Just a little example of online shopping.
I decided to buy a new lens for one of my cameras. It’s one of several knockoffs of classic lenses of the past now made by a Chinese company. It was inexpensive, and has gotten good reviews from readers willing to deal with its all-manual design.
So on Saturday, I hopped over to Amazon, where it turned out to be available for immediate shipment. And when I went to checkout, I got a pleasant surprise: “Guaranteed Delivery on Tuesday, July 9.”
The free and quick delivery wasn’t the reason that I went looking for the lens, but it certainly was a factor in pushing me over from shopping to buying.
Fast forward two days, and the email message from Amazon.
Your package is still on the way, but it’s running late. Now expected July 10 – July 12 — most packages arrive in a day.
We’re sorry it won’t arrive today, and we’ll let you know when your package is out for delivery.
“We’re sorry….” Okay, but what about that “guaranteed deliver”?
So I clicked through to the guarantee. The guarantee is in the top part. The “until it’s not” part follows in the weasely-worded smaller print. And there’s more fine print if you follow the link to the “terms and conditions” applicable to their guarantee.
What it comes down to is that if you pay extra for expedited delivery, and they don’t meet the guaranteed delivery time, then your extra delivery cost will be refunded. But if you’re an Amazon Prime member and don’t pay extra for shipping, then when your package is late…too bad, so sad.
Honestly, it’s not a deal killer. I’ll still buy from Amazon, but it is annoying when words like “guarantee” aren’t given their common meaning.
Perhaps Amazon should just advertise a “We’ll really try to get it there by the promised day” guarantee? It would be more accurate. And wouldn’t raise expectations unnecessarily.
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I generally ascertain if a product will be coming from China, which so many do these days, and accept it can take a LOT longer than anything coming from the mainland (mainly because CBP is looking out for mass amounts of fentanyl these days from said country).
Yes, a guarantee is no guarantee.
Ian, cross your fingers you won’t get a counterfeit product. They are rampant today on Amazon and eBay. Especially books. Or a product without a U.S. warranty. Some photo equipment companies only warranty gray market products within country, like China.
Here is another scenario, which your shipping box label and method of delivery may confirm.
Shippers like Amazon, FedEx, and UPS often use a drop ship system to serve Hawaii. They will consolidate Honolulu shipments, for example, in a shipping container, which is then moved from the West Coast to Honolulu by container ship. It is then trucked from the Sand Island ocean terminal directly to the USPS’s airport facility and unloaded. The packages are already labeled and metered for local USPS delivery.
So now the USPS delivers it to homes, usually in just one day. This alleviates the need for these big shippers to handle the “last mile” to a residential home, which they hate as it’s time-consuming and usually a single package drop. It also avoids their drivers dealing with barking dogs, porch theft, etc. They much prefer to deliver a lot of packages to commercial addresses.
That way they can also advertise a transit of a week or so, and never have to touch the packages once they leave the West Coast.