Amazon - in transit items

[Dave2002]

Sometimes items ordered from/via Amazon take a long while to come, even if ordered with Prime. Some clearly come from remote places - China, Cambodia, Vietnam etc.

Is it possible to cancel or return such items if they are already in transit? I may have recently been caught out by this, as I ordered an item which now I may no longer need or require. I was surprised to be alerted to the fact that it has already been dispatched, but delivery is not scheduled until the middle of August.

[Zucchini]

No need to trouble the forum - the first lines of your despatch email will say something like "Your order is on the way, and can no longer be changed"

[Bryn]

No need to trouble the forum - the first lines of your despatch email will say something like "Your order is on the way, and can no longer be changed"

However, it should also have something relating to returns.

[Dave2002]

However, it should also have something relating to returns.

Quite! Thanks - I think we are in agreement.

I was not going to trouble the forum, except that some people round here actually know more about the intricacies and quirks of dealing with amazon. - including me - sometimes.

Given the number of times Amazon orders have been delayed for weeks, months - and then sometimes unilaterally cancelled, it would be good if the relationship was to some extent reciprocal.

So now I will bore some of you, though miss out extreme details. The reason I put in the latest order was because I had another similar item, which seemed not to be working. I was intending to return it, but then I changed the way I used it slightly and replaced the battery I had been using. I ordered a similar (not exactly the same) model seeing the expected delivery date, with the intention of either returning the original unit if it failed to continue working satisfactorily before the permitted return date, or cancelling the new order if I decided the original was good enough. So far the original unit now seems to be working reasonably - even though not perfect - but certainly within spec - so if I wanted to return it I'd have to indicate that I really didn't like it.

In the meantime, I did not expect notification that the second order, which is really a replacement, though different and probably from a different supplier,would be dispatched so quickly before I'd even had a chance to think about this further. Oh - you might ask - why didn't I wait before the second one? A: because I expected it would probably take even longer to get something that actually works.

Bored enough?

[Bryn]

For all it’s serious faults regarding paying taxes, I have always found Amazon to be very good regarding returns. I wish I could say the same about some of the marketplace vendors. Several have gone ‘on the list’ over the years.

[Dave2002]

I normally "just order", and mostly I have found Amazon to be good - though sometimes one has to "fight" a bit harder.

Can we now distinguish between "Amazon" and market place vendors clearly? Perhaps. Obviously in a lot of cases Amazon is simply the agent through which orders are placed - which was the case for my latest transaction. It does appear that the vendor is most probably in China. Under the current EU distance selling rules, returns should certainly be possible within the first 7 days -perhaps even 14. Amazon's own "guarantee" is better than that, and allows up to 30.

Where there might be some difficulties relates to the cost of returning items. I'm not completely up to date on the rules, as to who pays for the return, and even if the rules are that the vendor should pay, I am aware that this doesn't always happen.

I shall now wait for the new item, and that might give me a few options. If it arrives before the return window of the first item, and seems to be of better quality, I could return the first one. If not I could either return the more recent "incoming" one, or if it turns out to be substantially better, then I could keep both.

[jayne lee wilson]

Usually I stick to Amazon or the "fulfilled by Amazon" sellers, not the cheapest but pretty reliable...
Returns have always worked well for me but the furthest I ever sent one was Paris...

China may be a bigger challenge....

Clicking on the seller's name on the offers page often brings up their actual location/address with the ratings detail.... try that before you buy from anyone unfamiliar...

(eg clicking on "Tracksounds" here

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B07QD32SVJ/ref=tmm_acd_new_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=new&qid=&sr=

...you see they're in Herts etc...)

[cloughie]

Dave all I can say is caveat emptor and don’t order two if you only want one!

[Bryn]

On the rare occasions that I have had faulty (rather than unwanted) items from marketplace vendors, several have simply reimbursed me and suggested I put the faulty item in the recycling bin. It is only one or two who have required a return, then failed to refund the original postal charge, only refunding the return postage.

[cloughie]

On the rare occasions that I have had faulty (rather than unwanted) items from marketplace vendors, several have simply reimbursed me and suggested I put the faulty item in the recycling bin.

My experience also, Bryn.

[ahinton]

My experience also, Bryn.

I have to admit that I have never encountered a problem with the service that I've received and, in fact, all deliveries have been received sooner than I had anticipated.

[edashtav]

I have to admit that I have never encountered a problem with the service that I've received and, in fact, all deliveries have been received sooner than I had anticipated.

I've been fortunate, too.