Photos: A day in the life of an Amazon.co.uk order

You hit 'buy now' - and then what happens?

By Will Sturgeon, 26 August 2005 15:25

As one of only six or so people left on the planet who hasn't read The Da Vinci Code, I decide it's time to bite the bullet and find out what all the fuss is about. The website says Amazon.co.uk has copies in stock right now, so I place the order. Then, while the order is processed in cyberspace, I head north to see what happens once the order appears on screen in the Amazon.co.uk distribution centre.

Comments

There are 9 comments. Join the discussion

  1. 1. Peter

    Will's lucky he got his book so fast! While I cannot fault the DVD rental service Amazon runs, I have NEVER had an item which I purchased which "normally ships within 24 hours" do so. It always seems to take between 72-96 hours before it even leaves the Amazon premises. What's the secret Will?

  2. 2. Jeff McCrory

    I'd love to know why Amazon is the only site where the order status sits at "Due for despatch - 5-6 days time" and "Despatching soon" for 2 days! when the item listing clearly stated "In Stock - usually delivered within 24 hours"

    And how does supersaver delivery work compared to standard delivery? Do they just leave those orders running round the conveyor belt for 3 days before sticking them in a postbag?

  3. 3. Anne Lane

    I'm intrigued to know how the contents of the red crates are routed to the sorters. If one red crate contains items for multiple orders, and one order is split between several red crates, how is this m:m relationship resolved so that one sorter can gather all the items for one green crate? Do they have a free for all rummage in the red crates or does something clever happen?

  4. 4. Dave

    Don't know what other people are complaining about. I have ordered numerous books, dvds and computer equipment and have had very quick delivery.

  5. 5. misceng

    Totally unlike Argos as my experience shows. I order 6 of an item stated to be in stock on web site then click Buy. The next page informs me that I have an order for 1 since that is all they have in stock. I immediately cancel the order because I want 6. In under 30mins. I get my cancellation acknowledged. Four days later the courier tries to deliver. I email Argos and get assurance of a refund. My credit card account shows they have taken the full costs but refunded that amount less the delivery charge. This is against the law.

  6. 6. John Walker

    Great article - really interesting read. Thanks for taking the time to go to Milton Keynes, so we don't have to!

  7. 7. Josie Mitchell

    Interesting article. I've had good service from Amazon and from Argos. The one time my DVD ordered from Amazon did not arive I just contacted them and they sent out another copy. I also find their website easy to use unlike some other mail order sites.

  8. 8. Dale Gilbert

    Perhaps you can find out why a couple of books I ordered end June with 3-5 weeks delivery and still catalogued 3-5 weeks delivery are now being quoted as Sept 15-Oct 5 delivery. Somewhat misleading wouldn't you say.

  9. 9. anonymous

    phone them and query it.same thing happened to me and it was an error at their end.after contacting them good were delivered next day

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