Amazon Woes: Part I

I made the decision to upgrade my handheld from my aging Visor Deluxe (more like "over the hill" and ready for the retirement home), and I ordered my new handheld from Amazon. I had examined at the unit first hand at Best Buy. When it was time to purchase it, Amazon had the unit for $265, which was considerably less than the $299 price tag at the brick and mortar retailers that stocked it. I had some Amazon gift certificates from over the holidays, so this seemed like a no brainer.

In general, unlike many folks, I'd rather buy at a store than on the internet. Maybe it's the instant gratification that comes from picking up the box and getting the item right then and there. I also like to read every surface on the box for info, and make sure the package is sealed. Or perhaps this stems from my need to go through every box on the shelf to find "the best one;" you know the fresh one in the back barely touched by human kind. Or maybe, I just like to know exactly what I am purchasing.

However, I have occasionally procured items from the Amazon store. The merchandise previously has arrived without any issues. It is packed well, and delivered in a timely fashion by the trusty, brown UPS truck. They generally provide a great service, and I have found it useful for gift giving to cross country relatives as it saves a trip to the post office.

So in early January, I ordered my new iPaq 1955 from the Amazon store. The order asked me what type of shipping I preferred. Not being in too much of a rush, I went with the Super Saver shipping to save the few extra dollars (which ended up going towards my new LCD).

Now here we are in mid-February. The iPaq was to ship in early February, but it has not. I emailed Amazon to find out why I was forgotten. I received the following reply:

Thank you for contacting us at Amazon.com with your concern.

I have reviewed your order and sincerely regret the way things have taken shape.

We have found that there is a delay with your item "HP iPAQ rx1955 Pocket PC."

Please accept our sincere apologies that we have not been able to ship your order within the estimated ship date. We may need some additional time to obtain it from our suppliers.

I hope that you would appreciate that being the retailers we are totally dependant on our suppliers for the supply, and the latest information from our suppliers shows that they are facing unexpected delays in obtaining this item.

I have also contacted our ordering department to make sure that as soon as the delayed item is obtained from the supplier, it is shipped to you immediately on a priority basis. We will contact you by e-mail should this item prove to be unavailable.
To compensate you for this unexpected delay, I have upgraded the method of shipment for this order to "Two Day Shipping." There is of course no additional charge for this. The revised delivery estimate for your order is February 18, 2006.

The email goes on to say that they are extending a $10 Amazon gift cerificate to me as a "goodwill gesture" considering my difficulties obtaining the product. Unfortunately, it is only good for a future purchase as I would have liked to apply it to this one. They also did give me the opportunity to cancel my order which I appreciated, but I still want the handheld.

Overall, I think it was a reasonable response to my concern. However, I am annoyed that it is expected to take over six weeks to obtain the product. If Amazon is having difficulty obtaining the product, an email notifying me of the delay, and a revised shipping date would have gone a long way to satisfy this customer. While I am appreciative of the gift certificate, it would have been even better to take it off of this order. I'm not so sure I want to go this route again too soon. I also would have given them some credit if they would have given me the option of substituting another product for the order.

Stay tuned, as this is not over yet. I'll keep you updated on "The Saga of the New Handheld." In the meantime, I have this nagging feeling that Super Saver shipping may mean "bottom of the list" when it comes to sending out the goods. I'm wondering if the overnight shipping gang receive their goods a whole lot earlier and don't face these "unexpected delays" from the supplier.

What's your experience? Does the shipping method make as big of a difference as I think? Are other online retailers like this? Was there response adequate? I'd love to discuss this below in the comments!

--Jonas