Heeeeeeeeeelp!
Chapter 4: Heeeeeeeeeelp!
3. Surf your search results.
Each entry has a title and then the beginning of an explanation. Skim the choices for the one that fits your question.
4. Click a promising title from the Search Results list.
You’re taken to a page that has a full and detailed answer to your question.
Contacting the Man behind the Curtain
So what happens if you do your homework — you check out the Help links and use the Search feature — but you don’t find an answer to your question?
That’s when you contact the man behind the curtain. But before you do, there are few things you should know:
The folks at Amazon really don’t want you to call them.Amazon’s cus- tomer service questions are asked and answered via e-mail.
The folks at Amazon can only read and respond to messages in English. I’m guessing that if you’re reading this book, that may not be an issue for you.
You need to allow at least 24 hours for them to reply. Sometimes longer, so if it’s urgent, call an Amazon-savvy pal.
Here’s how to send e-mail to Amazon’s customer service department:
1. Click the Contact Customer Service link at the top left of the Help page.
You’re taken to a page with a series of links to the following: Order &
Refund Questions, Account Assistance, Typographical Errors, Web site and Product Suggestions, Gift Orders & Gift Certificates, Prices, Promotions, & Rebates, Selling Items, and Using Features & Services.
2. Click the link in the menu that best describes what your question is about.Don’t be alarmed when you’re taken to a page that isn’tan e-mail question form. They want to make sure that you really checked to see whether your question has already been answered.
3. Click the link in the bulleted list that begins, I have a question . . . This will take you to the e-mail form that looks like Figure 4-3.
4. Fill in the requested information and click Continue.
Actually, Amazon automatically fills in your name and e-mail address (assuming you’re signed in). Just use the drop-down menu to choose a subject, enter your order number (if it’s relevant), and type your ques- tion in the Comments field.
5. Review your e-mail for spelling errors and other faux pas.
If you want to make changes, use the Edit button to send you back to Step 4.
6. If your e-mail passes muster, click the Send E-Mail button.
Your question gets sent on its merry way to the Customer Service department.
Important Stuff You May Need Help With
There’s actually lots of important information in Help, but certain topics — ordering, shipping, returns, and (not surprisingly) privacy — seem to be the real hot spots with most Amazon customers.
Amazon has done such a thorough job of putting together their Help depart- ment that I don’t need to walk you through every possible question. I just help you get to the right information and point out any potholes along the way.
Ordering
Ordering itself is actually fairly simple (and I walk you through the process in Chapter 10). The reason I point out this section of the Help department is because there are some good answers here about what it means to order from an Amazon merchant or partner.
Figure 4-3:
The Customer Service E-Mail form.
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Go to the Ordering section of the Help page and then click the Ordering from Amazon Merchants link. The first eight choices in the Browse box will take you to pages that tell you not only who Amazon’s merchants and partners are, but a little bit about them and what their policies are. This is stuff you need to know “just in case.”
Shipping
You can find everything you might ever need to know about shipping in the Shipping section of the Help department. Particularly helpful are the items that demystify Super Saver shipping, In-store pickup, and shipping rates.
Returns
As far as I’m concerned, returns are the Achilles’ heel of online shopping. That said, you canreturn Amazon purchases, but there are rules to this game — and you can find them all in the Returns section of the Help department.
Here’s a quick overview of Amazon’s return policy. The nutshell version goes like this: You can return items that you bought from Amazon (at Amazon is a different matter and I’ll get to that in a moment) within 30 days of the deliv- ery date for a full refund, as long as it’s in its original condition with its origi- nal packaging and accessories, isn’t flammable, has its serial or UPC code, and isn’t a TV larger than 27 inches. You can get partial refunds for certain items that don’t meet the above criteria. To find out more about such “par- tials,” go to the Refunds section in the Help Department — you’ll find it under the Returns heading.
And here are a few things to watch out for:
Most Merchants: With the exception of Target and Marshall Field’s, Amazon merchants have their own returns policies and if you buy from those merchants atAmazon, you have to abide by their policies. In other words, returns go to the merchant, not to Amazon.
Target and Marshall Field’s: If you buy something through Amazon from either of these partners, you can only return to Amazon.com. You can’t take your item to a local Target or Marshall Field’s and return it.
You won’t get the shipping cost back. Unless the return is the result of an Amazon error, you won’t be reimbursed for shipping charges.
No exchanges. If you want a different size or color, you’ll have to reorder the item. Amazon can’t process exchanges.
Big TVs.If they’re larger than 27 inches, you can’t return them. What they advise you to do instead is to inspect the TV while the delivery person is still there — and if it doesn’t work, refuse the delivery. That way you can get a refund. If you want to return it and the delivery person is gone, you have to contact the manufacturer directly. (Ick.)
To actually make a return, you go to the Returns Center. You can get there by clicking the yellow Visit Our Returns Center button on the main Returns page in Help.
Here’s how to return an item that you bought from Amazon (I’ll explain how to return something you received as a gift later in the chapter):
1. At the Returns Center, click the circle next to I Ordered the Items and then click Continue.
The I Ordered the Items option will probably be selected already as it’s the default. If you’re not already signed in, you’ll be taken to a Sign In screen.
2. Enter your password in the field provided and click the Sign In Using Our Secure Server button.
You’ll come to a page that lists all the orders eligible for return.
3. Find the order for the item you want to return and click the Return an Item from This Order button.
You’ll come to a page that looks something like Figure 4-4. (If there was more than one item in your order, they’ll all be listed here.) Note that you can also return items that showed up in your shipment that you didn’t order. (This is for those honest Abes out there.)
Figure 4-4:
Here’s where you select the quantity of and reason for your return.
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4. Use the Reason drop-down menu to specify why you’re returning the item. Use the Quantity drop-down menu to specify how many items you’re returning, and then click the Continue button.
Reasons include things like “I ordered the wrong item,” “I found better prices elsewhere,” and “Product was defective/damaged when it arrived.”
If the reason for return is not an Amazon error, the shipping costs are deducted from your refund amount, so make sure you choose the right option!
5. In the new page that appears, choose your return shipping option and then click Continue.
Of these four choices, pick the one that works best for you by clicking the circle next to it:
• You can use the U.S. Postal Service and print out a label on your printer (from a page that Amazon generates).
• You can take the package to the post office and write out the label yourself.
• You can take the package to UPS and use a label that Amazon generates.
• You can have UPS come to your house.
6. In the new page that appears, follow the instructions for the shipping option you chose.
The page you get varies according to the shipping option you chose. The first three choices generate either a shipping label that you can actually print out and use, or instructions that tell you what to put on a label you create yourself. Then you just pack up the item you’re returning and send it off.
If you chose the fourth option (the UPS pickup), you’re finished after you complete Step 5 in the steps given here; Amazon schedules the pickup for you. Make sure that this UPS option is really the one you want before you click; after you click it, it’s a done deal.
Returning gifts is a different process. First of all, in order for youto receive the refund instead of the giver, the giver had to mark the item as a gift when they purchased it. If they did, here’s what happens:
For gifts purchased through your Wish List, they’ll send you a check.
Otherwise, they’ll mail you an Amazon.com gift certificate.
Either way, they’ll mail your refund to the same address where your order was shipped. And they won’t notify the gift giver that you returned their present.
If the item wasn’t marked as a gift when purchased or was not shipped directly to you, they’ll send a refund to the gift giver. In other words, the giver will know and they’ll get the cash. Darn.
To return a gift, you still have to go to the Returns Center (click the yellow Visit Our Returns Center button on the main Returns page in Help), but there the similarity ends. Here’s how to return a gift you received from Amazon.com:
1. At the Returns Center, click the circle next to I Received the Items as a Gift and then click Continue.
If you’re not already signed in, you’ll be taken to a Sign-In screen.
2. Enter your password in the field provided and click the Sign In Using Our Secure Server button.
You’ll come to a new page that asks you to enter your order number. To find your order number, get out the packing slip that arrived with your order. The order number is just below the bar code.
3. Enter your order number and quantity in the fields provided and click the Continue button.
Note that multiple quantities of the same item count as one item here.
4. Enter a description and quantity of the item you’re returning in the fields provided. Use the drop-down menu to give a reason for your return and then click Continue.
Note that you can add optional comments here — a good thing to do if you have an unusual circumstance or a reason not listed in the drop-down.
5. Enter your name, e-mail address, mailing address, and phone number in the fields provided and click Continue.
6. Choose your shipping label option and click Continue.
You’ll be at a page that looks like Figure 4-5. If you have a printer,
Amazon will generate a print-ready label that you can use. If not, you can write down the returns address and do it the old fashioned way.
MYOB! (privacy and security at Amazon.com)
Privacy and Security make up a category of their own within Help. If you go there, you’ll find all the information you need to feel safe shopping at Amazon.
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The Help department lists four key privacy and security policies:
Privacy Notice: This is Amazon’s privacy policy — the big daddy, chock- full of legalese. The nutshell version is that they don’t sell information and only share it with trusted partners, but if you’re concerned, you should read it in its entirety.
Safe Shopping Guarantee:This is Amazon’s promise to you that they’ve made it safe for you to give them your credit-card information online.
A-to-Z Guarantee Protection:This guarantee protects you from fraud up to $2,500 when you shop with Marketplace, Auctions, or zShops sellers.
You’ll find much more on this in Amazon’s Help Department. Click on Ordering from Amazon Merchants under the Ordering heading, and then click on A-to-Z Guarantee Protection.
Amazon.com Bill of Rights:This is exactly what it sounds like: a list of your rights when you shop at Amazon.
Amazon.com will never ask you to give them your credit card number via e-mail. The only time you’ll give them that information is on their Web site using their secure server.
Figure 4-5:
The last page in the gift return process.