Help with Amazon

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kootenay joe
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Help with Amazon

Post by kootenay joe »

My 14 yr old daughter wants to buy brand name clothing on Amazon. We have very few 'bricks & mortar' stores locally that carry decent clothing for teenagers. Walmart is the main option here.
Are the stores on Amazon owned by Amazon ? Or is it like ebay and the stores are independent business who pay fees to Amazon ?
We bought a "Champion" sweatshirt from an Amazon site but it has not arrived. I cannot see any option to "ask seller a question". All i see is 'ask other Amazon customers'.
And how do i contact Amazon to report a rip off seller ?
I have lots of ebay experience and asking seller a question and reporting a problem to ebay is easy. Where are these options on Amazon ?
Also i see on Amazon seller does not say where they are or where the item ships from. Some sellers have a name that sounds like a USA address like "Sleepwear N.Y., CA." but after you pay for an item you find out shipping is with "DHL" (or similar name) and it will take 4-6 weeks to arrive. This indicates item is coming from out of country, likely China, but there is no indication of this on the seller's Amazon site.
I will be grateful for help on how to safely use Amazon.
thanks, kj
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Doc B
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Re: Help with Amazon

Post by Doc B »

KJ...on the upper right side of Amazon, is a "Orders" tab. Click it and you will get "Problems with order" option. Click it and it will give you the choices (order didn't arrive) is one. Yes, most are independent stores...In years of using Amazon, I've never encountered a bad seller (although I guess they could exist for a short period). I'm certain Amazon will back your order up.
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Cletus Awreetus
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Re: Help with Amazon

Post by Cletus Awreetus »

"and I'm certain Amazon will back your order up."

it's been my experience that Amazon customer service is 2nd only to American Express.
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dlr110
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Re: Help with Amazon

Post by dlr110 »

If you "Google" "Amazon customer service" you will get their number. I have had very good experiences talking with them and they have always resolved my problems over and above what I expected. The best thing to do is tell the person that answers the phone, "I want to speak to a supervisor please." Be calm and respectful and 99% of the time they will go out of their way to make things right.
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TwoFlowersLuggage
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Re: Help with Amazon

Post by TwoFlowersLuggage »

This is why I much prefer to only buy items that say "Ships from and sold by Amazon.com", or if that is not possible, then "Sold by xxxx fulfilled by Amazon". That way I know it is coming from an Amazon distribution point and I'll get it very fast.

This Help page might be useful: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer ... =201910410
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New_Windsor_NY
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Re: Help with Amazon

Post by New_Windsor_NY »

I've never had a problem ordering, receiving or, on the VERY RARE occasion, returning an item ordered and fulfilled by Amazon or by someone selling on Amazon. I give them the highest rating. ::tu:: ::tu::
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kootenay joe
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Re: Help with Amazon

Post by kootenay joe »

Thanks for such quick help. I will follow up on all these suggestions after which i will likely understand how to navigate the Amazon site and solve 'issues'.
" "Ships from and sold by Amazon.com" " is this the only way to know that the site is an Amazon store not an independent seller ?
kj
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artmcclure
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Re: Help with Amazon

Post by artmcclure »

I have been an Amazon Prime member since 2006. I have no complaints. The one time that merchandise didn't show up the day before Xmas was not their fault. It was the fault of the USPS (not enough manpower). Amazon gave me 2 years of Prime membership for free. What more can you ask for?
Art McClure
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rea1eye
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Re: Help with Amazon

Post by rea1eye »

Have not had any problems with Amazon Prime. Be careful with returns however.
I have read that too many returns ( not sure what the threshold is) will make
Amazon take some action- like making you pay for the returns or cancelling
your Prime membership.

They certainly have their shipping down to an exact science. Be careful when
opening a box that has holes/ crushed sides. Most of the time the content
is still in good shape. I usually take a picture before opening those damaged
boxes.

Bob
kootenay joe
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Re: Help with Amazon

Post by kootenay joe »

Thanks to help here i was able to message the Amazon seller from whom i bought the Champion sweatshirt to ask why shipping says Oct 31-Nov 18 for an item that was 'in stock' and paid for on Oct 7th.
But what i get is an automated reply that they are closed until Oct 24 for "Sukkot" so i still do not know where this seller is located or why shipping is so slow.
I have bought knives from China through ebay and always have received them in under 2 weeks, so if Amazon seller is in China it does not explain the very slow shipping, or more accurately, very long delivery time because it has already been shipped via DHL whose tracking is useless.
I read some reviews of DHL service and they are BAD ! Many more customers reported shipping problems than those who posted 'all o.k.'
Odd that Amazon sticks with a shipper that has given problems to a great many customers.
kj
kootenay joe
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Re: Help with Amazon

Post by kootenay joe »

Quote: "Orders" tab. Click it and you will get "Problems with order" option."
i did this and the only option provided is "contact seller". How do i contact Amazon to report an issue and unresponsive seller ?
I have looked over the entire Amazon web page (a few of them actually) and nowhere do i see any way to contact Amazon. But there must be a way. What is it ?
kj
kootenay joe
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Re: Help with Amazon

Post by kootenay joe »

Part of the problem is my daughter made the purchase. She did not look at seller's FB which is only 85% positive. The last 30 days show many negative FB's. I would have avoided this seller but teenage girls when shopping are easy to fool.
kj
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Doc B
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Re: Help with Amazon

Post by Doc B »

Here is a link, to customer service, chat...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/contact-us

***also, note that under the start chatting now button...is a link "we can call you".

also, also...I have bought things from China, on Ebay. There must be different ways to ship. I've found that a lot of the really cheap stuff, routinely takes 6-8 weeks, for me to get. I guess it comes on the "Slow boat from China".
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TwoFlowersLuggage
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Re: Help with Amazon

Post by TwoFlowersLuggage »

"Sukkot" is a Jewish holiday, it began on 10/13 and ended 10/20.

When you are searching for items in Amazon, you can narrow your results using selections on the left side (similar to how ebay works). One of the filter selection is the seller, and you can select Amazon.com, which will show you only items sold directly by Amazon. One of the issues is that on a general search, when you click on an item, I think it will typically show you the item from the seller with the lowest total (including shipping) price. Sometimes, that is not Amazon.com. So, you do have to pay attention to the seller.
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kootenay joe
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Re: Help with Amazon

Post by kootenay joe »

I bought more tights on Amazon for my daughter. They were in the cart and i clicked 'pay now' and a page shows up 'thank you for your order'. BUT, i had not entered my Visa numbers or expiry date. I have paid for an Amazon item previously and entered my Visa info to make that purchase.
Does Amazon keep your credit card numbers ? If so i am surprised. All other online merchants i have ever dealt with make it clear that your credit card numbers are NOT saved to their computer.
If Amazon is keeping everyone's credit card info what a huge liability they will have when they get hacked !
Perhaps i am not understanding something ?
kj
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TwoFlowersLuggage
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Re: Help with Amazon

Post by TwoFlowersLuggage »

There are several methods for "saving" your information and still being secure. One is to use encryption. If the Personal Card Information (PCI) data is encrypted both in-transit and at rest (meaning it is encrypted from the moment you enter it, all the way across the internet and also when it is stored in their database, then that complies with the PCI rules. The more modern (and I would say better) way to do it is to do what is called "tokenization". The PCI data is encrypted and sent directly to the credit card processor. The card processor validates the card and then creates a unique "token" (a code) that can only be used for the specific transactions with that vendor. That token is then sent back to the vendor and the token, not the PCI data, is what is stored in the vendor's database. Even if the vendor's database is hacked, the tokens are useless to the hacker because they can only be used by that vendor for specific transactions with that card processor.

Amazon isn't going to risk their business on mishandling credit card data. One hack would shut them down.
"The Luggage had a straightforward way of dealing with things between it and its intended destination: it ignored them." -Terry Pratchett
kootenay joe
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Re: Help with Amazon

Post by kootenay joe »

TFL, Thank you for explaining how sharing & storing credit card info has been made safe. This is all new to me.
kj
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schradefan27
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Re: Help with Amazon

Post by schradefan27 »

If you want to speak to a live person (888) 280-4331 works. I've been a Prime member since September 2019 and they have been nothing but great - last order was a 90lb kettle bell, from a non-amazon seller, which fell out of packaging when Fed Ex had it. I made a call about the problem last Thursday and had a kettle bell at my door on Saturday. Shipping was free which for big/heavy items is a huge savings.
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TwoFlowersLuggage
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Re: Help with Amazon

Post by TwoFlowersLuggage »

kootenay joe wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2019 8:10 pm TFL, Thank you for explaining how sharing & storing credit card info has been made safe. This is all new to me.
kj
KJ - a lot of these rules are new to everyone. The threats change every day, and so do the rules for the vendors. 20 years ago, most of the ecommerce websites were doing EXACTLY what you were concerned about - they were storing your credit card data in their database - even if you only purchased from them one time. After some disastrous hacks, the major players (Visa, Amex, Mastercard, JCB, etc) put together a council to establish rules for how credit card information must be handled. They have a Big Stick to enforce the rules - they can refuse to process the credit cards for a business, and they can hold all funds due to a business until any suspected data breach is investigated (at the vendors expense) and resolved. I used to work for a nationwide business, and what we used to say was that the WORST thing that could happen would be for a spokesperson for Visa to have a press conference where Visa advised consumers to NOT use their credit cards at our stores.

UNFORTUNATELY, there are still thousands of small online businesses that are not following the PCI rules. They either don't know them, or they don't want to know them because it would mean they need to upgrade their 15 year old website software. They are a hack waiting to happen.

PCI doesn't just cover ecommerce. It also covers telephone orders and conventional brick & mortar businesses. Quite frankly, I think the vast majority of credit card fraud is NOT online fraud - it is the old fashioned fraud caused by giving your credit card to a minimum wage worker that disappears into the back of the store or restaurant for several minutes, or the small business that has an ancient PC-based point-of-sale system hooked to the internet that is hacked by malware such that every card they swipe is immediately sent off to Eastern Europe or China. The idea that Ecommerce is less secure than physical card swipes is generally a myth - especially if you are talking about the big boys like Amazon, PayPal, Costco, etc. I would rather give my card data to Amazon & Paypal than to the corner gas station or coffee shop.

Sorry - this is a topic I tend to ramble on about - reading about and working with cybersecurity consumes a significant part of my daily life... ::cr::
"The Luggage had a straightforward way of dealing with things between it and its intended destination: it ignored them." -Terry Pratchett
kootenay joe
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Re: Help with Amazon

Post by kootenay joe »

Thank you again. I find this most interesting and important esoteric information. (esoteric = limited to a few, opposite of ubiquitous)
One of the best aspects of an online forum is that members come from a wide diversity of backgrounds. Hence when a topic comes up here that is not about knives, likely there is someone knowledgeable enough to be of help, whether on how to tune your 2 stroke engine or cyber security.
Also even though the question is asked by one person there always are others who are also interested in knowing the answer.
Your above explanation is a help to many of us here. You are a big asset to AAPK.
kj
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