Attention Amazon Shoppers.

TitanMike · 02-19-2021, 09:32 PM

This may have been going on for a while but I just had it happen to me.

When shopping on Amazon there appears to be a new breed of merchants in the Amazon Marketplace. The merchant that just advertises products available at Walmart, Target, etc, marks the price 20% (or more), snd when the order comes in through Amazon just places the order through Walmart.com.

Unless Amazon is actually shipping you might be able to save big by checking Walmart or Target first. I thought the first time it happened to me was strange as product was shipped in Target box. Second time I caught the driver at the door when my security system announced I had a visitor approaching. He told me "delivery from walmart.

Found in online posts this is happening regularly now on amazon.

TTnewbie · 02-19-2021, 10:15 PM

This happened to me back in November. I ordered a dining plate set for what I thought was a good price from Amazon. The package arrived in a Walmart box. I was a bit perplexed so I went on Walmart's site and found out that the very same dining plate set was much cheaper at my local Walmart. I checked if it was available for store pick up, which it was, and I placed an order. I then returned the more expensive set from Amazon.

This is something that Amazon started allowing a while back. Sellers can advertise inventory that they do not actually have. They set up an algorithm on their Amazon account that shows you the inventory available at national retailers at a mark up. When you order their account places an order from the retailer with your shipping information. They then pocket the difference in price. In my case, the original order was for $39.99. The instore price was $29.99.

That's a 25% mark up.

CC75 · 02-19-2021, 11:11 PM

Fun fact:
Did you know you could find Walmart's Equate brand for twice as much on Amazon?
Search for Equate brands on Amazon, then Walmart.
Similiar markup of Costco's Kirkland brand at Amazon.
What a racket. Pretty clever, I noticed that a couple of monts ago.

Reverse_snowbird · 02-19-2021, 11:57 PM

It almost happened to me once, but the price seemed high. So now I always compare Amazon prices to WalMart and Target. Usually I do it by doing a 'Google' search for the specific item and find it at another retailer for a lower price. In 'Google' click on the 'Shopping' tab and usually there will be a scroll type display of the item with the price and name of the retailer at the bottom.

I use Amazon a lot to find items not sold locally or sold for a lower price, but you've got to be careful. It's buyer beware.

Sunseeker16 · 02-20-2021, 06:39 AM

Other retailers are doing it too. I ordered my Blackstone griddle cover from Home Depot and it shipped direct from Blackstone. On a positive note it was cheaper ordering from Home Depot than anywhere else.

Jfkmk · 02-20-2021, 09:46 AM

My experiences with Amazon have been sub-par, especially over the past year or so. Blame it on covid if you must, but I haven’t had the shipping delays with other online vendors that I have with Amazon. I also try to shop locally whenever I can.

That being said, you have to watch all retailers. Last year I needed a high pressure propane hose for my grill I use while camping. Checked out prices online and Target had a hose at a good price. I could have ordered online with store pickup, but since they provide the aisle location, I opted to pick it up myself so I could see it prior to purchasing. I brought it to the register, where it rang up for almost double what the website said it cost. I was told that was the “online price” and I could get the difference refunded at customer service. Yay.

This week, we bought a Roku, as my smart tv isn’t as smart as Roku. Looked online, and Lowe’s had it for $25. Went to the store and it said $35, but one of the workers scanned it and confirmed it was $25. At checkout, it rang up as $35, and it took 10 minutes for a customer service rep to remedy the price.

CC75 · 02-20-2021, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunseeker16

Other retailers are doing it too. I ordered my Blackstone griddle cover from Home Depot and it shipped direct from Blackstone. On a positive note it was cheaper ordering from Home Depot than anywhere else.

I think that is OK, in that it comes directly from the manufacturer.

NJKris · 02-20-2021, 12:07 PM

ALWAYS compare prices for more expensive items (I do it for all), I will compare Amazon, Walmart, HD, Lowes, even Tractor Supply and Blaine's Farm and Fleet before ordering. If I have to order from Amazon and don't need it right away, I'll put it on my 'wishlist' and monitor prices daily for awhile, as prices fluctuate throughout week.

Also, camelcamelcamel is a great site to track prices on Amazon, see which way prices are trending.

BehindBars · 02-20-2021, 12:47 PM

I had a similar recent experience with eBay. Seller had a good price with free shipping on a fire pit, so I ordered it. The fire pit came shipped in 3 days directly from Home Depot. So I looked on Home Depot's site and sure enough, they sell the same exact item with 2-3 day shipping but actually for a few dollars more than what I paid on eBay. Then I see the eBay seller lowered the price again so I ordered another fire pit for a family member. Once again, the fire pit arrives in 3 days straight from Home Depot, but at a lower price.

Maybe the seller got a volume discount from Home Depot, or it was a way to launder some gift card money?

CrazyOldGuy · 02-20-2021, 01:18 PM

Last week I ordered some Clif bars from Amazon. When they were delivered both shipping boxes had "WALMART" on them. I'm like "What I didn't Order Anything From Walmart". Opening the Boxes, Clif Bars and they were shipped from Different Distribution Centers. My thoughts "If You Can't Beat Them, JOIN Them" and I guess Walmart figured out it's smart marketing.

I just wish the USPD, FedEx and UPS would get their Crap in the Same Sack. They all have competed for Lost and Wrong Address Deliveries!

NJKris · 02-20-2021, 01:27 PM

FedEx is the worst. When you absolutely, positively, need it lost overnight.

RickSL10 · 02-20-2021, 04:18 PM

That's called drop shipping, it's very common and nothing wrong with it. different from what's in the original post.

D W · 02-20-2021, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunseeker16

Other retailers are doing it too. I ordered my Blackstone griddle cover from Home Depot and it shipped direct from Blackstone. On a positive note it was cheaper ordering from Home Depot than anywhere else.

That's called a "Drop Shipment". Major retailers do that all the time. It avoids handling costs. Last August I ordered MORryde steps from Walmart. They were shipped straight from the manufacturer to me. They were $100 cheaper than anywhere else, without a freight charge.

Brother Les · 02-20-2021, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NJKris

FedEx is the worst. When you absolutely, positively, need it lost overnight.

This may not fully be the fault of 'FedEx/UPS' (yes it is) for said delay, as both of these large shippers can and do take tractor trailer loads to the 'local' Post Offices (USPS) and have contracts with the local post offices to deliver what was at first shipped through them (FedEx/UPS). The 'local' postman goes from house to house and deliver packages that at first went through FedEx/UPS. When 'you' are sent a 'tracking number', the message you receive may say 'Delivered', when you are sitting at home 'waiting' for your order and you know that your order was not yet 'delivered'. The message 'really means' that your package was 'delivered' to YOUR local Post Office and you may get your order that day, but the odds are more likely that you will get your package The Next Day....

If anyone has seen a Post Office truck driving around and doing deliveries at all hours of the day on a Saturday or Sunday, these deliveries are contracted with/through FedEx and UPS. This relationship lowers the cost of deliveries for FedEx and UPS and gives more 'business to USPS. The shippers make more money and lower their costs (FedEx/UPS/USPS) and these 'sellers' (Amazon) can say 'Shipping is Free'... (nothing is ever free)

TitanMike · 02-20-2021, 04:59 PM

On a related note but similar to what's going on with these "resellers" my backyard neighbor owns some "Chicken Restaurants" locally. A well known local name and he was even a guest on the Oprah show. Her favorite Fried Chicken.

He discovered one day that a local meal delivery service was using his name and taking orders for his chicken totally without his knowledge. Didn't find out until a PO'd customer called and wanted to know where their meal was.

The delivery service has merely copied menus they've picked up in various locations, published them on their website, then taken orders online. Someone then calls in a will-call order to his restaurant and pays with credit card. Customer is billed for the cost of the food along with a hefty delivery charge.

My neighbor took them to task for unlicensed usage of his "Brand" and the delivery service was forced to put a prominent disclaimer on their website stating that they had no official relationship with the restaurant.

This is probably happening all over the country with the Covid shutdown and people using more and more delivery service and restaurants offering carry-out.

I guess it's a good thing as long as the merchant knows it. Otherwise the merchant gets the crap from customers he knows nothing about.

TitanMike · 02-20-2021, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brother Les

This may not fully be the fault of 'FedEx/UPS' (yes it is) for said delay, as both of these large shippers can and do take tractor trailer loads to the 'local' Post Offices (USPS) and have contracts with the local post offices to deliver what was at first shipped through them (FedEx/UPS). The 'local' postman goes from house to house and deliver packages that at first went through FedEx/UPS. When 'you' are sent a 'tracking number', the message you receive may say 'Delivered', when you are sitting at home 'waiting' for your order and you know that your order was not yet 'delivered'. The message 'really means' that your package was 'delivered' to YOUR local Post Office and you may get your order that day, but the odds are more likely that you will get your package The Next Day....

So THIS is what they mean by Next Day Delivery

NJKris · 02-20-2021, 06:50 PM

FedEx lost my turd cart. And crappy criminal RVPartsCountry refused to answer calls/emails. Unforgivable! But I got a new turd cart and all is well. Carting turds with wild abandon.

Qwkynuf · 02-20-2021, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brother Les

This may not fully be the fault of 'FedEx/UPS' (yes it is) for said delay, as both of these large shippers can and do take tractor trailer loads to the 'local' Post Offices (USPS) and have contracts with the local post offices to deliver what was at first shipped through them (FedEx/UPS). The 'local' postman goes from house to house and deliver packages that at first went through FedEx/UPS. When 'you' are sent a 'tracking number', the message you receive may say 'Delivered', when you are sitting at home 'waiting' for your order and you know that your order was not yet 'delivered'. The message 'really means' that your package was 'delivered' to YOUR local Post Office and you may get your order that day, but the odds are more likely that you will get your package The Next Day....

If anyone has seen a Post Office truck driving around and doing deliveries at all hours of the day on a Saturday or Sunday, these deliveries are contracted with/through FedEx and UPS. This relationship lowers the cost of deliveries for FedEx and UPS and gives more 'business to USPS. The shippers make more money and lower their costs (FedEx/UPS/USPS) and these 'sellers' (Amazon) can say 'Shipping is Free'... (nothing is ever free)

The service you are describing is called "Smart Post". Many shippers offer it as the cheapest/slowest option. In general, shipments are accrued in a regional FedEx facility until a pallet load is assembled. That pallet is then sometimes trucked to another region, split, repacked, and eventually shipped to a USPS regional facility. They break the pallet and insert the packages into the regular mail stream.

It makes for some interesting routing. A few weeks ago, my wife ordered something that was going to come from New Hampshire. It went from there to South Carolina, then Miami, then Chicago, LA, Portland, OR, Kent, WA (outside Seattle), back to Portland, and finally delivery to our little town 20 miles outside of Portland.

Years ago there was a really cool little website called Woot (there is still a website called Woot, but it is *way* less cool since they sold out to Amazon). Their schtick was that they sold one product each day until it sold out. You could buy either one, two, or three of that product, and shipping was 5 bucks for the order - whether you ordered one thumb drive or three king-sized mattresses. They used Smart Post for everything, and it wasn't uncommon to wait a month to get a delivery.

yukongold · 02-20-2021, 08:29 PM

Oh, fun. E-commerce delivery pet peeves.

I have several. The first is one that Amazon is the absolute worst for, but it has happened to me with many others, including Home Depot, eBay, Walmart, Lowe's, and several RV and/or auto parts websites. The site promotes "Shipping in One Day" or two days or whatever. You order and the next day you receive a shipping notice with a tracking number. You wait a day and check the shippers tracking site (it hardly matters if it is USPS, FedEx, or UPS) and you receive some message along the lines of "a shipping manifest has been created but we have not received/accepted the package yet". Perhaps, maybe, 3 or 4 days later you see that the shipment has finally been accepted and you get a delivery date. I had one Amazon shipment that promised two day shipping take 11 days to be "accepted".

Second is that SmartPost crap. I have had packages from just 50-75 miles away take 5-6-7 days to arrive. If it had been just dropped in the regular mail I would have gotten it one day - maybe two. Why pack something in a 6x6x6 box that would fit easily in a padded envelope? Heck, if I knew it was going to take a week or more I would have just driven down there and gotten it myself. (I'm retired - I'm always ready for an excuse to go for a ride and waste a day sightseeing.) Like Qwkynuf, I live just outside Portland, OR.. When ever a FedEx SmartPost comes for me, it also seems to tour the country. The last two steps are ALWAYS a stop at one of their sorting stations just a 45 minute drive from me (Troutdale, OR - Qwkynuf you know where that is) and then up to Kent, WA (160 or so miles and 2 - 2-1/2 hours away) where they hand if off to USPS - - - and it takes another two days to get here. Sheesh. I'd be willing to make a 45 minute drive myself.

As for the OP's complaint. I have been less and less happy with Amazon over the last year. I have gotten at least one item that was clearly used (advertised as new) and several that I suspect are knock-offs. I use Amazon now as a research site but try avoid ordering thru them unless there is a drastic price difference. I prefer ordering directly from the original company website when possible. Your saga only makes that more imperative.

Virginian · 02-20-2021, 10:07 PM

I'm one of those people that refuses to do business with WalMart (apparently I'm one of a very few), and I will pay more to get the same item elsewhere. However last year I ordered a new cooler from a seller on Amazon, although several reviewers said it was about $10 cheaper at WalMart. It arrived in a box with WalMart product information labels on it, and the shipping label was UPS straight from WalMart to me. Oh well.

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