NOTE: This blog-post has been revised. I had originally included a factual error, the result of sloppy research, in the previous version.
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If any of my two or three regular readers live in Seattle, you may object to this post, because it pans one of your local self-made men, Jeff Bezos, and his firm, Amazon dot com.
Back story: I found the perfect Xmas present for one of my daughters. It is a JIS 9000, waterproof and rubber armored "boom-box". Note that the definition of such has changed in the last 30 years. Boomboxes used to weigh 20#+, and take up the entire back seat of your Honda Civic. These were also known as "ghetto blasters". This one I just bought (well, I THINK I've bought it, it's not here yet) Is tiny by blaster standards, but it's what the yutes go for now. Good for them, they're keeping their music more personal.
But I digress.
So, I buy this item online, and immediately start getting bombarded with emails by Amazon. First email was one asking if I wanted to keep shopping. Deleted. Then, one stating that they had received my order. Saved it. Then another exclaiming that they were processing the order. Deleted, then one stating it had been shipped. Saved it. Then several more stating it had been shipped. Trashbin.
Then a curious phenomenon: I start getting phone calls from something called QRI. They called for two days, maybe 8 to 10 calls. I never answered any of them and they never left a message, but I did get curious: after research, it seems that they are associated with Amazon! Will wonders never cease? My research said they would remove me from their robocall stack, dial their # back and hit a two. Did that and the calls ceased, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. a scammy taste.
Then, this ayem, I get up and look at the email. Some outfit I never heard of, "TechGiant", wants me to evaluate my purchase. Strange, since I had ordered it as a present and wrapped and the purchase had not involved "TechGiant".
There are smoke and mirrors here. Why? Has Amazon gotten too big too fast? Why doesn't their site tell you up front who you are actually purchasing from? EBay does that, so why can't Bezos? Why doesn't TechGiant show up in searches? There is just no information out there on them. Amazon DOES have a review system, but there is none for TechGiant. If I had answered that email and reviewed my purchase, where would the review have gone? This reminds me of the gamblers who used to ride the buses in DeeCee where I grew up, doing their Shell Game for nickels and dimes...
Now, add this experience to another difficulty I just had with the Amazon about my Kindle account, and well, I have lost faith in this company to do business in a fair, trustworthy and equitable manner.
World: Beware of Scamazon dot com