Public Service Reminder: Check seller's feedback on Amazon prior to ordering from 3rd party sellers

[RootAnn]

I usually only order from Amazon or "fulfilled by Amazon," but there was a good deal on some pens that my dd#1 uses, so I thought I would get them while they were on sale and stash them for when I needed them.

 

Fast forward to when they were shown as "delivered" to a completely different state even though the order clearly stated my address is where they should have gone.

 

I contacted the seller (twice - over two weeks time) with no reply. Checked the feedback and apparently this seller does this to everyone! Everyone who has left feeback (except for the very first piece of feedback) has indicated that the seller delivered the package to the wrong state and doesn't reply to messages.

 

I'm now trying to get Amazon to give me a refund, but they have to go through their A-to-Z investigation team and file a claim etc. etc. So, it'll take time. It would have been horrible had I really needed this item in a timely manner and had to reorder.

 

So, no matter how good the deal, make sure to check the feedback for the 3rd party seller before ordering! I wish I had....

[Lanny]

All of the books we have purchased on Amazon have been purchased from Marketplace Sellers. None of them were purchased from FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) Sellers.  I avoid FBA Sellers like the plague, because their feedback ratings are skewed.   (If they get a bad feedback from a Customer, Amazon will put a note that it was the fault of Amazon and delete the bad rating).  The only FBA Seller I can remember buying from was Blair Technology Group, a reputable company we have purchased 3 Refurbished Dell Laptops from and I bought a Keyboard and a Laptop bag from them on Amazon, which were FBA.

 

I always read the most recent feedbacks, if it is a Seller I am not familiar with. and especially If it is (obviously) a Seller with very few sales per month, I send them a message, to be sure they are not on vacation or something, before I click to buy.   

 

I have some favorite Amazon Marketplace Sellers and as I type this, I am trying to remember the name of the company we bought 2 books for DD from. I think that was in September/October 2016. They are books for Spanish 3 and were purchased in different transactions, about 2 weeks apart.  They are now my favorite Amazon Marketplace Seller of textbooks, and I am sorry that I cannot give them a plug in this post, because they deserve it.  They are in IL, near St. Louis and their Shipping Speed and that of DHL GlobalMail to MIami FL was awesome.  And the 2 books are  in *VERY* nice condition. 

 

I have also purchased 2 or 3 textbooks for DD from eBay Sellers and each of those transactions (from small sellers) was very positive. 

 

ETA: I never pay extra for faster shipping. I have read a number of feedbacks where people who'd paid extra ended up with very delayed shipments. It takes their purchase out of the normal sequence and things can go awry.

Edited December 2, 2016 by Lanny