It's a Jungle Out There - Amazon and the Ethics of Online Retailers
/***WARNING***
This post contains material that may not be suitable for individuals susceptible to hives, nausea, hair loss, bowel irregularity, swelling of the joints, or rapid heartbeat when exposed to opinionated whining from a disgruntled Englishman.
About ten days ago, I decided it was time to replace my old and unreliable soldering iron. I’ve been doing quite a bit of making recently, mostly photography-related gadgets like high speed triggers and lighting gizmos. A lot of the work I have been doing involves building devices around Arduino microprocessors, so there is plenty of fine soldering to be done.
I won’t bore you with all the details but I ended up purchasing a fairly inexpensive soldering station from Amazon. It was an X-tronic 3020 and I really enjoyed using it. It was fast to heat, held temperature accurately, had a fantastic selection of tips, and made soldering in tight quarters a breeze. It worked like a dream. Until I didn’t. The power supply had a sleep timer that put the iron into standby mode after 10 minutes idle time. However, my device couldn’t wake back up again and had to be turned off, cooled down, and restarted every time it dozed off. So I returned it (Amazon was very professional and accommodating with the return) and received a replacement in under 48 hours.
Unfortunately X-tronic #2 was also a dud, going to sleep without warning, while I was actually using the hand-piece. I didn’t make a big deal of it at the time, but this unit appeared to have been used before. The seal on the box was broken, some of the packing material was missing, and there were tiny pieces of solder stuck to the iron holder and cleaning tray. Needless to say, back it went. Amazon was very good about this return also and, other than a couple of trips to UPS, it was painless. But I had lost confidence in the X-tronic, or at least in this model, and decided to go with a more expensive station from the German electronics manufacturer, Weller.
And this is where the important part of this saga begins.
I ordered the Weller WES51 soldering station, sourced from the Apex Tool Group in North Carolina, but sold by Amazon US, Services, Inc. The device arrived two days later.
The box for the Weller was inside the usual Amazon shipping box, carefully padded with the usual amount of packing material (none… I was being facetious). My first hint that all was not as it should be was that the tape used to seal the box had been removed and re-taped. On opening the box, the inner packaging was considerably mangled and torn in places. It looked exactly as it would if the device had been taken out of the complicated folds of cardboard and then hurriedly repacked by someone who couldn’t remember where the various parts went or figure out where all the tabs were supposed to tuck in.
The holder for the iron was not the holder that is usually provided with the WES51. It looked like a cheaper stand from a different soldering station. The iron itself was not in a padded packing sleeve, but just crammed into the box with the cable wrapped around it. But, despite all of these irregularities, I was willing to let it slide and write it off to a first-day employee on the Weller packaging line. Until, that is, I looked at the business end of the soldering iron.
These iPhone shots of the soldering tip clearly show oxidation and patchy tinning - both signs that the iron had been both used and poorly maintained. The third picture also shows the typical “blueing” discoloration of the heating element, again suggesting that this iron had been heated to soldering temperatures in the past.
I could have saved myself the bother of taking apart the soldering iron if I had tested the power supply first. When the device was turned on and the temperature increased, the LED indicator flickered frantically for several minutes before going out completely. The supply made a worrying buzzing sound just before it died. Despite all this sensory stimulation from the power supply, the iron itself stayed as cold as Putin’s heart.
I don’t think it unreasonable for me to arrive at the conclusion that this device had been previously purchased, unpacked, and used by another Amazon customer. Or that this other person subsequently encountered a failure of the power supply. Putting the dots together, it appeared as if the original owner of the device had returned the defective item to Amazon, and that the Amazon warehouse, without conducting an inspection, returned it to inventory, where it sat until I placed my fateful order.
Frustrated and unwilling to place yet another order, I just packed it all up and sent it back to Jeff Bezos, with my regards. The whole sordid affair got me thinking. How can a respected and trusted company of Amazon’s stature, and with Amazon’s technology and resources, allow a defective and potentially dangerous high voltage device to be sent to another customer, presumably without a proper inspection? What policies does Amazon have in place for managing the disposition of returned and defective merchandise? How could the world’s largest online retailer think it acceptable to pass off used and defective merchandise as new?
Amazon sent me an item that was both used and broken, while I, on the other hand, had purchased an item that was new. A quick dig into Google turned up a ton of complaints from Amazon customers, and even from a few Amazon affiliate sellers, relating similar experiences with the purchase (or sale, in the case of the sellers) of previously used products that had been advertised and sold as new. I’m not sure that there is any better way to describe this alleged practice than a bait-and-switch scam.
Apropos of nothing, many of these customers also made note of the fact that product reviews critical of this practice are often rejected by Amazon and never see the light of day. I also have experienced this particularly galling practice of corporate censorship on one or two occasions.
So what exactly is Amazon’s policy for handling merchandise that has been returned? Is a distinction made between returns of merchandise that is simply unwanted and that which is returned as defective? Amazon has not given me a straight answer to this simple question. Digging deeper, I found some interesting information by reading through posts found on a number of “Fulfilled By Amazon” (FBA) Seller Forums. If what is reported by these FBA sellers is accurate, Amazon returns all “sellable” merchandise to stock. Many FBA sellers reportedly give Amazon written permission to repackage returned goods and place them back into inventory for resale. Some companies do not give Amazon this permission and insist on removing returns from inventory pending a full inspection by the manufacturer. I would presume that if re-pack and re-sell is Amazon’s preferred policy for FBA merchandise, it is likely also to be the policy for Amazon products.
So what qualifies an item as “sellable”, and who exactly makes that call? Again, no clarification from Amazon. The FBA sellers seem convinced that this decision is made by “someone” at the Amazon warehouse. What training does this “someone” receive, and how broad is the scope of his or her inspection responsibilities? Or is everyone in the warehouse a de-facto inspector? I would be interested to know if the warehouse operators are somehow incentivized to get returns back into inventory and ready for resale.
Amazon does, apparently, move some returned merchandise to its outlet branch, Amazon Warehouse Deals. Some returned items are also sold in bulk, sealed but at low prices, to third party salvage businesses that attempt to repair and re-sell whatever they find in the box. But, despite having these alternatives, and the alternative of returning the defective items to the manufacturer, some merchandise, used and sometimes defective, does make it back into inventory.
I understand that Amazon still uses a few human beings in their warehousing operations, so one could reasonably make allowances for human error. I endeavor to make charitable assumptions in situations like this, giving the benefit of the doubt and allowing for human error. However, in this case, where 66% of my Amazon purchases, over the span of just seven days, showed clear evidence of previous use, my willingness to write it off to human error is challenged.
But this issue may not be quite as black and white as it at first seems. I love Amazon and I want them to stick around. I really love Prime and recognize that this is not an inexpensive service for Amazon to provide. So, despite my concerns about mega-corporations in general, I would like to see Amazon do well and remain financially sound. But what about when their cost-saving measures include screwing over the customers in favor of their shareholders? Just how many corners are we willing to have cut by the Amazons of the world? It’s complicated and I think it might be worthwhile to try for a more nuanced discussion of the issues.
Consider these scenarios.
Mr. Leck Trishann buys a Weller soldering station from Amazon. When it arrives he notices, from looking at the photograph on the box, that the turquoise color of the power supply housing will clash horribly with the color scheme of his workshop. He returns the item, unopened, for a refund. Amazon restocks the obviously “sellable” device for sale.
Mrs. Ali Gatorklamp buys a new soldering iron for her husband’s retirement gift. He opens it and powers it up for a test run. He solders a few components over the next couple of days, but, as always, takes meticulous care of the iron tip, keeping it well tinned and spotlessly clean. Then his workmates, who all chipped in to get him something for his retirement, show up with a much fancier Hakko soldering station. Despite his wife’s sobbing, he decides to keep the Hakko and, after painstakingly cleaning and repackaging the original gift, returns it to Amazon for a refund. Amazon looks it over, deems it “sellable”, and puts it back in the inventory.
Mr. Mike Raphone buys a Weller soldering station for his jewelry making business. He rips open the packaging, dropping the power supply in the process. He finally gets it up and running and uses it every day for a month, without once cleaning the tip. While making space on his work surface for his new stone polishing tumbler, the power supply is dropped for a second time. This time the unit is broken and will no longer turn on. He stuffs it in a reusable Publix carrier bag and sends it back to Amazon on the last day of the return window. Amazon, with permission from Weller, repackages the device in the proper box, replacing the missing iron holder with a spare one from the return of a different product. Bob, responsible for determining the “sellability” of returned goods, is way behind on his work and in danger of losing his productivity incentive (one extra bathroom break per week, for a month). He doesn’t have time to look at the actual soldering station but is impressed with the shiny new box and pronounces it “sellable”, before putting it back on the shelf for resale.
I don’t imagine any reasonable person would have an issue accepting the merchandise described in the first scenario. Similarly, I don’t see any sane buyer being OK with being sold the item from scenario number three.
But what about number two? I might consider buying this item, and even paying full price, if the seller extended the courtesy to state the circumstances surrounding the return and resale. Maybe Amazon could describe the device as being a return? When the careful customer discovers that the new product they just purchased is, in fact, not, she is inevitably going to assume the worst - that she has been duped by a profit-hungry mega-retailer.
And how can we know if the “used-new” purchase we just made was closer to scenario one or scenario three. That is, after all, why we go to Amazon and not eBay when we want to buy new, or more specifically, unused items. We want to know that we are buying exactly the same item that Amazon received from the manufacturer. It is a tacit assumption that we apply when contemplating making a purchase from a retailer. We decide to pay $200 for an item, one that we could have bought used for $100 on an auction site, because we believe that the peace of mind, knowing that this is an unopened and unused item, straight from the factory, is worth $100 of our money. We are trusting the seller to deliver on that $200 promise. The fact that an unscrupulous trader may get away with it 90% of the time does not make it right. It was called cheating, when I was a boy.
Once it sank in that the company that I have trusted for two decades to deliver on its promises could no longer be relied upon to be honest and ethical in their business practices (this is by no means my first disappointing experience with the big-A), I decided it was time to take a closer look at my shopping habits. The way I saw it, I had three options:
Suck it up, suffer in silence, and treat it as a cost I choose to pay for the privilege of doing business. To do so, I have to accept the fact that every now and again I am going to be buying someone else’s returned purchase. And if I do end up with Mr. Raphone’s soldering iron, I can always just send it back to Amazon for a quick re-packaging before it is dispatched to the next unlucky buyer. That is undoubtedly what Amazon is counting on me to do.
I could push back, by filing complaints with consumer watchdog agencies, seeking recompense from the retailer directly, or even going after them through the courts. But we should get real for a moment. No individual is going to prevail, taking on an unethical mega-company. They have far too much money and influence to pay the least attention to the grumblings of the unwashed masses (us, that is). Even a well organized group of customers with a completely legitimate and fully documented grievance isn’t going to have a meaningful impact, whether or not they win a class action lawsuit. This is something that a company like Amazon considers to be just another cost of doing business. They budget for legal fees and settlements and adjust their prices to ensure that we, the customers, cover that expense also. But at the end of the day, when we have paid off all our legal fees (from the case we just lost against Amazon) and want to celebrate by buying a brand new badminton racquet, where do we go to find the right one? You got it… Amazon.
The third option is to find a new way to shop. It is undeniable that the Amazon hegemony has all but destroyed local commerce, most apparent when we are looking for technical or specialized merchandise. Brick and mortar businesses just can’t compete. But there are plenty of competitive online retail sites, many with fast, free shipping and reasonable pricing. And how can you know who to trust? It has been my experience that stores with a specialized focus and an obvious passion for what they are selling are the safest bet. Companies like DigiKey and Mouser for electronic components, or Adorama and B&H for everything photography related, are a couple of extremely reliable examples. They may cost a little more, lacking the scale and volume of a place like Amazon, but that is money well spent when you are buying a camera from a company that is managed by photographers.
Businesses, even huge businesses, those that choose to persistently and systematically betray the trust of their customers by cutting corners in order to boost their own profits, will eventually sink below the waves. The smart ones will see that our shopping choices are changing and will adjust the way they do business accordingly. Most will wait too long, focused myopically on stuffing their pockets and those of their clamoring shareholders, and miss the opportunity to survive. Maybe, when Jeff reads this over his fruit loops tomorrow morning, he’ll say “Enough! From this day hence, new means new!”. But probably not.
Anyway, like I said earlier, I don’t want to see Amazon go away. They serve a valuable role in our society and bring convenience and choice to tens of millions of shoppers. Nevertheless, I am going to make some changes in the way I shop. I will continue to pay my $100, or however much it is these days, for my Prime membership and I am going to continue using Amazon for much of my shopping. But I am going to be far more selective in what types of merchandise I trust them with. In other words, I am choosing all three of the above options.
I will trust Amazon to sell me consumables that haven’t yet been consumed, items in blister packs or that come with the manufacturer’s tamperproof seals intact, and just about anything else for which there is no incentive or opportunity for them to cheat customers;
I will make sure that Amazon knows what is expected of them, and I will complain loudly, both about them and to them, when they act unethically, use deception or misrepresentation in describing their products, or otherwise fail to behave honestly and fairly; and
I will find alternative retailers from whom to purchase specialized or more expensive items such as tools, photographic equipment, sporting goods, clothes, electronics, and computers.
With a little bit of luck there will be a few hundred thousand other Amazon shoppers who also think it’s time to let Bezos and Co. know that it is time to clean up their act and start earning back the trust of the people whose patronage gave them the keys to the kingdom in the first place. Going back to the old definition of “new” might be a good place to start.
A little bit of followup…..
While I was sitting at my desk, putting the finishing touches on this rant, a package was delivered to my front door. I hadn’t ordered anything and was intrigued to see what it could be. It was a brand new X-tronic model 3020 soldering station with five extra tips. The same model I had purchased at the beginning of this story. The box contained a personal note from the manufacturer, apologizing for my unsatisfactory experience with their product, and asked me to accept this new replacement device, at no cost, with their compliments.
Now that’s a company I will be doing business with again.
Thanks for dropping by!
I have been slow getting new material out over the the last couple of weeks. A lot going on. There are a couple of new photography posts in the works and I’ll let you know when they come out.
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