Warehouse Deals by Amazon NOT

Copy of an email sent today to www.which.co.uk

note the words: by Amazon (with logo)

I am writing to suggest that you investigate the legitimacy of a third-party seller on Amazon.co.uk.

I have always assumed that the Amazon Warehouse Deals section of the Amazon.co.uk is a part of Amazon itself because  they trade off the Amazon name, use Amazon logo, paperwork, packaging and use the same returns address as Amazon.

I tried to order a new TV today but when I tried to go to checkout, it said they couldn't deliver to my registered home address.  There was no plausible explanation for this as far as I could tell and there was no useful help available on the site so I called Amazon to try and get it sorted out.

Doesn't look like a 3rd party does it!

The first shock was that I was told that Amazon Warehouse Deals is a third-party seller and isn't part of Amazon.co.uk.  Putting that aside for a second, I continued with the enquiry regarding the delivery address.  We did some tests including adding a 'regular' Amazon product through to order which proved my registered address was working (this order was subsequently canceled). I also tried adding another Amazon Warehouse Deals item (A Panasonic TZ7 camera) which also went through to order without a problem.  I also tried a similar Panasonic 42" Plasma TV to see if it was anything to do with the size or weight of the delivery but that went through to checkout as well.

Amazon said they would raise an internal inquiry to work out what the problem was because all Warehouse Deal items are shipped from the Amazon warehouse and therefore are automatically valid to be dispatched to any UK address.  This also revealed that the 'Third Party' seller is shipping items stored at the Amazon main warehouse!

I asked for Amazon Warehouse Deals' phone number and email address but neither of these were available to the calltaker.  I found this incredible considering all third party seller must surely have to register with Amazon - at least their basic detail like phone, emails and trading address.

I was told to wait 24 hours and try again, after which time, Amazon would have resolved the matter.  I was annoyed because that could mean someone else making an order on the TV.

So, my original issue is - how can Amazon allow a third party seller to act as though they are Amazon themselves by using their logo, paperwork, packaging, returns address and dispatch from the same warehouse as Amazon?  I think it is reasonable to assume that Amazon Warehouse Deals is a returns arm of Amazon which processes returned goods and makes then available at a discounted price - just like it says on the Amazon website:

'Warehouse Deals by Amazon' but it is a third party seller? Deception rather than honest sales practice.

Update - 4:47pm

Amazon sent me an email - To Mr Jones . . .  My feedback  rant reply below.
Email to Mr. Jones.  I am Mr. White! Otherwise, the call was dealt with as well as can be expected BUT

1. I think it is a deception that Warehouse Deals 'by Amazon' complete with the Amazon logo, paperwork, packaging and returns address can be a third party seller. I and many other 1000's of people will think Warehouse Deals is a part of Amazon and therefore feel confident in buying from them.  I don't like buying from third party sellers on Amazon and always stick to Amazon only.

2. I find it incredible that Amazon have no basic contact details for 'Warehouse Deals by Amazon'- even an email address or phone number. I even found out as part of the phone conversation that they dispatch all their items direct from Amazon's 'actual' warehouse.  This is hardly third party is it!

Also I would like to comment on the feedback form which insists on an order number before it will submit.  This is fine if you have an order number but no good if the original issue is because you couldn't order what you wanted!!!!!

Suggest you make this field optional so I don't have to bung in an old order number just to get it to send.

Updated 6:24pm

I just found this on the Warehouse Deals by Amazon web page:

About Seller
Warehouse Deals is a trading name of Amazon EU Sarl, and is part of the Amazon.com Group. We offer open box, customer returned and warehouse damaged merchandise at reduced prices with the benefits of Amazon.co.uk fulfillment and customer service.

Please note that, due to the nature of Warehouse Deals' items, we cannot replace your item, nor can you return items for defects which were disclosed in the description of the item in Warehouse Deals' Marketplace listing.

Warehouse Deals will deliver only to UK mainland addresses.

Update 7:16pm

I have just emailed Warehouse Deals by Amazon to inform them about my inquiry with Amazon:

I wanted to inform you that I have raised the following issue with Amazon regarding a problem I am having trying to buy an item from Warehouse Deals from Amazon.

I cannot complete purchase because the system will not accept my UK delivery address.  The item is a Panasonic 42" Plasma G10 TV priced most recently at £407.89.

I have also questioned why Amazon refer to you as a third party seller despite the fact that you use Amazon's logo, paperwork, packaging, returns address and dispatch from the same warehouse as Amazon?  You describe yourselves as follows: "Warehouse Deals is a trading name of Amazon EU Sarl, and is part of the Amazon.com Group". How can you be a third party seller and also part of the Amazon.com Group?

Finally, is there a way you can reserve this TV while this issue with the delivery address is sorted out.  Amazon has asked that I don't try again until September 1st, 2010.  I am concerned that this item may be sold to someone else by then.

Many thanks
David White

Aubioboo embedded

Just trying an embedded version of the latest Essex Police Audioboo:

Facebook Alien

I have spent the last month or so researching social media sites and I have set up many without an issue.  All except one.

Flickr, Blogger, WordPress, YouTube, Twitter, AudioBoo and many others are all fairly straightforward.  They are intuitive to set up and easy to understand but Facebook leaves me stone cold.

I have tried several times now to engage with Facebook but it is confusing, unintuitive and throws me at every turn. I now have three books which I hope with help me understand the basics.  The worrying thing is that those who regularly seem to use Facebook seem blissfully unaware of how it actually works.  They just seems to ignore all the buttons, links and tabs and just use the bit they are familiar with.  I all sounds a bit like the way people generally use Word and Excel.  Just get it to print a page of text or add up a column of numbers and ignore 98% of the functionality.

I would be happy to treat Facebook like this but with concerns about privacy and data protection, you cannot afford to ignorant of the many buttons, settings, links and tabs on offer.  It is a design and interface nightmare - surely it is time for someone to design something much better, without all those awful adverts and which can incorporate powerful features but still retain an elegant and simple design and interface.

Facebook then is a bit like SMS texts. Awkward and badly designed but both destined to become massively popular despite the flaws.  Once a monster is rolling, it is difficult to stop however scary it is!

BluRay - the saga continues

Having now borrowed 16 ex rental Blockbuster BluRay discs, I am now going through them, trying to see how many of them throw a fit in my BluRay player.

So far, We have played 2 discs and they both played 100% perfectly.  This compares to a series of 5 rentals from LoveFilm which have all been faulty.  If I get through all these Blockbuster discs without an issue I will leave LoveFilm and try somewhere else but I have a long way to go yet.  We'll see what happens.

While I talking about faulty goods, I had to send back my 'Pebble' mobile device charger this morning because the button wouldn't work after just one use.  Amazon were fantastic and it was sent back with a pre-paid label this morning with a new replacement upgraded to first class delivery in the post back to me.  What fantastic service is that!

Brilliant HTC

Here is the answer to an enquiry I made to HTC yesterday regarding a charging issue when using GoogleMaps Navigation.  I have to say a first class service.

David This is likely to be the 3rd party charger not allowing the device enough current to charge and make use of the application at the same time. The Navigation software uses more current as it uses more processor power to run. I would recommend replacing the in car charger with the Official HTC charger to see if this resolves the issue. Please also test the charge of the mains charger to see how long the device will hold charge for under normal operation to see if the battery is behaving ok. Here is a little HTC Tip too, Dial in the phones dialer as you were to make a call when connected or disconnected to the charge source *#*#4636#*#* to obtain the secret menu were you can see battery status and information. Please let me know if you are able to resolve this issue?

Good HTC tip in there - dial  *#*#4636#*#* to see lots of secret technical stuff!

Photo from the HTC.com website - I hope they don't mind me using it!
http://www.htc.com

GoogleMaps Navigation

This is a copy of an enquiry about the GoogleMaps Directions/SatNav application which I submitted to the HTC.com website today.

When I have used the HTC Desire as a SatNav using the Google Maps Navigation, I have had a power issue, details of which are described below.

The phone starts at full charge and is then plugged into the car cigar lighter socket and it starts charging (amber flashing light).  I then set Google Maps to navigate and started my journey.  At the end of the journey, I expected the phone to be fully charged but it showed less than half charge.

The following day I plugged the phone in for the return journey and it was at half charge.  At the end of this journey, the phone had lost so much battery charge that it immediately switched off.

I expected that all functions of the phone should be able to operate whilst on charge whether by mains or via car socket.  I can only deduce that the power consumed when GoogleMaps Navigate is on (i.e. screen, GPS and voice commands) is more than can be supplied by the charger.

My expectation was that even after a long journey using the SatNav functions of the HTC Desire, the phone should charged up fully at the end, ready to be used at the destination.

Can you comment on these issues and suggest a solution?  I am particularly keen to know if this phone has been tested on a typical car journey for power consumption and if the consumption exceeds the input charge.  I do not have an 'official' HTC car adaptor but I would be very happy to buy one if I can be convinced that the input charge would overcome this issue.

Perhaps there could be an update to the app which can be applied which causes it to consume less power and allows the phone to charge up?

I abandoned GoogleMaps navigation for the next journey and just left the phone to charge normally during the journey.  The car adapter fully charged the phone during the 3 hour journey from flat which at least proves the car adapter works.

Savoury stuffed marrow

Something for Natalie to do with her spare courgettes . . .

Ingredients
1 marrow (or large courgettes)
2oz butter
2oz plain flour
¼ pint milk
4oz cheddar cheese grated
1tblsp freshly chopped tarragon or thyme
2tblsp chopped parsley
Salt and ground black pepper
8oz cooked chicken diced
1oz white breadcrumbs

Method

1. Peel marrow, cut in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds.
2. Bring large pan water to the boil, add marrow and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Drain and arrange cavity side up in lightly oiled, ovenproof dish.
3. Preheat oven gas 5, 190C.
4. Melt butter in saucepan, stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually stir in the milk, bring to the boil and simmer until thick and smooth.
5. Remove from the heat and stir in most of the cheese, most of the herbs and the chicken. Season to taste and spoon into the marrow cavities.
6. Mix breadcrumbs and remaining herbs. Season and sprinkle over the marrow filling. Bake for 25 minutes until golden. For extra crunch, place under a hot grill for 1 minute before serving.

Serves 4

Tescos v Police Stations

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/7957168/Twice-as-many-Tescos-open-247-as-police-stations.html

This prompted some twitter conversation this evening so I thought I'd blog a bit about it.

For a start, I didn't believe there were more Tescos open 24 hours, seven days per week than police stations in Essex so I did a bit of research of my own.  I even plotted the results in a Google Map:


View Tescos v Police: 24 hours servcies in Essex in a larger map


Red - 24/7 Police Stations
Blue - 'nearly' 24/7 Tescos
Purple - 24/7 Tesco (Brentwood)

The results were quite interesting. There are 15 '24 hour' Tescos in Essex but only one of these are genuinely open 24/7.  All the others are open 24/7 for 5 days of the week, normally Tuesday - Saturday with regular hours on Sundays and Mondays.

In contrast there are 11 police stations open 24/7 out of a total of 49 station which are open to the public.
I think Richard Edwards, the Telegraph Crime Correspondent may need to dig a bit deeper into the Tescos stats and check those '24/7' claims again.  If there is only 1 genuine 24/7 Tescos in Essex, it is likely that there are more like 50 - 75 nationwide, not 394 as reported.  Unfortunately, the storefinder on the Tescos website offers many options to filter stores but there is no 24/7 filter!

This leads on to another debate.  Can you really compare a public service paid for by the tax payer and a commercial business driven by profit?

How many people need to go shopping (and how often) compared to those needing to visit a police station?  We visit Sainsburys 3 or 4 times a week and spend several hours in there in total.  I don't think I have ever needed to visit a police station except for my job (and that doesn't count).  If every family in the UK had a need to spend several hours per week in a police station, there would be many more and they would probably be as big as your average Tescos or Sainsburys.

I have had a need to use an airport more often in the last 25 years than I have had need of a police station.  However, I think it is OK that there is only 1 airport in Essex and only three international airports in the region. I'm not demanding that there should be 15 airports in Essex so why should there need to be 15 24/7 police stations?

LoveFilm - HateFilm

I Hate LoveFilm.  No I don't really but we're not currently on friendly terms.

Not only have all the last 3 Blu-ray discs been faulty to the point of unwatchable, we now have an ordinary DVD which doesn't work either.  This one is the 1932 version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde.  Tested in two different DVD players, it jumps and skips at exactly the same point and you have to skip to the next chapter to clear the fault. We also have the last Indiana Jones film at home on Blu-ray and I am almost dreading watching it for fear of wasting another 2 hours.

LoveFilm have been in touch via email and Twitter to stress that their rental discs are exactly the same as the retail ones and that they get regularly checked and cleaned.  They also ensure they give me back the credits for the damaged films but I still feel annoyed about wasting 2 hours to find out.

AudioBoo - more clips

AudioBoo official button

AudioBoo is a good tool to distribute audio clips and seems to work in a similar way to Twitter and YouTube.  I'm not sure if it will catch on as a mainstream social media outlet alongside the giants of Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube etc but it seems to be unique in the market place.  I have added some more clips and will now upload any new audio added the the Essex Police website.

The only problem is that out of 4 browsers, I still cannot upload a clip from work.  Being on IE6 doesn't help but Firefox, Safari and Opera all couldn't cope. Chrome is a no-no apparently because it has to be installed per user and it generally is too modern and forward thinking.  Firefox almost made it but failed at the last minute.  It decided Flash player wasn't up to it and threw some kind of error.

Would be interested to see if anyone else is considering using it.  It does offer comments which you cannot pre-moderate but it is supposed to send an email if anyone comments or if anyone follows you - similar to Twitter.  So far nobody is following and nobody has commented so I can't test to see if the emails are actually sent or not!