http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=2...
I use Amazon a lot but I do not trust them at all.
If you have something with a UPC code, say the DVD Back to the Future, the latest edition... it will get put on the same shelf as other people with the same identical product, with the same identical UPC.
They aren't just dumping all DVDs in a big pile and picking out a random one.. its for literally identical products.
Does someone pirate DVDs and put the proper UPC on them? I guess it might happen, but how often? And if it did you tell Amazon and get a full refund and the seller is banned.
I can see reasons to not trust Amazon (the fake reviews, etc), but commingling of sealed goods is not one of them.
Yes. That's called counterfeiting.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/04/30/counterfeit-si...
And by the way yes, I understand how commingling works, and Amazon says they will not do it with DVDs. I understand that Amazon says they can trace who provided the goods I receive. That protects Amazon. It does not protect me.
"[You can file a claim when] the item you received was damaged, defective, or materially different from the item represented on the product detail page."
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=5...
Amazon also has a book store in Seattle (a real physical bookstore). Both their air delivery and dash button ads look like they should be on a show like should be satire. But they're real. People are actually developing these things. Pretty soon we'll be consuming all the time. You'll never stop shopping.
Amazon is pretty much the new Wal-Mart. I often go out of my way to not buy thorough them and it makes me sad that they own woot now (cause those t-shirts are awesome).
My return rate is around average (I guess) and I've never had a problem.
The last incident is where I put the wrong sim card in a phone and couldn't get it out. Just return it I was told and the refund came through as soon as I had printed the label.
This is 100% the direct opposite of what would happen with any other UK retailer.
In my mind Amazon's consumer experience has been going downhill over the last 2 years. Prime is not nearly what it used to be, shipping times have been slipping greatly and as you say, there are a lot of low quality goods. Even their prices anymore are questionable. I used to simply order a product knowing that even if it wasn't the lowest price out there it would ship quickly and the price would be comparable enough to choose convenience over another store. That's not the case anymore.