are you kidding

[grumpyhermit]

Was this an order that was fulfilled by Amazon, or a random third party reseller? I think Amazon takes responsibility for orders fulfilled by them, but not so much on people that are just using Amazon as a storefront.

I'm a Prime member, and 95% of my stuff is fulfilled by Amazon/Prime eligible.

[TheOtherMe]

That was my reaction.  I could not believe the review was not even posted.  I think it was fulfilled by someone else, but it shouldn't matter.

I have Prime.  

[debthaven]

Hoops I would happily have sent it back, and I will probably do so on Fri or Sat. What really pissed me off is that they made ZERO effort to get me the bags I ordered, which I needed quickly.

So they lost a customer, and another company gained one.

I teach in two business schools ... I don't know all that much about accounting or customer service, but for 10 euros/$11, I think the company made a bad call here.

Yes everyone makes mistakes. But since this was THEIR mistake and not mine, they should have just sent the right bags and spared themselves the crappy review. Again, we're talking 10 euros/$11.

JMO of course. 

ETA: Lesson learned ... I hope the next bags are the right ones, but the next time I'm at the mall, I'll just buy two or three packs in person, because I can read and choose the right ones.

[tskeeter]

Sept 25, 2018 14:46:24 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Sept 25, 2018 14:41:01 GMT -5 debthaven said:

I feel that I shouldn't have to be bothered to return them. THEY messed up, not me.

I probably wouldn't feel that way with an expensive item (but I don't order expensive items on Amazon). But for but 10 euros, I feel that THEY should eat it rather than make their customer return them because THEY sent the WRONG item. 

ETA: I would also have been OK with them asking me to return them, but telling me they were sending out the ones I ordered.

In the past, I've had Amazon tell me to keep items of small amounts that arrived broken or were the wrong item.

The last item I ordered that arrived broken was under $15 and I had to return it.  I didn't think I should have had to do that because in the past, I've been told to not return items that cost a lot more that $15 and just get rid of them.

To return, or not return, may depend on the policies of seller, not Amazon.

[debthaven]

Third party seller.

[debthaven]

I guess I never realized that the non-Amazon sellers had such divergent policies on returns. I guess I've been lucky too, in not having to return many items.

So thank you, because that has been enlightening! Always better to go through Amazon (directly).

[TheOtherMe]

I didn't either.  Currently I ordered cat litter.  I didn't realize I ordered from a 3rd party seller.  I ordered it two weeks ago.  It still isn't here.  I have emailed the seller through Amazon.  It was supposedly shipped by Fedex, but no tracking information was provided to Amazon or me.  

[hoops902]

Sept 25, 2018 15:03:50 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Hoops I would happily have sent it back, and I will probably do so on Fri or Sat. What really pissed me off is that they made ZERO effort to get me the bags I ordered, which I needed quickly.

So they lost a customer, and another company gained one.

I teach in two business schools ... I don't know all that much about accounting or customer service, but for 10 euros/$11, I think the company made a bad call here.

Yes everyone makes mistakes. But since this was THEIR mistake and not mine, they should have just sent the right bags and spared themselves the crappy review. Again, we're talking 10 euros/$11.

JMO of course. 

ETA: Lesson learned ... I hope the next bags are the right ones, but the next time I'm at the mall, I'll just buy two or three packs in person, because I can read and choose the right ones.

Yes, I'm just not sure why you're so mad at Amazon.  They're just acting as a 3rd party intermediary.  I understand why not sending it out immediately would make you annoyed at the company you bought from (though I also understand that they lose all leverage to get their merchandise back the moment they send you the correct item).

[greeniis10]

Everything I've ordered online recently automatically comes with a return label and invoice to show what (if anything) needs to be returned and why. I think this is a good policy even though it involves extra paper on the sellers part.

Yes, if I do need to return something I have to take it to be shipped but the label and invoice is already provided and I can generally use the same packaging it arrived in.

[Tennesseer]

debthaven - out of curiosity, what was or would be the cost to return the bags to the seller?  And compared to what you paid for the bags, what is the rough difference between the two costs?

I'm thinking bags could not be that expensive and for a couple dollars difference (costs of bags versus reimbursement for shipping costs) the seller would say just toss them and send you the correct bags.

[TheOtherMe]

Sept 25, 2018 16:01:50 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

debthaven - out of curiosity, what was or would be the cost to return the bags to the seller?  And compared to what you paid for the bags, what is the rough difference between the two costs?

I'm thinking bags could not be that expensive and for a couple dollars difference (costs of bags versus reimbursement for shipping costs) the seller would say just toss them and send you the correct bags.

Which is what debthaven thought.

[Tennesseer]

Sept 25, 2018 16:27:28 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Sept 25, 2018 16:01:50 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

debthaven - out of curiosity, what was or would be the cost to return the bags to the seller?  And compared to what you paid for the bags, what is the rough difference between the two costs?

I'm thinking bags could not be that expensive and for a couple dollars difference (costs of bags versus reimbursement for shipping costs) the seller would say just toss them and send you the correct bags.

Which is what debthaven thought.

I believe it was The Walk of the Penguin Mich who last year or so had to deal with a seller/shipper in Australia who sent her the wrong clothing and in the end the seller sent her the correct clothes and pretty much told her to enjoy/do whatever she wished with the incorrect clothes sent to her.

That or they sent her someone else's shipment.

The seller/shipper in Australia was out a hell of a lot more money on clothes than a seller of vacuum bags.

[TheOtherMe]

My Amazon return was for a CD.  It arrived crushed even though it was in a padded mailer.  It looked like it had been bent in half.  Both the plastic case and the CD was destroyed.  I took photos of both and submitted with my request to return.  It could not been re-sold but to get a refund, I had to return the package with the broken pieces.  Total waste of money on their part.

Like debthaven, I ordered from Amazon for a replacement instead of that 3rd party sell or any other 3rd party seller.

I was not careful when ordering the cat litter.

[hoops902]

Sept 25, 2018 16:30:47 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Sept 25, 2018 16:27:28 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Which is what debthaven thought.

I believe it was The Walk of the Penguin Mich who last year or so had to deal with a seller/shipper in Australia who sent her the wrong clothing and in the end the seller sent her the correct clothes and pretty much told her to enjoy/do whatever she wished with the incorrect clothes sent to her.

That or they sent her someone else's shipment.

The seller/shipper in Australia was out a hell of a lot more money on clothes than a seller of vacuum bags.

Yes, though the cost to ship items from Australia as compared to the price of the items was probably significant (and depending on the season, they may not have been able to do anything with the clothes once they received them back...as opposed to a year-round good like vacuum bags).

There's also the issue that some sellers are going to insist on sending the items back even while making no money on it simply because it discourages consumer fraud in the future.  

Ultimately, I think that's a business decision though.  I don't think as a consumer you have any real right to an expectation that if a seller makes a mistake that you're entitled to just keep the item because you think it's not worth their money to have it sent back...it's up to the seller if it is worth their money to ship it back.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Sept 25, 2018 16:30:47 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Sept 25, 2018 16:27:28 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Which is what debthaven thought.

I believe it was The Walk of the Penguin Mich who last year or so had to deal with a seller/shipper in Australia who sent her the wrong clothing and in the end the seller sent her the correct clothes and pretty much told her to enjoy/do whatever she wished with the incorrect clothes sent to her.

That or they sent her someone else's shipment.

The seller/shipper in Australia was out a hell of a lot more money on clothes than a seller of vacuum bags.

Yes and no.  The seller was in Australia, but I received a couple of expensive, very small swimsuits that I had not ordered.  It turned out, after communicating with the Australian seller that the person who had placed the order was the one who stole my credit card # and placed a bunch of orders.  However, the order got shipped before it hit my credit card and got declined (which was why there was a question of why I received the order).  Timing was about 3 hours after the rest of the orders had been placed.

I sent the order back, at my expense (it was almost $300 in swimsuits).  The company wanted my bank account to reimburse me for shipping (those teeny swimsuits only cost $17 to mail) but I was reluctant to give it out so just asked that they give the $$ to their local food bank.  They sent me back a receipt of their contribution to the food bank.