Amazon stated products are in stock but actually they aren't

[hajime]

Hi, it has happened several times that when I placed the orders, products were in stock but after placing the orders, they did not get shipped and upon checking, Amazon agents admitted that the products were not actually in stock?
This applied to items that have over 15 remaining and "In stock" on the product pages.

Is this their way to get people to order first? Don't they know customers can cancel the orders once they have found that Amazon is lying about stock availability? This is really annoying as it ruined my plans. I could have ordered somewhere else if I knew they were not available.

 

[ruslan120]

Not fully on topic but after making videos and having a relatively successful one using Amazon links I’ve experienced two questionable practices firsthand:

1. A product is selling well through affiliate links so Amazon bumps up the price marginally with popularity of items [1]
2. 9to5mac reposts your content, goes to the affiliate links, re-writes the script a bit, and posts their own affiliate links on their article [2]

Such is the (competitive) nature of e commerce.. I guess.... (they want your money first before you can spend it elsewhere)

[1] $100.19 originally (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C69HG33/)

[2] They’re entitled to do so and it’s mutually beneficial to a degree, would’ve been nice to have been consulted

 

[dk001]

Hi, it has happened several times that when I placed the orders, products were in stock but after placing the orders, they did not get shipped and upon checking, Amazon agents admitted that the products were not actually in stock?
This applied to items that have over 15 remaining and "In stock" on the product pages.

Is this their way to get people to order first? Don't they know customers can cancel the orders once they have found that Amazon is lying about stock availability? This is really annoying as it ruined my plans. I could have ordered somewhere else if I knew they were not available.

I have learned to treat Amazon as just another store. Just because the add says "in stock" doesn't guarantee it. More so around the Holidays and "Black Friday" type events. During these COVID times, this is even more true.

FYI - sometimes I have seen where "in stock" is based on scheduled replenishment dates.

 

[Macky-Mac]

Was it actually Amazon selling the product or was it a third party seller using Amazon to sell?

On Amazon I've bought from sellers who listed books as "in stock" and even received a "your item has shipped" email before they canceled the order because it "wasn't in stock". After inquiring about what had happened I realized the seller didn't actually have any stock but was ordering from a warehouse AFTER a customer bought something. The warehouse would send the item directly to the customer with the seller being just a middleman......and when the warehouse didn't have the item in stock, then the seller simply canceled the order.

 

[Killbynumbers]

I've never had this happen in all the years I've been ordering through Amazon. Most things lately have been arriving the very next day, a day earlier than promised.

 

[44267547]

I’ve had this happen multiple times. I’ve ordered some fairly expensive tactical flashlights [Streamlight], Where they were in stock, shipped/sold from Amazon and then I’ll receive an email about three hours later saying that the item I ordered actually was not in stock, with an apology, and sometimes offering a credit of like ~$5 due to the inconvenience. I’m not sure if it’s allocation numbers that are not updated or if it’s something to do with actual distributor with shortages. Nonetheless, I’d say 99% of my orders through Amazon are perfect, with that one rare exception where it wasn’t, even though Amazon stated it was. It happens. When you -ship and sell- millions of items every year, there’s bound to be some inventory issues.

 

[hajime]

Was it actually Amazon selling the product or was it a third party seller using Amazon to sell?

On Amazon I've bought from sellers who listed books as "in stock" and even received a "your item has shipped" email before they canceled the order because it "wasn't in stock". After inquiring about what had happened I realized the seller didn't actually have any stock but was ordering from a warehouse AFTER a customer bought something. The warehouse would send the item directly to the customer with the seller being just a middleman......and when the warehouse didn't have the item in stock, then the seller simply canceled the order.

For the two orders I made a week ago, they were sold by the manufacturers and to be shipped by Amazon. Don't remember the rest.

Agents don't know what they are talking about. For one order, I wanted to change the shipping method the day after purchase. Agent said that it could not be done as it was in the final stage of preparation for shipment. It has been a week and today another agent said the same thing. As for the other order, they just keep saying that once it is ready to be shipped, they would notify me.

I checked with the manufactures and one of them said that they delivered the stock to Amazon two days ago. So it means Amazon did not have the item in stock even it stated that it has. Even after the delivery to Amazon, agents still have no idea about it and when it will be shipped.

 

[burgman]

Hi, it has happened several times that when I placed the orders, products were in stock but after placing the orders, they did not get shipped and upon checking, Amazon agents admitted that the products were not actually in stock?
This applied to items that have over 15 remaining and "In stock" on the product pages.

Is this their way to get people to order first? Don't they know customers can cancel the orders once they have found that Amazon is lying about stock availability? This is really annoying as it ruined my plans. I could have ordered somewhere else if I knew they were not available.

For me that only happens if I don’t buy from Amazon directly not another seller.

 

[scubachap]

This has been going on for years and years. I think it's the same everywhere, but here in the UK most smaller online retail stores hardly carry any stock and are really just middle men between you and the product distributors warehouse. Mind you to be fair to them I've always thought Amazon are pretty good due to their size. My experience is that much of the prime stuff that can be delivered super quick seems to be in stock and warehoused by Amazon, more esoteric items with non next day delivery options probably aren't and Amazon are just doing the middleman thing. To get round this Amazon also seem to offer a service where retailers can rent some warehouse space with them to allow for faster Amazon fulfilment but I guess as a retailer you'd only use that for you're most popular products as it's bound to cost you more.

 

[hajime]

Got an auto email from Amazon stating that one item I ordered "deliverying Dec 22" even I paid for the fastest delivery of 1-3 business days!

Talked to a supervisor. Even he admitted that they did not have the items I ordered in stock even Amazon stated otherwise when I placed the orders. He then blamed the manufacturers for all the delays. Is it really true that if a product is "sold by [manufacturer] and fulfilled by Amazon", it does not mean that even when it is "In Stock" on the product page, it does not mean the product is in stock in Amazon warehouse? He just blamed that manufacturers are the ones to ship the orders and they selected the shipper, shipping method.

For the item that the manufacturer delivered to them few days ago, he said that it does not show up in the system yet and he has no idea what is happening. He just told me to wait.

 

[hajime]

Rather than shipping the orders by air and have them delivered in 1-3 days which I opted for, it looks like Amazon shipped them by ground! They are being moved slowly city to city. Another order still has not been shipped and it is uncertain when they will be shipped. This is ricidious!

 

[hajime]

A week has passed since the manufacturer delivered the stock to Amazon. Still, they have no idea when it will be shipped. Seems like whoever got the shipment still has not updated the system so the agents and supervisor cannot see the stock being delivered. Is it better to buy direct from the manufacturer even they do not accept return nor refund?

Meanwhile, the other items I ordered are still traveling slowly across the USA even I paid for delivery in 1-3 days.

What is wrong with Amazon?

 

[dk001]

A week has passed since the manufacturer delivered the stock to Amazon. Still, they have no idea when it will be shipped. Seems like whoever got the shipment still has not updated the system so the agents and supervisor cannot see the stock being delivered. Is it better to buy direct from the manufacturer even they do not accept return nor refund?

Meanwhile, the other items I ordered are still traveling slowly across the USA even I paid for delivery in 1-3 days.

What is wrong with Amazon?

Is this your normal experience or just a “one off”?

I have run inton this a time or two but in most cases, now that deliveries have started to settle down post-pandemic, delivery has been bery good.

 

[hajime]

Both orders on BF week.

Just contacted Amazon. Again they have no idea what is happening exactly. One guy suspected stock being stuck somewhere. Then he said it is in "advanced stage" of shipment. He said they would investigate and asked me to wait for an email once they have an estimated shipping time. They also blamed that international shipment would take more time even I opted for delivery in 1-3 business days. They also said 1-3 business days delivery is counted from the day the item is shipped not from the day the order was placed. This is rubbish as in the past, I had items delivered in 1-3 business days when I paid for that option.

 

[Macky-Mac]

Both orders on BF week.

I'm going to guess that's part of your problem, and also you could be experiencing how the pandemic has slowed handling and shipping for lots of online retail sites. With lot of bricks and mortar stores closed or operating at a fraction of their usual capacity, there's been a big increase in the demand for handling and shipping at online sites and especially during BF week. During the pandemic I've noticed slower than usual service at a lot of online retailers.

The people you talk to at Amazon, like much of online customer service anywhere, unfortunately they have a very limited amount of information they can check for you. Unfortunately some of them try to be helpful by guessing about what's going on, which doesn't help when they guess wrong. One thing they might actually be able to do is help you get a refund for the upgraded shipping you paid for, so ask for refunds.....which wont make up for the slow service, but oh well

 

[hajime]

I'm going to guess that's part of your problem, and also you could be experiencing how the pandemic has slowed handling and shipping for lots of online retail sites. With lot of bricks and mortar stores closed or operating at a fraction of their usual capacity, there's been a big increase in the demand for handling and shipping at online sites and especially during BF week. During the pandemic I've noticed slower than usual service at a lot of online retailers.

The people you talk to at Amazon, like much of online customer service anywhere, unfortunately they have a very limited amount of information they can check for you. Unfortunately some of them try to be helpful by guessing about what's going on, which doesn't help when they guess wrong. One thing they might actually be able to do is help you get a refund for the upgraded shipping you paid for, so ask for refunds.....which wont make up for the slow service, but oh well

Even Amazon supervisors have no idea what is going on. I have complained to a few of them already. After suspecting that the item might be stuck somewhere, one of them suggested me to cancel my order and re-order the same thing again.

 

[dk001]

Even Amazon supervisors have no idea what is going on. I have complained to a few of them already. After suspecting that the item might be stuck somewhere, one of them suggested me to cancel my order and re-order the same thing again.

Even though they are supervisors, they only know what they can see on their screens.

 

[hajime]

Even though they are supervisors, they only know what they can see on their screens.

This is very true but they could make some calls and chase people to find out what is going on.

For today's chat, a few agents and a supervisor left in the middle of the conversations. I guess they didn't want to handle the case.

 

[hajime]

It is very strange. The packaging has travelled to three different Amazon facilities. Then, it was sent to a carrier faculty. Anybody knows what is going on? This is not delivery in 1-3 days I paid for. They also sent it via Pitney Bowes. As far as I recall, they are very very slow shipper.

 

[shinji]

Even Amazon supervisors have no idea what is going on. I have complained to a few of them already. After suspecting that the item might be stuck somewhere, one of them suggested me to cancel my order and re-order the same thing again.

I would just place a new order somewhere else and then return the Amazon package when you get it. If you get the other first, then go ahead and cancel the Amazon order.

 

[Huntn]

Hi, it has happened several times that when I placed the orders, products were in stock but after placing the orders, they did not get shipped and upon checking, Amazon agents admitted that the products were not actually in stock?
This applied to items that have over 15 remaining and "In stock" on the product pages.

Is this their way to get people to order first? Don't they know customers can cancel the orders once they have found that Amazon is lying about stock availability? This is really annoying as it ruined my plans. I could have ordered somewhere else if I knew they were not available.

I have not run into this as a rule. Normally when you order, you will see the projected delivery date before you hit the buy button that for me has held up 99% of the time. If delayed, as you say, it can be cancelled.

 

[hajime]

I saw the items in stock and chose delivery in 1-3 business days. I recall that in one order, the expected delivery got pushed after I ordered. I immediately complained and the agent told me not to worry as it was just an overestimated date and it would be changed once it got shipped. When I contacted on the next day trying to combine orders, another agent said that it was in the final stage of shipment and as a result, no combine in shipment. Yet, I waited for about 10 days before it was shipped and it is just moving around different Amazon facilities.

 

[Huntn]

I saw the items in stock and chose delivery in 1-3 business days. I recall that in one order, the expected delivery got pushed after I ordered. I immediately complained and the agent told me not to worry as it was just an overestimated date and it would be changed once it got shipped. When I contacted on the next day trying to combine orders, another agent said that it was in the final stage of shipment and as a result, no combine in shipment. Yet, I waited for about 10 days before it was shipped and it is just moving around different Amazon facilities.

I'll say that is unusual in my experience, I've seen one example when a delay was experienced, but I knew there was a delay when I ordered it (expected in stock date) that was extended a few days. It was or a thermometer back in March. Are you ordering domestic goods from domestic sellers or is international shipping involved?

 

[hajime]

There are several issues here. 1. If they put on the product pages that the items are in stock, they should be in stock ready to be shipped. In both orders, they stated that the items are in stock but several agents admitted that all of them were not in stock. 2. After placing the orders, the arriving dates got pushed to 20s Dec. When I complained to such sudden change, agents told me that it just an overestimate and assured that they items would be delivered on time and more accurate dates would be updated. 3. "delivery in 1-3 business days" means delivery within 1-3 business days from the day of order. For both orders, they changed the story to say that there is no delay as the items are supposed to be delivered 20s Dec. 4. They changed the condition from delivery in 1-3 business days from the day of ordering to from the day of shipment which they postponed a lot. 5. It was supposed to be shipped by air but they chose that Pitney Bowes which is a slow shipper. Agent just admitted that an order was shipped by ground! 6.Even supervisors do not know what they are doing. They don't read through previous communications even they said that they did. They also seem to be stu*id. For example, I told a supervisor that I called the courier company this morning. Then, he asked me if I have contacted the courier company!

 

[romanof]

I placed an order last month for two items - ordinary stuff, nothing expensive or elite. Got the usual message that it was shipped, watched it move via USPS across country through the tracking list, then got a message "Failure of Delivery." The package went back and they refunded my money. No explanation other than the "Failure."

Now we are rural, our long driveway has a package dropoff box available, no porch pirates are out here and we know the mail delivery lady personally. So, WTF?

Who knows? With an enterprise the size of Amazon. even if .000...1 percent of the deliveries get screwed up, that is thousands of orders.