Comments on: 18 weeks in Amazon rebate hell

A CNET News.com reporter learns that nothing in life is free, particularly slick new cell phones.

[gggg sssss]

lonny paul got it right

I think the author is short a few clues about why these rebate exists. It's not about her. Understandable regarding someone that writes for the Enquirer. Expect a bit more from someone that takes up bandwidth at CNet.

[alexgp87]

FLIP!

Flip phones are just cooler... too bad with smart phones taking overe they soon be almost all gone :-/

[nzamparello]

Rebates

Rebates should be illegal! Why not just put the item on sale or do an "instant" rebate which is a sale anyways! I used to work for office depot and rebates were an endless source of frustration for the customer... Case in point, compusa, which I believe is still under CONGRESSIONAL investigation for not paying out advertised rebates....

[WirelessFreq]

Not just Amazon

I haven't shopped at Circuit City for 5 years because they refused to honor or even acknowledge 3 of 4 rebates in a 6 month period. Total value of about $150 - all Circuit City rebates, not manufacturer. In the mean time, I've spent THOUSANDS at other retailers. They lose - but I didn't win.

[WirelessFreq]

Not just Amazon

I haven't shopped at Circuit City for 5 years because they refused to honor or even acknowledge 3 of 4 rebates in a 6 month period. Total value of about $150 - all Circuit City rebates, not manufacturer. In the mean time, I've spent THOUSANDS at other retailers. They lose - but I didn't win.

[smithjones]

3rd party rebate scams

This happens a lot in rebates from anywhere.
The company offering the rebate hires a 3rd party to issue them,
so they don't have to mess with them. What happens is that the
3rd party rebate vendor hopes that A) you forget about them
after so much time has lapesed, B) if you do stay on them about
the rebate, they find anything that could negate your rebate,(not
following directions, bar code not included, ect..) and they denie
your claim,
C) make it so hard to get the rebate you say the heck with it, and
they do not have to pay out. Guess who gets the money then?
Yep..., the rebate company. So it's in their best interest to
discourage you as much as possible.

[smithjones]

3rd party rebate scams

This happens a lot in rebates from anywhere.
The company offering the rebate hires a 3rd party to issue them,
so they don't have to mess with them. What happens is that the
3rd party rebate vendor hopes that A) you forget about them
after so much time has lapesed, B) if you do stay on them about
the rebate, they find anything that could negate your rebate,(not
following directions, bar code not included, ect..) and they denie
your claim,
C) make it so hard to get the rebate you say the heck with it, and
they do not have to pay out. Guess who gets the money then?
Yep..., the rebate company. So it's in their best interest to
discourage you as much as possible.

Sorry but true state of affairs

Perhaps full disclosure of who/what is processing the rebates would help - and begin to enable some external quality measurement of performance.

[lilliannewman]

Very well said about Amazon!

Amazon will not refund me $50 for a gift certificate I ordered for my younger sister..the email on the gift certificate was wrong and she never got notification. I didn't know til recently, and I contacted them. Nope! They kept the $50!! I will also boycott Amazon now as they have shown me they do not care about my business. If you have a horror story about Amazon, please email me at [e-mail] as I would like to her about it.

[screamin in digital]

AMAZON IS ILLEGALLY HOLDING SELLERS MONEY FROM WEBSALES!!

AMAZON.COM WHAT THEY DONT WANT YOU TO KNOW HOW THE STEAL FROM THE PUBLIC!!

what amazon does not want you to know!!: AMAZON IS DUPING SELLERS AND BUYERS ON THEIR WEBSITE!!

posted by screamin @ 9:39 AM 0 comments

AMAZON IS DUPING SELLERS AND BUYERS ON THEIR WEBSITE!!

IF YOU ARE OR HAVE BEEN A SELLER ON AMAZON.COM THEN YOU WILL ALREADY KNOW THAT THEY ARE STEALING FROM SELLERS AND UNSUSPECTING BUYERS! THEY ENTICE YOU TO SELL YOUR MERCHANDISE ON THEIR SITE AND HAVE YOU JOIN THEM. YOU SETUP YOUR ACCOUNT GIVE THEM ALL YOUR INFORMATION AND BAM YOUR SELLING ! THEY SEND YOU THE FORMAL WELCOME TO AMAZON EMAIL WITH ALL THE STANDARD INFO ABOUT HOW TO START SELLING AND HOW TO SHIP YOUR ITEMS AND THE BIG STATEMENT WHEN DO YOU GET PAID,YOU WILL BE PAID IN 14 DAYS WE TRANSFER YOUR EARNINGS TO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT. .YOU LIST YOUR ITEMS AND YOU START SELLING IN WEEKS YOU COULD MOST LIKELY MAKE A COUPLE OF HUNDRED DOLLARS.SO YOU KEEP LISTING AND MAILING YOUR ITEMS OUT AND YOU CHECK YOUR PAYMENTS ACCOUNT AND YOU SEE IT IS GROWING! YOU ARE HAPPY YOU ARE SELLING UNWANTED STUFF THAT YOU HAVE AND YOU ARE EXPECTING IN 14 DAYS FOR THEM TO TRANFER YOUR MONEY.SO NOW YOU MAILED YOUR ITEMS AND YOU HAVE FULFILLED YOUR AGGREEMENT WITH THEM AND ON THE 11TH DAY YOU SAY OK NOW THAT I SPENT MY MONEY ON MAILINGS AND IM COMING UP A LITTLE SHORT BUT THAT IS OK AMAZON IS TRANSFERING MY MONEY IN 3 DAYS!YOU CHECK YOUR ACCOUNT AND YOU SEE YOU HAVE EX:$1,400.OO DOLLARS IN THERE YOU ARE LIKE WOW! SOUNDS GREAT RIGHT . WRONG!!!! NOW ON THE NEXT DAY WHICH IS 2 DAYS BEFORE THE TRANSFER YOU RECEIVE AN EMAIL FROM THERE MERCHANT APPROVAL DEPT STATING """Congratulations on your recent selling success on Amazon.com. We are pleased to see that Amazon.com has proved to be a strong selling avenue for you. To ensure that all parties have the best experience on Amazon.com we will be conducting a broader review of your Amazon Payments account. During that time your funds will be reserved in your Amazon.com seller's account for up to 45 days. Although we will delay the transfer of funds to your account, we will continue accepting orders on your behalf for items you list for sale on Amazon.com. Once your funds have been released, they should arrive within 5 business days.
YOU NOW HAVE MAILED YOUR ITEMS OUT AND YOU SPENT MONEY ON SHIPPING
AND YOU ARE IN A HOLE BECAUSE YOU SPENT SO MUCH IN POSTAGE,AND YOU ARE NOT GETTING YOUR MONEY FROM AMAZON. THEY ARE HOLDING YOUR MONEY. YOU EMAIL THEM AND THEY DO NOT GET BACK TO YOU. ALSO THEY SAY THIS(
While your funds are being reserved, we will be actively contacting your buyers to find out how their experience is proceeding. We will be requesting tracking information and their comments on their buying experience. This information will be used with any feedback received on your account to help build your history with Amazon.com. We encourage you to send a friendly reminder for your buyers to leave feedback on your account after they have received their item(s).THEY WILL KEEP EXCEPTING ORDERS ON YOUR BEHALF!!!THIS IS THE SCAM THEY WANT YOU TO KEEP SELLING WHILE THEY HOLD YOUR MONEY AND MAKE INTEREST ON IT!! YOU CONTACT THERE SELLERS SUPPORT # AND THEY DO NOT HAVE A CLUE?
AND NO OTHER PHONE # FOR OTHER DEPT IN THEIR OFFICES! THEY ARE STEALING.
NOW YOU KEEP SELLING ITEMS AND AMAZON IS HOLDING YOUR MONEY MAKING INTEREST ON IT AND THEN YOU SAY SCREW THIS IM NOT MAILING ANYTHING NOW I HAVE NO MONEY THEY STOLE MY MONEY AND A WEEK OR TWO THE BUYERS CONTACT YOU AND SAY WHERE IS MY ITEM? YOU TELL THEM THAT YOU DID NOT GET PAID AND THAT YOU ARE NOT SHIPPING IT . THEY REPLY ,"I PAID ON AMAZON AND MY CHARGE CARD WAS CHARGED FOR THE ITEM". I already contacted amazon and they say that you have been paid so i want my item.
(((( YOU HAVE BEEN SCAMMED BY AMAZON.COM THE SELLER AND BUYER ARE CLUELESS AS TO WHAT IS HAPPENING AND NO TRUE INFO OR ANY INFO FROM AMAZON.COM)))) THEN OUT OF THE BLUE THEY SHUT YOUR ACCOUNT DOWN AND YOU CANT ACCESS IT! SO NOW THEY STOLE YOUR MONEY!!!! NO RETURN EMAILS NO EXPLANATIONS NOTHING!! IF THIS HAS HAPPENED TO YOU THEN POST HERE !!!!

[trickydee77]

It happened to me today

Over $1000 stolen. Everything is read from a script. One of the guys I talke to said I was being "investigated" I said ,what? He said bad choice of words, REVIEWED is what he said he meant to say. I have a perfect account and they froze it. PUT ALL OF YOUR LISTINGS ON VACATION MODE AND START ISSUING REFUNDS.

[bigleroy]

Amazon cheats sellers two ways

I am happy to see this commentary on a terrible company such as Amazon. I started selling in November 2005. I had to wait a month and a half before I got any of my money owed to me. You see they claimed since I had just started on their site that I had to provide tracking information to them before they could transfer my money. After this I encountered and even worse problem. I shipped out an XBOX 360 to a buyer out in Washington the state that is. They claimed they never received it . I was told to show proof that I had shipped the item. I did. I fax them a copy of the post office receipt. They did not believe me. So they say I did not prove myself against the claim. Now they say they are going to take it from my account. Basically they will take it from my bank account or credit card. I told them that they have right to do this. Cause they are crooks. When you sell something let's say for 400.00 Amazon gets a commission of almost 25%. They provide hardly nothing for shipping. Then they want you to provide all kinds of tracking and signature confirmation and insurance too. This is a warning to anyone who would like to sell on Amazon do not . This company is no good to the sellers. I will be reporting this Amazon.com to the better business bureau soon. Thanks for allowing me to speak for the sellers who have been screwed in the past. Bigleroy

[bigleroy]

Amazon cheats sellers two ways

I am happy to see this commentary on a terrible company such as Amazon. I started selling in November 2005. I had to wait a month and a half before I got any of my money owed to me. You see they claimed since I had just started on their site that I had to provide tracking information to them before they could transfer my money. After this I encountered and even worse problem. I shipped out an XBOX 360 to a buyer out in Washington the state that is. They claimed they never received it . I was told to show proof that I had shipped the item. I did. I fax them a copy of the post office receipt. They did not believe me. So they say I did not prove myself against the claim. Now they say they are going to take it from my account. Basically they will take it from my bank account or credit card. I told them that they have right to do this. Cause they are crooks. When you sell something let's say for 400.00 Amazon gets a commission of almost 25%. They provide hardly nothing for shipping. Then they want you to provide all kinds of tracking and signature confirmation and insurance too. This is a warning to anyone who would like to sell on Amazon do not . This company is no good to the sellers. I will be reporting this Amazon.com to the better business bureau soon. Thanks for allowing me to speak for the sellers who have been screwed in the past. Bigleroy

[arminvb05]

Amazon Rebate Session Expired Message Scam

Is anyone else getting this message no matter how many times you try to log your rebate in:

Session Expired Message
Too much time has elasped since your last activity. As a security precaution, you have been disconnected. Please return to the main page and log back in.

This message shows up no matter how fast I click to get to the next page in the rebate process, how long I wait, or how many times I've cleared out my cookies. I'm beginning to think that it's another way to scam you out of your rebate. But even if you did get through to filling out the form, by the looks of this post...good luck in getting the check actually mailed to you.

I tried calling rebateshq but was told they could not help me out because they did not have internet access. Then I called Amazon's customer service, but I had a hard time understanding the guy with a thick Indian accent. He interrupts me as I was trying to explain to him my rebate problem and hangs up on me. I give up. My time is worth more than the rebate.

Don't trust any amazon cellphone rebates!!!

[sgstandre]

I got my Amazon rebate after similar issues

I got a Verizon phone on Amazon back in Dec. 2005. To Amazon's credit, the small print on their coupon says that one must remain a subscriber for at least 6 months before the coupon will be paid up. And THEN, I guess, the 8-12 weeks kicks in. Anyway, after similar "lost tracking number", several customer service reps etc. eventually I got my rebate. I kept copies of everything and can only give the same advice to others: copy, scan, copy, file...

[sgstandre]

I got my Amazon rebate after similar issues

I got a Verizon phone on Amazon back in Dec. 2005. To Amazon's credit, the small print on their coupon says that one must remain a subscriber for at least 6 months before the coupon will be paid up. And THEN, I guess, the 8-12 weeks kicks in. Anyway, after similar "lost tracking number", several customer service reps etc. eventually I got my rebate. Some 7-8 months into the year. I kept copies of everything and can only give the same advice to others: copy, scan, copy, file...

[sgstandre]

I got my Amazon rebate after similar issues

I got a Verizon phone on Amazon back in Dec. 2005. To Amazon's credit, the small print on their coupon says that one must remain a subscriber for at least 6 months before the coupon will be paid up. And THEN, I guess, the 8-12 weeks kicks in. I kept copies of everything and can only give the same advice to others: copy, scan, copy, file...

[sgstandre]

I got my Amazon rebate after similar issues

I got a Verizon phone on Amazon back in Dec. 2005. To Amazon's credit, the small print on their coupon says that one must remain a subscriber for at least 6 months before the coupon will be paid up.