How the Other Guy ( Big A) Handled A Real Life Item Not Delivered Case for She Who Must Be Obeyed
1. A new item ( 12 buck purchase w/ free shipping) with an ETA of March 18, 2025. via USPS
2. Tracking showed it was delivered on 2/18 approx 4 PM and placed in the mail box - a mute point delivery instructions stated deliver to front door/porch.
3. Went to the mail box and it was empty (no picture shown - USPS say " not my job man") - search around our home around our house a single family property), scrubs, asked neighbors - we are good about getting miss delivered to the proper address
4. Contacted Big A got to a robo person and live chat folks. Explained situation step my step. The said wait 48 hours to see if the item shows up. If it doesn't show up then file for: a.) full refund or b.) send a replacement at no charge. SHMO picked option b.)
5. It didn't show up - contacted Big A - a replacement was sent at non additional charge - delivered replacement on Sunday 02.23.2025 via USPS - contacted Big A via live chat.
6. Case closed - received an e-mail confirmation - No Hassle. No War of words, Ho neg FB, No hard feelings = customer retainment
Well aware eBay (sellers) ain't no "stinking Big A"....But they have spoiled the buying public with a "top shelf' "customer first approach attitude" and do what is right. In other words, they are "spoiling" the on line buyer public & they just luv it - "Chic-A a Boom, Boom" https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=chica+boom
Walmart and most retailers do like wise. Customer Service is the main reason folks buy - not price - been that way since Hector was a pup. Successful eBay sellers know this - a main reason the are successful
12345jamesstamps
·1 year agoToo many returns from the big stores and you could get a block as a buyer...or items not received...or any other reasons of complaining.
eBay sellers get the option to block these repeat buyers before they buy again.
Same Ebay sellers are also selling on Amazon and same Amazon sellers are also selling on eBay.
60% of Amazon sellers are 3rd party sellers...LOL
kensgiftshop
·1 year agoIt makes a lot of difference when they sell their own product and Ebay doesn't.
johnrj1226
OP1 year agoBuyers don't care - they look at them as the same - exceptions one doesn't sell used stuff or has auctions.
If one wants to fly with the eagles - you can't hoot with the owls. The top dog is always the one competition shoots at.
kensgiftshop
·1 year agoSome do care.
When I buy on Amazon, I only buy items that Amazon is selling and shipping now and not any 3rd party sellers.
It's a lot easier to deal with problems, when they are the ones selling and shipping.
Last couple items I bought from 3rd party Amazon sellers and didn't receive, it took longer then Ebay to receive a refund.
chevymontecarlo88
·1 year agoI never have issues with companies that i purchase from. Am I lucky? I wish but it is because i do my research to know how i am protected before pursuing a purchase. Some of the clerks and the quality of the products can be problematic but most of these companies have polices to protect consumers. Just like what we tell folks here on the boards about the eBay MBG, know it and use it (customer satisfaction policies) when needed. Take the emotions out of the purchases and use what policies are available to you.
I did not know that Amazon will protect buyers from porch pirates.
@bashort Thanks for pointing out! ðŸ‘
reallynicestamps
·1 year agoTake the emotions out of the purchases and use what policies are available to you.
This.
On both sides.
bashort
·1 year agoYes, Amazon sellers are responsible for porch pirates, dog ate it, buyers who know how to get free stuff as well as the times when the item actually never got delivered.
One of several reasons I no longer sell on Amazon.
fbusoni
·1 year agoThe good news, as you suggest, is that every eBay seller has the option of delivering top tier customer service to buyers. AND to be rewarded in exchange with enhanced listing visibility and promotion at no cost.
But in the end eBay and AMZ are fundamentally different platforms and I do not see eBay ever becoming a substitute online shopping site.
bashort
·1 year agoCorrect, ebay lost the war as the go to for every day items many years ago.
But ebay is the go to for items lacking UPC codes.
gurlcat
·1 year agoHonestly I don't think your second paragraph contradicts the first, or at least it doesn't have to, by design. The fact that the seller can be contacted directly, also the fact that they are more likely to be 'small', and the fact that you can sort search results by U.S. only (which isn't a guarantee but at least possible) then if the seller is someone committed to good customer service like you and I, the buyer could spend farrrr less of their time getting a problem resolved than what I had with this Walmart fiasco.
I've thought of this so many times, what a missed opportunity the personal touch is for so many sellers. They could wow buyers with service far better than they're used to, but instead just mirror that or provide even worse service.
Right now I'm looking at tracking on an item I ordered Thursday night and it's still at "label created" since Friday morning. I don't know if they really haven't handed the item over to USPS or if it's actually on its' way but just hasn't gotten scans (totally possible). But even if that were the case, I would have noticed it by now and contacted my buyer to provide assurances.
gurlcat
·1 year agoI can assure you Walmart does NOT do that. I just had an extra long nightmare with them over the past 3 days. It's finally over, but only after .... never mind, I don't even want to think about it anymore. I've also had so many terrible experiences with Amazon (is that the "big A"?) that I don't even order from there anymore. Glad it worked out for you though.
johnrj1226
OP1 year agoNever once had an issue with Walmart. Have shopped there at B & M stores from Waco TX and in and around Houston, TX areas and in Covington GA since 1984 (41 years total) including on line purchases - two refurbishe/reconditioned Dell PCs with limited warranty coverage ( exercised the warranty coverage on one). That's a 100% batting average in my book. Heck my wife worked in the Customer Service depart at a store in Katy, TX in 1988. One day day a lady came in with a pair of worn out, dirty kids tennis shoes she wanted to return them because the did fit. The store manager told her to accept the return because Walmart carried the shoe and the policy at that time was to accept the return - time has changed that liberal policy.
Guess I was just lucky EH.?? Or maybe I just had all my ducks in a row per current return policy,
Sorry you had a bad experience or so.
One robin does not make a Springtime
buyselljack2016
·1 year agoWally online.
Ordered some stuff.
Pack of rechargeable batteries got packed in a big box with a rolled up heavy garage door seal. The seal flopped around in the oversize box apparently causing the box to be torn and retaped. When delivered there was no small pack of batteries in the box. Phone call to Wally resulted in a timely refund. No photos required. No carrier arrived damaged statement
Ordered an unlocked, use it anywhere cell phone. It was not usable. Returned, refunded, no questions asked.
Ordered a refurb desktop computer. Arrived with way short of the stated GB's. Returned, refunded, no questions asked.
Amazon............ no issues............ well one, as I did not buy anything for quite some time they cancelled my Amazon Store Card, so apparently, they don't want me to buy anything.
gurlcat
·1 year ago@johnrj1226 @buyselljack2016 To be clear I was responding to the OP which was not about returns; Walmart is absolutely top notch about that, in fact in some cases you could theoretically lie because they don't always require that the item actually be returned, like the foul-smelling fowl (chicken) I had delivered a while back.
But the OP was about supposedly delivered items that actually weren't. And the just-had experience I referred to wasn't a "shipping" item but a "delivery" one. -I have a W+ membership, which is worth having just for the sheer number of times it saves me from running to the store (free delivery from local stores) as well as free shipping on most longer-distance things. BUT there have been MANY times when it turned out to be more trouble than the trouble it was supposed to alleviate.
The one that started the other night was the epitome of this. I needed an item very quickly, one that is too heavy for me to carry from my car to inside. So, it was a perfect candidate item for delivery from the local Supercenter. I got online and ordered it, along with 1 other item while I was at it. I scheduled the delivery for the next morning. When I woke up it had already occurred ... but only the 1 (small) item was on my porch. I got online and saw that the driver had even photographed it ... but only that one item! It's one thing to have 1 item missing out of a big grocery order, but ONE OUT OF TWO items? No. And I had even added a big tip for the @#$*^% driver!!
And here's where it gets ugly. Since they use an unpredictable variety of methods for whether it's a Walmart employee or 3rd party like Uber who does the shopping and/or delivery, they offer only one solution for missing items: refund. Doesn't matter how fast you notice and call them, doesn't matter how much of the day remains, they simply will NOT contact the driver to simply check their car or whatever, nor just get another driver to bring the item(s). And mind you, it may be days before the refund is available to reorder the item, if you didn't start with enough funds to buy it twice!
So this was the dilemma I faced over the weekend and into Monday. Since I didn't add another tip for the reorder and (I later found out) this was an Uber thing, no driver wanted to go pick up this heavy item and schlep it across town. As someone who's done Uber myself, I don't blame them! But it took HOURRRSSSS to sort all this out with chat and phone reps, over Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, until I finally had to give up and go pick up the danm thing and literally drag it through my yard and up the steps.
And did I get any kind of compensation for all that hardship? No.
johnrj1226
OP1 year agoIn your post #2 of this thread you stated this I am the OP post #1
"I can assure you Walmart does NOT do that. I just had an extra long nightmare with them over the past 3 days. It's finally over, but only after .... never mind, I don't even want to think about it anymore"
Now you say this -
"To be clear I was responding to the OP (that's me) which was not about returns; Walmart is absolutely top notch about that, in fact in some cases you could theoretically lie because they don't always require that the item actually be .
Actually the post was about delivering top shelf Customer Service and the example details I provided was an example how a seller performed. No exchanges of he said , she said or finger pointing or who is right and who ain't. .
The last paragraph sums it up.
In the eBay world all a seller needs to do is add a tracking # to the case that shows "delivered" it's Turn Out The Lights The Party Is Over" ** or end of the story, seller wins automatically. Hmm! all buyer and sellers don't always. fib. When in doubt do what's right was one of the philosophies I followed as a seller for 4+ decades - had great mentors..
** A vintage 1967 Willy Nelson song.