Amazon Order

Posted: October 19th, 2007 | Author: saldarji | Filed under: business, technology | No Comments »

I put in a routine Amazon order last week. I need to get a new phone system for the new apartment, so I ordered this. At the time, Amazon was fulfilling my order, and I had a total cost of 69 dollars plus shipping. When I submitted my order, I was told that it would actually take until the end of the month to receive the phones. Since I am getting free shipping, and I already have corded phones, I’m not in a huge hurry, so I just figured I’d wait.

Yesterday I got this email:

We’re writing about the order you placed on October 12 2007 13:30 PDT (Order# xxxx-xxxx-xxxx). Unfortunately, the release date for the item(s) listed below has changed, and we need to provide you with a new delivery estimate based on the new release date: “Philips CD4402B/37 DECT 6.0 Dual Phone Bundle” [Electronics]
Estimated arrival date: 12/31/2007 – 01/03/2008

What the @##@? Waiting two or three weeks is very different than waiting a two or three months. So I did a quick internet search and found out that another retailer (Beach Audio) was selling it for 61 dollars online, plus shipping. Then, just for kicks, I decided to check Amazon again. The SAME retailer (Beach Audio) has them at Amazon for 59 dollars plus shipping. So, I ended up ordering through Amazon anyways.

With such an amazing supply chain, why is it that Amazon couldn’t get me the lowest price and delivered to me within a reasonable amount of time? I’m beginning to suspect that their systems may be in some need of overhaul, even if it is just to make it much more consumer-friendly.

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