Free Super Saver Shipping takes forever, why?

The reason why many people don't vote in politics is because there is
no point, the whole system is rigged. Amazon super saver shipping
used
to be fast, now its gotten really slow.

When I started ordering from amazon many years ago I realized that
paying for faster delivery was a joke because every time I used the
free super saver shipping option I would get it next day. I feared
the time when amazon would, I guess, lower their customer service
standards? Well, here we are. I can just see a room of executives
rubbing their hands together and patting each other on the backs at
the thought of the increased revenue to come.

So I heard the explanation of the super saver shipping orders being
held in a truck until it is filled up, and that multiple item orders
are held until all items are received from other distribution centers
to fill your order.

I DON'T BUY IT, IT'S A BUNCH OF BS!

It would be more work to process an order (pick, pack, and ship) place
in a truck or staging location, which takes up space, to maybe later
come back and have to pull a box out when a customer cancels or
upgrades the shipping method (which is exactly what causes the exec's
to rub their greedy little hands together). Don't believe this! It
is more likely that they are holding your orders in queue for a
predetermined time depending on your ship to location. This idea is
what you should believe because they already know their processing and
shipping times for each ship to location since they already have
accumulated enough data over the years that they have been doing
business.

WHAT TO DO ABOUT THIS.

Don't order those items that are sold by Amazon unless you are willing
to wait the 8 or 9 days to have your order released from queue. Never
pay for upgrade shipping speeds. This is exactly what they want which
sucks because in order to increase, or maintain the good service we
were used to receiving from Amazon we have to force them by shopping
elsewhere, or accepting the poor delivery service offered by their
free shipping option. I am going to opt for shopping elsewhere and
you should do the same to hammer this point home.

Definitely, I agree, it took a long time for it to just ship. Even
more irritating, the item i bought had a special running on it, if you
bought it in the next 19 hours then it would arrive 4 days later, this
is now going on the 7th day. Damn you amazon, where is my fu**ing
package ?

To my understanding, Amazon handles the free shipping process in a
unique way. I believe they have containers they must completely fill
with all the free shipping orders before your merchandise is put into
transit. I assume this could work to your advantage if you place an
order, get the free shipping, then with luck it goes into an almost
full container. But with many of the complaints I’ve seen this doesn’t
seem to be the case.

It feels in the past, Amazon’s free shipping option worked well. I
remember having to wait a couple of days for them to ship my order but
always got it in a timely fashion. It’s been almost two weeks since my
most recent order was placed and it still has not been shipped. I
contacted their customer service to see if there was a problem with my
order or if something is not in stock so I could just cancel it. I was
told the processes for their free shipping orders are different from
the paid shipping methods, which is understandable. He also said that
even though the shipping is pending, I will still get my order by the
estimated arrival time. He told me that as a courtesy he will upgrade
my shipping to a two day method which was a front to just shut me up.
I knew he was just saying that to make me happy. It’s obvious my
merchandise is sitting in a half full truck waiting to be filled. No
one is going to sift through hundreds of boxes to find my package. The
two days he upgraded the shipping to have passed and it hasn’t been
shipped. Some people debate that if you do not want to wait you can
always choose the paid shipping option and make your purchase a
priority over the people who do not pay for their shipping. I disagree
with that however. Many stores usually offer free shipping on orders
anywhere from $50-$100. Their process does not take nearly as long as
Amazon’s does. Now, you are getting a decent deal when you spend
exactly $25 to qualify for their free shipping. But what happens when
you spend around $150 like I did? I don’t think it is right to let an
order that would easily qualify for free shipping with almost all
competitor stores sit around for a week or two without even being
processed. Had I known this would happen, I would have bought it
elsewhere. There is absolutely no information about how long they will
take for free shipping other than the 5-8 business day jargon which is
BS anyway.

I have been an Amazon customer for years but I don’t think my
relationship with them is going to last based purely on their shipping
practices. The only time I will ever buy anything from them again is
if I cannot find it anywhere else first. If Amazon offers an item
cheaper I will spend the extra money just so I don’t have a charge in
limbo lingering on my bank card waiting for them to “charge when
shipped” for a month. Horrible customer service.

After waiting 4 days and each day my order status was "not shipped
yet" I cancelled the order for lack of service. I ended up talking to
Customer Service. They told me it took so long because they put Super
Saver Shipping orders into a truck and waited until the truck was full
before sending it on its way. How do they account for the option to
change the shipping speed? Do they unload the truck, find my package
and reload the truck? They have added lying to bad service.

I paid for my shipping and they (Amazon) still can't get it right...
and the 'no' customer service, tell me what I want to hear, and the
ball still gets dropped...

arlodeanspraguejr@yahoo.com

order was less than 12 miles away and it got shipped back...

I recently experienced a new twist on this theme. Yesterday,
11/8/2011 at 3:00a I placed an order with Amazon using Super Saver
shipping, as I have done many times in the past. The order was for two
8-packs of Sanyo Eneloop batteries. What was unusual, though, was that
the order confirmation gave an estimated delivery range of between one
and 2 weeks from the date of the order. I have never seen an
estimated delivery for an in stock item so stretched out. So, earlier
today I found the same item at B&H Photo for a cheaper price, but with
a freight charge. Strangely enough, the total cost from B&H including
freight for 3-day UPS delivery is the same as the Amazon "Super Saver"
price, to the penny! ($38.08) Now, here is where things get
interesting. I called Amazon to ask when this order would ship. They
could not tell me. However, the rep told me that it was too late to
cancel the order, whose status has not changed from "shipping soon"
since I placed the order. And, sure enough, when I pressed the
"cancel order" button, I get a message back saying that it was too
late to cancel as the order was in the shipping process. That was
about 8 hours ago. It is now past 8 PM on the West Coast, so I do not
expect to receive a notification of the order having shipped tonight.
This indeed appears to represent a change for the worse on the part of
Amazon order fulfillment. In general, order fulfillment departments
like to make speed-of-fulfillment promises as an estimated range of
delivery dates. The reason for this is that they can bury their
actual performance within the range of such an estimate. All I want to
know from order fulfillment is when they will have my package out
their door. I am perfectly capable of adding the shipping time
corresponding to the shipping method that I choose to the date that
the package leaves in order to figure out the precise day when to
expect delivery. I rarely order from an online company that is unable
to provide same-day shipment for an order placed prior to a given
cutoff time. That time may be noon, 3 PM, etc., Amazon built its
reputation in large part by providing such excellent fulfillment
service. B&H Photo, NewEgg, etc. still do. I will be more careful
about this in the future and will not easily forget being scammed by
neither being able to obtain a shipping commitment for an order nor
being able to cancel the order. Amazon's computer system is much too
sharp for such a tactic not to be deliberate. My guess is that they
are attempting to increase profits by decreasing their fulfillment
costs relative to the fulfillment volume. If so, I would say that
doing so is a dangerous game indeed in this competitive world,
particularly just prior to the Christmas rush.

Yes, I have ordered via Free Super Saver Shipping many times before
and noticed Amazon lagging lately. The best thing to do is to CANCEL
your order if they don't ship it in a timely fashion. Customer
service told me I could expedite my order, but I just CANCELLED it
instead since the CANCEL button option was still available provided
the item hasn't shipped. Furthermore, Amazon cannot charge your
credit card until the item has physically shipped. Overall, their
slowness benefits the consumer as you can change your mind if you find
a better deal elsewhere! Bad business on their part but advantageous
to the consumer in the long run.

Right now I am waiting for an in stock laptop battery that was ordered
last Wed. "Free Super saving Shipping." It is now the next Wed and it
hasn't moved yet. This has become common, and I shop with them a lot.

There is NO reason to sit on a item that is actually in stock for 5 to
7 days before getting it out the door. And of course, there is a built
in amount in the price to cover the shipping.

Sorry, this is unacceptable service. It didn't use to be this way.
They have "conditioned" long term customers to expect pretty timely
shipping. Now they change ??

What it seems they are trying to do is push everyone to Amazon Prime.
What they are actually doing is encouraging anyone with half a brain
to shop elsewhere.

I ordered a laptop bag this past Sunday evening from Tiger Direct
(Free shipping) It was in the USP at 1:05 PM Monday and will be
delivered today. (Ga to Pa.) I get free shipping and low cost shipping
from New Egg in 1 day. (NJ to Western Pa.)

This 1s 2011, not 1975. People are not going to wait 10-14 days to get
their stuff. Like eBay, they are sucking the fun out of online buying.
Someday they will be asking - WTF happened ?? Look in the mirror
Amazon. You don't suck like eBay yet, but you are starting to...

Ok, guys I agree with all of you. I order from amazon all the time.
But you have to understand your getting FREE shipping. It will take a
while. You guys are just like people who don't vote but talk about how
bad politics are... beggars can't be choosers right? You guys should
have known it could take a while. don't blame Amazon for not telling
you because it's obvious it would take a while. Even though I agree 28
days is ridiculous I have to say you guys took a risk and it didn't
pay so tough luck, if you needed it before that you should have forked
over the $5 for the stuff.

Plus, all of you saying you wont use amazon again it's not their
fault. most websites don't even offer FREE shipping.

Amazon customer

Totally agree! Ordered Xbox 360 with free super saver shipping. It
sat in "processing" for 4 days. Then took another 5 days once it
shipped. Why? My guess is amazon wants us to PAY for shipping. My
options when ordering were:

1) $13 for 2 day shipping
2) $5 for standard shipping - 3-5 bus. days
3) FREE super saver shipping - 5-8 bus days

I think they want to make SURE we don't get our item before 5 business
days, to encourage us to fork out the $ for shipping.

I don't think amazon used to do this. I've shopped there for over 10
years and this slow shipping thing is new.

Definitely will consider this when deciding where to shop in the
future. Can't assume the FREE shipping benefit on amazon compares to
free shipping elsewhere at sellers that don't have this "processing"
delay.

I guess I was lucky, my order shipped 4 days after ordering and
arrived 3 days after that. I saved a some money, but I probably won't
use it again after what I've read here.

I have a package that I ordered on 1/23/11. I chose Super saver and
have been waiting for quite some time now. Earlier today i checked the
status, and it said that it wasnt shipped, nor will it ship for
another 5 days. The fact that it takes two weeks to ship a package (no
more than 4 pounds) that is in stock is absolutely absurd. Amazon is a
great site, but their choices for shipping (one day, two day, three
day, four day, five, etc.) is awful because the difference between ten
dollars is about 7 days delay. I am extremely pissed off, as at first
i was fuckin excited for my stuff, but now im more angry at amazon's
crappy ass peice of shit shipping. i will be paying for shipping from
now on

This is my first time ordering from amazon and "free super saver"
sucks!!! I ordered 4 items days ago and checked my order today and it
still states" not yet shipped"!! That's insane. No one should ever let
that "free super saver nonsense" attract them. It's snower than pigeon
mail! Pay for regular shipping!

Shipping is never free. Merchants always adjust thier prices to allow
for shipping costs. Those who think they aren't paying Amazon some
sort of shipping premium even on items with supposed "free shipping"
have been fooled.

I placed an order on 8/22/09. I wasn't in a hurrry to receive it, so I
chose the 5-9 day free shipping option. I checked on my order
yesterday (8/30/09). My item is scheduled to ship between 9/25/09 and
10/15/09. WTF??? That's much longer than any reasonable person would
expect from 5-9 day shipping, even allowing a few days for actual
delivery. What's more, I can't change my shipping method now because
Amazon says it's being prepared for shipping. I'm not in a hurry to
get the thing, but I don't want to wait 1 to 2 months either. I refuse
to believe it takes Amazon that long to deliver a 10 lb package. Lag
time is deliberate.

I'm in the same boat with a $100+ order from Amazon - Super Saver 2+
weeks and still no delivery.

I will NEVER use Amazon again.

I mostly buy CDs and there are several alternatives to Amazon with
reasonable shipping charges AND lower prices.

Amazon needs to to be upfront about the black hole of Super Saver
Shipping.

I have also had a problem with super saver shipping. Amazon gave me a
delivery estimate of 5-9 business days. Apparently this is the time it
takes to ship the item FedEx to the US Post office. Once the US Post
Office receives it they have a 12-14 calendar day delivery time (from
the day they receive it). If you add the 12-14 calendar days to
Amazon's 5-9 business days, you get a total shipping time of up to 28
days. I think this is ridiculous. I would have never ordered fdrom
Amazon if they had given me a shipping estimate of 28 days. Amazon
should do a better job informing their customers up front about this
because I will NEVER buy anything else from Amazon eve if I have to
pay more for it.

Nothing is free! You are paying for shipping. Over all setting the
price as it is sometimes require buying more items therefore more
profits. Standard shipping is all that one ask. It appears as though
Amazon deliberately holds back shipping an item. I am currently on my
5th day waiting. And I must say I am frustrated. Yet if I bought this
same item in my local store I would most likely foot out an additional
20 bucks. So just the thought of that ease my frustration. But then
again if this is a ploy by which Amazon is scraping for every penny or
dollar on a sale, it's really not worth it in the long run because
next time I will choose another and avoid them. When you take my money
release it from your hands and send me what I paid for! Tha's not
unreasonable is it?

i ordered a lens and filter for my dslr camera from amazon. i placed
the order on dec 18 with super saver shipping and now, jan 4, neither
piece is shipped yet. heres what it says for the items:
Shipping estimate: January 15, 2009 - January 22, 2009
that is ludicrous... if i would have known they would take a MONTH to
ship my items, i would have just paid the extra ~$10!!!

I completely understand the frustration here. The only explanation
that makes sense is if they really have some special kind of
aggregated shipment like a previous poster suggested. The idea that
their shipping personnel are too busy packaging next day orders is
ludicrous. The frustrating part is being sent a shipment date that is
several days after the order, suggesting they are sitting on the order
as if to articificially slow down the process. The efficiency of a
modern warehouse these days could easily have any in-stock package
ready to go in under 24 hours. Many are automated by computers. They
should tell you this: "super-saver is free cause we know a guy that
will haul a truckload for us at a low flat rate, so we wait until will
can load that puppy to the top. Our estimated shipment is based on
being the first package in the load, 200 more and we'll have a full
truck to send on its way!"

No, he right the super saver SUCKS!!!! It's SOOOOOO slow!!!!

thanks for your thoughtful replies.

i live in a poor urban area and have discovered that many necessary
household items are either a)not available in stores b)sold out, or
c)extremely overpriced

thus, i have turned to ordering an increasing number of items over the
internet. my particular order included books, an oven thermometer,
mixing bowls, and a few other items. i did select Amazon because of
the free shipping offer when i purchased these items together.
moreover, i purposely selected items that qualified for free shipping,
as not all items, even identical items -qualify.

this is not my first experience with Amazon's free super saver
shipping, but perhaps, one of the more frustrating. owing to my
profession i am a long time customer of Amazon.

also, other items that i have ordered from other retailers, with free
shipping, have arrived sooner.

i just feel that based on Amazon's success, they could offer better
shipping times and service. an example is Zappos.

My answer to this is shop around. There are a lot of other online
companies out there where you could save just as much as you would
with Amazon. In addition, there are sites out there which enable you
to save money in addition to any sale prices you may get. I don't
remember any sites off-hand, but there are rebate sites where you can
save even more money.

It's slow because it's free! If you want faster shipping, pay for
regular shipping.

That being said - I ordered 2 items from Amazon and selected
super-saver (same order). I think I received them both within a week.
They even shipped them separately when one wasn't available
immediately.

Here is another thought....

The items that you purchase, are they the more "popular" items or are
they items that have been out a few years and not as many people are
purchasing them?

I ask this because I work for a book distributor. Amazon.com gets
their inventory directly from other
distributors/publishers/manufacturers and a lot of times unless its a
"popular" item, Amazon might not have many on hand. If its out of
stock (which you might not see unless you opt for the faster shipping)
then they have to in turn send us an order for that particular item
which we would ship out. When all is said and done, by the time we
send out the item and Amazon's Distribution Center receives it, there
are the six days past. Don't quote me on it but Amazon might base
their inventory levels on previous sales and if they show they are not
moving an item as quickly as they would want, they will return (at
least in our case) the items.

What I would suggest you do (especially if its a book), is see who the
publisher is. Do a web search and see if they perhaps have the item
you are looking for. A lot of times there might be a web sale meaning
you would get a decent discount off the book. Once the you calculate
the time and the cost, you might find you save yourself more in the
long run.

Hope this helps!

of course it'll be slower shipping if its free and from amazon. What
do you expect??

It's 25.00 and up to get free Super Saver Shipping on amazon.com for
all eligible items.

It's slow because it's free. The customers who paid for faster
shipping get priority over you. If you want it faster, pay for the
shipping. (Which usually isn't too bad for regular ground shipping.)

I have purchased from amazon.com for years now and I ALWAYS use the
free shipping option. I will normally get them quickly, but sometimes
I don't. I don't complain because I didn't pay for any shipping.

I don't see a valid complaint.

I too get irritated with Amazon's sometimes turtle speed. When
ordering books, I prefer to use Barnes & Noble because:
-they also have free 3 day shipping in addition to the 3-8 day, which
generally is what Amazon's is.
-said free shipping is often overnight due to my proximity to NYC
-oh and I'm a B&N member so sometimes they beat Amazon's prices.

Check where there other distribution centers are, it may be an option
for you.

did you opt to have all your items shipped together?

Sometimes if some items are low stock and you are requesting
everything ship together for the free shipping, they have to wait on
ALL the items to be ready. You kind of have to decide what is more
important to you - not paying for shipping or getting your items
quickly. You can't get both.

And the Super Saver limit is ONLY $50 - 2 hardcover books can put you
past that! Its not like you are buying THOUSANDS of dollars to get the
free shipping.

As others have said, if you get it for free, you're kind of at their
mercy.

Like Leanne said -- because it's free! If you want faster shipping,
pay for the ground shipping charges. I don't know of other websites
as "big" as amazon that offer free shipping. I suppose they're out
there, though.

Lol, because it is free. They do this to deter you from using it.
Doesn't make much sense to complain about it after if you read how
long it would take and decided to use that method of shipping for that
one item. And just because it qualifies for Super Saver Shipping,
doesn't mean you have to use it. It gives you an option when you are
placing the order. So it is not like you were forced or anything.

my super saver items came quicker than my paid shipping market place
stuff. My husband hates Amazon, they make me buy too much stuff lol!

Sometimes they might not even have the item in the warehouse. Meaning,
maybe they are low stock or expecting a shipment. Sometimes, it takes
a few days for items that I've ordered (I've bought a lot off of
amazon.com) aren't available immediately.

Like the other posters have said, sometimes they like to put the
latest date on there; sort of worst case scenario type deal and
usually I get the item much earlier than what they said.

I love amazon.com. Maybe you should try sending this direct to them if
they don't respond through PFB. They have always responded quickly to
all of my comments/concerns that I've e-mail them.

Good luck.

First, some facts.

The "Super Saver" shipping method uses something called "UPS Mail
Innovation" (or similar service). It's a method whereby items that
are going to the same geographic area are "bundled." They don't ship
until they reach a certain amount (say 100 pounds). Then, the items
are shipped, but to ANOTHER place where they wait until they have
enough. Finally (eventually), it's sent to your area where it's
delivered. This method typically involves by UPS (or other shipping
carrier) and the US Postal Service.

It's free to you because it's a cheaper method for Amazon.

If you care about speed, then you are more than welcome to pay for one
of the many shipping options they have. If cost is more important
than speed, then take the free shipping.

As others have said, items frequently do arrive ahead of schedule.
But, if they don't, then you have no one to blame other than yourself.
Why? Because you chose the free shipping.

Shop elsewhere. Guess what? You'll either have to pay for shipping,
reach a higher dollar value to get free shipping, wait for a "sale,"
or the company will use the same slow service than Amazon does. You'd
be hard pressed to find anyone that will give you faster free
shipping, on a regular basis, and at Amazon's prices.

It may or may not take 6 days for them to start the process.

My guess, from having placed a lot of Super Saver Shipping orders
witih Amazon, is that they have a bunch of shipping options where they
may have to do something very fast with very little notice, and the
easiest way to balance things out and have enough people available to
work on shipping all the time without having a bunch of them hanging
around doing nothing during the slow times is to have shipping that
can be done when the overnight and 2-day shipping people aren't
ordering, whether that's this afternoon or the day after tomorrow. If
you place an order on a Thursday in January when there's no "Harry
Potter" book or insanely expensive ridiculously hyped gaming system
about to launch, you may find that you have your stuff within 6 days.
If you decide you absolutely have to have something right now and it's
two days before J.K. Rowling releases a book telling the events in the
Harry Potter series from Neville Longbottom's point of view, you're
going to want to pay for shipping.

If you want faster free shipping, you might want to look into whether
you're willing to pay for an Amazon Prime subscription. Two-day
shipping on most stuff you actually buy from Amazon is, if not free,
at least "free". (And depending on how much you buy and how fast you
want or need it, Prime can actually be a really good deal.)

It depends on which warehouse it's sent from. Amazon has many
warehouses. Most times, I get my super saver shipping items from the
one in Louisville, KY.

The last couple of orders have come from California.

When you make the choice to use super saver shipping, you agree to
however long it takes to process and ship out the item. If you don't
want to wait, then choose another method.

Super saver shipping is an economy option by definition, and it's
free.

We could pay much higher prices and get "free" overnight delivery, but
that defeats the whole idea of "free shipping".

The "level at which [free] shpping is reached" would increase to, say,
$250 or more, if they included expedited shipping. Are you willing to
accept that change to Amazon's policy?

M.G., you will more than likely get them faster. Amazon.com always
give a "worst case scenario" about shipping. Just like the previous
poster, I usually get my items before they say they will ship.

You could adopt a "wait and see" attitude before saying you will shop
elsewhere. I think you will suprised.

I've ordered from Amazon a few times and each time I was able to use
the free shipping and believe it or not I always had my items before
the original ship date. And that was even with items I ordered at
Christmas. I always had the items within a week of ordering them.. I
just ordered a few items this past Sunday using he free shipping..
They said they wouldn;t be shipped until about the 23rd, well guess
what, I got an email yesterday saying my items have been shipped which
means I should have them by Friday (Saturday at the latest), I guess
they say the reason they say a few extra days is so they can work on
the orders for those who actually pay for next day shipping first.