From Amazon's press release:

These tell-it-like-it-is consumer advocates will provide fellow Amazon customers with top gift picks for the season as well as helpful tips on cutting costs over the holidays. They have also been given exclusive, early access to some of Amazon’s top Black Friday deals so they can share their favorites with fellow shoppers beginning today.

They haven't been paid, says the NYT, but they have been flown to Seattle to do interviews on behalf of the company — and were given free products to review and keep.

From the NYT:

The freebies are part of the Amazon Vine program the company started last year. Top reviewers get free products if they promise to write about them.

Despite the potential for conflicts of interest, the program seems to be run the way customers would want it to. Amazon says it does not weed out negative comments...

What do you think of this? Can these people really be called "consumer advocates?"

Amazon.com Tries User-Generated Public Relations [NYT]
Amazon.com Announces First-Ever Holiday Customer Review Team (Press Release) [Business Wire]

Amazon says that they're beginning the crusade against "wrap rage" with the Fisher Price Imaginext Adventures Pirate Ship. Instead of a medieval torture device, the toy will now arrive in something called "a box."

"I think we've all experienced the frustration that sometimes occurs when you try to get a new toy or electronics product out of its package," said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. "It will take many years, but our vision is to offer our entire catalog of products in Frustration-Free Packaging. We'd like to thank Fisher-Price, Mattel, Microsoft and Transcend for working with us in this effort - we truly appreciate it."

Amazon will also be working with the manufacturers of things like memory cards, which come in hard to open clamshell packages to deter shoplifting. Apparently, it has occurred to Amazon.com that they really don't have much of a problem with shoplifting.

In addition to being easier to open, the new packaging will be recyclable and use fewer raw materials.

Amazon Announces Beginning of Multi-Year Frustration-Free Packaging Initiative (Press Release) [Amazon] (Thanks, Pete!)

This has, of course, offended Sen. Obama's supporters, (and presumably, lots of other people as well) as it is, you know, offensive.

Perhaps for the sake of appearing bipartisan, the LA Times also noted the prices of several other political costumes for sale on Amazon.

For comparison purposes, a Hillary Clinton mask is going for only $6.95 (down from $12.99). Even with her 18 million votes. The Sarah Palin mask, however, is going for $25 (Deluxe versions cost 98 cents more, but it's eligible for free shipping).

The Joe Biden T-shirts and life-size cutouts (sorry, no mask) have been marked down. The John McCain page offers paper masks for 99 cents and a rubber one for $12.90 (marked down from $16.99).

Amazon.com listing had Barack Obama Halloween mask under 'terrorist' [LA Times] (Thanks, Everyone!!)

Here's the situation: Reader Bryan ordered an item from Adorama's Amazon store. After the item shipped, he decided to change the shipping instructions so he could pick up his package at the UPS store. Amazon's policies kept Adorama from changing the instructions on a shipped item, so, after apologizing, Adorama gave Bryan two options: a full refund, or once the item returned undelivered, they could re-ship the item with the right instructions.

Bryan didn't send us his original request, so we'll start with Adorama's response. The writing isn't the clearest, but the content speaks for itself:

hi!

unfurtunaly this is an Amazon order and we wont be able to have you pick it up. I apologized for the inconvenience this may have caused you.

PAOLA
Adorama customer service

Brian responded:

I don't see why it being an amazon order changes anything. It's MY package that I paid for, and paid shipping for. UPS is not able to deliver to my location, all I want is to be able to pick up the package THAT I PAID FOR.

Make it happen, or I'm just returning all of it, and then you'll be refunding my money.

Right off the bat you can tell Bryan is trouble. "Make it happen?" Tell that to a waitress and you'll rightly end up with a drink down your shirt. Let's see how Paola responds:

I apologized for the inconvenience but our contract with Amazon is like that we cant make any changes to the order or have ups hold it for you , if you are unable to be at the address you provide with your order for shipping the order will come back to us and we will give you the money back for the item.

have a nice day!!

PAOLA
Adorama customer service

Paola provided a direct explanation to Bryan's question. Adorama's contract with Amazon prevents them from changing the shipping address. Simple enough, but Bryan kept pushing:

Well, I guess you just lost some money. I have NEVER had any issues with getting UPS to hold a package that I have bought from Amazon.

I'm so sorry for the inconvenience maybe you place the order through Amazon and it was ship by another company. I don't want you to feel like if we don't appreciated your business but unfurtunaly we can not hold the pack. if the order was place directly from us we wouldn't have this problem.

again I apologies.

PAOLA
Adorama customer service

Another fairly direct response from Paola, and a way to avoid the problem in the future. Fine.

How Bryan choose to advance his case?

Please learn proper grammar and english. It would make your messages much easier to understand.

At this point, Paola could have stopped responding. The substantive interaction was over. If we were in Paola's place, we wouldn't have been able to respond with anything approximating a polite response. And as we'll see, advancing the conversation doesn't help anyone, even if the intent is to help an unreasonable customer.

Oh thank you.... For the compliment... am just trying to give you good customer service. at least someone is paying attention to your problem.

PAOLA
Adorama customer service

See, this is what I'm talking about. Re-read your last 2 messages. They are written poorly. "unfurtunaly" is spelled "unfortunately".

All this poor grammar and spelling lets me know is that the employees at this place are incompetent, and that I would never order anything from you again. No one is paying attention to my problem and I am NOT receiving "good customer service". If I was receiving "good customer service", my problem would have already been taken care of when I called yesterday. I can't believe all this hassle is being put into this situation. All I want to do is pick up my package; this should not be an impossible task.

You fail. I will never order anything from adorama again.

Are you a teacher? All I m trying to do is help you and "unfortunately" you don't see that you are just looking for mistakes in the grammar. I hope you have a very nice day!

PAOLA
Adorama customer service

Yes. I am a teacher. I teach 4th grade, and they spell better than you

and can complete sentences using proper punctuation. It reflects poorly on you and the company you work for. If you can't do this, maybe this is the wrong job for you. You are doing NOTHING to help me. If you want to help me, offer to overnight me another camera with no restrictions on the package, so that I can pick it up at the UPS office. Sitting here and arguing with me does nothing to fix the problem.

Today, I will be contacting any management/owners that I can get ahold of and informing them of the awful customer service I've received. If you can't solve the problem and just type gibberish to me, then you are of no use in your current place of employment.

With the respect you deserve let me explain you something. I was trying to assist you since the first time that you call , but you just say that you wanted your money back and started complaining about my grammar instead of telling me that you wanted the item expedited, is very frustrating for me as a customer service representative that is doing her best to assist you, to only get this kind of email in response like if I was one of your students . Am really sorry this is going the way is going, you are the first customer I get that is a "teacher" and act like a student.

If you want the item I will be more than happy to place a new order for you, I will need to charge you for the item again and am supposed to charge you for shipping as well because I don't see where we mess up with your order we send it to the address that you provide Amazon for shipping. if you will like I can ask my manager as a first time courtesy to give you free shipping. And if you want fell free to contact my manager to complaint about my customer service skills her ext# is 2219 her name is Leah, I am sure she will be happy to listen to you and read our emails....thank you and have a nice day!!!!!!

PAOLA
Adorama customer service

Can we all agree this is a reasonable solution? Paola offered to resend the item, possibly even waive the shipping. And she volunteered her manager's number and rightly suggested that any third party might find Bryan's behavior offensive.

So how does Bryan respond to the olive branch?

Wow. I have no clue what any of that says since your sentences are all run-ons and really really long. Go back to school.

The situation deteriorates from there.

I just feel sorry for the kids you teach ... You are very disrespectful, maybe my problem can be solve going back to school but in your case you will have to be born again.. Respect others is easy and make others life easier too. Here at Adorama we treat our customers with respect because that's how they treat us. but that's not you case. Have a good life.

PAOLA
Adorama customer service

Spend less time telling me to be 'born again' and more time studying an English book. Religion is just a crutch for the weak.
Sent from my BlackBerry(r) smartphone with SprintSpeed

Be happy!! Have a nice day!! "teacher"

PAOLA
Adorama customer service

I was happy today until I had to deal with you. And for some reason you decide to bring religion into this. I'm making phone calls right now, doing my best to make sure that you don't have a job by the end of the day.
Sent from my BlackBerry(r) smartphone with SprintSpeed

Ok she is waiting for your call ext#2219 leah .. bye

PAOLA
Adorama customer service

Okay.... Here's an awesome email exchange between an adorama.com camera customer service rep and myself. Yeah, I'm an asshole, but this ignorant woman actually suggested that I become "born again".

All this because they put all kinds of restrictions on MY package which won't allow me to pick up my package at the UPS office.

Enjoy!

You sure got one thing right, Bryan.

Clearly the exchange could have been handled better by everyone. The telecoms and other large companies use rigid customer service manuals to limit similar debacles. Their customer service is like Plinko: your complaint's destiny is governed by its fall down a maddening decision tree. Bryan would have been dismissed with a simple: "We cannot accommodate your request at this time. Please be assured, your business is important to us." We prefer companies where employees can treat us not just as consumers, but as people.

When dealing with any company, always treat customer service representatives as you would want to be treated yourself. The whole Golden Rule thing and all. Not only is it common decency, but it's the single best way to get exactly you want.

(Photo: paolo màrgari)

[Amazon via ProBargainHunter]

As a company trying to turn around its image as being customer-service indifferent, "that's not my problem" should not be in any customer service rep's vocabulary. A self-described "computer guy," Bill used to recommend Dell when people asked what kind of computer to get. After this experience, detailed more fully on his blog, no longer. Now he recommends Lenovo, and buying your batteries on Amazon.

Dell Laptop Battery Support Problems [Bits From Bill] (Thanks to Catherine!) (Photo: Ben Popken)

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...if you’re in the market for a TV now, prices are already pretty compelling. Prices for L.C.D. and plasma sets have gotten so competitive, that the market for rear-projection sets has moved into only the biggest size screens, a trend that analysts predicted last year.

[...]

But for those looking for more down-to-earth sizes in thin form factors, LCD or plasma is the way to go. To get the best price, you may need to shop online. When I compared online prices for some L.C.D. and plasma models with prices at two of the top consumer-electronics “big box” retailers, Amazon and other online stores beat brick-and-mortar stores every time.

When you add in no shipping and no sales tax–often available from many sites–the cost difference can be substantial.

We snagged a decadently large Samsung set from Amazon two years ago. Not only did Amazon beat every retail store's price, but the tax-free DLP was delivered straight up to our apartment by a shockingly professional delivery company. The experience was better than the usual retail nightmare in every possible way, something we'd gladly repeat.

For the Best TV Prices, Stay Online [Bits]
TVs & HDTVs [Amazon]
(Photo: fab4chiky)

"Amazon temporarily gags Spore critics, deletes and restores all customer reviews" [ArsTechnica] (Thanks to Nathan!)

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A number of readers chimed in on the Best Buy-branded wishlist browser add-on post with the alternatives they prefer instead. They were: 1) Amazon's Universal Wishlist, 2) Del.icio.us, 3) Wishlist.com, 4) Wishlistr.com. Got any others? As far as what most Consumerist's thought of the Best Buy add-on, commenter dragonfire81 probably captured it best...

(Photo: heyu1021)

...the game incorporates a draconian DRM system that requires you to activate over the internet, and limits you to a grand total of 3 activations. If you reach that limit, then you'll have to call EA in order to add one extra activation. That's not as simple as it sounds, since when you reach that point EA will assume that you, the paying customer, are a filthy pirating thief. You will need to provide proof of purchase, reasons why the limit was reached, etc, etc (it has all happened before with another recent EA product, Mass Effect). EA, of course, is not obligated to grant you that extra activation or even provide that service. In a couple of years they might very well even shut down the general activation servers, because "it's not financially feasible" to keep them running. What you will be left with is a nice, colorful $50 coaster. And you will be required to pay for another copy/license if you want to continue playing.

And...

The DRM for the game utilizes securom which is essentially a virus that installs itself without warning when you install the game. There is no way to completely remove it without reformatting and it is constantly running in the background if not removed. Sucking up computer resources.

It also is overpriced. This is actually a RENTAL, not a bought game because it only lets you install 3 times.

And...

I logged on to buy this but now no way. I dont care if its the best game in the world, I'm not loading it onto my computer if it has DRM. No thank you, remove it and I'll buy version 2.0.

And...

I personally feel EA has crossed the line with what is considered an acceptable protection scheme. What they have done is essentially created a rental for the price of the full game, and after 3 activations you have to call up EA and beg them to reactivate the game. I for one am a computer enthusiast and format and upgrade regularly so I'd burn through the 3 install limit in about three months top and I REFUSE to have to call up any company and have to beg and prove that I rightfully am entitled to an install. As a paying customer I expect to be able to install the game infinite amounts of times on MY computer without any DRM disturbances. Whats worse is that this DRM considers any computer upgrade, BIOS update, and some patches as system change and thus requires an additional activation.

And...

Thanks to everyone who warned us about the DRM in this game. I'm interested in the game, but not interested enough to break my computer to play it.

And...

Too bad I can't play this game because of the horrible copyright protection scheme/malware called SecuROM which locks up my rig. It doesn't even keep the game from being pirated, so I don't know why EA treats its paying customers like criminals.

And...

I will not pay EA $50 to rent a game, period. DRM is dying, and its dragging good products down with it. Get a clue EA. The music industry did, now its your turn to face the fire.

And...

I was going to buy this game today but because of the DRM and a few other issues I will skip this game altogether. It's a shame because I was really looking forward to owning this game. EA is not helping Will Wright in any way.

You get the idea. Have these reviews convinced you to skip this game?

Spore [Amazon via Kotaku]

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Mass Closing of Amazon Accounts by Amazon [SlickDeals] (Thanks to Errol!)

That stinks, the policy was neat. If you bought something from Amazon and its price on the site dropped within 30 days, you could contact them and get a refund for the difference.

Now according to emails people are getting, the policy is no more and only items bought before September 1st will be eligible. Must be the economy, stupid. We're waiting on a confirmation/explanation from Amazon, but here's the email Jason got...

Hello from Amazon.com.

Thank you for contacting us to take advantage of our Post-Order Price Guarantee.

I've confirmed that we now offer a greater discount on item than at the time you placed your order.

Since your purchase shipped within the past 30 days, I've requested a refund of $5.78 to the original payment method used for your order.

This amount reflects the difference between the price you were originally charged for the item and the current price offered by Amazon.com. This refund should be processed in the next few days.

Only orders placed before September 1, 2008 are eligible for a price difference refund under the Post-Order Price Guarantee policy. As of September 1, 2008 we are no longer offering discounts if prices change on our website after you make a purchase.

Thank you for shopping at Amazon.com—we hope you'll visit us again soon.

RELATED:
amazon no more post-order price matching??? [High-Def Digest]
Amazon Dropping Post-Order Price Guarantee Effective Sept 1st [SlickDeals]
No more post-order price matching!?!? [Amazon Forums]

(Photo: nedrichards)

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Gerardo says:

About a month back I ordered a 6-pack of "method Foaming Hand Soap, Green Tea & Aloe, Case Pack, Six - 10 Ounce Bottles (60 Ounces)," I ordered this and some hair gel that I have a hard time finding in the the stores. Well sure enough as soon as I bought the soap it went on back order and so it was going to be shipped separately.

I didn't mind so much since as we all know if you order using amazon's free shipping you shouldn't expect it anytime soon. Well, after receiving the soap in the mail, I opened the box to find yet another shipping box inside. A clearly marked "ready to ship" box, which obviously wasn't ready enough as they had to ship it in a much larger box. I guess Amazon workers are on autopilot mode.

We still think this might be progress. Maybe. Ok, probably not.

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Mike writes

Dearest Consumerist,

I bought a 2G EeePC Surf from Asus via Amazon in January, as the $300 price point was great and I thought it would be the perfect laptop for taking back and forth to class. It worked very well for a while and I was quite happy with it, until it stopped left-clicking after about 4-6 months. Neither pressing the actual left-click button nor tapping worked, both of which previously worked fine. It seemed odd to me that these would be related, but right-click and tab still worked so I could get around fine for my purposes, for awhile. Eventually the tab key stopped working, and then the right-click went. It seemed as if input was slowly dying and at this point it was unusable. In order to make sure it wasn't a weird software issue, I re-imaged the drive with the CD they provide, booted it into a fresh install, and sure enough when prompted to agree to the initial installation agreement, I couldn't click, tab, et cetera. I also tried another Linux live CD (Xubuntu) with the same results. At this point it seemed it couldn't be software, so I did some googling, and couldn't find anyone with remotely the same issue. Time to RMA, I thought!

First I filled out an RMA request online, filling in a detailed description of the issue, serial number, information, et cetera. They responded to this by posting a reply on their web tracker, not by emailing me, so it took me a few days to notice. Their response was a one-liner, which basically said "call someone else." I called the number given and they naturally had no access to the information I previously entered, so I had to provide it all again. This person gave me a case number, and a number of someone else to call, who finally turned that case number into an RMA number (after asking more of the same questions), which arrived in my email (though they had botched the spelling of my name and address and I had to call to correct this).

I unfortunately wasn't that surprised when the email instructions said to include a description of what is wrong in with the packaging so they know what to fix, and where to send it back. I guess the RMA number and associated information I gave three times was all for fun!

So I pack it all up very safely, documenting the process, and take it FedEx. I paid ~$25 to ship it, which got me $300 insurance and a signature required (at this point I was not that trusting of Asus and their communication, so if it turns up lost, I want to know who lost it).

I call on a Thursday around 5:30EST, the day after the tracking says they received it and I am informed they haven't received it. The woman on the phone said the receiving department is closed but she took my number and assured me they would call me back the next day. Shockingly I received no call, so I called back on Monday. Now the news was that
not only did they receive it, but they had already repaired and shipped it back to me, and would I like the tracking number? Sure, great!

A few days later I receive the package, open it up, and find my EeePC inside with an RMA document. Due to some identifiable scruffs and an off-kilter spacebar (that's not a bug, that's a feature!) I realized it was the same one I sent in, which isn't necessarily a problem, but I figured this problem would have warranted a replacement. Either way I open it up, turn it on (the battery is very low and requires plugging in, thanks Asus!), and to my dismay find that I still can't
left-click or tap, although the other keys appear fine. Oooooh nooo.

So now I call customer service Monday on my lunchbreak, and talk to the Vanessa. I informed her I RMA'd my EeePC but it isn't fixed, so she happily transfers me to a number that rings forever. I patiently wait a few minutes through the ringing, then my lunch break is over, so I shelve it until tomorrow.

Tuesday arrives, I call the lovely Vanessa again, inform her of yesterday's event, and she transfers me to the same number again. I promptly call back, explaining it just rings, and she explains that I was in a queue and someone will pick up, but now I lost my place by hanging up, and she'll put me back in line. Ring...ring...ring...

So, I call their support number (1-888-678-3688), select option 3 for support, and then option 1 for notebooks (makes sense, right?). After a 10 minute hold time (at least this line has a proper hold system) I get someone, who tells me EeePCs aren't notebooks, they have their own category, which I need to choose from the menu. So I called back,
waited through all the options, and hear EeePC at option 4. Sounds good. I explain my situation to them, and they say sure, we can help, we'll transfer you to the RMA department. They do so and guess who picks up? No one but the lovely Vanessa! After telling her what has just happened (impossible, she declares!), she transfers me to the ringing number again. Argh! I decide I better stick it through and see if this goes anywhere, and after 10 minutes of ringing someone picks up, who says they are too busy to answer calls, but they can take my number and someone will call me back. I attempt to explain what has been going on, and he says he can transfer me to RMA (Error: Maximum Recursion Depth Exceeded!) or a technician. A technician is a new and exciting option so I ask for that. After being on hold for 10 minutes, my lunch break was (well) over and I had to hang up.

On Wednesday I call EeePC support again, and talk to Chad. She asked for all my information again, gave me a new case number, and transferred me to the RMA department. Here I got Clinton, who turned my case number into an RMA number, and told me to send it back. I told him again I already sent it back just last week for this same issue, and it wasn't fixed. I asked if they could pay for my shipping to them, but he said they don't do that with EeePCs. I asked him how, even if I was willing to pay ANOTHER $25 to ship it back, I could be sure they wouldn't just send it back broken again. He said he couldn't answer that question. What he COULD do, is transfer me to customer support, as they are the only ones who can help. So, I take this option, I'm back to Vanessa, and she seems frustrated to keep having to deal with me (I guess I can't blame her). She verifies they never pay for shipping both ways on EeePCs, but can transfer me to a manager. I take this option and get a voice mail. I explain my situation, very clearly leave my number, and hang up.

This was over a week ago and I have, astoundingly, not received a call back. Where in the world can I go from here? I understand they are under tight margins on a $300 laptop, but it is under warranty and those issues are not my problem. I was perfectly willing to pay for shipping to them the first time; however, the issue wasn't fixed the first time and I obviously should not have to pay to send it back immediately afterwards. Even if I was, I have so little faith in their
RMA and Customer Service departments that I fear it has little chance of fixing my issue anyway. Can Amazon or my credit card company help me in any way? Since it isn't functional, a refund could be helpful to put towards a different laptop. What's a boy to do?

-Mike

It sounds like you need to escalate up the ASUS corporate ladder. I don't have any direct contact information for ASUS, but these posts should give you some ideas for leapfrogging over the incompetent service drones.

Judging how the company seems to like putting the "ass" in ASUS, yes, you could be better off calling either Amazon or your credit card company. Amazon might let you do an exchange or refund straight up. If you paid with a credit card that offers automatic extended warranty protection on purchases, you might also be able to judiciously effect a return. Just call them and ask!

If anyone has any secret phone numbers for penetrating to someone at ASUS with a brain, we're all ears.

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• Aeropostale: $8 off 80 purchase coupon + select jeans $20 off + select tops 50% off

• Iams: Free Iams Premium Protection Dog or Cat Food if you give them your address
• Iomega: 3.5" External USB 2.0 Hard Drive shipped for $55.66(250 GB) Or $64.16 (320 GB)
• Newegg: Sennheiser CX300B 3.5mm Connector Canal Headphone (Black) $10 after rebates

• Sierra Trading Post: Extra 10% off Clothing, Footwear, & Gear
• Amazon: Summer Sale: 25% or More off Kitchen Small Appliances
• Dell Home: Save 20% to 30% off Inspiron Notebook PCs

• Torrid: $10 off select Birkenstock
• Toys "R" Us: BOGO $20 off all Wii games
• PayPal: Back to school savings @ Foot Locker, Guess, Tiger Direct, more

• Woot: Visiontek ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB PCI-E Video Card for $79.99
• Vans: 20% off with coupon code TRUEFAN08
• eBags: Up to 38% off The North Face Backpacks

• Amazon: Canon A590IS 8MP Digital Camera $147 Shipped
• Buy.com: Whistler XTR-140 Radar/Laser Detector $37 Shipped
• Apple Store: Save $300 to $900 off refurbished MacBook Pro Notebooks

• State Taxes: 2008 State Sales Tax Holidays
• Wilsons Leather: Entire site up to 75% off
• Shoplet.com: Up to 60% off back to school supplies

• Amazon: Lego sale. 50% off 8 Different Items
• Walgreens: 6 Sharpies for $2 (in-store only)
• eforcity: iPod/iPhone charging cable for $7.99 (down from $43.99)
• DealExtreme: iPod/iPhone charging cable for $3.46
• Woot: It's a woot-off!

• Best Buy: Dynex DX-LCD32 32-inch LCD HDTV $490
• Tiger Direct: Unlocked Motorola RAZR V3 GSM Cell Phone $100
• Buy.com: Kodak Z1285 12 Megapixel Digital Camera $90 Shipped

• Kohl's: 80-90% Clearance Sale
• Disney Outlet: Kid's costumes up to 80% off, plus extra 20% off code
• Amazon: Dr. Martens Men's 1914 Cherry Red Size 14 Boots $38

• Tiger Direct: UTStarcom GSM708 Unlocked GSM Phone $20
• Butterfly Photo: Canon Rebel XSi 12MP DSLR & Lens $790 Shipped
• Expedia: Save 30% off Hotels, Cars, Cruises & Other Travel

• Amazon: 80lb Crossbow Pistol - Hunting - $19.99 (Reg. $59.99)
• Shirt.Woot: Funny/cool movie snack shirt for $10
• B&H Photo: Drobo DRO4DU10 4-bay, USB2.0 Robotic Storage Array for $350 (down from $500+)

• Performance Bike: Save an Extra 10% off Bikes & Gear with Coupon
• Mwave: OCZ Mini-Kart Micro-Sized 2GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive Free AR
• Buy.com: Save $100: Pentax Optio Z10 8MP Digital Camera $140 Shipped

• Amazon: Aliph Jawbone Bluetooth Headset $60 shipped
• Lane Bryant: 40-50% off storewide
• Ralph Lauren: Extra 25% off select sale items

Dear Sarah X XXXXXXXX

RE: Amazon order #XXX-XXXXXXX-XXXXXXX
Invoice #XXXXXXX
Item title: SAM M300... Car Charger

Thank you for your recent purchase with Eforcity on Amazon.com.

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. We would like to offer you a refund, if the negative feedback is removed.

Please reply to this email directly and let us know. As soon as the feedback is removed, we will go ahead and process a refund.

Please follow the below instructions to remove feedback on Amazon:

1. Go to http://www.amazon.com/your-account.
2. Find the pull-down menu next to View by Order. Select ORDERS PLACED IN THE LAST 6 MONTHS, and hit the GO button.
3. After you sign in, you'll find a listing of your recent orders. Select the relevant order and click the VIEW ORDER button.
4. You will find a feedback section 2/3rds of the way down the page. To remove feedback, click on the REMOVE link in the feedback section of the order summary.
5. You may only remove feedback if it is 60 days or less since you left the feedback.

We appreciate your business, and again would like to extend our sincere apology. Please feel free to let us know how we may further assist you with your order.

Sincerely,

Salina

Customer Service Team

Getting good service shouldn't be contingent on the customer taking down reports of a product that doesn't work. This kind of quid pro quo approach to customer service is dishonest and shameful.

Nathan says:

I wanted to add another example to your files of stupid shipping. I just got the microfiber clothes I ordered for cleaning my SLR's lenses. I thought it was kind of silly they used a big box and put all the cushioning on top (none below of course). But even when I took it all out I couldn't find the clothes, which had slid under on of the cardboard flaps. I'm pretty sure that alone is proof that a standard, letter sized envelope would have more than sufficed.

Thanks for letting me share.

Check out the delicious unboxing gallery below.

How much money do you think they're losing every second? Well, Cnet says, "Based on last quarter's revenue of $4.13 billion, a full-scale global outage would cost Amazon more than $31,000 per minute on average." However, that won't be happening as the international Amazon sites are still up. An Oct '07 Bloomberg article says US and Canadian sales account for 55% of revenue, so based on that, they're losing roughly $17,050 per minute. The stock market seems to have taken notice; Marketwatch says, "Shares of Amazon were down 2.7% to $82.25 in early afternoon trading."

A post on an online forum for Amazon sellers says, “Engineers are actively engaged in resolving this issue and we will provide an update once the issue is resolved...We appreciate your patience during this time.”" Does anyone have a spare paperclip? Time to hit the reset button.

UPDATE: 4:04 -It's spluttering back from the dead. Pages load very slowly and clicking around may still lead to dead pages.

UPDATE: 4:31 - It's alive! A bit slow, but now once again you can buy everything in the world without leaving your house! Huzzah!

(Thanks to fivecentnickel!)

I ordered a maple night stand via Amazon.com. It was actually sold/shipped by one of their vendors called Vision Decor. I was surprised when the package arrived. It was HUGE and it weighed a lot — far larger and heavier than I expected a night stand to be.

It was covered in multiple layers of cardboard and tape. When I finally cut through to the middle I discovered that the entire box had been filled with that spray foam typically used by plumbers and construction workers for insulation. My father-in-law and I spent half an hour hacking through the stuff to finally get to the night stand within. It was tough stuff. And it tended to stick to skin.

Now, I appreciate that my night stand arrived in good condition but I must say that removing the foam insulation was tantamount to carving Mt. Rushmore.

Are you sure that's a night stand and not an alien facehugger pod? Jim? Jim, are you there?

The NYT explains:

In April, as part of its 2008-2009 budget, the state legislature passed what is being called the “Amazon Tax.” What’s new isn’t actually a change in the law—New York residents always owed tax on their purchases—it is an expansion of the law that is meant to force online retailers to collect the tax and send it to New York. Any company with physical operations in the state—such a store or office—already collects tax for the state.

Indeed, the state calculates that of the nation’s top 20 online retailers, 18 had already been collecting tax because they, like Dell and Staples, had operations in the state. The remaining two—Amazon and Newegg.com—have now registered to collect taxes.

The state now says tax must be collected by any online store that gets customers referred to them by Web sites based in the state.

Amazon's lawsuit is making its way through the courts, but a provision exempting them from retroactively owing tax on all prior purchases by NY customers if they signed up by June 1st forced the retailer to start collecting the tax. Overstock dropped all its NY affiliates and will not be collecting tax.

We suspect Overstock is going to get a lot more popular with New Yorkers pretty soon...

Let the Tax Collection Begin [NYT]
(Photo: Tom Simpson )

1. Be an Amazon member
2. Log in
3. Locate similar, companion or accessory items to the one you want to buy and click "I own this item." For instance, if you want a Sony PSP, claim ownership of a PSP 2GB Memory Stick
4. Wait a day
5. Go to Today's Deals
6. At bottom it says "(Your Name)'s Quick Picks"
7. The item you really want to buy might show up there with 5-15% discount

The Quick Picks are normally based on your previous purchases. But by using the "I own this item" on related items, you may be able to get a deal on a pricey item. It won't work on everything, we're guessing it works best on things where the accessory can only be used for just one item, the item you want.

Tricking Amazon into an extra 5% off [ProBargainHunter]

When Amazon works, it's a great example of what man and machine can do together to make shopping easier. When it doesn't work, you're stuck with a higher-priced camera from Wal-Mart and a second camera you thought was canceled shipped from Amazon, with a refund taking 3-5 days to go through.

My siblings and I decided to go in together and purchase my Mom a nice camera for Mother's Day. She's a nice lady, and is getting tired of the one she has, so it seemed like a good idea. The BAD idea was trying to purchase it (along with a few accessories) from Amazon. But, they had it for a great price, and with the free shipping it seemed like a no-brainer.

So I placed my order on 5/1...all seemed well on the Amazon front. I got a confirmation email after placing the order letting me know that it would be shipped on 5/6. It's never taken more than 3 days for an Amazon order to show up in the past, so I figured it would be fine. After a couple of days, I logged in to Amazon to check up on it, and that's when I should have gotten worried.

Instead of showing my orders, there was an error message letting me know that there was a problem with Amazon, but rest-assured, they're working on it and it should be fixed shortly. Right. It gave me the same message the next day, and the next, so on 5/6 I sent Amazon an email asking them to check the status of the order, as it was for Mother's Day and I needed it by then.

I received a reply email later that day from Naresh letting me know that he would need 1-2 business days to research and he'd get back to me.

After two days (5/8) and no response, I decided to call Amazon. I spoke to a male representative (and I'm pounding my head against the wall for not catching his name, but I didn't) who let me know that he couldn't find my order, either. I explained the situation (it's for my Mom, I need it asap, etc), and he let me know that I could place the order again if I needed it quickly. This wasn't to my liking, but I wasn't about to disappoint my Mom (nor face the scorn of my siblings), so I asked when it could be delivered. His answer? Monday. This was not the answer I was looking for, so I asked him to please cancel the order, and I would purchase it locally. He said he would put a note on my account for the order to be cancelled.

So I set off into a raging thunderstorm to the closest store that had the same model camera. Wal-Mart. This is a story for another day, but I ended up paying waaaay more thanks to Wal-Mart's absolutely ridiculous price-matching policy. So, I'm out some cash, a lot of time, and it ruined my hair. Thanks, Amazon!  

Then, today [Friday May 9], I decided (just for kicks) to check my Amazon account. Lo and behold, it's fixed! Apparently, my order should be shipped on 5/11 or 5/12. Wait, what??? I am not a happy camper at this point.

So, I just spent another 30 minutes on the phone with Christine H. Bottom line? Amazon can (will) not cancel the order, and I can expect to receive a 2nd camera in the near future.

While she did try to help me as much as she could (and she was very nice), it was obvious that Amazon's policies limited what (if any) help she could offer me. When I explained that my bank account does not runneth over (thanks to a hefty veterinarian bill) and that, if charged, I would be overdrawn, she said that she would give me an advance refund on the shipment. In 3-5 days, I'll see my money back in the bank (never mind that Amazon will CHARGE my account as soon as it ships). She did send me an email explaining the very involving process of getting an overdraft fee credited by Amazon, but at this point, I'm just going to suck it up and transfer some emergency (i.e. DON'T TOUCH) money into the account.

It's not exactly what I would normally qualify as an emergency, but if it will keep me from having to deal with Amazon again, it's worth it. 

Bottom line? Amazon is the Grinch who stole Mother's Day...Boo to you, Amazon! (And I still haven't heard back from Naresh.)

Amanda

Fine, it was a one-off problem, mistakes happen and all that. But why do customer service reps promise to return calls that they never return? This seems to happen across the industry, and it may be the easiest way to improve customer service.

Floria's letter is pretty long, so we'll quickly summarize it for you:

• Floria, a systems administrator, bought an HP laptop on June 25, 2007, from Amazon.com. The laptop has overheating issues so she sent it to HP to be repaired under the 1 year warranty.
• HP denied warranty coverage because ""HP only covers Software, and since we need to replace your motherboard which is hardware, we're not covering it," and tried to charge her $746.86.
• She checked her warranty, saw that it covered "hardware" and called back. She was again told that HP doesn't cover hardware. She pressed for more information and was told that her motherboard didn't have a serial number, so her laptop must be refurbished or "fake" and therefore not under warranty.
• She calls Amazon.com and they write her an letter confirming that they did not sell her a fake laptop.
• She calls HP and is told that HP warranties only cover software. She tries to escalate her complaint and met with much resistance. Finally she gets a "senior case manager" on the phone. He approves repair on her laptop.
• HP then contacts Floria to tell her that her motherboard doesn't have a serial number and they are voiding her warranty. She tells them a senior case manager approved the repair. They have no idea what she is talking about.

On June 25, 2007, I received my first HP Pavilion tx1220us tablet pc bought at $1400 sold by Amazon.com, when this product was just released to the market for a week. It was brand new, HP factory sealed. I checked the serial number on the back of the laptop, and it matched the box and in the bios configuration. I was able to register with HP, and activate the 1 year warranty which will be ending on June 26, 2008.

We rejoin Floria on the day her laptop is supposed to come back from repair for an overheating issue:

On April 29, 2008, it's the expected delivery day of my laptop. I checked the online status and found out they decided to charge me $746.86 because my laptop is malfunctioning and "Out of Warranty". I called the number immediately at 11:30pm. They said someone tried to call me and left me a message on my voicemail yesterday. I said I gave you my cell phone number, and I never received such call or message. I asked why I was being charged because my laptop is still under warranty. The lady said "HP only covers Software, and since we need to replace your motherboard which is hardware, we're not covering it." I was shocked. I told her this is not what the warranty terms are when I purchased my laptop. I asked if she can send me the piece of information. She transferred me to another department which was closed at that time.

So, I quickly gathered all my Amazon.com receipts, product description, even the HP warranty information on the hp.com website. It clearly shows that 1 year parts and labor, 30 days for software. And when entering my serial number, it shows my warranty is going to expire in June 26, 2008.

I called again and thinking this would be a quick fix, but I almost got a heart attack. I told the representative that I called previously and the lady said only software is covered, which is incorrect. The guy said, HP only covers software warranty. I said, no it is not because I have my warranty information to prove it. So, he said, "the motherboard is a component of the computer that HP is not covering it." I asked "why is my motherboard not covered when it's a part of the computer?" He said "It's because we do not cover hardware" I almost fell out of the chair and asked "Could you please tell me why the motherboard is not covered? What's wrong with it?" He pulled out the technician's note and said "First of all, your motherboard does not have a serial number, and that's why we are not covering it."

I said, "My laptop came with a serial number matching the box and warranty information, what are you talking about?" He said "the motherboard serial number is different than the laptop serial number." I said "so, how would I know why the motherboard does not have a serial number?" He said "Maybe your seller just swapped the motherboard or sold you a refurbished one?" I said "There is no way that my laptop is not a brand new. It's HP Sealed and sold by Amazon.com. Are you telling me the HP seal is a fake one too?" He said "Probably." I asked, "With my laptop serial number, does my laptop match every specification on your HP database?" He said "Yes." I said, "That's what HP built and sold to me. As a customer/consumer, who will take their laptop apart and check if there's a serial number on the motherboard before they buy?" He argued, "But HP will not ship anything without a serial number." I do not want to argue with this nonsense, and asked to speak to his supervisor. He refused and said "my supervisor cannot help you because this will not change the fact that your motherboard does not have a serial number." I said, I want to talk to them anyway because this is just not right. He asked me to call Amazon.com and see why they swapped my motherboard. I said, I will call but I still need to speak to your supervisor. He said, call back the next morning to talk to a case manager.

So, I hang up and called Amazon.com. Matthew was on the call with me and I told him I bought a laptop from Amazon in June last year, and the laptop is overheating. So I sent it back to HP for repair, however they do not want to honor the warranty due to the product you sold me does not have a serial number on the motherboard. They said it's either refurbished or fake. At first, he said it was past the 30 days return policy and he did not want to deal with it. I added, "Look, HP is telling me you sold me a laptop that is not brand new. I cannot use my warranty and this is misrepresentation. I know it sounds stupid, but that is what HP did to me and they asked me to contact you." So, Matthew went researching the case for me and told me they got their stock directly from HP. They sent me an email to indicate they sold me a brand new product and they got directly from HP.

I connected back to my online chat at 1:45am. I told them what happened to me. They checked, my laptop is still under warranty, and they said they will escalate my case to "Concern Department" and guaranteed I will receive a call within 48 hours. It is almost 2:30am when everything is done. I was so mad and could not get to sleep with all these "unbelievable" things happened to me for the last 3 hours.

The next morning, I called and tried and asked to speak with a case manager. They are not letting me unless I re-explain what happened again. So, I finally got a hold with a case manager named Kenneth Cooper. He said he will call me back within 48 hours once he obtained a quote from the Repair Department.

The same night, I called again to HP Total care and asked them a "is motherboard part of the parts warranty." Without even giving them the case number or my serial number, Parry Viti immediately told me "HP Warranty only covers Software." It's the third person telling me HP Warranty only covers SOFTWARE. I said, "That's not right, you are the third person in the department telling me HP Warranty only covers Software. I need to speak to your supervisor." She said "My supervisor is not going to help you." I said "I need to speak to them." She refused to transfer me when asked for 5 times. At the end, she said "My supervisor is not working at this time, none of them is here right now."

So, 48 hours had passed, and no one call me from the "Concern Department." So, I get onto online chat again and gave them my case number and asked "why no one is contacting me?" The technician once again escalated my case to the Concern Department.

I did not get a call from the senior case manager, Kenneth Cooper. So I decided to call him on May 2. Although he gave me his work extension number, my call is screened by another person before he is willing to transfer. He said he will leave Kenneth a message and call me back as soon as possible. 3 hours had passed, and I still haven't received his call. So, I called again, and finally got him on the phone. He said, I got the technician notes, I checked and I saw your laptop is under warranty, I have sent them a note to fix it.

I asked, why did 3 different HP Customer Rep say HP only covers Software in their warranty?. In addition, when asked to