CyberCJH's Blog

Well, I’m quite bored again. So, I decided to use Google maps to trace the path our recent Amazon purchase (the new Schlage door lock) took.

Lexington, KY > Knoxville, TN > Doraville, GA > Atlanta, GA > Jacksonville, FL > Stuart, FL > Our House … 1,044 miles.

written by cybercjh

Amazon’s prices change at a ridiculous pace. And now that they have discontinued their 30 day price matching guarantee, it’s all the more frustrating for their customers.

Take a look at these price changes for the Midland WR300 Weather Radio.

• I bought this item on 9/5/08. The price was $47.84.
• On 9/9/08, the price went up to $53.24.
• On 9/10/08, the price went down to $42.75.
• On 9/11/08, the price went up to $44.78.
• On 9/23/08, the price went down to $42.75.
• On 9/28/08, the price went up to $52.10.

When I asked Amazon to explain why their prices change so often, their response was:

From time to time, prices on some items will change due to special offers from suppliers and manufacturers or our inventory and sales volume.

So, I guess you can interpret that as saying if a lot of people are buying the product one day, they’re going to jack the price up until sales slow down. Kinda shady if you ask me.

written by cybercjh

I just e-mailed Amazon the following message explaining to them that I’m upset they’re closing people’s accounts so unprofessionally and arbitrarily and it’s making me think twice about placing orders on the website.

I have been reading on many websites that Amazon is closing hundreds (maybe thousands) of accounts because customers have contacted customer service too much, or have returned items or have taken advantage of the post-order price matching guarantee. I’ve only ever returned one defective item and got an even exchange for the same item. I also used to take advantage of your post-order price matching guarantee until you discontinued it. So, will my account be closed because of these things? I was going to buy a Kindle for myself this Christmas, but now I fear that it will be a wasteful purchase if Amazon closes my account, I will not be able to buy books to put on the Kindle. And, I’d lose access to my videos and music I downloaded. I’m afraid to place any orders! What is going on?!

Stay tuned for their response.

Update 9/4 10:30am Amazon responded with this e-mail …

Thank you for writing in with your question.

To protect your privacy, we only send account information to the e-mail address on file for a customer’s account, and we never comment on any other customer’s account or account activity. Also, Amazon.com does not comment about rumors or speculative news reports.

Thanks again for your interest in Amazon.com.

Please let us know if this e-mail resolved your question.

Best regards,
Jared
Amazon.com Customer Service

So, I replied back to say …

You didn’t answer the one question in my e-mail, but instead responded by saying you don’t comment on other people’s accounts or speculative news reports. Funny enough, I wasn’t asking you to do either of these things. I was looking for some sort of assurance that my account wasn’t the next one to be closed, which if you had actually took the time to read my e-mail, you’d of understood. I guess I should interpret your response as Amazon’s way of telling me to get lost. Understood. I won’t bother you anymore. I imagine that’s what you want, anyway.

written by cybercjh

Jeff,

I’ve been your customer for 8 years. I estimate I’ve spent about $3,000 at Amazon. But, I have decided that I’m probably not going to buy anything from Amazon ever again. Frankly, I’m scared to death to be your customer.

Why? I’m scared you’ll fire me! The Internet has been buzzing lately with reports that you’re closing your customers’ accounts and banning them from Amazon for seemingly minor things – returning an item or two (even for legitimate reasons) or perhaps taking advantage of (what once was) your post-order price matching guarantee one too many times.

The fact that you’re throwing so many of your customers away makes me stop to think, “Do I really want to patronize a company that treats its customers like that?”

I’ll be honest with you…

• I’ve received packages from Amazon for items that were addressed to other people in other states. I tried to give the packages back to Amazon, but your customer service representatives acted like they didn’t want me to bother.
• I returned a $17 FM Transmitter earlier this year that didn’t work in exchange for a new one (that works great, by the way).
• I’ve complained that my prime packages were taking more than 2 days to arrive which your customer service representatives interpreted as me not receiving my packages at all. They resent me several items at no cost despite the fact my e-mails never said the items were lost.
• I’ve taken advantage of your former post-order price matching guarantee many, many times and saved a total of almost $150 for doing so.
• I’ve downloaded a number of free MP3s from Amazonmp3 by using Pepsi points.

Based on these facts, I fear that I’m on the top of the list for the next round of customers to kill. That scares me, mainly because I have about 20 videos I downloaded from Unbox (Family Guy, South Park and Bob & Margaret episodes) and a bunch of MP3s I downloaded from Amazonmp3. If you hose my account, I’ll probably lose access to those things. And, could you imagine if I had actually spent the money to buy a Kindle and you closed my account?! What a waste of money that would have been!

So, I guess I should quit while I’m ahead. The fact that you discontinued your ‘30 Day Post-Order Price Matching Guarantee,’ made the decision a little bit easier. Earlier today, I set my Prime membership to not automatically renew in January.

Sprint PCS fired a bunch of dead beat customers earlier this year. Since then, they’ve been hemorrhaging good customers at a sickening pace. Makes you stop and wonder if they ever regret taking that action.

Sorry it had to end this way. I fear I’m just not the type of customer you’re looking for.

In case you’re interested, here’s my Amazon history.

I joined Amazon in 2000. I placed 1 order in 2000, 1 in 2001 and 2 in 2002. I didn’t order anything from Amazon in 2003, 2004 or 2005. In 2006, I joined Amazon Prime and placed 12 orders. In 2007, I placed 16 orders. And, so far in 2008, I’ve placed 52 orders.

Total Spent at Amazon : $3,565.51

• $3,341.36: Items sold by Amazon
• $21.43 : Amazon shipping charges
• $3.99 : Amazon gift wrapping charges
• $158.00 : Amazon Prime membership (2 years)
• $29.85 : Unbox videos
• $10.88 : MP3 downloads

Total Amazon Orders Placed : 71 (not including Unbox & MP3 orders)

• 69 : Successful orders (97%)
• 1 : Orders not received and replaced by Amazon (1.5%)
• 1 : Orders returned as defective and replaced by Amazon (1.5%)

I have taken advantage of the post-order price matching guarantee 36 times over 22 orders and have saved $186.85 by doing so, for an average of $5.19 each time.

Total Spent at Amazon Marketplace : $348.24

• $301.22 : Items sold by Marketplace sellers
• $47.02 : Seller shipping charges

 Total Amazon Marketplace Orders Placed : 13

• 10 : Successful orders (76.9%)
• 1 : Orders cancelled by seller because item went out of stock (7.7%)
• 2 : Orders cancelled by seller because of their price mistake (15.3%)

- Chris H.

PS : Congratulations on making the front page of the Consumerist! http://consumerist.com/5044959/amazon-closes-accounts-en-masse

PPS : Have you seen the you’re fired e-mail you sent your customers? How unprofessional can you get?

Hello from Amazon.com.

A careful review of your account indicates you’ve experienced an extraordinary number of incidents with your orders and corresponding shipments.

In the normal course of business, the occasional problem is inevitable. The rate at which such problems have occurred on your account is extraordinary, however, and cannot continue. Effective immediately, your Amazon.com account is closed and you are no longer able to shop in our store. I am very sorry for any disappointment this may cause.

Please know that any accounts related to yours have also been closed. If you were to open a new account, the same will result and it will also be closed. In the event that you attempt to do so, we will not accept the return of any additional orders, nor will we issue further refunds in connection with any future orders. We appreciate your cooperation in refraining from using our web site.

If you require additional assistance, or have any concerns, feel free to contact us directly at account-appeals@amazon.com.

Please do not contact regular Customer Service again, as they will no longer be able to assist you.

Regards,

Account Specialist
Amazon.com

written by cybercjh \\ tags: Amazon

Sadly, Amazon has announced (only to those who asked) that they’ve discontinued their post-order price matching guarantee.

What does this mean? Say you ordered something from Amazon today for $25. Two weeks from now, the price dropped to $20. If you noticed it and asked for a refund of the $5 difference, you’d get it. Not anymore.

While we don’t always beat the best available price on every product, we do offer deep discounts on many thousands of items and cannot offer discounts after your order is complete.

From time to time, prices on some items will change due to special offers from suppliers and manufacturers or our inventory and sales volumes. When we can offer a lower price for new purchases, we will.

You may have been able to take advantage of post-purchase discounts on orders you placed in the past, but that policy was discontinued on September 1, 2008.

The post-order price matching guarantee is one of the main reasons I shop at Amazon. Even though their prices fluctuate at an obscene frequency, sometimes changing several times each day on the same item (which I find extremely frustrating), I always knew I’d get the lowest selling price within 30 days after my purchase if I was vigilant. And, if you don’t think Amazon’s prices change that often, just click here (and then scroll down) to see at how many times I was able to get a refund due to a Amazon’s shenanigans.

Oh well, I guess I was subconsciously looking for a reason to not renew my Amazon Prime membership to stop myself from making impulse purchases while sitting at my desk at work, bored out of my gourd. All good things must come to an end.

Amazon would have probably eventually closed my account anyway for taking advantage of the post-order price matching guarantee too often. Amazon is closing accounts if they deem that particular customer unworthy of the Amazon experience. Take a look at this forum over at SlickDeals.

Maybe Wal-Mart could institute a policy like that. They already harass you for your receipt on the way out of the store. Maybe they could institute wallet inspections before you enter to make sure you’re not just going to browse and suck up all the air in the small appliances department.

written by cybercjh