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PSA: Amazon Subscribe & Save - check your order history closely, Amazon may be overcharging you for certain SD purchases. Edited to add: FIRST S&S purchase can get changed. First!!

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Edited to add very important detail: This is about THE VERY FIRST S&S ORDER. It is understood that subsequent S&S order prices may change but most SD veterans believe their first order is guaranteed at the price you signed up for S&S with. This is not the case as per Amazon.


tl:dr version:
You see a widget for $9 on Amazon Nov 24th.
Place S&S order for $9 on Amazon Nov 24th.
Amazon cancels $9 S&S item BEFORE YOU EVER GET A SINGLE WIDGET on Dec 11th.
Amazon re-enters the widget for you a week or two later for $18.
You receive your VERY FIRST WIDGET for $18.
You NEVER GOT your widget for $9. SHADY.

Comments below: Future S&S shipments are never guaranteed!
Replies below: Yeah we KNOW, this is about the VERY FIRST ORDER which is supposed to be guaranteed!!
Just a PSA. Check your cancelled orders. This is fishy and usually only about a few bucks but wth are they thinking...

I learned something pretty irritating today and thought I'd share with the SD commnity.

Why you should care: Your VERY FIRST S&S 'deal' may be deleted without notice and reinstated at a higher price without notice. Edited to add: This is the VERY FIRST shipment that you expect to get at the low price you INITIALLY added the S&S item.

Why SD should care: Original orders made via SD click-thru are cancelled, and recreated via Amazon backend systems without referrer information.
Mod Note: Just to clarify - this is not a Slickdeals link-related issue. It can even possibly affect S&S orders placed simply visiting Amazon.com directly. We merely host/provide details about S&S deals on SD, but don't have any direct bearing over how Amazon processes customer orders. ~RevOne
OP Note: Thanks - SD has nothing to do with this, it's strictly an Amazon issue. It hurts the SD community/users and it hurts SD the site as legitimately earned commissions are getting wiped out by Amazon.

On 11/24 I ordered this S&S slickdeal on cat treats for $7.57+T:
https://slickdeals.net/f/12346951

Quote :
Email confirmation:
Total Before Tax: $7.57
Estimated Tax: $0.66
Gift Card: -$0.00
Order Total: $8.23
On 12/2 I ordered this S&S slickdeal on cat food for $10.97+T:
https://slickdeals.net/f/12390508

Quote :
Email confirmation:
Total Before Tax: $10.97
Estimated Tax: $0.96
Gift Card: -$0.00
Order Total: $11.93
These were the only 2 items that were set to be delivered via S&S on 12/18/18.

Quote :
Hi Arcanlaw,
Thank you for setting up a new auto-delivery with Subscribe & Save.

SHIP TO 1234 MY ADDRESS
SUBSCRIPTION Purina One Tender Selects Blend With Rea...
AUTO-DELIVERED Every 6 months
FIRST AUTO-DELIVERY BY Tuesday, December 18


SUBSCRIPTION Temptations Cat Treats, Savory Salmon Fl...
AUTO-DELIVERED Every 6 months
FIRST AUTO-DELIVERY BY Tuesday, December 18
Never thought anything of this order - obviously a low-priority "whenever I get them is fine" kind of thing, just ordered due to SD effect (I do have a cat mind you).

Edited to add: I never got the 12/18 shipment. Never noticed because it's Christmas season and I have a dozen other boxes arriving daily and didn't really remember about random cat food and cat treats, and frankly didn't care, figured they would show up eventually.

I got an email today about my January S&S with 5 items on the way and thought, "weird, I remember adding a couple more S&S items but 5 seems like a lot" so I check my Amazon account, order history, and see two items added to my order history on 12/25/18. I'm like, wth - Christmas day I was running between family homes opening gifts and drinking egg-nog, what's with these two orders? They were:

Quote :
Purina One Tender Selects Blend With Rea $19.94+T - S&S Discount
Temptations Cat Treats, Savory Salmon Fl $14.98+T - S&S Discount
Those two items were re-ordered at twice the price, without ever sending me a single email!! I searched my gmail for Purina and only see the original S&S order confirmation and same with Temptations.

I tried Amazon Chat to figure out what happened:

Quote :
Me: Something is wrong with order 113-xxxxxx-xxxxxxxxxx - I never cancelled but it shows as cancelled, then someone added the item at twice the price on 12/25. This is fraudulent activity.
You are now connected to Senthil from Amazon.com
Senthil: Hello, my name is Senthil. I'm here to help you today.
Hi John
Me: Hi
Senthil: I understand your concern, I'll surely help you.
Me: I was reviewing my S&S items and I see something that is very strange.
On 12/2/2018 I submitted an order for this item "Purina One Tender Selects" ... it is cat food.
I see in my email:
Total Before Tax:
Estimated Tax:
Gift Card:
Order Total:
$10.97
$0.96
-$0.00
$11.93
total after tax $11.93
Today I looked under "Orders" and I see an order placed on 12/25/18 for that item, total of $19.52
This is strange because 12/25 is Christmas day - I was at a family party all day, never spent a minute on Amazon
Senthil: Let me connect you to a member of the team that will best be able to help you with this. It will only take a moment.
A Customer Service Associate will be with you in a moment.
You are now connected to Vishal from Amazon.com
Vishal: Hello, my name is Vishal. Please give me a moment to review the previous correspondence.
Me: Thanks
Vishal: You are welcome.
Please allow me a moment to connect you with right team.
A Customer Service Associate will be with you in a moment.
You are now connected to PAOLA KARINA from Amazon.com
A Customer Service Associate will be with you in a moment.
You are now connected to Raiyan from Amazon.com
Raiyan: Hello, my name is Raiyan. Please give me a moment to review the previous correspondence.
Me: ok...
Raiyan: This issue requires additional troubleshooting which is easier and faster over the phone.
If you'd like to give us a call, visit https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer...(See full link) and follow the prompts. We're available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Me: Can someone call me at 555-867-5309
Raiyan: Just a moment pleas
To contact us by phone, visit https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer...(See full link) and follow the prompts. Choosing the Phone option when asked "How would you like to contact us?"
(Here, I called)
I then spent 62 minutes getting transferred from one rep to another before finally escalating to someone that told me the following:

Amazon may, at their discretion, cancel a S&S order(s) if the price is lower than Amazon would like. They may do this at any time and without notification to the customer.

Amazon may then re-enter that S&S item(s) to a customer's account at the then-current price. They may do this at any time and without notification to the customer.

Please check your order history, especially S&S orders, and verify the price you are being charged is the price you agreed to pay. The price in your order history should be the same as the price you see in your initial email confirmation from Amazon.

Also keep an eye on your cancelled orders - even orders that are automatically cancelled without notifying you should show up there, so if you see something you didn't personally cancel, start investigating:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/your-ac...=cancelled

Edit: Adding this note from JVGeneration which shows that the cancellation tab may not help you either. Stay vigilant and keep your email confirmations!

Quote from JVGeneration :
Amazon cancelled a S&S order and removed it from my cancelled orders page. They tried to ship it with my S&S at full price. The only proof I had for the lower price was an email confirmation - they had removed all traces of the original order from my account.
Final edit: received apology via email (attached) of the escalated CS rep that I spoke to.
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Last Edited by vasu1 January 2, 2019 at 12:12 PM
UPDATE: While what the OP has described may have possibly actually happened to some people, make sure you are checking the right place on your account before assuming you may have been overcharged.
Check this post here for an example. IF you discover that Amazon has in fact cancelled and changed the price on your first delivery under Order Details/Invoice, THEN you need contact them. Otherwise, make sure you are looking in the right place on your account to see what you're actually going to be charged before possibly mistakenly thinking you may be getting overcharged for your first S&S delivery.
-----------
Subscribe and Save does not guarantee prices.

You are always billed at the then current price when the month renews.


The OP is talking about the VERY FIRST ORDER which you THINK is guaranteed. It is NOT guaranteed.

Can OP describe where he saw the price of the new order? Does order history only show the new price and is there always a trail for cancelled order under ""Cancelled" tab?
-----------

It seems OP's two *first* S&S orders were not delivered/removed by Amazon; correct me if I am wrong.

This seems like outright deception/fraud (even though fine print probably says they can change price anytime). When you order first time at a given price, that should be the price you get atleast for first order. If it goes on news, I am sure Amazon will quickly 'find the mistake' in their order processing system and fix it.

----------

i CAN also CONFIRM that amazon pull a fast one one me bunch of times.
at least in my experience. i have noticed as early as in 2017 that i have not been getting the "coupons" or the % offs on even my first s&s delivery. When i chatted with the CS they asked me for proof as in the copy of initial order confirmation email. since then: i am saving all those emails in a special folder.

regardless of this revelation,/ OP post just want to ADD this additional INFO from MY EXPERIENCE that subsequent deliveries or EVEN THE FIRST DELIVERY IF "YOU" CHANGE THE DELIVERY DATE OR POSTPONE THE DELIVERY TO NEXT MONTH, that ORDER will may be may be charged at CURRENT PRICE with no discounts.

Note: OP had said multiple times that the delivery date was not changed, and nothing was ever postponed.
-----------

There is a similar issue that I have encountered at least eleven times in the past four months (starting in September 2018) as a way for Amazon to avoid delivering deeply discounted Subscribe & Save items:
Package damaged and will not be delivered / It can't be delivered / Undeliverable : Damaged / Lost in transit

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Joined May 2004
L5: Journeyman
> bubble2 612 Posts
LongLogSmith
01-02-2019 at 06:46 AM.
01-02-2019 at 06:46 AM.
Quote from m1ght :
My guess is that 1st month order was cancelled due to stock issue.
Then 2nd month subscription kicked in and automatically placed a new order based on the new price.
I can confirm instances of that exact description in order review. Case of boost from an SD deal out of stock at the time of my standard S&S delivery so not included with the rest of the items, then back in stock and shipped out 3 days later; at a substantially higher price than the deal, no coupon applied. As one example.
Reply
Joined Apr 2014
L5: Journeyman
> bubble2 693 Posts
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aejoseph5
01-02-2019 at 09:05 AM.
01-02-2019 at 09:05 AM.
Quote from poohbie :
You are their target customer for S&S. nod Set it and forget it.
No, only ever subscribe for the first month and then cancel. OP is saying my first month may have changed in price without notifying me. I have not checked what I actually pay against the price I subscribed at. I always thought the first month subscription fee was locked in Frown
Reply
Joined Jul 2009
I am
> bubble2 18,057 Posts
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iamiamian
01-02-2019 at 09:08 AM.
01-02-2019 at 09:08 AM.
Quote from aejoseph5 :
I always thought the first month subscription fee was locked in Frown
It is, unless the item is OOS and they cancel it before the ship date. I guess the issue is the increase in number of items that go OOS.
Reply
Joined Apr 2014
L5: Journeyman
> bubble2 693 Posts
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aejoseph5
01-02-2019 at 09:12 AM.
01-02-2019 at 09:12 AM.
Quote from iamiamian :
It is, unless the item is OOS and they cancel it before the ship date. I guess the issue is the increase in number of items that go OOS.
Per OP the item does not have to go OOS for the price to change.. It is changed without notice and shipped on the expected date.

"Your VERY FIRST S&S 'deal' may be deleted without notice and reinstated at a higher price without notice"
Reply
Joined Jan 2005
Better is better!
> bubble2 1,351 Posts
Shigadeyo
01-02-2019 at 09:16 AM.
01-02-2019 at 09:16 AM.
Package damaged and will not be delivered

I need to review all of my orders for what has been described as my experience has been slightly different. Most of the Amazon orders are shipped by Amazon Logistics in my area, so the game they have been playing here is that they will mark items/shipments as "Package damaged and will not be delivered" for some Subscribe & Save items including and typically the FIRST S&S shipment (almost always any item the order price is greatly discounted from the current price). This has happened 11 times to me in the past several months, all starting in September. In many cases, NO notification is provided, items simply don't show up and then the "Package damaged and will not be delivered" / "It can't be delivered" / "Undeliverable : Damaged" / "Lost in transit" reason is given in the order history. In each case I then need to contact Amazon Customer Service to get a response and they don't handle it the same way each time. It seems that in the case of the largest discounts, they automatically just refund the original order and close the case, sometimes they state that the order can be placed again and then I need to request the difference in price and in very rare cases they will setup a replacement order themselves. It is getting VERY frustrating. S&S is becoming a huge pain in the butt, especially on deeply discounted deals and items placed early in the month and then forgotten.

Recent examples of "undeliverable" or "damaged" or "lost in transit" for FIRST Subscribe & Save orders from recent Slickdeals:
  • Dec - "I and love and you" Naked Essentials Lamb & Bison Grain Free Dry Dog Food, 23 LB
  • Dec - Lavazza Premium House Blend Ground Coffee, Medium Roast, 10-Ounce Cans (Pack of 4)
  • Dec - Seventh Generation Toilet Paper, Bath Tissue, 100% Recycled Paper, 48 Count
  • Oct - Mrs. Meyer´s Clean Day Dish Soap, Basil, 16 fl oz, 3 ct
  • Sep - Method Foaming Hand Soap, Sea Minerals, 10 Ounce (Pack 6)
  • Sep - Cameron's Coffee Roasted Ground Coffee Bag, Fireside Blend, 10 Ounce
  • Sep - Lavazza Caffe Espresso Whole Bean Coffee Blend, Medium Roast, 2.2-Pound Bag
    Cameron's Coffee Roasted Ground Coffee Bag, Fireside Blend, 10 Ounce
  • Sep - Eight O'Clock Whole Bean Coffee, The Original, 24 Ounce
  • Sep - Quaker Life Original Cereal, 13 oz Boxes, 3 Count
  • Sep - HEALTH WARRIOR Chia Bars, Apple Cinnamon, Gluten Free, Vegan, 25g bars, 15 Count
  • Sep - Finish - All in 1-94ct - Dishwasher Detergent - Powerball - Dishwashing Tablets - Dish Tabs - Fresh Scent (Packaging May Vary)
Reply
Last edited by Shigadeyo January 2, 2019 at 09:37 AM.
Joined Jul 2009
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> bubble2 18,057 Posts
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iamiamian
01-02-2019 at 09:30 AM.
01-02-2019 at 09:30 AM.
Quote from aejoseph5 :
Per OP the item does not have to go OOS for the price to change.. It is changed without notice and shipped on the expected date.

"Your VERY FIRST S&S 'deal' may be deleted without notice and reinstated at a higher price without notice"
That has not been verified by anyone, including the OP.
Reply
Joined Sep 2013
Thank you for the music
> bubble2 2,669 Posts
plusring
01-02-2019 at 10:08 AM.
01-02-2019 at 10:08 AM.
Quote from Shigadeyo :
Package damaged and will not be delivered

... This has happened 11 times to me in the past several months, all starting in September. In many cases, NO notification is provided, items simply don't show up and then the "Package damaged and will not be delivered" / "It can't be delivered" / "Undeliverable : Damaged" / "Lost in transit" reason is given in the order history. In each case I then need to contact Amazon Customer Service to get a response and they don't handle it the same way each time...
Wow!

+1 rep!
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Joined Apr 2014
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aejoseph5
01-02-2019 at 10:48 AM.
01-02-2019 at 10:48 AM.
Quote from iamiamian :
That has not been verified by anyone, including the OP.

Isn't that the whole point of this post
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Joined Jul 2009
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> bubble2 18,057 Posts
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iamiamian
01-02-2019 at 11:54 AM.
01-02-2019 at 11:54 AM.
Quote from aejoseph5 :
Isn't that the whole point of this post
Not sure what your point is. OP made a claim. Others have jumped in to declare Amazon is evil. Some have offered reasons why some S&S orders have changed price.
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Joined Dec 2014
L3: Novice
> bubble2 213 Posts
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Qbtova
01-02-2019 at 01:45 PM.
01-02-2019 at 01:45 PM.
Thanks, OP. You reminded me to cancel two subscribe and save subs. Once my prime ends later this month I will not be renewing. Not worth it at $119 a year. The last straw for me to not renew was when they took away the 20% off video game preorders. Their shipping is slower and amazon has definitely gone down hill compared to years ago. Will take my business elsewhere as much as I can.
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Joined Oct 2007
L5: Journeyman
> bubble2 818 Posts
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DownSouthTyler
01-02-2019 at 02:35 PM.
01-02-2019 at 02:35 PM.
so has anyone in this group thought of hiring a class action lawyer. i've been following this and i think we've 'got something here'
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Joined Oct 2016
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> bubble2 1,135 Posts
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KaiyoJinn
01-02-2019 at 02:39 PM.
01-02-2019 at 02:39 PM.
Quote from DownSouthTyler :
so has anyone in this group thought of hiring a class action lawyer. i've been following this and i think we've 'got something here'
I'm no lawyer or anything; but I think until enough people band together and supply substantial enough evidence that Amazon is routinely charging people more than what they're placing their orders for once they ship, I don't see how that could happen yet (if at all).

People would need to gather their initial order confirmation emails showing what price they originally submitted the orders at; then match that against what Amazon is actually charging them on their bank/credit card statements and Amazon invoices for those transactions. No one in this thread has done anything like that yet and/or shared records to prove there are definite shenanigans going on, so that would need to be the first step I'd think.

Otherwise, I don't see what evidence there would be to present that would benefit anyone saying they've been affected adversely by this. My thoughts anyway Smilie

edit - For example, a person earlier in the thread mistakenly thought/posted that Amazon changed and increased the prices of their S&S orders; but it turned out the person wasn't looking in the right place on their account. Once they checked the right place, they found they'd made an honest error, Amazon wasn't charging them more after all and the orders were fine. So you'd need a group of people with solid enough evidence to back up the class action lawsuit.
Reply
Last edited by KaiyoJinn January 2, 2019 at 02:47 PM.
Joined Oct 2010
L10: Grand Master
> bubble2 6,328 Posts
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YanksIn2009
01-02-2019 at 02:46 PM.
01-02-2019 at 02:46 PM.
I have not seen this from Amazon and S&S items are about the only thing I use Amazon for these days. I never carry a S&S subscription to the second month as I always cancel it after delivery. The only time I have seen an order change price upwards is when there was a coupon in play which reduced the price and later in the month when it shipped, Amazon conveniently did not apply the coupon. I just called and got the credit for the over charge as I keep track of all orders. Whether they can just up charge you at their discretion I have no idea, but I would tend to doubt it as you can just return the item in the worst case.
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Joined Sep 2013
Thank you for the music
> bubble2 2,669 Posts
plusring
01-02-2019 at 03:34 PM.
01-02-2019 at 03:34 PM.
From now on, I'll take a screen capture of my S&S invoice (for the 1st order) and then compare charged $$ when the order is shipped.

Edit:
On the Invoice page, there is this link: "Print this page for your records."
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Last edited by plusring January 2, 2019 at 06:09 PM.

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Joined Mar 2005
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Nack
01-02-2019 at 03:38 PM.
01-02-2019 at 03:38 PM.
Quote from plusring :
From now on, I'll take a screen capture of my S&S invoice (for the 1st order) and then compare charged $$ when the order is shipped.
Same here. Trusted them until I read this. Recent orders all look ok, but this makes me wary of S&S deals. I will be watching and if they pull this on me I will post several places to let others know and will stop using S&S cold. It just isn't worth the hassle. I understand the price may adjust for subsequent shipments, but the first order should ship as placed and to do otherwise would be dishonest.

Amazon needs to publicly respond to this thread in a reassuring way (or at least issue a press release) if they don't want it to go viral that S&S is a scam (not saying it is, just that one could reasonably draw that inference from the content of several posts here, and if I were Amazon I would nip this in the bud fast by clarifying that S&S prices for the first shipment are in fact locked in).

For the record I'm not an Amazon hater. I'm a Prime member who spends thousands of dollars a year there and a relatively early shareholder who wants Amazon to succeed. But it doesn't need this kind of press.
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Last edited by Nack January 2, 2019 at 03:53 PM.
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