If you missed the original story, it was about a guy who ordered a $6,000 Canon 1D X Mark II from Amazon and got a box of stones instead. After he got a "replacement," this time two bricks, the retailer responded with a result from their investigation.
Amazon said they've been delegating the processing of this inventory item (and maybe others) to a third party, although on your screen it says "Sold by Amazon." The proxy seemed to have lots of spare stones and bricks around, that they had decided to make some cash out of them, but got busted. The corporation doesn't share much detail on the case, but says they have taken the necessary legal actions. They've returned the money to the buyer and gave him a $1,000 gift card. The unfortunate vlogger got fortunate by purchasing his Canon 1D X Mark II camera from B&H instead and opened the box live during the recording of this video. No surprises, no drama. There was a camera in there, as expected.
Although he had that unpleasant experience with Amazon, he said he would still spend money there, but probably on items that are much cheaper. The vlogger hopes he won't make any such videos in the future, but will focus on the topic their channel was meant for.
How will Amazon make sure this won't happen again? Will they change their policy regarding "Sold by Amazon," and will they make an official announcement about that?
I'm happy that the story ended well but if you refer to previous videos...have a link to video 1 and video 2.
I referred to the original story here on Fstoppers. This video contains footage from the first and second videos also and there's no need to watch the full first and second videos.
Not for nuthin', but is Amazon simply gonna be off the hook for that "Sold by Amazon" bullshit? Shouldn't there be some kind of investigation into that?
"The proxy seemed to have lots of spare stones and bricks around, that they had decided to make some cash out of them, but got busted."
"The corporation doesn't share much detail on the case, but says they have taken the necessary legal actions."
That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about Amazon lying about the whole "Sold by Amazon" thing. It's false advertising. That's separate from that.
I am sure they've got that legally covered up in the counless pages with terms and conditions. That's probably done via some "Amazon franchise"-like sellers which formally will not be a "3rd party" but "Amazon." That's what I think happens.
It's total bullshit tho, and they'll probably continue doing it unscathed.
every company does mistakes. i'd say they had a shitty experience with an unreliable service provider... they got exposed bigtime and for sure they've learned their lesson the hard way. I'd like to think they've terminated their contract with this 3rd party company and have moved to other partnerships.
They owned their mistake, are taking legal action and gave the customer a 1000usd gift card. i'd say there's not much to discuss after that...
He's actually wondering if there would be other cases like that. Yes, their compensation was decent, but we, as users, are left with lots of questions after that. They're still my preferred online store for books though.
They still sell books? ;-)
Because I'm a "special case." Don't take my decision "as an example," as I'm on the other side of the pond. The books that I'm usually interested in (all-around-DIY and idea books) are available in the UK's Amazon. No customs taxes when I order from them. If I were in the US, I would have far more options, as you do guys, including local physical stores. I buy my gear from local stores where I can go in and talk to people in person, touch the gear, and eventually purchase it.
You're missing my point. Amazon claimed the product was "Sold by Amazon". It wasn't. That's false advertising. They're not taking a hit for it. That's the problem. They're not being held accountable for false advertising.
at the scale amazon works, it honestly doesn't surprise me. as someone has already said, there must be something in the terms&conditions that allow them to lie like that. i understand what your saying, but in all honesty, a big majority of the big companies lie in their marketing. people just haven't found out yet. Procter&gamble, McDonalds, Banks... but we find out 1 by 1, select the option of "paying attention for 1 week cause this is ludicrous" and then forget it after 1 month and go back to normal.
In the end he got compensated for the huge mess they had made. i'd be happy with the outcome after the frustration.
i'm not defending anything my friend. if this is a matter of principles only, they are dead wrong for sure. i just think in todays world that is a little naive. that's all. for me the issue itself isn't that much of a big deal. if i trust amazon and they trust a 3rd party and would rather lie and say it is coming from themselves... honestly for me the question is "did i get my product? no. then i'm not happy. did i get reimbursed? yes and i got 1000usd more to spend. not so bad in the end".
Sold by Amazon has always been total BS. I’ve brought B+W filters from amazon, when I pay for it, the page says sold by amazon, when I recieved the package, it was fulfilled by 3rd party seller. And the filters I got was counterfeit. Refunded it right away. Never buy filter and battery on amazon, too much fake shit.
What was the case? Amazon sells that directly, Amazon fulfills the purchase, or a 3rd party seller?
LOL. Best Buy???? Best Buy is a joke. While I do not like Amazon's hegemony it's pretty much stores like Best Buy that make me spend my money on Prime.
And I bet you shop at Walmart, who has a HUGE history of putting small businesses out of business.
Bummer, but clearly it all worked out in the guys' favor, especially given the $1K gift card. I was one of the guys who got two A7Riii camera bodies, instead of ordered one, right before this Xmas from B&H. Of course I shipped one back and got a $250 gift card from B&H for their mistake.
What a difference in the plot :)
bricks and stones may break my bones.................................
Amazon told him they are no longer using third-party sellers but their site says otherwise.
They told him they've used a third party contractor for selling that particular item, although it read "Sold by Amazon." This one is clearly sold by third party, not "by Amazon." No contradiction here.
Also I haven't heard Amazon told this guy they won't be use any third-party "disguised" sellers. They've taken the necessary legal actions against this one and obviously they won't use this one. We don't know about any changes in their policy regarding other "Sold By Amazon" third party sellers.
I miss heard what he said at the 3:00 min mark.
No worries
Wow, that was quite shocking in that Amazon should now be letting folks know what happened, because I for one will not be ordering anything from them. It appears they want to sweep this one under the rug. Best to admit a fault in the system and fix it and let folks know the fault has been repaired.
Over Christmas I order the a Pluto Trigger system and ended up getting 2. I wrote them about it and they said keep it and have a Merry Christmas. So I know I'll be ordering from them other components.
That's a funny one.
You got two, someone else gets an empty box :D
David T now that's a thought, I hope that hasn't happened.
i have my doubts about the whole story,. i have been in e-commerce for over 20 years and have never actually heard about this happening to someone. it happening twice is one in a billion thing. but then again there are always those bad apples working in your warehouse stealing or pulling crap like this to get back to their boss hoping they will never find out who done it. we could always track who picked and who packed the shipments,. the whole story smells like day old fish,. maybe the buyer wanted to earn a fast 12k and global media attention for his youtube channel, thats what he got,.
Doubts are not a proof.
Go and ask the guy to give you a copy of the correspondence between him and the Amazon staff. He has it on file. Then write an article about the first time you've seen this and it is true.
If you watch the video until the end, and also watch the previous video, you will see that the vlogger asks everyone who has subscribed just because of this story, to unsubscribe, because he doesn't want to get attention just for such a story. He has a business and wants subscribers to care about his business, not about his unfortunate purchase. He used his YouTube channel and subscribers to get publicity about this particular case, but not to gain new photographers as subscribers, unless you drive a motorbike.
Read the comments here, in the original story, and on the Fstoppers Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/thefstoppers/
You will see some similar interesting stories from other people too.
i know how both sides work. amazon will work with you from PR perspective and a chargeback is a matter of signing a document with your creditcard company. and if you dont want the views or publicity why make a video about it on your youtube video channel ? im not saying that it never happens. i heard stories about dishonest webshops and things going wrong. what i know is that i can actually prove per parcel who picked it, who packed it, what its weight was, when it got scanned with our logistics partner, when it got deliverd with the customer and who signed for it. the reason behind this is for statistics (raising quality) and for when things go wrong. but again, 1 time something like this happening ,. okay,. but twice makes me go Mmmm,. but twice in a row,.. but then again, i heard about people getting struck by lightning twice on the same day too or winning the lottery twice in a row.
regarding your last comment, don't watch my video's or believe me but i actually show in my video's how to get your camera gear at halve price with 5 year warranty,. dont go to my youtube channel and watch the video where i explain it all.
There are other cases with other items like that. Yes, happening twice. It's less likely this to happen within the Amazon warehouses, but in this case this exact item was sold under the "Sold by Amazon" label (at least that's what the guy says) and was shipped by them.
As I said, you can go and investigate that on your own. You have the contacts of this guy.
We are not detectives here. In this case, we are journalists who share a story that seems legitimate. In real life we are working photographers and filmmakers. If you can prove it wrong, go ahead and give us the arguments. We'll gladly put them to the test and write an article if they are sound.
its a he said/they said type of thing. i know how the ecommerce parts work. i worked for the biggest ecommerce store in my country doing well over a billion euro's. with some products they have external warehouse's or even distributors who do the logistics. amazon sells a product, order gets send to the warehouse ,their own or that of their supplier. after its shipped a message goes to the amazon and they update order info. i know that in the UK and German Amazon warehouse they use lower educated and not very (underpaid its claimed) well paid workers usually. i could see a worker being tempted by this but this case is a one in a million thing. and everywhere you have a rotten apple. personally i never had any issues with amazon and all things i contacted them about got solved asap. its a good thing that guy got the camera in the end,.
I know it sounds quite unbelievable, but I don't see a proof that says "It's fake." All suspicions are assumptions too.
I see other people complaining about similar cases, and even people having the exact same experience (two times in a row for the same item).
Anything's possible in today's world of big corporations.
From my personal experience, I've never had issues with Amazon too. I've purchased items from US, UK, and Germany, including cameras, but my most expensive purchases have been made 3-4 years ago.
your turning things around. i do not see proof it is not fake. amazon is a huge company with a lot of people working directly or indirectly working for them. i dont know who is right, amazon, their supplier or the customer. its amazon that needs to figure things out. until then i am not going to judge anyone or form an opinion of what i saw.
You've got the contacts of the YouTuber. You can ask him directly for a proof.
Canon 1DX, box of stones, what's the difference? =P
LOL, you ,. you ,. Nikon shooter,. hehehe,. 1DX are good camera's,. (if you dont own a Nikon D5 that is,.)
Shoulda started at B&H from the get go.
You haven't seen the video, probably (if you refer to the current box).
So, you don't refer to the latest video. I've seen them, because I've written the previous article too, and I haven't noticed that, because I haven't used Amazon Prime so far. Actually, used it just once for a gift for a different address, and I've never seen the box coming to my place.
It's a good catch though. The guy says he's a Prime meber, but he never mentions the boxes looked different.
THANK GOD I did not buy SYSTANE ULTRA Lubricant Eye Drops which Amazon claims are "Ships from and sold by Amazon.com."
They are $14 at the local store and 2 for $14.44 on Amazon. For all I know a third party shipper can be sending fake or expired or bad eye drops under the "Ships from and sold by Amazon.com" label.
Amazon should be sued for this crap.
First of all, I'd never buy such sensitive items from a we-sell-everything store, but from a specialized one.
It's not just there. In Europe you can do that too, but I prefer to buy from specialized stores. Most of the time they are small businesses struggling to make it, often with better customer service, and I'm supporting them this way.
I am now going to avoid anything important that states ""Ships from and sold by Amazon.com." There are certain brands I trust such as Anker. I will use companies I trust that sell via Amazon.
Amazon have turned into a pathetic joke where I live (Germany). Lots of scammer fake accounts on the marketplace that they are apparently incapable to get under control, may suspend your account permanently(!) when you return 'too much' merchandise although that 'too much' isn't specified anywhere in their T&C, can frequently not fulfil preorders until two months after the item is available everywhere else, have no competitive prices for most items and even orders 'fulfilled by Amazon' are sometimes shipped from HK or mainland China. Yeah, great customer experience - not.
They are good for buying small stuff like cheap button cell batteries or Chinese made photo accessories if you can actually verify that the crap is shipped from somewhere in Europe and not the Far East and Kindle editions of books out of print or cheap ones that you don't want/need in print. But probably wouldn't buy anything worth more than 100 $/€ from them anymore.
Wow... I remember I purchased something from the German Amazon, but it was 6-7 years ago. It was fine and the price was good, I still use it. Something seems to have happened after that or I've been extremely lucky.
It happened after that - I’d say during the past four years or so.
...Speechless.