Amazon Book deliveries

[ishtat]

I guess most of you people have bought books through Amazon, I have for more than 15 years. Recently I bought 4 books for $152 (112USD) of which $27 was for freight. All four books of differing sizes and weights and arrived in one box, one was fine, two had slight - just about acceptable damage. One - not the largest but the heaviest was wrecked, spine split, pages torn out and back cover torn off. The problem was caused by different sizes in one box rattling around but no packing. The box came from USA to OZ.

However, to get a replacement or refund you have to send back the damaged item which in this case will give me a single postage cost as great as the cost of the book - so not worth it.

Lessons learned
1. Order each book singly because they always come tightly packed.
2. Remember your local bookshop.
3. Emigrate to a country which has its own Amazon warehouses. Freight costs are a bugger.
4. Amazon Hong Kong don't seem to stuff up like Amazon US. Mebbe they do a lot more foreign orders.

Anyone else with experiences or advice?

 

[Zionisacat]

Wait a year, probably less and they'll be a physical store in Australia. Likely in Melbourne or Sydney which won't help you all that much if you're out bush, but less time in transit can only be a good thing right?

 

[The_Ghost_Man]

I guess most of you people have bought books through Amazon, I have for more than 15 years. Recently I bought 4 books for $152 (112USD) of which $27 was for freight. All four books of differing sizes and weights and arrived in one box, one was fine, two had slight - just about acceptable damage. One - not the largest but the heaviest was wrecked, spine split, pages torn out and back cover torn off. The problem was caused by different sizes in one box rattling around but no packing. The box came from USA to OZ.

However, to get a replacement or refund you have to send back the damaged item which in this case will give me a single postage cost as great as the cost of the book - so not worth it.

Lessons learned
1. Order each book singly because they always come tightly packed.
2. Remember your local bookshop.
3. Emigrate to a country which has its own Amazon warehouses. Freight costs are a bugger.
4. Amazon Hong Kong don't seem to stuff up like Amazon US. Mebbe they do a lot more foreign orders.

Anyone else with experiences or advice?

Have you contacted them? I've found they are pretty good on returns. Make sure you explain that you expect them to cover the cost of the return, since the item is faulty. They have done this for me in the past with no quibbles when they sent the incorrect item.

Edit. Yes, this was international post for me too. I think the Wizard is a mutual friend.

 

[FantasyXY]

I received a wrong item from Amazon once and the return shipping would have been more then the value of the item. I contacted Amazon and they just sent me a replacement at no charge. I never had to send the other item back.

I'm with Ghost Man. Send Amazon's customer service department a message and see what they will do.

 

[Handley_Page]

I guess most of you people have bought books through Amazon, I have for more than 15 years. Recently I bought 4 books for $152 (112USD) of which $27 was for freight. All four books of differing sizes and weights and arrived in one box, one was fine, two had slight - just about acceptable damage. One - not the largest but the heaviest was wrecked, spine split, pages torn out and back cover torn off. The problem was caused by different sizes in one box rattling around but no packing. The box came from USA to OZ.

However, to get a replacement or refund you have to send back the damaged item which in this case will give me a single postage cost as great as the cost of the book - so not worth it.

Lessons learned
1. Order each book singly because they always come tightly packed.
2. Remember your local bookshop.
3. Emigrate to a country which has its own Amazon warehouses. Freight costs are a bugger.
4. Amazon Hong Kong don't seem to stuff up like Amazon US. Mebbe they do a lot more foreign orders.

Anyone else with experiences or advice?

I don't know if it will work but I suggest you take some good pictures of the damaged item/s and the packing in which it was sent and complain bitterly to Amazon (if you ever find any human involved, that is). Point out that returning the item from Oz to US is prohibitively expensive and ask if there's some local depot to take it (if necessary).

A worst, it's worth a complaint

 

[Handley_Page]

Error

 

[sr71plt]

I'd see what a complaint to their customer service department--pointing out that you'd ordered from Australia--would do.

 

[ChloeTzang]

I received a wrong item from Amazon once and the return shipping would have been more then the value of the item. I contacted Amazon and they just sent me a replacement at no charge. I never had to send the other item back.

I'm with Ghost Man. Send Amazon's customer service department a message and see what they will do.

Me too and they just sent me a replacement free. That's the only time I've ever had a complaint and they were on it right away. On the other hand, I sometimes now buy from book depository.com - free delivery worldwide.

 

[Handley_Page]

Me too and they just sent me a replacement free. That's the only time I've ever had a complaint and they were on it right away. On the other hand, I sometimes now buy from book depository.com - free delivery worldwide.

And they are in Gloster !

 

[Ldy_Sea]

I know in the US under federal law if you receive something in the mail or from a delivery service (FedEx, UPS) that you did not order and it came to your address (The shipping label has your address) then you are allowed to keep it. You are not even required to notify the shipper of the mistake. It is the only time that Finders-Keepers legally applies in all cases.

I have gotten a free paper shredder and a box containing several bottles of fish oil pills, and muti-vitamins for free. I "returned" the fish oil pills to my local pharmacy that carried the same brand and just took the last of the multi-vitamins a few days ago.

 

[HandsInTheDark]

Amazon has made good to me on every mistake they've ever made, including covering shipping both ways - but I'm in the US and a frequent customer. Complain and give them a chance to respond. And post here if that doesn't work.

 

[ishtat]

Have sent off photos and details to Amazon as recommended. Will now wait and see.

Chloe - doesn't Amazon now own Book Depository? BD's prices used to be very competitive with Amazon but now the gap has pretty much closed - for deliveries to Oz anyway.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Have sent off photos and details to Amazon as recommended. Will now wait and see.

Chloe - doesn't Amazon now own Book Depository? BD's prices used to be very competitive with Amazon but now the gap has pretty much closed - for deliveries to Oz anyway.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Yep they own it but there was never a big price difference in the US except for the shipping. Now you're right, no diff. I kind of used them as an alternative to amazon but after amazon bought them I stopped.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Amazon, in the US, has a 30 day return policy. If the part was damaged when you received it, they pay the return costs and will ship you a new one immediately.

I have ordered several disc drives that showed up DOA. I notified them, they shipped the replacement before I even returned the old one. They prepaid the return item.

 

[49greg]

I know in the US under federal law if you receive something in the mail or from a delivery service (FedEx, UPS) that you did not order and it came to your address (The shipping label has your address) then you are allowed to keep it. You are not even required to notify the shipper of the mistake. It is the only time that Finders-Keepers legally applies in all cases.

I have gotten a free paper shredder and a box containing several bottles of fish oil pills, and muti-vitamins for free. I "returned" the fish oil pills to my local pharmacy that carried the same brand and just took the last of the multi-vitamins a few days ago.

And all this time I've just written, "wrong address" or something on the item, or on a sticky note, and left it in the mailbox with the outgoing mail. Over the years it's been from personal snail mail, to adverts to bank statements and everything in between, and now you tell me that I could have been opening it up and learning about my neighbors?

LOL, in a place I once lived, there was a retired guy who kept coming over and wanting to know if I've received his Social Security check. It seems that he lived on the next street over and had the same house number on that street as I did on my street. He once got something of mine, so whenever his SS check was late he came to me, and when I didn't have it he all but accused me of stealing it. I know it was important to him, but cheese and rice, I'm the guy who, up till now, has always made sure misdirected mail gets sent to the right place.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I know in the US under federal law if you receive something in the mail or from a delivery service (FedEx, UPS) that you did not order and it came to your address (The shipping label has your address) then you are allowed to keep it. You are not even required to notify the shipper of the mistake. It is the only time that Finders-Keepers legally applies in all cases.

Uh... no, very no, absolutely no. I don't know where you heard this but it's wrong, and what you've just described doing is a crime punishable by up to five years imprisonment.

The actual federal law is 18 USC S 1702:

"Whoever takes any letter, postal card, or package out of any post office or any authorized depository for mail matter, or from any letter or mail carrier, or which has been in any post office or authorized depository, or in the custody of any letter or mail carrier, before it has been delivered to the person to whom it was directed, with design to obstruct the correspondence, or to pry into the business or secrets of another, or opens, secretes, embezzles, or destroys the same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both."

Note that "before it has been delivered to the person to whom it was directed". Not the mailbox, not the address, the person.

Some commentary from lawyers:

http://blogs.findlaw.com/blotter/2014/01/is-it-illegal-to-open-someone-elses-mail.html

"Is it illegal to open another person's mail, even if it's mistakenly delivered to your address or mailbox? The answer is generally yes, if you recognize that the letter is not intended for you. If you're caught opening someone else's mail, the federal criminal consequences could be dire... Under federal law, it is illegal to intentionally stop a letter from being delivered to its intended recipient, and that may include not informing the U.S. Postal Service that you have another person's mail. "

http://thelawdictionary.org/article/what-is-the-federal-law-for-opening-mail-not-addressed-to-you/

"A federal statute known as 18 USC Section 1702 makes it illegal to open correspondence addressed to someone else. However, the law cannot be applied if you did not recognize that the mail was not yours when you opened it... Although you may have opened someone else's mail unintentionally, what you do with it afterward is what really counts. Toss the mail in the garbage, and you have intentionally obstructed the delivery of that correspondence. That is a crime, and there may be consequences."

 

[Bramblethorn]

And all this time I've just written, "wrong address" or something on the item, or on a sticky note, and left it in the mailbox with the outgoing mail. Over the years it's been from personal snail mail, to adverts to bank statements and everything in between, and now you tell me that I could have been opening it up and learning about my neighbors?

"could", yes. "could without committing a felony"... not so much.

 

[Ldy_Sea]

And all this time I've just written, "wrong address" or something on the item, or on a sticky note, and left it in the mailbox with the outgoing mail. Over the years it's been from personal snail mail, to adverts to bank statements and everything in between, and now you tell me that I could have been opening it up and learning about my neighbors?

LOL, in a place I once lived, there was a retired guy who kept coming over and wanting to know if I've received his Social Security check. It seems that he lived on the next street over and had the same house number on that street as I did on my street. He once got something of mine, so whenever his SS check was late he came to me, and when I didn't have it he all but accused me of stealing it. I know it was important to him, but cheese and rice, I'm the guy who, up till now, has always made sure misdirected mail gets sent to the right place.

NO! That is not what I said.

I know in the US under federal law if you receive something in the mail or from a delivery service (FedEx, UPS) that you did not order and it came to your address (The shipping label has your address)

If it is addressed TO YOU AND YOUR ADDRESS you can keep it. That is the law. It is illegal for a company to mail you something and then demand payment. Whether or not it was shipped to you incorrectly. If it has your name and address on it, it is yours to keep.

 

[Ldy_Sea]

Uh... no, very no, absolutely no. I don't know where you heard this but it's wrong, and what you've just described doing is a crime punishable by up to five years imprisonment.

The actual federal law is 18 USC S 1702:

"Whoever takes any letter, postal card, or package out of any post office or any authorized depository for mail matter, or from any letter or mail carrier, or which has been in any post office or authorized depository, or in the custody of any letter or mail carrier, before it has been delivered to the person to whom it was directed, with design to obstruct the correspondence, or to pry into the business or secrets of another, or opens, secretes, embezzles, or destroys the same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both."

Note that "before it has been delivered to the person to whom it was directed". Not the mailbox, not the address, the person.

Some commentary from lawyers:

http://blogs.findlaw.com/blotter/2014/01/is-it-illegal-to-open-someone-elses-mail.html

"Is it illegal to open another person's mail, even if it's mistakenly delivered to your address or mailbox? The answer is generally yes, if you recognize that the letter is not intended for you. If you're caught opening someone else's mail, the federal criminal consequences could be dire... Under federal law, it is illegal to intentionally stop a letter from being delivered to its intended recipient, and that may include not informing the U.S. Postal Service that you have another person's mail. "

http://thelawdictionary.org/article/what-is-the-federal-law-for-opening-mail-not-addressed-to-you/

"A federal statute known as 18 USC Section 1702 makes it illegal to open correspondence addressed to someone else. However, the law cannot be applied if you did not recognize that the mail was not yours when you opened it... Although you may have opened someone else's mail unintentionally, what you do with it afterward is what really counts. Toss the mail in the garbage, and you have intentionally obstructed the delivery of that correspondence. That is a crime, and there may be consequences."

Read what I said again. I never said other peoples mail/packages. I said items sent TO YOU AT YOUR ADDRESS

Per Federal law it is illegal for a company to send you merchandise you did not request/order and then bill you for it. If they shipped it to the wrong person/address that's their problem.

If the item has your address and someone else's name, or if it has a different address and was delivered by mistake yes those laws apply.

 

[Handley_Page]

Before we all get Legal, it might be worth reminding ourselves what ishtat actually had a problem with.
Goods ordered
Goods Paid-for
Goods arrived DAMAGED.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Read what I said again. I never said other peoples mail/packages. I said items sent TO YOU AT YOUR ADDRESS

No, that is not what you said. You've added a "to you" that wasn't in your original post, and that makes a big difference to meaning. I'll quote your OP again:

"I know in the US under federal law if you receive something in the mail or from a delivery service (FedEx, UPS) that you did not order and it came to your address (The shipping label has your address) then you are allowed to keep it."

If Bob Smith at 33 Wallaby Way, Syracuse, NY receives a parcel with a shipping label for "Jane Doe, 33 Wallaby Way, Syracuse, NY", then he doesn't have the right to keep it, even though the shipping label has his address.

If your original post had said "the shipping label has your name and address" then it would've been perfectly correct, but I can only respond according to what you actually post. I'd request that you don't chide me for "not reading" things that weren't actually there to be read

(Side note: since your sig notes the importance of their/they're/there distinctions, you might want to fix that "their is a person behind the avatar".)

 

[Sensualfemale]

I tend to order from individual sellers on Amazon - I used to go for 'very good condition' but some books weren't the Amazon definition of 'very good' ie obviously been used, creased, tanned pages and writing in the margins. I've managed to get a full refund in some cases.

So now I tend to go for new or as new and it's often cheaper than from Amazon direct. Can you not get the books from Amazon or eBay in your country? There is the option for some books of getting them in ebook format of course. Not everyone's preference, I know, but it does save on postage costs and it will arrive in the same condition as everyone else will be getting it in.

 

[ChloeTzang]

I tend to order from individual sellers on Amazon - I used to go for 'very good condition' but some books weren't the Amazon definition of 'very good' ie obviously been used, creased, tanned pages and writing in the margins. I've managed to get a full refund in some cases.

So now I tend to go for new or as new and it's often cheaper than from Amazon direct. Can you not get the books from Amazon or eBay in your country? There is the option for some books of getting them in ebook format of course. Not everyone's preference, I know, but it does save on postage costs and it will arrive in the same condition as everyone else will be getting it in.

I mostly buy thru Thriftbooks these days. Used books and cheap shipping. They're great. Abebooks also. And used bookstores but there aren't many good ones where I am. A couple and I know them really well. Garage sales can be good too. Sometimes you get lucky. And the local central library has a big used book fair every summer. I usually leave with a box of them.

 

[ishtat]

Thriftbooks ain't so thrifty in Oz. A $4.05 purchase for example attracts a freight charge of $4.99 or about 110%, penalty of living in a small/remote market.

Despite the freight I use Amazon a lot because they can source books I want which otherwise have a very low readership. Obviously, even before freight is added that costs money.

It's not all doom and gloom though. Every 3 months or so the Uniting Church organizes massive second hand book sales in Sydney - a lot of pulp but a lot of good stuff too.They're cheap, usually between $1 and $4.

 

[Handley_Page]

Thriftbooks ain't so thrifty in Oz. A $4.05 purchase for example attracts a freight charge of $4.99 or about 110%, penalty of living in a small/remote market.

Despite the freight I use Amazon a lot because they can source books I want which otherwise have a very low readership. Obviously, even before freight is added that costs money.

It's not all doom and gloom though. Every 3 months or so the Uniting Church organizes massive second hand book sales in Sydney - a lot of pulp but a lot of good stuff too.They're cheap, usually between $1 and $4.

Did you get a reply from Amazon yet ?