RANT: do not buy from Walmart online

[ard]

Regrets, fellow, pelican brethren, but I have to rant.

I ordered a wireless barbecue thermometer for a cookout this past weekend on 23 November in the Walmart app. The original delivery date was November 29.

However, the item still has not shown up and every single day I get the same message: “package delayed - attempt redeliver delivery next business day. “except there never is any “redelivery “.

When I talk to Walmart customer support the TL; DR of it is “well just because you bought it in the Walmart app doesn’t mean it was sold by Walmart and in this case you bought from a third-party seller and it’s between you and the seller and the delivery company to straighten this out”. When I tell them: “sorry, but this is not how the competition you guys are trying to catch does business “I get crickets.

Delivery is supposed to be handled by an outfit called Ontrac and when you call them you get a 10 second message saying check your delivery status online and the call is disconnected without an opportunity to leave a message or speak to anyone.

Needless to say, I had to make do with old-school checking on my smoker instead of using my fancy new thermometer this past weekend. Annoying because I was really looking forward to not having to guesstimate the temperature of the smoked meat.

Everyone gets one chance in my book but I don’t think I’m going to shop on walmart.com or the Walmart app again.

[porsche tech]

I’ve bought from Walmart on line several times and found them to be just as reliable as Amazon. I know internet purchases can be aggravating at times.

[id10t]

Gotta be careful, filter out third party sellers and try to do in store pickup

Fortunately 95% of my walmart purchases are ammo so no online bs or self checkout

[unclebilly]

I went through something similar a year ago with an item I ordered for work from Amazon, we needed it badly and the driver kept showing up after hours.

After 4 days, I drove to the driver’s warehouse and demanded my stuff. They were super helpful, they got the driver on the phone, I spoke with him and we met up somewhere on his route.

It’s the time of year where these guys are flat out. He knew better than to leave an expensive package on my then employer’s step over night… it was a sketchy part of town.

[stevej37]

I order online from them often...so far, no problem.

I prefer Amazon because they are much faster and the tracking is more accurate.

[masraum]

I've bought from Walmart a couple/few times (try to keep it to an absolute minimum). Walmart does something similar to what Amazon does, but with an exception. Walmart allows other folks to sell via the Walmart website while keeping the product completely separate (Amazon does that too). What Amazon does that is different, is it also allows some sellers (at a cost, to the seller, I'm sure) to ship their product to Amazon warehouse/distribution centers so when an order is placed, all of the shipping is the responsibility of Amazon. THat's the main way that you can purchase from a 3rd party seller, but still get "Prime" shipping. (some sellers can do drop shipping, but that's not as common, and I think they have to abide by all Amazon shipping/return policies.

I very intentionally limit my Amazon shopping 99.9% to only purchasing goods that are "Prime" because Amazon guaranties their usual no hassel shipping and returns that way. If you purchase from one of the many 3rd parties that are not Prime, it's a crap shoot, and you could get service like you've had in this instance.

[CurtEgerer]

Re: Walmart. Their website is horrible compared Amazon. I've tried a couple of times to search and place an order and it's just chaos and confusion to me.


Re: Amazon. They're up to their old tricks again Free 2-day shipping?? As of yesterday, not anymore - at least here. My brother reported the same thing in Mich. Now it's 7-10 days 'free Prime shipping'. And there're really no options to even pay to get much faster shipping. They pulled the same thing last year and it lasted for 3 months or more. Everything was good up until yesterday. Hey Amazon, if you can't fulfill your end of the contract, hire more people or refund every Prime member.

[Zeke]

i've never even seen Walmart's shipping time projection to be less than 10 days. I've tried them but never went through with it after finding the same thing on the bay or the big A.

Walmart is the biggest in-store buying and A is the biggest online. Sears was in the middle but they just missed the boat entirely.

Steve, what to look for in 3rd party buying is "fulfillment by Amazon." Buying straight 3rd party you might as well Temo or Ali Express.

[Baz]

I've never had a problem buying online with either Walmart or Amazon.

I use a desktop - no apps.

Also........

https://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/725561-pet-peeve-thread-48.html

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Zeke

Steve, what to look for in 3rd party buying is "fulfillment by Amazon." Buying straight 3rd party you might as well Temo or Ali Express.

Yep, for Prime members, it's basically anything that still shows as Prime. If it shows as Prime, then the shipping is generally the fastest, and the customer service and return/refund process is excellent.

If you're not Prime, then yes, look for fulfilled by Amazon.

[john70t]

The business model has shifted from local brick-n-mortar(with local employees and stock) to mass warehousing and speedy delivery.

Those who are fastest and cheapest and consistent win.

Lots and lots of distance driving involved...
The monopoly suppresses wages on the supply side...

[masraum]

Originally Posted by john70t

The business model has shifted from local brick-n-mortar(with local employees and stock) to mass warehousing and speedy delivery.

Those who are fastest and cheapest and consistent win.

Lots and lots of distance driving involved...
The monopoly suppresses wages on the supply side...

The good news, if there is any, is that I think this has positively affected the delivery chain, and USPS specifically. Where USPS seemed to be dying due to email, they are now being used by Amazon. Not only do 95% or more of our rural deliveries come from USPS, but the USPS is even doing Sun deliveries to us (only for Amazon). I assume that the added business from Amazon is good for the USPS and employees who are now working more.

[stevej37]

$40...delivered in 2 days. Free shipping for Prime members.

https://www.amazon.com/ThermoPro-Bluetooth-Thermometer-Wireless-Rechargeable/dp/B08K2G5Y78/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1RT6Z4E0XU6AP&keywords=wireless+barbeque+thermometer&qid=1701810156&sprefix=wireless+barbeque%2Caps%2C883&sr=8-5

[pmax]

Originally Posted by ard

Regrets, fellow, pelican brethren, but I have to rant.

I ordered a wireless barbecue thermometer for a cookout this past weekend on 23 November in the Walmart app. The original delivery date was November 29.

However, the item still has not shown up and every single day I get the same message: “package delayed - attempt redeliver delivery next business day. “except there never is any “redelivery “.

When I talk to Walmart customer support the TL; DR of it is “well just because you bought it in the Walmart app doesn’t mean it was sold by Walmart and in this case you bought from a third-party seller and it’s between you and the seller and the delivery company to straighten this out”. When I tell them: “sorry, but this is not how the competition you guys are trying to catch does business “I get crickets.

Delivery is supposed to be handled by an outfit called Ontrac and when you call them you get a 10 second message saying check your delivery status online and the call is disconnected without an opportunity to leave a message or speak to anyone.

Needless to say, I had to make do with old-school checking on my smoker instead of using my fancy new thermometer this past weekend. Annoying because I was really looking forward to not having to guesstimate the temperature of the smoked meat.

Everyone gets one chance in my book but I don’t think I’m going to shop on walmart.com or the Walmart app again.

[masraum]

vBADv

Originally Posted by pmax

^Good^

Yeah, my thoughts when I see threads like this are usually that the person doing the ordering should pay more attention to where their stuff is coming from and make appropriate choices in the future. The response from Amazon would probably be pretty similar if a similar choice was made.



The only time that I order something NOT fulfilled by Amazon (or Walmart) is if it's the ONLY readily available way for me to get an item, and the item is cheap (enough for me to "risk" getting screwed) OR I can trace the seller to an American based brick and mortar and don't find that they have mostly bad reviews, and it's still the only decent way to get what I want.

[porsche930dude]

A guy my brother works with his daughter called him in a panic there is a bunch of black people running around in the yard! Well he lives way out in the sticks and thats why. He flew home about as fast as his raptor would go and there they were in the ditch after she let the dogs loose on them and they backed out in a panic. Turns out they were delivering something from walmart and let the kids out to play ball or something. Needless to say no more ordering stuff from walmart! especially since its right down the road and they drive past it to go anywhere. The cops showed up and suggested he pull them out of the ditch he said not my job and went back to work.

[Rusty Heap]

I avoid Walmart at all costs. Instore or Online. Amazon rules.

[porsche930dude]

Same here I havnt been to walmart in years. Iv never bought anything on amazon either im all ebay

[masraum]

Originally Posted by porsche930dude

A guy my brother works with his daughter called him in a panic there is a bunch of black people running around in the yard! Well he lives way out in the sticks and thats why. He flew home about as fast as his raptor would go and there they were in the ditch after she let the dogs loose on them and they backed out in a panic. Turns out they were delivering something from walmart and let the kids out to play ball or something. Needless to say no more ordering stuff from walmart! especially since its right down the road and they drive past it to go anywhere. The cops showed up and suggested he pull them out of the ditch he said not my job and went back to work.

[Noah930]

I had a similarly frustrating experience ordering online from Walmart a couple years ago. I ordered a motorcycle battery charger. I thought from Walmart, but in the end it was from a third party vendor through the Walmart site. Shipping took forever, and in the end I got a different charger from what I ordered.

So I think I did a charge back with my credit card (because the vendor obviously wasn’t returning my emails). Got my money back, and a free (albeit crappy) battery charger.

Never ordering anything other than Mobil 1 from Walmart again. (And certainly not from any third party vendor through Walmart.)