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Amazon.com: Free shipping faster than paid shipping?

post #1 of 13
8/26/03 at 11:07am
Thread Starter 
I've had some strange experiences with Amazon's shipping. Whenever free shipping is available and I select it, the package will arrive about three or four days after it ships. However, when I select standard shipping, the item comes within a week, and it sometimes takes even longer. Why would this be, that an item with paid shipping takes longer to come than with free shipping? Has anyone else had a similar experience?
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post #2 of 13
8/26/03 at 11:11am
I think it's because the free shipping is Airborne@Home, which from what I understand is actually Airborne Ground but it is handed off to your local post office. Airborne Ground tends to be pretty fast. Standard paid shipping is with UPS, and UPS is well, uh, slow.
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post #3 of 13
8/26/03 at 11:15am
Does amazon use UPS? My po only accepts USPS and not UPS, maybe since I'm an FPO they know what to use. But that'd be a good deal if free was faster. I've noticed that my used orders are two to three times faster than ordering new from amazon. Guess which I use more now.

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post #4 of 13
8/26/03 at 12:32pm
Usually whenever I order something from Amazon, it comes within 3 days, no matter what the shipping is.
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post #5 of 13
8/26/03 at 1:12pm
Free shipping seems to be about the same for me once it gets to the mail stream. I think the order processing structure is somewhat determined by shipping selection so I often get my stuff later than I think I would if I paid the shipping. I haven't tested it by ordering two items at the same time, but I order enough that it seems this way. It's a minor difference though. Usually 1-2 days. This order order is what Amazon claims also. From my experience I believe it. Deviations to shipping timing may be based on location, shipping services, and proximity to one of the Amazon warehouses, though.
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post #6 of 13
8/26/03 at 2:02pm
Are your packages all come from the same warehouse? Amazon has several warehouses, and depend on what you order and where amazon stocks it, your packages may come from different warehouse, and the shipping time'd be different depends on how far you're from the warehouse.
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post #7 of 13
8/26/03 at 4:57pm
I have heard the rumor that the free shipping starts with last priority in the queue. Basically, a half-full truck is not cost efficient for the shipping industry. Therefore, at the end of the day, any left over space in the truck might be used for discounted / free shipping. If the delivery truck at the end of the day has room to spare, the goods under discounted/free shipping might be picked up. If business is really slow for both the supplier and the delivery business, the items might be shipped out without delay and might be delivered quicker than paid shipping during busy times (ie: like during the holidays).

However, the free shipping items are suppose to have a maximum shipping latency. If the ready to ship items with free shipping sit in the warehouse for too long, the supplier will then pay the normal shipping rates and lose out on the deal.
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post #8 of 13
8/26/03 at 6:00pm
I, too, have really weird experiences with Amazon's free shipping. They often tell me "oh, we'll ship this item out in 2-3 weeks from date of order" but that's complete ********. In almost every case it ships out one or two days after I order.

And sometimes I've had stuff arrive OVERNIGHT with their free shipping. Yes, OVERNIGHT. I've ordered on Wednesday, shipped Thursday, received Friday before. With free shipping.

And other times I've had it take up to 1 1/2 weeks. So it's real finicky...

- Chris
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post #9 of 13
8/26/03 at 8:18pm
I've had odd experiences with their free shipping. Sometimes, its very fast (2, maybe 3 days). The last time I ordered, it took 1.5 weeks! I was really sweating that birthday present. . .
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post #10 of 13
8/26/03 at 8:19pm
I agree; the Amazon free shipping seems to work very well, but they also seem to want to discourage us from using it.
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post #11 of 13
8/26/03 at 8:46pm
This reminds me of my own experience. I got my "order of the Phoenix" the day it was released with free shipping In Amazon website at that time they told that with free shipping we will receive it on tuesday so I'm not complaining.
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post #12 of 13
11/8/03 at 9:29pm
I've been really impressed recently with how fast Barnes and Noble's free shipping is. In most cases within 2 or 3 days, and when they ship by UPS, they usually upgrade to 3-day shipping.
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post #13 of 13
11/8/03 at 11:13pm
I have noticed just the opposite. The last time I used free shipping it took a week longer than paid shipping.
The process time is 2 days different usually, by the dates indicated on the order page. I stopped using free shipping when it took over 2 weeks to get something. That was almost a year ago.
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