Shipping Delays/RevisedAmazon??

[Norman Hitt]

SECOND UPDATE: At least UPS Ground is fast these days. The shipping Label on the Freud Rip Blade showed it was picked up @ 17:00 on Wed 4/26/o6, and it was delivered about 2:30 PM today, 4/29/06. Now that's what I call fast Ground delivery.
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Anyone got any Ideas of why all the Shipping Delays at Amazon these days?

I ordered a couple of Saw blades that were on sale, on March 9 th, One Freud LM72RO10 Ultimate Rip Blade, and one WW II, WW10407125 1/8 th" kerf, and got a shipping date estimate of Apr 13 - Apr 18 for each of the items. Well............. today I got an email with a revised shipping date for the WW II of May 24 - June 07, but they said the Freud "should" be shipping soon. They even requested my approval for the revised ship date for the WW II or they would cancel my order for it. I'm wondering if they just oversold the number of blades they could get to sell at the sale price by such a large number that they are having to wait for the next "Deal" from Forrest before they will ship?

Or..........Is Amazon losing it's Stroke with the Mfrs., or are all the Blade makers just running that far behind? I've always had excellent delivery service from Amazon orders, Most times the Deliveries were well ahead of even the shipping dates they had given, but this is kinda getting to be a bummer. I don't really need the blade in a hurry, but I hate to keep orders open forever, even though I don't want to miss the sale price.

What say Ye.........O........learned ones?:confused

UPDATE: Got an email last night saying they had shipped 1 of the 2 items, and I just checked the tracking and I don't know where it shipped from, Buuuuuut......it says it is in Wilmington Oh, in Transit, so at least it looks like I should be getting my Freud Rip Blade soon, but looks like another month for the WWII.

[Gary Herrmann]

It may be due to large amounts of orders on really good sales. My Bosch miter saw was very late. Good price on the saw, plus they were offering a free jig saw with it. It was backordered for almost a month.

[Michael Ballent]

Seems to me that Amazon is just irking the manufacturers off. They want to price items lower and some of the manufacturer do not like to see that happen. Tormek comes to mind on that one. Of course they could just selling so much product that they are over stretching their supply chain, hence all the delays.

[Bruce Lewis]

I figured it was just the effects of brisk sales (or poor warehouse management) and JIT inventory. I think on some items they wait until they've got orders for several before they stock any and sell all they have when they do.

I also think that on some items they have to wait until the manufacturer produces another lot for sale to that customer. And sometimes manufacturers have to wait for parts because a supplier has a problem that shuts down the manufacturer because they ran out of a certain part.

I once had to wait almost two months for a replacement part for a vacuum cleaner because the ship that was bringing in new products (and spare parts) sank. Not one warehouse in the US had the fitting that I needed.

The JIT way of doing things can easily get out of control and wreak havoc all along the production and supply chains.

[Doug Shepard]

I waited until March before a Delta mobile base for my MM16 finally got here after ordering it in November. I kept getting emails every 6 wks or so needing an authorization to keep the order alive. They had a price increase in the midst of all this so I wasn't about to let the order die. Thought I was going to have to go through the same thing with a PC7518 purchase a week ago. Their site said it wouldn't ship until late May but when I opened an email from them it was a shipping notification instead of a backorder message. Even though it shipped, the estimated delivery date on my order status still showed May. Go figure.

[Jesse Cloud]

Twice now I have ordered a 'good deal' from Amazon only to get the 'out of stock, email us if you still want it' email message a couple of times. They were eventually followed by an email saying the product was no longer available at Amazon.
I think its probably a combination of things. First of all, Amazon is so automated that many of the offers are probably made without being seen by a human - witness the ploy 'special offer recommended for you' followed by 'out of stock' when you order.
Secondly, they clearly have no handle on their inventory and don't even try to relate it to their sales pages. How often have you done a search and 90% of the products shown are 'no longer available.'
Thirdly, they are so price driven that they are just driving manufacturers away - try to buy LieNielson, Festool, or Tormek on Amazon. Same thing happened at Home Depot. They used to carry a pretty good variety of delta and dewalt tools, but after they brought in Ridgid the variety shrank overnight.
Finally (sorry this is so long) I don't think customer service was ever a big part of the Amazon equation - just try to call them on the phone .
So, I have got to the point where I'm reluctant to order anything I really need from Amazon - fool me once ..... The prices are good, but that doesn't matter if you don't get the goods or don't get them on time.
It really is a shame - I used to be a big fan.
My two cents. Thanks for listening.

[Dick Strauss]

Norman,
Let me share my experience with Freud tools. This may shed some light on your Amazon situation...

For the most part I've had good luck with Freud tools. So, I participated in one of their free sawblade rebate programs. I kept calling Freud because I hadn't received the new blade 5 months later. They didn't think to have an outside company handle the rebates or hire extra staff. The people I spoke with were very nice but I was informed that they had one person handling over 10,000 rebate requests. Needless to say, they were overwhelmed with the response.

This may be the case for the delay with the Freud items, especially given JIT manufacturing and the volume increases that a good deal on Amazon can generate for a company.

[Tim Armstrong]

This absolutely may be supply chain or simply a Freud issue but I have to say that Amazon has gone downhill in the last year IMO on shipping. Now, they have gone downhill from top of the heap, but still they are slipping way below most of the other folks I buy from online. I ordered a book, and couple other small items last week (all in stock) and it took them a full week to even leave their shop and then they shipped via USPS so that's another week and half plus.

Seems to me that Amazon shipping started to slip after they rolled out that Amazon Prime program. Can't help but wonder if they are just trying to get us all to shell out the $75 /year or whatever it is just so we can have the same quick shipping we had become addicted to.

I'm resisting though - still taking the free shipping option every time. I'm a patient man... and a cheap one.

[Lopaka Garcia]

This is just hearsay so don't take me for my word. I heard that some companies will only allot a limited quantity of a certain product or products to mass sellers like Amazon so their other accounts, distributors/retailers won't lose too much sales. If those other accounts don't make money, they'll drop the company as a vendor if they can't compete against the likes of Amazon. So when Amazon sells out their allotment, they have to wait for the next allotment. I don't know how true this is, but maybe some others will know better.

[Larry James]

I learn so much on this site.

I attempted to order the Woodworker II from Amazon a few days ago, with free shipping and $10 promotional code, at check out they refused to accept the code. I canceled the order.

After reading the comments in this thread, I can see why Amazon has the following caveat on the WW II page: “Availability: In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served.”

Can you image Lee Valley, Rockler, Woodcraft, etc. using that line! I’ll watch for a discount or free shipping from one of the more reputable WW suppliers, or bite the bullet. I’ll pay, but I ain’t standing in no stinking line!

Larry

[Lopaka Garcia]

" I'll pay but I ain't standing in no stinking line! "

Hey Larry, isn't it sad when you have to stand in line even on the internet? What happened to those good old days when we only stood in line at the store?

[Phil Maddox]

I've had a WWII on order since March 3 and got the same email about canceling that you did. I chose to keep the order as it was part of one of those 25 off of 200 things or something like that.

I have a feeling if I cancel it, I will end up losing my discounts. Not having the blade is not a killer right now either so I quess I will wait.