"Check where your ordered books are coming from" Topic

Earlier this month I ordered Napoleon's Cuirassiers in Spain by Lapray. I was given the money to obtain it as a late Christmas gift from a family member and I ordered a copy via Amazon UK, who, at the time, offered it considerably cheaper than buying it direct from the publisher. I have not had any problems previously with titles ordered in the past. However, this title did not arrive and has been marked as lost. So I ended up having to get a refund. I checked out who was providing the book for Amazon and it turned out to be BOOKS etc. I have not heard of them before and they did not really seem that surprised that the book went missing! I always thought Amazon obtained their books from the actual publisher but it seems they may have changed that now. I have since found the same title offered by a bookshop around the same price that Amazon were offering. So I guess it is well worth shopping around and holding on to see where you can obtain your titles from. But if Amazon is still your choice, I would suggest checking out who they are obtaining the titles from before making the order, otherwise your book might just disappear!

Earlier this month I ordered Napoleon's Cuirassiers in Spain by Lapray. I was given the money to obtain it as a late Christmas gift from a family member and I ordered a copy via Amazon UK, who, at the time, offered it considerably cheaper than buying it direct from the publisher. I have not had any problems previously with titles ordered in the past. However, this title did not arrive and has been marked as lost. So I ended up having to get a refund. I checked out who was providing the book for Amazon and it turned out to be BOOKS etc. I have not heard of them before and they did not really seem that surprised that the book went missing! I always thought Amazon obtained their books from the actual publisher but it seems they may have changed that now. I have since found the same title offered by a bookshop around the same price that Amazon were offering. So I guess it is well worth shopping around and holding on to see where you can obtain your titles from. But if Amazon is still your choice, I would suggest checking out who they are obtaining the titles from before making the order, otherwise your book might just disappear!

Not just books, you have to watch everything you buy.

The Amazon WEB PAGE shows, I think, three kinds of things available for purchase. One, stuff you are buy from Amazon that will be shipped from an Amazon warehouse (this is what we always assume). Two, stuff other people are selling through Amazon which is stored at and shipped from an Amazon warehouse. Three, stuff other people are selling and shipping themselves. These things are listed on the Amazon web page, but Amazon is basically acting like eBay: they show you the listing and handle the money but have nothing to do with the product itself.

Which of these you are buying determines shipping costs and return policy. Amazon is very nice to deal with, imho. Other people, maybe not. Probably not. So always look at that unobtrusive part of the listing. It's just a necessity.

You can see ratings for these other sellers, so that helps.

Generally, though, they don't convenient, free returns like Amazon.

Caveat Emptor in the 21st century.

You also have to watch that Amazon doesn't automatically sign you up for Amazon Prime. Like they do to me every time I order something. By the way, I stopped buying from them for that exact reason.

A month ago, a charge showed up in my bank app for a Prime subscription.

So, I googled how to cancel and get a refund.
I called a number. Indian voices, but all call centers are Indian staffed.
They asked if I had a business account. When I said I didn't, I was told that my business account had been charged $2,499. USD They then transferred me to a Commerce Department representative, also Indian accent. He informed me that my Business account had been charged $1,300 USD, to the same address and merchandise.
He asked me for phone number and "last 4" of my SSN.
When I hesitated, he began cursing me and hung up.
I guess I was wasting his time without a scam? 🙄

Then I went to Amazon home page and clicked on Prime, which led me to cancel and refund.

Yes. Many questions here. I didn't take notes.
But I did get a refund from Amazon.

Amazon is mostly a third party facilitator. While they provide the internet front end, the majority of purchases are essentially consignment and the delivery once items leave the warehouse is also third party as virtually all vehicles are operated by contractors and simply skimmed with Amazon logos. That may change a bit as Amazon is irked with the USPS who they use for a lot of last mile stuff and is considering offering equal rates/services to other firms.

Amazon is much more a logistics and internet company than a retailer.

Books Etc is a fairly big outfit in the UK. I have used them a lot – both on Amazon and from their own website.

Never had an issue and would unhesitatingly use them again

John the OFM.

Thanks for sharing the Lesson Learned.

Switched my land line to cell phone with a different state area code saves me a lot of time.

caveat emptor