![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Many of you are probably aware of my deep and abiding love for Natasha Pulley's first novel, The Watchmaker of Filigree Street. So you may be assured that when she announced the title of her second, I popped right over to Amazon to pre-order it so that I might read it as soon as it came out. And by "soon," I mean I wanted this thing waiting for me on my doorstep when I got back from work that day.
But lo, the release day came and went, and the book was nowhere to be seen. Nor was there a shipping notification from Amazon. Then, three days later, I received an email saying my "order has been canceled due to lack of availability."
"Wuh?" I said. "That makes no sense." So I logged into my account to see what was going on, only to discover that Amazon had not merely canceled the order, but purged every record of it from my account...including the "Canceled Orders" page. Had I not maintained their confirmation emails, there would no longer be any record of my having purchased it in the first place.
The cancellation email helpfully suggested that I try repurchasing the book, and helpfully provided a link. To the exact same book I'd ordered months ago, only at double the cost. So I emailed customer service to politely ask what was going on.
They responded that the item was back-ordered. I asked how it could be back-ordered when it was just published and they were selling it on their site right now.
The answer I got was more long-winded than this, but boiled down to: We reconsidered what we said we'd sell it to you for and if you want it, then pay the jacked-up price listed in the link we just sent you.
So I ordered it from Barnes and Noble instead, and while I was at it, transferred about half a grand of monthly utility and insurance payments from my Amazon card to a different card to further express my displeasure. At a 3-4 percent commission fee for each bill, that's a tidy little sum Amazon's just lost for not selling me the item I ordered at the price they initially quoted me.
But seriously, what the everloving fuck, Amazon?
これで以上です。
But lo, the release day came and went, and the book was nowhere to be seen. Nor was there a shipping notification from Amazon. Then, three days later, I received an email saying my "order has been canceled due to lack of availability."
"Wuh?" I said. "That makes no sense." So I logged into my account to see what was going on, only to discover that Amazon had not merely canceled the order, but purged every record of it from my account...including the "Canceled Orders" page. Had I not maintained their confirmation emails, there would no longer be any record of my having purchased it in the first place.
The cancellation email helpfully suggested that I try repurchasing the book, and helpfully provided a link. To the exact same book I'd ordered months ago, only at double the cost. So I emailed customer service to politely ask what was going on.
They responded that the item was back-ordered. I asked how it could be back-ordered when it was just published and they were selling it on their site right now.
The answer I got was more long-winded than this, but boiled down to: We reconsidered what we said we'd sell it to you for and if you want it, then pay the jacked-up price listed in the link we just sent you.
So I ordered it from Barnes and Noble instead, and while I was at it, transferred about half a grand of monthly utility and insurance payments from my Amazon card to a different card to further express my displeasure. At a 3-4 percent commission fee for each bill, that's a tidy little sum Amazon's just lost for not selling me the item I ordered at the price they initially quoted me.
But seriously, what the everloving fuck, Amazon?
これで以上です。
Tags: