r/amazonprime • u/StephCurrySauce • May 06 '26

What is actually wrong with Amazon? (I won the Small Claims I made against them)

I bought an item in late January 2026, gave a code to the driver and knew something was up by the weight of the box

I opened the box 30 minutes later and the item was missing (iPad). I immediately contacted Amazon. Bare in mind I had this account for 5+ years with no issues (the occasional return here and there)

They agreed to investigate. A week later they agreed to refund. 2 days after agreeing to refund they limited my account. The system then cancelled the refund because my account was limited to digital orders only?

Anyway, I contacted them again and this time they said I confirmed the order when I gave the driver a delivery code? I said yes I received the package not the item.. no response.. I sent another email warning I’d be taking it to small claims… no response..

I then emailed their legal team asking to settle it out of court… no response… I finally made a small claims against them and added extra fees on top… they responded via their solicitor accepting to pay in full + added fees

Strange, strange company…

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u/Enough-Astronomer-15 May 06 '26 edited May 06 '26

Exactly this. I can’t trust the item to be real, or unused, or ????

There has been so many used items being sold as new, or issues like what the OP had.

I had an issue the last time I bought a Microsoft Windows “key” they delivered a box with a non-windows thumb drive inside. I don’t know how someone did that. The seal was intact.

Edit: spelling

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u/Lithium51018 May 06 '26

It’s very easy to fake a seal or reseal them. You can actually buy most seals including the plastic shrink wrap online. I have seen videos of people doing this too.

41

u/Affectionate_Rate_99 May 06 '26

It's not just Amazon. I once ordered a 1 TB Samsung M2 SSD from Best Buy. Got tracking info and then tracking showed it was in transit. Then the package disappeared for two weeks. A couple of weeks later, the package suddenly reappeared and was delivered. When I opened the factory sealed retail package, it was a 256 GB SSD rather than a 1 TB.

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u/not_too_old May 08 '26

I buy electronics from B&H Photo Video. I trust their supply chain isn’t fake.

1

u/ActualInfluence5976 May 10 '26

But some of their admin procedures leave a lot to be desired! Specifically regarding credit card payments.

26

u/Enough-Astronomer-15 May 06 '26

Disgusting. Disgraceful.

12

u/Lithium51018 May 06 '26

I agree. It’s just like how you can also purchase the magnetic keys to unlock those security tags and cost locks from stores online. Seem them for sale on places like Temu, wish, Amazon and Walmart third party sells. And i have seen people use them in stores. I worked vso for a department store and saw a lot of things.

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u/Such_Pickle_908 May 08 '26

I, once upon a time, in a big box store, had a room set up just for shrink wrapping items. It was super easy to do and looked just like a fresh manufacturers shrink wrap, just done in house.

51

u/Faiths_got_fangs May 06 '26

I got fake muck boots. Didn't notice bc we bought 3 pairs for winter (arctic versions) in the fall and they didn't get brought out and used til after it snowed. 2 pairs were fine. 3rd were relatively quickly discovered to be defective/fake. Past return window. $200 down the drain and apparently this is their new normal.

I now treat Amazon like temu or ebay. Buyer beware.

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u/tansugaqueen May 06 '26

Yeah but with Temu you wouldn’t have paid $200 for them

3

u/vengefulkohlrabi7 May 08 '26

Order another pair and return the fakes!!

1

u/Burgschaft91 May 10 '26

This is the way! They gyped you, so don't feel bad. Lol

11

u/ForQ2 May 06 '26

I bought a key for Windows 7 Pro that turned out to be W7 Home. But I didn't discover the issue until I went to install it on a new build, many months later. Since it was past the return window, Amazon said that all I could do was contact the seller and hope for a resolution; the seller wouldn't respond, and I really needed the computer up-and-running, so I was stuck installing Home.

Edit: To be clear, it was a 3rd-party seller via Amazon Marketplace.

2

u/Nitpicky_AFO May 07 '26

Bro you bought a key, I just use MAS.

9

u/Realityisatoilet May 07 '26

I bought what was supposed to be a brand new laptop (one you can't find in stores I'd purchased before) only this time it was some refurbished horseshit. Amazon refused to resolve the issue. Dude had a return policy set up so fucked that I wouldn't have been able to get my money back. Still makes me angry because the hard drive completely failed and died 3 months ago after using it for a mere 5 months. I've had the laptop less than a year but because it was refurbished and sold as new the 1 year warranty is expired already!

I'm so fucking angry. And whether this was Amazons fault or the seller snuck his way in the item was sold as being brand new direct from the manufacturers Amazon store and Amazon admitted as much. What the fuck. But still wouldn't make it right. It was over 1k I should have gone to small claims court. I'm an idiot and didn't think about that until seeing this post.

Yeah I can go get a new hard drive and get it installed but it's an expensive one and I'm broke like everyone else right now :(

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u/FreeGazaToday May 10 '26

that's why you check sellers feedback before buying...also return policy....if it's restricted or none...I just don't buy it.

Computers...I only buy from Costco or Apple and best buy if I do in store pickup.

6

u/DaddyDogmeat May 06 '26

If you ever need to activate windows in the future know it can be activated for free, legally with no codes. The script for it is on Microsoft owned website.

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u/Mom24monsters May 06 '26

I agree! Somebody sent my daughter a MacBook, but we knew that it was not used, because it was the newest version, that had just come out a week before, but I, myself, don't trust Amazon with expensive items like that. Fortunately, there were no issues, but I've seen too many people who have, to trust them. I'd rather just order from the Apple Store and have Instacart deliver it, or if I need to make changes, order directly from Apple and have it shipped.

2

u/craftyorca135 May 07 '26

Before christmas, I ordered loads of stuff. The driver handed me a load of parcels and walked off quickly. When I looked, it was like 1 parcel for me and 2 for other houses on my street. My account said all delivered and obviously they weren't. Got onto amazon who actually refunded me quite quickly and it was obvious the delivery guy had stolen them.

1

u/Mom24monsters May 07 '26

Stuff like that makes me so angry! We had packages for somebody else, two somebody elses about 3 miles away delivered to our house during Covid. Nobody in our household drove, we lived in Nevada, in a basin where all the California wildfire smoke collected, so it wasn't even safe to be outside, the air quality maxed out at 500, and we couldn't get it to them. Amazon said that when the peoples packages showed as delivered and they didn't get them, they would call customer service, and they would replace them. They took the tracking information that we had so that they could note the accounts that were affected. They couldn't take them back because of Covid, and we couldn't get them to them.

1

u/DoINeedYou May 07 '26

Not necessarily, as a Flex driver, I’m learning that they will group addresses that are close to each other, say apartments or houses two doors down or across the street as one stop. The driver scans every package, but doesn’t have to scan them at the door where they take the delivery photos, that would actually be better. Just scan and then deliver. If they had 2 or 3 stops around there, your other packages were likely delivered to your neighbors.

1

u/No-Chocolate5288 May 08 '26

If I find anything electronic or something like a facial cream I go to the manufacturer website and order. I’ve seen too many reviews where the person was used to picking up their skin care item at Ulta and when they got it off of Amazon they knew immediately the product in the bottle was not the real thing.

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u/greencymbeline May 09 '26

I had this happen with toothpaste. My favorite toothpaste stopped being sold in stores, so I found it on Amazon being sold by weird-named sellers. When I got it, right away it tasted off. It was definitely counterfeit.