i quit Prime membership because of delayed delivery on so many items and also so many sellers don't even recognize Prime as an option. The service is no longer there so I opted to drop it.

We aren't Prime members so haven't experienced that problem. Unless it's a real emergency we just fill up the cart until free shipping kicks in, and usually the posted due date is wrong on the good side. They'll initially say due date Sept 10th and we'll get an email the next day saying the package will arrive on Sept 5th.

I have Prime and I haven't been able to receive most orders quickly for awhile now. I have received a few items in three days, but not much sooner, and many items take much longer.

I'm not sure why this is happening, unless they're short on help, like many other places. There are five Amazon distribution centers in my state, including one in a city that's twenty miles away, so you would think I would get things faster.

We have two Amazon distribution centers exactly between our houses in L.A. and Cathedral City, and so they are about an hour away from each house.

There's a pandemic. You may have heard of it. Most people are online shopping to stay out of the stores. The Amazon warehouse can only employ so many people because of the pandemic and firecodes. So they haven't been able to hire more employees who work in the WORST conditions ever. (I've talked to a few and would never work for them). So, our free one day delivery is now taking a few days. I'm okay with that.

Too bad for you and others, lars. I haven't had that experience at all. If anything, they seem to have stepped up their game on things I order. Which I do pretty regularly.

My SoCal orders seem to come from Inland Empire distribution centers - near San Bernardino and most within one hour of lars' desert location. In NorCal, the stuff seems to come from the several centers near Tracy, in the Central Valley. Amazon seems to like locations in lower cost areas, perhaps because of the availability of cheaper land and potential employees (unemployment rates tend to be higher in the boondocks).

Most items I order are delivered the next day. Occasionally, there will be the odd something that could be days or even a week of waiting. I emphasize the word "odd". With the hundreds of thousands of SKUs that Amazon offers, I don't expect every possible thing I might want to always be in the warehouse right down the road from me, waiting for my order to allow overnight delivery.

Both of my locations are areas of higher population where I know Amazon does a lot of business. For people in other areas with less customer density, longer wait times might be more common.

mr1010, I think it's worth it for the Amazon Prime TV alone. It's cheaper than Netflix plus you also get Amazon music. The times I've gotten "free" delivery I find pretty much pays for itself.

Some things have taken longer than typical, but they almost always tell me before I order. And, like bored_housewife, I think Prime Video is almost worth it alone - between the delivery and the video, I'm still OK with it all.

If it is from a third party seller aren't you then dealing with their delivery terms, not Amazon's?

Yes, that's true sometimes but not always.

Some third party sellers pay Amazon to hold their inventory and ship it from their warehouses. In those cases, it says "Sold by Fred's. Fulfilled by Amazon". In which case, the handling and processing are the same as if sold by Amazon.

Other cases, it can be shipped from the seller's location. Whether shipping is included in the price or not and what the expected delivery date is are always disclosed.

Ahhhh......I see the difference.

In my neck of the woods...delayed delivery isn't due to lack of inventory. It's due to a work force shortage. I'm a prime member, too, and my last two deliveries were made with delivery people using their own vehicles....in the early evening. And there's a warehouse within 25 miles of my geographic location. Amazon is openly advising that they're looking to hire 125,000 workers. They're short staffed and their existing staffs are overworked. Pandemic shopping has put a strain on their services.

Do you have different delivery time frames in Cathedral City compared to LA? We have noriced if we order with delivery to our address in the desert it usually takes 2 to 3 days longer for delivery.

My deliveries come not infrequently from people driving their own vehicles.

As for being overworked, it's like complaining about being underpaid. Workers in jobs they don't like can always quit. If their employment opportunities are limited, other factors are involved outside of the control of the employer. If these delivery jobs paid less than people were willing to accept, there would be no applicants and the positions would remain unfilled.

I do understand that there are unfilled positions and shortages in some job types. The solution is for the short-staffed employers to raise wages to attract applicants. That almost always works but in some sectors (like restaurants or other small business operations) is rarely done.

I haven't had this issue a whole lot. I do get extremely annoyed when it does happen though. While I consider myself a patient and understanding person, I AM paying for something that I feel that they sometimes do not deliver on. While the free, allegedly faster delivery is nice, I too mostly subscribe to Prime for the video service, so I try not to get into too much of tizzy over it.

We get Amazon deliveries virtually every day, often multiple. Most items, % well into the 90’s, come next day or two days. These would be common household items, high volume clothing, etc. Backordered items generally show up earlier than promised. A handful of times - a very small handful - I’ll get a delay notification. Maybe an extra day or two. Really no complaints with Amazon except that it makes buying stuff far too easy = bad spending habits.

I've had very few delivery delays, but have been notified by Amazon of the revised dates. The revised dates have been accurate. I find that fabric orders have longer delivery times, but that's clearly stated when you're ordering.

Prime used to be a good deal but now that they charge more for anything shipped via prime, if feels like they’re double dipping. What I also find frustrating is when I see a delivery date posted on sales page, but once it’s in the cart, it switches to a different delivery date that’s farther out. Also, every time I’ve let things sit in my cart for a couple of days, the price has gone up. It’s bate and switch and that’s not right. The final straw for me though was when Bozo announced that he had his customers to thank for his trip into space. I only order from there now when it’s absolutely necessary and I’m pulling the plug on Prime when it comes up for renewal.

Everything I've ordered from Prime has been delayed. I haven't been charged extra or shipping fees, however, it seems like things dribble in. I get somethings the next day. But other things might come a few days later, others a single package. And some take two weeks.

Frankly, I forget what I ordered when another package comes so late.

Jane

Am I the only one that hates Amazon? Yes, i use it, but given a choice, I try to shop directly from the seller.

"but given a choice, I try to shop directly from the seller."

I try to buy locally, but after looking for something that's constantly out of stock in the size I want, for instance, or a local seller who will deliver in 3 weeks, it's frustrating to admit that Amazon is the place to go for some things. I've been frustrated lately by using a store's app to tell me where a product is in stock, only to go there and find it isn't in stock - it's enough to make me run to my computer to order.

jill302, delivery dates for L.A. and Cathedral City are the same, probably because the distribution centers are exactly between the two locations, as Elmer noted, in San Bernardino and Redlands, I think. I know there are two that are close to each other, for some reason.

Lars, Amazon actually has a service called "Fulfilled by Amazon". Sellers send their items to Amazon and pay a fee to have the items stored in their warehouse, when the items sell they are " shipped by Amazon".

I only buy items that are shipped by Amazon, and I really don't mind if I have to wait a few days longer. What I do mind is when they ship packages via USPS and you never know if you will get a package, or not. I will say USPS has gotten better, but when items leave one USPS shipping center, disappear in transit and are never seen again, there's still problems

"Am I the only one that hates Amazon?"

No, far from it. Opinions about the company seem to be rather polarized, for various reasons. Personally, I like Amazon very much and am a pretty constant customer, More than one order per week.

"I try to buy locally,"

I've never understood this sentiment. What is the advantage for me to limit available choices and, often, pay a higher price, than when buying online or from the large chain stores?

An example - if I need a hardware store type of item, I go to a Home Depot or Lowe's. Why go to a locally owned True Value hardware store with less selection and higher prices?

We go to Ace Hardware in Palm Springs instead of Home Depot (almost never show at Lowe's across the street) whenever possible, even though it is slightly further from us. We get better customer service there, and Ace Hardware had the part that I needed to fix my toilet and Home Depot did not. For certain items, such as plumbing and electrical supplies, the selection at Ace Hardware is better than that at the Home Depot in Palm Springs.

Of course not all Home Depots are identical. The one in Marina Del Rey is far superior to the one in Inglewood, for example.

When we bought new door handles for our patio door, we had to go to the Palm Desert Home Depot, as it had inventory that the Palm Springs store did not. We do not go to Ace Hardware for door handles.

Today I learned that the Teak Warehouse in Manhattan Beach is having major delays in shipping furniture from its warehouse in :Hawthorne, and they quoted me a 6 to 8 week delivery time for items that they have in stock. Therefore, I told them that I prefer to go to the warehouse myself to pick up the table that I want, and we can haul it to Cathedral City ourselves. TW said that they ship using their own trucks, and they are backlogged.

I consider Teak Warehouse to be a local store, since it is only 12 minutes from my house in Westchester. Their warehouse in Hawthorne is a bit further - about another 10 minutes, perhaps.

""I try to buy locally,"

I've never understood this sentiment. What is the advantage for me to limit available choices and, often, pay a higher price, than when buying online or from the large chain stores?"

Because it supports the local community - not just by hiring local staff, but by hiring local services too (for things like property maintenance, etc). Buying locally doesn't mean buying from a small or independent retailer, but buying from someone who actually does business in your community, hiring locally and often supporting local charities.

It may be different where you live. Where I live, when people refer to "buying locally", they mean-

- the small family owned grocery store or even one of a small family owned chain where (to me) "fresh" meats, produce, and other things like dairy items can often be much less fresh than at larger stores and of lower quality. And where prices can be 25% higher or more. We do have some locally owned up-market stores with much higher than average quality goods. I happily pay more to get more. These are an exception.

One amusing experience - in a near by town, we went into a locally owned supermarket that's been around for over half a century. At the fish counter manned by a live person (+1 point for that), they had a item labeled as "organic salmon". I asked the guy what that was, he just repeated the labeling. I said "How can salmon be organic?" He said "I don't know". I asked "Is it wild or farmed". His reply "I don't known, I'll check". He came back a moment later and said "It's just like wild, but it's farmed". HUH? It was VERY expensive. Translation - it was a ripoff, phony as could be.

- the hardware store where (as before) selection is limited and prices are higher than chain stores

- the individual pharmacist-owned drug store where selection of non-prescription items is limited and prices are higher than at a CVS or Walgreens. And where drug inventories are limited and specific items may need to be ordered and delayed

- a local bookstore I know that has been ripping people off for decades and continues to sell books for 2X more than they can be purchased elsewhere.

All businesses hire local employees and procure local services, whether locally owned or part of a larger operation. No difference other than - larger chain operations hire more employees and often provide better benefits.

There has to be a reason to charge premium prices - like higher quality, better selection, etc. The opposite tends to be the case with many "local businesses", though there are exceptions. The ones who overcharge for average or below average goods can go away as far as I'm concerned, they're not doing anyone any favors.

actually does business in your community, hiring locally and often supporting local charities.

Amazon does all this. They have warehouses and lockers throughout the U.S., and of course keep food on the table for many who work for shipping companies like your local UPS driver.

Love it or hate it, (i love it) Amazon has provided a lifeline to many people. With not only their regular items but their grocery and prescription delivery service, they have offered independence to many who relied on others to get these things for them. Amazon will be in stock when local, even big box stores, are not. Not too far from where I live, Amazon built a warehouse in an area that lacked decent jobs and was ridden with crime. It has made a big difference in that community. And their are plans for another one I understand.

And on a more frivolous level, I appreciate the variety it offers. None of my local stores had anything near the amount of pink kitchen items I wanted. Amazon did. I also am very happy to see the variety and creativity of everyone's holiday decorations every year since Amazon and other online retailers took over the world. Everyone's house does not look the same because every local store only had certain things that everyone had to get because that's all that was available. I am not stuck wearing stark white New Balance shoes all the time or an ugly, boxy flat because that is all the local store has in my size. Say nothing of the clothing options. Again, frivolous and meaningless in the big picture of life but something that makes me happy. Love Amazon. People are so bothered by Bezos' wealth. I do not get it.

Problem is... it is hard to beat the convenience and selection I get from Amazon. Often I need a simple something but know it unlikely Home Depot or another nearby store has the exact item I need, its simple to click a few times and have it at my front porch either the next day or two days later.

Lars, I haven't seen the slower delivery you have. My local carrier facility is about four miles from my house.

I bought lots of patio furniture from Teak Warehouse. Before t covid we waited the cushion color we wanted.

Sometimes I’ll order something from amazon and the delivery window is from 4am-7am other times the delivery date changes in transit It’s rare i need something urgently DH orders appliance parts that usually come the next day If given the choice, I’ll opt for the slower delivery date most of the time If it saves the company money, it saves customers as well

"actually does business in your community, hiring locally and often supporting local charities.

Amazon does all this."

Maybe, maybe not......it depends on where you live.

I don't think buying from Amazon is any better or worse than buying from any large US company that is selling things online rather than in person, but I'll still default to stores that are employing local people to those that are operating from afar.

"."actually does business in your community, hiring locally and often supporting local charities.

Amazon does all this."

Maybe, maybe not......it depends on where you live.."

I'll assume that your name indicates you're a Canadian. According to the site I've linked below (which seems to have good info but I can't vouch for it), Amazon has 14 fulfillment locations in all of Canada, more than half of which are in Ontario. In the US, there are over 100 centers, and there are one dozen states that individually have nearly the same or more centers as in all of the huge country of Canada. Compared to its competitors, Amazon's strategy of having over 100 locations allows them to be close to where customers live. This makes it MUCH more likely, as Lucille pointed out, that it gives jobs and business to local suppliers in and nearby the communities where its customers are. Much more so than companies operating from a small number of distribution centers and shipping nationwide.

The situation you see and experience in Canada is likely quite different from how things are in the US. As with so many other things.

Amazon distribution center locations

We're having extended dates too. Sometimes it makes sense and then some days some really weird item will show up on the day it is ordered. I've had a few things that were supposed to be delivered on a specific day and then later that day, I get a message that it will show up in a few days.

Honestly, Amazon is so convenient because I don't have to leave my home. I've been incredibly busy until this week. A few extra dollars is worth my time and not driving anywhere. I live in a major city and have access to just about anything I would want, but with so many people on the road, even short commutes take up too much time if you hit traffic.

I was going to write a comment yesterday on this subject and say my orders have always been on time (two days) or even the following day on some. Lo and behold, I put in an order yesterday and I get an e-mail stating it should be delivered next Tuesday! Wow, was I surprised...I've never had to wait that long and it was only one dinkey item. Wonder what is happening.

All in all, I am happy with their service Beats going store to store searching, not to mention mailing gifts to people.

"In the US, there are over 100 centers"

So, in other words, there is a lot of the country where they are not hiring local people ;) You may think that sounds like a lot, but it still means hundreds of cities without one.

It's interesting that they identify many of their centers after the nearby international airport code.

"So, in other words, there is a lot of the country where they are not hiring local people"

Of course. If you look at the list, locations shown correspond to major population centers. Low areas of population =few customers= little need for a local center so no need for local employees. Obviously. You can be sure that Amazon are experts using state of the art practices and tools for logistics and inventory handling and management.

Why would anything be needed in an area of low population and customer density? What exactly is the point of your comment?

"Why would anything be needed in an area of low population and customer density? What exactly is the point of your comment?"

Not that Amazon should change the location of their fulfillment centers, but just pointing out that Amazon doesn't employ local people and services in most places (as Lucille proposed in an earlier post) - only in the very few places where they have fulfillment centers.

Lucille also pointed out that Amazon's reach as far as employment goes beyond itself. Shipping companies, which will sometimes employ local independent contractors especially during the holidays to keep up with demand, pickup locations, the grocery suppliers such as whole foods that they work with for their fresh local grocery delivery service,etc. They also have a service that will connect you to LOCAL service people to help you will tasks,such as furniture assembly or cleaning gutters,etc. People list themselves and the services they offer on Amazon. You search by your ZIP CODE, so local......Not to mention their customer service department which must be simply huge given how many customers they enjoy and they employ countless people to man it. You do not need to work in one of their warehouses to make money because of Amazon. If you can get Amazon deliveries to your home, than Amazon has helped create a job there.

"Amazon doesn't employ local people and services in most places (as Lucille proposed in an earlier post) - only in the very few places where they have fulfillment centers."

Yeah, only in the 100+ mostly very large places where often 1000s of people are hired, near where customers are. Probably the largest distribution system in the world. Give it up, you don't seem to understand or don't want to.

Some things have taken longer than typical, but they almost always tell me before I order. And, like bored_housewife, I think Prime Video is almost worth it alone - between the delivery and the video, I'm still OK with it all.

it's frustrating to admit that Amazon is the place to go for some things.

Toronto it appears that in fact you do use Amazon and enjoy their delivery convenience and in fact seek them out for some things.

I'll still default to stores that are employing local people to those that are operating from afar.

What about all those orders you are talking about above? You decided not to support the locals because, well, Amazon has better deals and delivers?

How is that different than the rest of us?

"Toronto it appears that in fact you do in fact use Amazon and enjoy their delivery convenience and in fact seek them out for some things."

Yes, of course I do -- I used them a lot during Covid lockdowns (which went on for 4-6 months at a time), and now I'm trying to wean myself off them. I don't think Amazon is the devil, I just think there are often better ways and places to spend my money - so I try to remember to do that. It's a habit I've had to work at breaking, but now Amazon isn't the first, or even second place I go to when looking for where to buy [whatever].

Amazon was a god sent when we bought our camp. I ordered a lot from them, even our beds. The closest semi decent size shopping area is a 40 mile round trip. Amazon has more of a selection than the big box stores. At home I really dislike having to go from store to store looking for exactly what I want. Plus returns are free and easy when you take them to Kohls. I don't count on the 2 day shipping anymore since covid. I just was doing some Christmas shopping this week on Amazon. I have everything shipped to camp since we are here 5 days a week and if it is delivered on the days we are not here you can be pretty sure nobody is going to take it. One thing I bought (prime) on Monday will come on Thursday to camp and if shipped to my home would come tomorrow. The jewelry boxes I order prime today will not be delivered until the 30th, but at home on Friday. So the delivery days are all over the place i assume on where the warehouse is located that holds that product. .

"Amazon was a god sent when...."

Amazon was a godsend for many people as a source of products for which local supplies became unavailable in the early pandemic days due to hoarding activity. Although, it too had supplies of many things ultimately get depleted but they got caught up as best they could. Its huge purchasing volumes helped it get the attention and presumably priority from many of its supplies