Expedited shipping - faster shipping, or faster delivery?
I do a lot of shopping online. Not only do I find better prices on different websites for different items, I also find gems such as the first or last editions of books no longer in print. Some items come with extra accessories at no additional cost, like electronics, for instance. I sometimes pay extra for faster shipping, if I feel the urge to get my hands on an item faster. I found out today that faster shipping does not necessarily mean faster delivery; it may mean the amount of time it takes for a seller to process an order for shipping.
Last night, I ordered a book online directly from Amazon and chose the 2 business days shipping. What this option is supposed to mean universally is that the item being shipped will be delivered within 2 business days. So, for example, if you place an order on a Friday, and the book is shipped on a Monday, you should have the book in your hands no later than Wednesday evening. When you’re paying Amazon, you’re shown shipping dates as to when the book will be shipped.
Majority of online sellers these days use the word shipping to define the amount of time it takes to pack and ship a book. I was checking my Amazon account a few minutes ago and noticed that the delivery dates, which are the estimated dates on which I would receive the book, were now appearing to be anytime between January 26th and January 30th, as you can see from the snapshot taken below. Personal information has been edited out from the image:
What’s going on here? I’ve been noticing this trend of items arriving late for a long time now, and had somehow thought that it was limited overall to standard shipping. Apparently, it isn’t. When you pay extra money for 2-day shipping, you’re supposed to be paying the seller extra money to have the book delivered to you faster. In reality, you’re most probably paying the seller extra money to have them process your order faster. That’s like paying someone to do their job more efficiently. Online businesses should be the same as retail and offline business; once an order has been received, it should be processed right away.
I might have to buy that book at a local bookstore here and then go through the hassle of returning it when the book from Amazon finally arrives. The local bookstores, with whatever policies they may have, are good for something, no?
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( January 21st, 2006 at 5:23 pm )
Wow, sorry to hear about the stuff you order coming late… I’ve never ordered anything online, so I don’t know how it really is… But my crush just ordered some books online yesterday… Hehe.
( January 22nd, 2006 at 11:21 am )
Funny you should mention that… I ordered a book from Amazon.com recently as well (for nursing)… it took about 6 days to actually ship. Now, once it was shipped, it arrived in about 2 days so I wasn’t too mad… but I thought it was interesting. I’ve bought a lot of stuff from amazon lately and it’s never taken that long! Who knows.
( January 26th, 2006 at 5:59 pm )
people are lazy. when i sell stuff, i don’t click anything that says i shipped it. i didn’t know there was that option. then again, i haven’t sold anything on amazon in a while.
when i used to live a few blocks from the post office, i’d ship it the same day (if it was before closing). now that i’m not so close to the post office, i get lazy about it and mail something when it’s on the way, or if i’m going out anyway. i still do it within a reasonable amount of time, but i don’t do it as soon as possible, like i should.
that and i don’t think most people care about the shipping method you select. it’s just extra money in their pocket and you can’t really do much other than give them a bad rating.
when i order something online, i expect it to take longer than it normally would than if i ordered from an established business online. so whenever i get something from ebay in like 2-3 days, it makes me happy and i give the person super props.
( January 28th, 2006 at 4:20 pm )
Chau — > That’s ok, thanks.
Heh, did he get them on time? 
Celestial — > Yeah, around a weeks’ time is getting normal for many places to prepare packages for shipping. I received the book on Friday. I wonder if paying extra for the shipping was a waste or not.
Stacee - > Yes, many places have options to mention whether or not the seller has shipped the book. I just sold a book recently and today is Saturday, so I’ll mail it on Monday. The post office is close to my place, but not close enough to visit few times a day.
I also don’t think people care about the shipping method as long as they receive it within a reasonable amount of time and for the money they paid for shipping.
Some sellers I buy books from make an extra effort to please the buyer, like including a tracking number, which is a few cents extra, at no extra charge. That can also give the buyer a peace of mind when it comes to knowing where the package currently, at that moment, is.
( January 29th, 2006 at 5:52 pm )
Hehe, I’m not actually sure if he got his books yet or not; I haven’t talked to him about it…
( January 30th, 2006 at 9:02 am )
I hop he got them by now. Otherwise, it would have been really slow shipping as usual.