I got this inquiry from a friend yesterday asking whether I’ve noticed a change in Amazon.
If there has been a change, I wonder if this due to the new collection of general excise tax?
I just wanted to check in and ask if you’ve used Amazon in the last week or two.
I’ve tried to order recently and only 1 of 11 items was shown as being deliverable to Hawaii at numerous addresses – including items I’ve purchased before.
I talked to Amazon a couple times (yes a phone call is possible) over the last week and finally got the answer that since their shipping infrastructure has changed many products which now ship direct from 3rd party sellers will not ship to Hawaii (or Alaska) due to those companies’ own policies.
Alibaba is known for this shipping system where they don’t warehouse nearly as much as Amazon has historically, incidentally.
Curious what your experience is in this, if any.
Anyone have personal experience to add?
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I haven’t seen this recently, but over time, there are quite a few products (Amazon and others) that only ship to the good ol’ “continental US”. Is it simply a fact of the shipping cost? Did Amazon require shippers to eat some of the cost to Ak or Hi?
Perhaps a standard surcharge of some type might get the goods flowing again.
Does anyone have insight from the standpoint of the vendors who won’t ship to us?
From time to time, I buy items, mostly used books and CDs, from sellers on ebay, AbeBooks, and Amazon. Most of them of are shipped via USPS surface mail. My comments below are based on that experience.
My thought is that the basic problem is that the USPS, ebay, and Amazon give buyers and sellers inaccurate estimates of the amount of time required to ship packages to Hawai`i via USPS surface mail. I think that the reason so many vendors on ebay and Amazon refuse to ship to Hawai`i or Alaska is that those inaccurate estimates about when to expect packages to arrive make for angry customers who make hassles and provide bad feedback.
For example, I recently purchased a used book from a vendor on Amazon Marketplace. That seller shipped my book promptly on March 31 and provided the helpful USPS tracking service for the item. Amazon initially informed me to expect the item by April 21. Later, Amazon *revised* its estimate of when to expect the package to April 21 – April 27. Since the book did not leave the USPS facility in Richmond, CA until April 8, I actually don’t expect to receive it until about May 4 or so. I’m okay with that, but it is not what I was told to expect.
?Based on my experience, I expect items that I have purchased to be delivered to me in Hilo about a month after they are shipped. Thanks to USPS’s tracking service, I know that surface mail parcels to Hilo are routed to a USPS facility in Richmond, California, where they are sorted . Apparently, parcels then travel via container ship to Honolulu and finally by barge to Hilo. It usually takes about 21 days for a package to be delivered to me in Hilo after leaving the USPS facility in Richmond. Of course, the Mainland portion of the travel time varies. Young Brothers, by the way, has two barges per week moving cargo between Honolulu and Hilo. I have noticed that my packages usually arrive later in the week, often on a Thursday or Friday.
In any case, I’m used to long delays in receiving the items I buy and am not overly distressed by them. I know approximately when I will receive a package, and I already have more than enough books and CDs on hand.
I have always run into shipping issues with third party Amazon sellers so I wouldn’t consider it anything new. Sometimes I have to look through several in the list of sellers on a product to find one that ships here. I have made 30 Amazon purchases over the last 6 months if that tells you how much I shop there. I eat a special diet and there are a lot of pantry items I either can’t find on the island, or local prices are way too high.
My disappointment comes from Amazon itself holding my orders for sometimes over a week before shipping, even with a Prime membership. Still the best deal most of the time if I can plan ahead.
I just resent our state insisting on taxing things we buy from Amazon. The sales tax is really the cost of doing business in Hawaii, but now stores here are saying this new tax on Amazon goods “levels the playing field.” What? Until Amazon actually sets up stores in buildings on Hawaii soil, they aren’t on the “playing field.” Our state just wants to tax anything they possibly can and apparently they can do this.
They are on the “playing field” because they are doing business here. Whether or not they have a brick and mortar presence here is irrelevant. Their business is conducted with an unfair advantage over local businesses. Indeed, some studies have concluded that the entirety of Amazon’s profits have been the result of their refusing to collect local taxes in the states where they conduct their business. Disclaimer: I am a regular customer of Amazon. That being said, they should not be exempt from taxes other businesses pay
Amazon Prime items always work for me. But right after I read this article, I run into problem. A toilet tank flapper, an amazon prime item, not shipping to Hawaii. Looks like things are indeed changing.
Ian, thanks for asking the community about this. Ty, yes, this seems to be a very recent development. I’ll be curious to see if this changes. I tried to order a book several times over the last couple of weeks among other things. I got a message to the effect that it could not be sent due to restrictions on my area.
I’ve noticed a lag in shipping,too,even with Prime. Often,they will hold items for 5-7 days before shipping,combining orders. But there’s no pattern. Some Prime items arrive within days,others take weeks.
Amazon has always been cagey about what will & won’t be shipped to AK & HI. They stopped allowing most or all grocery & household items (e.g., laundry soap) years ago, Prime membership or not.
When I’ve called other mainland vendors to complain about their exorbitant shipping rates to HI (particularly the vendors who will use only FEDEX or UPS), I’ve been told that they prefer to rely on the privateers due to better tracking info. They won’t use USPS at all even if the customer is OK with longer shipping times & requests USPS shipping.
And many refuse to use UPS Ground to Hawaii even though it’s offered.
I believe FedEx ground to HI also works, but most vendors similarly refuse to use it.
I have been a Prime member from when it first started (?) years ago.
I’ve noticed in the past year that shipments have slowed down almost always. What used to be delivered within 3-4 days now take at least 5-10 days. I primarily buy new books, on the average 5-6 times a month.
I’m happy with the other benefits of Prime, especially Prime Music and Video. But I wish shipping speeds would improve to my island in the middle of the Pacific
Everyone please check and see if you notice a great number of things that simply won’t be shipped at all. Slow shipping I can deal with. No shipping is what I’m seeing for over 90% of my recent order. I noticed this in the last few weeks.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201117590
I’ve experienced more and more items that will not ship, whether Amazon itself is the seller/shipper or if it’s a 3d party seller. Very irritating. I complained, they referred me to the above link…in my case, neither item appeared to fit any of the stated reasons, all were small, 12″ x 12″ or smaller, about a pound, not hazmat, etc…
Nothing bigger than a breadbox (or in my case, a case of TP)
Nothing conceivably hazmat.
No grocery supplies.
Friends have an Amazon Prime membership, but since they use it mainly for computer components, they haven’t yet run into any restrictions they can’t live with. OTOH, even Prime won’t get you a sofa!
Oh, and no easy way to find out if what you are looking at on Amazon will ship to Hawaii or not, unless you go through the checkout process, or in the case of third party vendors, ask individually. Quel pain!
ive noticed over the last year things getting processed slower and slower. Things are ALWAYS sent to me via priority or even next day air arriving 1-5 days after they ship. The problem is amazon taking up to 2 weeks to fulfill an order! I really dont care how long shipping takes as shipping is shipping, but i have strong disdain for not being treated like every other prime customer and having it shipped within 24 hours of my order. It is BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE to not ship an order for 2 weeks when the item is in stock! I have not received ANYTHING in less than 2 weeks from them in over a year. I used do get it in a week pretty reliably. Most things take 3 weeks now.
Absolutely agree. They are refusing to ship to Maui on far to many items. Most of them very small, light, and not remotely hazmat (the latest issue was with a pair of windshield wiper blades, before that a handheld microphone). I will not be renewing my Prime membership after this year.
Same here with Amazon shipping less items to Hawaii starting in 2017 and holding orders for up to two weeks before shipping. I cancelled my Amazon Prime and find the same items on eBay for around the same price with free shipping or reasonable surface shipping. At least the eBay seller’s ship quick knowing that customer service is important to their rating. Most eBay sellers that exclude Hawaii will ship to Hawaii if you contact them and offer to pay the surface USPS costs. eBay will not enforce the state/local sales tax for out of state purchases that unduly burden interstate commerce.