I can't believe it's been this long since the last time I posted. One of the main reasons, of course, is that the campaign had me upset almost daily (I think I overused the word 'outraged' - really, the entire Bush administration had me outraged, while the McPalin ticket just had me deeply annoyed), but after Obama won, my world-view got a whole lot brighter. Hence, not so much need to vent.
About the time of my last post, I went online and looked for a book about the Angel television series. I found one on Amazon written by the same author of a Buffy book that I like, so I was going to order it, but it was listed as out of stock. Also, Amazon had just had that trouble with the Obama mask, so I was feeling trepidation about giving them my business. (Amazon sold a Halloween mask of Obama's face listing it as a "terrorist" mask. Partner wrote them a scathing letter, and they responded the next day with an apology). A few days later I checked back to the site, and this time the book was listed as in stock. Thinking that they must've received more from the publisher, I ordered it (that was Oct 23). However, because they advertise free shipping with any order over $25, I decided to order another book I wanted and save the shipping.
Over a week went by without the books being shipped. I finally wrote a letter to customer service asking where the order was, and I got a letter back the next day (score one for Amazon). I was told that the Angel book was probably listed incorrectly because they were having trouble locating it in their warehouses. They didn't ship the other book because I had ordered both books to be shipped together. The next day I got a form email asking me for updated info regarding my order. I responded that I would continue waiting for the Angel book. The day after that, I got an email stating that the second book was going to be shipped separately with no additional shipping cost (score another one for Amazon).
Well, that was over two weeks ago. Since I can track it online, I know that the book was listed in Phoenix on Nov 19 & 20. On Nov 29, the book was listed as being in Iowa. It's going in the opposite direction! It's now Dec 2, the mail arrived, but still no book. Over 5 weeks after placing my order! This is truly one of the most frustrating order-online experiences I've ever had.
What gets me most about this whole thing is that Amazon purposely entices buyers to spend more by promising free shipping, but then the buyer has to search for the fine print which basically says "free shipping means we'll ship it whenever we damn-well please." I feel like I was the victim of a bait-and-switch, or at least some strong-arm tactics. "If you spend more you'll get free shipping, but you'll never get your order. You might as well spend the extra money and get the order in 2 days."
From now on, Amazon will not be getting my business.
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