Did they originate in China? I ask as the greatest contributor to delay for my last few orders has not been the proverbial "slow boat," but rather US Customs and USPS. It is not unusual for the latter two US operations to take 5 to 7 days each.

An example: A recent order on Feb 16th landed in US POE on Feb 20th, and was delivered to my mailbox on March 2nd. I have seen even longer delays in the US.

Amazon has so much stuff coming from China, it is possible its customs is expedited (as are DHS, FedX, and other commercial shippers). As I understand it, those shippers effectively pre-clear customs for an entire container. Amazon may even have its own leased cargo flights from China.

John

 

Did they originate in China? I ask as the greatest contributor to delay for my last few orders has not been the proverbial "slow boat," but rather US Customs and USPS. It is not unusual for the latter two US operations to take 5 to 7 days each.

An example: A recent order on Feb 16th landed in US POE on Feb 20th, and was delivered to my mailbox on March 2nd. I have seen even longer delays in the US.

Amazon has so much stuff coming from China, it is possible its customs is expedited (as are DHS, FedX, and other commercial shippers). As I understand it, those shippers effectively pre-clear customs for an entire container. Amazon may even have its own leased cargo flights from China.

John

You tell me because I think that they did. That is, the item was made overseas but shipped from the US. I think for certain products, a US warehouse is set up so that popular items get shipped from there - I don't know what other explanation fits. This is actually something I am happy to see.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0732VQ4Q2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I think for certain products, a US warehouse is set up so that popular items get shipped from there - I don't know what other explanation fits. This is actually something I am happy to see.

There are more and more Chinese things being sold on Ebay by sellers claiming USA warehouse, the same exact things being sold from China.

 

There are more and more Chinese things being sold on Ebay by sellers claiming USA warehouse, the same exact things being sold from China.

Definitely true. The point though is that I have NEVER received something from China in that short amount of time. I just looked at the emails.

Amazon Free shipping at $25 or over.

Placed: Sat
Confirmation from Amazon Sat.
Shipping notice from Amazon: Sun
Arrival: Monday.

I would love to know the inside story of how that is possible.

 

Definitely true. The point though is that I have NEVER received something from China in that short amount of time. I just looked at the emails.

Amazon Free shipping at $25 or over.

Placed: Sat
Confirmation from Amazon Sat.
Shipping notice from Amazon: Sun
Arrival: Monday.

I would love to know the inside story of how that is possible.

Easy. The USPS even delivers on Sunday for Amazon. That is part of the deal Bezos/Obama/USPS worked out.

 

Easy. The USPS even delivers on Sunday for Amazon. That is part of the deal Bezos/Obama/USPS worked out.

From China?

 

The flight from China to California is about 12-13 hours. Yes, with the right connections. I would not be surprised at all if Amazon had leased courier space with pre-cleared (i.e., containerized) cargo.

 

The flight from China to California is about 12-13 hours. Yes, with the right connections. I would not be surprised at all if Amazon had leased courier space with pre-cleared (i.e., containerized) cargo.

Wow, I don't think so, but I don't know. I bought one GPS device, five microwave sensors and 10 CR2032 cells. In my opinion, the chances of any of those being in China when I ordered them on Sat is near zero. I think that it is far more likely that they were sitting in a "warehouse" within 100 miles of me and once the order was collected and packaged, it was driven out and delivered in the "white vans" that I see nearly every day.

I spent some time trying to learn how to read an Amazon shipping or fulfillment label, but it got too boring. Plus, I think I want to test out the GPS device - finally I can track this cat to prove to someone that the thing spends 99% of its time in a 100 ft radius centered around the food source.

 

So, a while ago I ordered something from Amazon. During checkout, I inadvertently ask for a Prime free trial (unlikely) or they just gave me one). Ok, fine, I placed the order and left myself a note to cancel Prime in a few days. The note dutifully pops up to remind me and I head to Amazon. Before I got to the actual switch page, I get a popup saying that they will extend my free trial of Prime for another month!

It's like some kind of crack dealer....come on kid, the first couple are free...until you get hooked

 

So, a while ago I ordered something from Amazon. During checkout, I inadvertently ask for a Prime free trial (unlikely) or they just gave me one). Ok, fine, I placed the order and left myself a note to cancel Prime in a few days. The note dutifully pops up to remind me and I head to Amazon. Before I got to the actual switch page, I get a popup saying that they will extend my free trial of Prime for another month!

It's like some kind of crack dealer....come on kid, the first couple are free...until you get hooked

My wife has Prime and I figure over Christmas alone it pays for itself. I like the two day shipping especially on heavy items. Even the 40 Lb bags of dog food come from Amazon. Right now I need to shop for a new air compressor as my old one made a very large spark along with a pop. Likely 1/2 or more of the stuff that comes in this house comes from Amazon. I even use their Amazon Prime TV and Movies, you are 100% correct, it is addicting like most drugs but I love the ease of making stuff happen.

Ron

 

Prime really doesn't seem to affect the way the items are shipped. It affects how long it takes to leave Amazon's warehouse, but sometimes it does not affect Amazon sellers the same way. I suspect that if Amz shipping is automated, holding items to ship may actually cost a tiny bit more. It is like crack. The $120 per year membership is just not worth it to me either.

Edit: I don't and won't use any of the other Amz offerings like video or Alexis. I also comparative ship price before buying Amz. Zoro (a Grainger subsidiary) for tools is often cheaper

 

I don't and won't use any of the other Amz offerings like video ...

There's some decent content on Prime. The movie offerings are slim compared to, say, my Netflix disk subscription, but some of the Prime original series are pretty good. Jack Ryan, Goliath, a few others. Not worth the full subscription for sure but a nice icing on the cake.

 

There's some decent content on Prime. The movie offerings are slim compared to, say, my Netflix disk subscription, but some of the Prime original series are pretty good. Jack Ryan, Goliath, a few others. Not worth the full subscription for sure but a nice icing on the cake.

The only shows I occasionally watch on TV are non-fiction, like Modern Marvels, Factory Made (very similar to a show from the 50's that visited various factories). I miss Carl Sagan. I do watch OSU football, other collegiate football, and the PGA. This year, I may even tune in the Browns.

I haven't watched any fictional show in ages, excluding the news.

 

I haven't watched any fictional show in ages, excluding the news.

Yeah, Prime video may not be for you.

 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8923754/amazon-delivery-driver-usa-maryland-urinates-female/

Special delivery.

 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8923754/amazon-delivery-driver-usa-maryland-urinates-female/

Special delivery.

I frankly don't have a problem with the "incident". Who's the bigger tool, the woman taking a pee (NOT in the driveway as reported), or the person posting the video? Filming a person peeing and then posting it strikes me as the rude behavior. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

 

I frankly don't have a problem with the "incident". Who's the bigger tool, the woman taking a pee (NOT in the driveway as reported), or the person posting the video? Filming a person peeing and then posting it strikes me as the rude behavior. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

My concern was the rough package handling. When you gotta go, you gotta go.

 

My concern was the rough package handling. When you gotta go, you gotta go.

A gal's gotta do what a gal's gatta do... even if it's do-do...

 

The only shows I occasionally watch on TV are non-fiction, like Modern Marvels, Factory Made (very similar to a show from the 50's that visited various factories). I miss Carl Sagan. I do watch OSU football, other collegiate football, and the PGA. This year, I may even tune in the Browns.

I haven't watched any fictional show in ages, excluding the news.

Yeah Carl Sagan! I don't generally go for much fiction either (unless it's just really great) but I also pass on a lot of the newsy stuff. Too sensationalistic, too noisy. Educational programming is cool though.

 

I noticed a new, to me, AMZ feature. I went to check on a package....it's out for delivery...I track it and see...where it is at on a dynamically updating roadmap AND how many stops are left..it's 8 stops and 3/4 mile away...hope it does not arrive wet.