ask.metafilter.com/mefi/30124
com - I was given a subscription to Amazon Prime for Christmas. But every time that I search for something, most of the search results can't be shipped free (they're not eligible for Amazon's "Super Saver" shipping).
But that's so bizarre that I was hoping I'd missed something - some way to do it that I was just not seeing. Yes, but that's not necessary for Amazon Prime, which offers free 2-day shipping on eligible items no matter how little you spend. As a general rule, items that are eligable for the "super saver" shipping tend to be eligable for Prime shipping - though not always, as delfuego notes.
I tried to order a rather popular camera lens a few months ago. Amazon listed that it would ship within 24 hours but be delivered from a 3rd party vendor, so I went for it and asked for overnight shipping. Later, I ordered what seemed to be a nice business card organizer. It turned out to be an excellent device for mangling the corners of business cards, and completely terrible for organizing them. I have had a few good experience with amazon affiliates, but everything I have ordered that is delivered directly from amazon has been great. This makes the low quality of the affiliate program stand out in sharp contrast to Amazon's regular service.
I spent some time looking at the amazon web services in relation to this question, but that was a dead-end. The amazon web services let you search by merchant id, but they don't seem to make a distinction between amazon itself and its partner companies like Toys 'R Us.
I'm not surprised they have this policy, as I imagine that it is not in the interest of the affliates for users to be able to eliminate them from the search -- however, it's definitely in the interest of the users. I suppose it could also be possible that their current backend makes this type of search so costly that it would noticeably interfere with site operation. Maybe if lots of people request this feature amazon will find a reason to implement it. First of all, I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. At this time, you can not search only new items on our web site. I do apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused. We designed our search engine to perform searches in this manner because we wanted to make sure you wouldn't miss finding items that you might want. However, we do appreciate the time you took to send us your feedback on this subject. For your reference, you can refine your search results by clicking the "Search" or "Advanced Search" link in the navigation bar at the top of most product categories' home pages. If you are searching for an exact author name, title, or phrase, you might try putting the words between quotes when entering them into the keyword search field. com/help/search Again, I realize that this experience has been frustrating for you, and I wish to extend my apologies. c=aghtadvr3435204101 Please note: this e-mail was sent from an address that cannot accept incoming e-mail. To contact us about an unrelated issue, please visit the Help section of our web site.
That is, you can't exclude used items, which are sold by third-parties and are not elegible for Prime or Supersaver shipping. The same reasoning probably applies to other inelegible items. I'll ask around and see if I can get any other information that I can post here.
This sounds to me as though Amazon is deliberately preventing us from searching for these items. They figure they'll make more money if they hawk their affiliates' stuff, forcing us to wade through the crap we don't want in the hopes that we make an impulse buy (or decide that, fuck it, paying for the shipping is easier than looking through all these entries), than they would if they just let us search for what we want.
I'm still waiting for them to come up with a better solution, but this is helpful in the meantime. I've found that it primarily brings up only items sold by Amazon, the majority of which are eligible for free shipping under Prime. I'm not sure how much stuff that actually would be eligible under Prime is getting filtered out, but I seem to get pretty good results.
I apologize for the previous response sent by one of our colleagues. When you choose Super Saver Shipping, qualifying items will ship for free. All items that are eligible for Super Saver Shipping will have the words "Eligible for Free Super Saver Shipping" displayed on their product detail pages. NOTE: Be sure to select the "FREE Super Saver Shipping" option when filling out the online order form. If this option does not appear on the order form, your order may not contain any eligible items. these items may be included in the same order, but standard shipping fees will apply to these items. Many individuals and businesses sell used, new, and collectible items through Amazon Marketplace, and our site also hosts a wide variety of merchants, such as Nordstrom and Office Depot. com in many ways: * If the availability on an item's detail page reads "Usually ships within 1-2 business days," this is a Marketplace or Merchant item. This information also appears on the order check-out page. Amazon Marketplace sellers may offer used, collectible, or refurbished items in a variety of conditions. The condition of a particular seller's item can be viewed by clicking the "used & new" link on the item's detail page. c=wbhtdxvr3437498077&q=sn Please note: this e-mail was sent from an address that cannot accept incoming e-mail. To contact us about an unrelated issue, please visit the Help section of our web site.
It's really frustrating for Amazon to make its service less useful, whether it's by design or because they didn't think through the entire Marketplace idea. But it's likely that when my Prime membership comes up for renewal, I won't, and I'll likely continue my trend away from using Amazon as my first-choice online merchant.
Finally, the "no" i was looking for: We appreciate the time you've taken to send your inquiry. At this time, we do not have a tool on our website to search for items restricted to items fulfilled directly from Amazon. customer feedback like yours is essential in helping us determine what additional features our visitors and customers want most. Our online Help pages include tips for navigating our web site and placing an order. com Interestingly enough, this one had an American name AND did not include the "Did this answer your question?
Amazon Light, and one of the main features is "95% Amazon-Only", which means items qualify for Super-Saver Shipping and Amazon Prime. Because Amazon's own webservice is imperfect, and will occasionally serve up items that it shouldn't.
|
http://csua.com/feed/