I'm disappointed to report that my great Amazon experiment has come to end. Beyond that, though, I feel I should warn any current or potential Amazon Marketplace sellers that you are likely to not receive any satisfaction from Amazon's alleged "customer service," and you are further likely to find that Amazon will dip into your account and issue refunds pretty much whenever they feel like it.

I will avoid excruciating details that no one else but me cares about; briefly, here's why I removed myself from Amazon this morning:

* Since I began selling in January, I have had three absolutely bizarre experiences with customers. In all three cases, I've been forced to navigate a confusing, counter-intuitive, and labyrinthine appeals process that, for whatever reason, seemed to be different each time. And the resolutions to the cases seem arbitrary, at best:

1. Crazy buyer kept the item; no refund issued.

2. Crazy buyer kept the item; she was refunded; my funds were NOT touched.

3. Crazy buyer will be keeping the item; refund issued.

It's this last one I need to touch on as a warning to all sellers here. Briefly:

I always ship with delivery-confirmation in terms of Amazon orders; without a PayPal-esque system in place, I figured it was my only proof that an item was delivered. I even pay for this out of my own pocket for all Media Mail shipments, as that's considered an extra level of service for Media Mail.

So yesterday, Crazy Buyer says he never received his item. The confirmation number shows that not only was it delivered, but he's had it since July 17. I offer a few suggestions: did someone else in his household maybe pick up the mail? Has he simply just forgotten about it? Is it just misplaced somewhere? Finally, if it was mis-delivered, maybe he should ask a couple of questions at his local post office.

Within an hour, I had:

* Received a nasty email;
* Received a 1 out of 5 feedback rating;
* Had a refund request to deal with.

Now, as stunned as I was about all of this, I figured only the last one was really important. So I calmly copied-and-pasted all of the required information into the required boxes, and added a note that basically said: "Hey, Amazon, this is open-and-shut. Just check the confirmation number yourself."

Within an hour of that, Amazon had sided with the buyer and issued a refund.

To say I was floored by this would be an understatement. I'm not even sure how it could be possible. But I need to warn you all here:

Amazon can issue a refund against you for any reason. Delivery confirmation is not enough. In fact, NOTHING is enough. By Amazon's definition, there is literally no way to prove delivery took place.

All a buyer has to do is say he wants his money back, for ANY reason, and he will likely get it back, depending, apparently, on the phase of the moon and the mood of the Amazon "customer service" person.

I'm done; I'm pulling all of my listings right now. We might make fun of eBay here, but at least a tracking number counts for something at that place. I might even open an eBay Store.

I hope this warning might save a few people here.

Fuck you, Amazon. Fuck you, HARD.

misterspock wrote:Sorry to hear about that. That sucks.  I'm just wondering what Amazon expects...are sellers supposed to file in small claims court to resolve each and every dispute?

No, Amazon expects you to pay, Mr. Bond.

So what did Amazon customer services actually say about you having proof that the buyer has received the item? I presume you phoned them. I'm just curious as to how they justified it.

I'd speek to customer services on the phone.

mbassoc2003 wrote:I'd speek to customer services on the phone.

Useless. I've been down that road.

I'd get the same answers that I can get just by going through their email menu. And I've got two children to watch; I have no time for getting put on hold and dealing with a mush-mouth from Irani-Paki-Khazaki-Stan.

mbassoc2003 wrote:The key is to stay focussed and factual, speak to people who can make decisions, and not lose your temper.

Most people never learn this.  As soon as you lose your temper, you have just signaled that you have lost.  Keep it factual and keep climbing the ladder.  I love it when they say something like, "But the manager will tell you the same thing I just said."  I say, "They might, but they also know the name of their boss who might just say something different.  It might take a few levels of management, but I know I'm right so please pass me along."

Nah, not interested. And, again, two kids and all that. Not gonna happen.

Plus, I'm doing everything I can do burn bridges at this point. I've literally cancelled all my listings, and I've got no desire to re-create them. And I've also told at least three Amazon people that they should insert their own penises up their own rectal cavities, so I'm not winning any friends there.

Hell with it; I'm glad I was able to learn the lesson on a $6 book. The most important thing is still to warn people here that it is SELLER BEWARE if they're thinking of selling on Amazon.

I'm actually looking forward to seeing if eBay's recent concessions to sellers are as good as they sound. Plus, again, at least they know what a tracking number is over there. Give them credit for that.

mbassoc2003 wrote:
You could always post his name and address, and we can all ship him little piles of poo. It'd be a laugh.  

Thought of that, too bad it's illegal.  

sounds incredible!!! sad to hear this Xaxaxe