eagerly waiting for 2nd Amazon tablet from Staples

[broadway]

I ordered two Amazon tablets from Staples.com on Black Friday.
I received only one. The box contained no packing peanuts or airbags whatsoever, just the packing slip and the tablet. The box itself was plain. No "Staples" on it.

So, Staples.com sends out another box with the tablet yesterday morning 11/29.

This is the tracking information that shows on ups.com
11/29/2016 5:36 P.M. --- Merchandise is missing. UPS will notify the sender with additional details. / All merchandise missing, empty carton was discarded. UPS will notify the sender with details of the damage.

Fortunately, I caught that and called Staples.com this morning which hopefully is in time for the item to be shipped out today so I get the tablet tomorrow.

In my 25+ years of ordering online this is the first time I have seen this sort of thing.

Was the box empty to begin with?

Internal theft by a worker?

[pb4uski]

Very odd.

Not on point but I just wrote a friend explaining that I would in the future buy an Android tablet and avoid Kindles since the Amazon/Google feud results in some lack of functionality, like being able to use Chromecast with my Kindle without cumbersome workarounds.

[broadway]

The deal was too good to miss.

I was thinking about giving it to a child on the Wish Tree.

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by broadway In my 25+ years of ordering online this is the first time I have seen this sort of thing. Was the box empty to begin with? Internal theft by a worker?

Maybe not all that uncommon; I think it's just an accidental omission by the person packing the box.

A few weeks ago I received a box I ordered through Amazon but shipped direct from the vendor. It was completely sealed and undamaged, but contained nothing but the packing slip. It was a relatively cheap item at only about $12, so I seriously doubt it was theft. Just inattention.

[broadway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister Maybe not all that uncommon; I think it's just an accidental omission by the person packing the box. A few weeks ago I received a box I ordered through Amazon but shipped direct from the vendor. It was completely sealed and undamaged, but contained nothing but the packing slip. It was a relatively cheap item at only about $12, so I seriously doubt it was theft. Just inattention.

It is the second incident for the same Amazon tablet from the same Staples.com facility which is why I am suspicious.

[ivinsfan]

That's a mystery, the tablets can be small but aren't exactly pocket size. How would you get them out of the warehouse? I ordered 2 of the 8 inch Fires for 59 bucks each at 10 PM Thanksgiving night and they were delivered Monday at noon. Directly from Amazon so they were both pre-configured to start right up with our apps and info pre loaded. It's amazing when you think about it. Great tablets and for 59 bucks I don't have any problems with lack of functionality...it's really all about price point. What would be a good price for an 8 inch HD Android tablet?

[ExFlyBoy5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ivinsfan That's a mystery, the tablets can be small but aren't exactly pocket size. How would you get them out of the warehouse?

This. You aren't really going to sneak out an Amazon warehouse with much of anything. They take theft very seriously and I don't think it's much of a problem.

Years ago, I used to work for a VHS manufacturing facility. Obviously, the videos were made about a month prior to the release, so there was always a HUGE concern of a copy being lifted for bootleg purposes. At any given time, they knew the whereabouts of every single tape in that huge warehouse. And on several occasions, the building would be locked down when a tape would fall off the line or somehow get misplaced. And this was in the mid 90's when the tracking technology wasn't so great...

[MichaelB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister Maybe not all that uncommon; I think it's just an accidental omission by the person packing the box. A few weeks ago I received a box I ordered through Amazon but shipped direct from the vendor. It was completely sealed and undamaged, but contained nothing but the packing slip. It was a relatively cheap item at only about $12, so I seriously doubt it was theft. Just inattention.

This is my guess. I worked in a warehouse picking orders (4 college summers). It was mind-numbing then, and with automation, must be 10X more so now. People make very simple mistakes when they lose focus, which is incredibly easy to do over a long shift when the task demands so little.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by broadway I ordered two Amazon tablets from Staples.com on Black Friday. I received only one. The box contained no packing peanuts or airbags whatsoever, just the packing slip and the tablet. The box itself was plain. No "Staples" on it. So, Staples.com sends out another box with the tablet yesterday morning 11/29. This is the tracking information that shows on ups.com 11/29/2016 5:36 P.M. --- Merchandise is missing. UPS will notify the sender with additional details. / All merchandise missing, empty carton was discarded. UPS will notify the sender with details of the damage. Fortunately, I caught that and called Staples.com this morning which hopefully is in time for the item to be shipped out today so I get the tablet tomorrow. In my 25+ years of ordering online this is the first time I have seen this sort of thing. Was the box empty to begin with? Internal theft by a worker?

A few years ago DH ordered a GPS unit from Amazon, and happened to be at the RV office when UPS delivered it, the box looked suspicious - like it had been tampered with, and he saw that what was inside was not what he ordered. So he was able to refuse the shipment and told Amazon why. We always wondered whether someone on the line somewhere or out in the shipping bay was subbing products and stealing the original.

But we never ever had this happen again.

I expect yours was just a mistake during a very busy season.

[Gotadimple]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ivinsfan What would be a good price for an 8 inch HD Android tablet?

Depends on specs and the manufacturer. From $109 to $299. Samsung is the big gun for Android, and they have the highest price. I spotted an RCA at Target for $109, but the screen color is the issue, and Samsung comes with an AMOLED screen, which is just about the best - besides the IPads.

[broadway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ExFlyBoy5 This. You aren't really going to sneak out an Amazon warehouse with much of anything. They take theft very seriously and I don't think it's much of a problem.

It is an Amazon tablet, but I bought it from Staples, so it came from Staples' warehouse.

The odd thing is that the tracking number shows the box as entering the UPS system in Secaucus, NJ, but the warehouse is about 2 hours from Secaucus in NY state. So who has control of the box from the warehouse, and how did it get to Secaucus?

I just called Staples.com and they told me that box #3 is apparently being sent from a different location. It will be coming from somewhere in NJ by a Staples driver. That's a new one!