Delivery Dates for Pre-Orders from Amazon

LOceadge on 15/07/2020 - 17:47

I have a Prime subscription and I have pre-ordered many games from Amazon Australia which, until recently, have always been delivered on release day. However, the last Switch game I pre-ordered (51 Worldwide Games), wasn't delivered until the following week. When I contacted Amazon support, they told me that they have never guaranteed release day delivery for games and that I might like to pay extra for "Expedited Delivery". They did apologise though and gave me a $10 voucher which was nice.

I pre-ordered Paper Mario: The Origami King from Amazon back in May which has a release date this coming Friday, 17th July. I received an e-mail from Amazon today informing me of an updated delivery date: "Estimated arrival date: 20/07/2020 - 21/07/2020". Is this a new tactic to try to get people to pay extra for "Expedited Delivery"?

I have not had any issues with Australia Post delivering my games from Amazon. I usually get a shipping notification at around 6pm and it will arrive the following morning (to Sydney suburbs). I have ordered a few items from Amazon this month and they have always arrived two days later. So, if I order something from them now, the chances are it will be delivered to me on Friday morning. So, why can't a game I ordered two months ago be delivered on Friday? Something doesn't seem right! Maybe they just haven't received stock of this particular game yet which could explain it. But I was wondering if others have had a similar experience with recent pre-orders?

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Comments

  • trustnoone on 15/07/2020 - 18:18
    +1

    Got the same email from Amazon today re Paper Mario so I do wonder if they're doing it to everyone. I would say due to covid but honestly I've always found Amazon and Gamesmen to never arrive on release day and I live smack bang in the middle of Sydney (not saying its their fault or anything though).

    I hear some people buy from EBGames, play the weekend and return the Amazon copy to EBGames? I'm not really one to do that though, and I typically just buy at JB HiFi if I want day one playing.

    • Faro on 15/07/2020 - 18:48
      +1

      Even though it's dodgy, EB have a 7-day return policy on all games no questions asked. If you can finish a game within seven days you can return the copy for a full refund and EB will then sell the game as new again (also why people complain about "new" games being in poor condition).

      This policy will surely be removed (or limited to preowned games like at GameStop in the US) if it gets abused though.

      • cille745 on 15/07/2020 - 19:16

        It's actually the primary reason they started the EB World cards, so that they could stop this. I've heard if you do it more than twice you're blacklisted or something similar

  • Faro on 15/07/2020 - 18:45
    +2

    My guess is Nintendo have sent out very strict orders to ensure people don't get first party titles before release day due to the prominence of gaming leaks that have occurred over the last few years.

    Couple that with the fact Nintendo first party titles always release on a Friday and that Covid has led to increased online ordering and slower shipping in general and I think you can figure out the delay.

    The latest game I ordered was Xenoblade Chronicles DE which also arrived late - being the Tuesday following the Friday release

    • Oceadge on 15/07/2020 - 19:13

      Yeah, I wonder if publishers aren't happy that some Amazon customers have been getting their games before the release dates?

      I understand that deliveries can be slower with all the online orders these days as you mentioned but I haven't experienced any problems in that regard. If Amazon ship the order tomorrow night and it doesn't arrive until next week then that would be fair enough. But, the last game I pre-ordered wasn't shipped until the evening of the release day. And if I can order something from Amazon today and have it delivered on Friday (as I have had experience with recently) then I don't think the issue is with that.

  • jimbobaus on 15/07/2020 - 20:50
    +1

    Its three things
    1) Nintendo have strict street dates that must be adhered too, amazon cant send it out too early
    2) Aus Post is literally taking 3 days to deliver within the same state let alone other states
    3) They are right when they say they have never promised release day, in fact everything they sell when a date is shown has a * showing that factors outside their control can delay things.

    • lint on 16/07/2020 - 10:30
      +1

      1) Nintendo have strict street dates that must be adhered too, amazon cant send it out too early

      Yes, but they're allowed to ship it so that the customer receives it on launch day. I've gotten most of my previous preorders from Amazon shipped 1-2 days ahead and delivered on launch day.

      • jimbobaus on 16/07/2020 - 10:44
        +1

        yes, and they have had instances of things arriving early.
        There was an article a few months back that said Amazon would be shipping nintendo stuff a day later than usual to ensure street dates are not broken

        • lint on 16/07/2020 - 10:47
          +1

          I see, I was not aware of any policy change but that probably explains the later delivery.

          Not in a hurry to receive this so I can wait out the weekend but this will make me reconsider Amazon if I want it on launch day.

          • jimbobaus on 16/07/2020 - 10:49

            @lint: You are in Sydney so in the usual scheme of things you should get launch day from Amazon as they have a warehouse in Sydney so overnight is likely if sent on the Thursday. They also use same day couriers a lot (have had a lot of parcels come in evening from same day services used by Amazon)

            The issue at the moment is Aus Post are taking 2-3 days to deliver within the same city at the moment so launch day is unlikely from any if not all retailers.

            I had a parcel come last Sunday from Aus Post which was due on Friday. They are doing extra runs just to try and keep up.

            • lint on 17/07/2020 - 13:31

              @jimbobaus: I'm gonna lean on this being caused by COVID-19. I took a look at the history and the previous game didn't ship until well after 5pm on launch day. Same with Paper Mario today, still preparing to ship on launch day.

  • lint on 16/07/2020 - 10:29
    +1

    Exact same thing happened to me with the same two games. I didn't complain to them about it though. Could it be due to COVID-19 measures they can't fulfill orders in time for launch?

    In terms of not guaranteeing launch day arrival, I'm pretty sure their item listings say get it on (date) when preordering, that's a pretty important thing so I dunno why they're now saying they never guarantee launch day arrival.

    • jimbobaus on 16/07/2020 - 10:54

      the Get It On Date has always had a disclaimer (site terms and conditions) that its "indicative and not a promise"

  • trustnoone on 17/07/2020 - 13:34
    +1

    Ergh apparently Amazon hasn't even shipped it yet, at this point it would've been easier buying from a random. Luckily I wasn't hoping to play it this weekend, but now I might cancel my Cyberpunk 2077 pre-order because no way am I waiting for Amazon to "finally get around to it" for that game.

    • Oceadge on 17/07/2020 - 18:39

      Yeah, mine hasn't shipped yet either.
      Incidentally, I ordered something else from Amazon on Wednesday night and it arrived this morning but Paper Mario, which I pre-ordered back in May hasn't even shipped yet?
      I know others have mentioned that Amazon might be trying to avoid people getting Nintendo games before the day of release but we're past that now.
      I am still suspicious that they are trying to get people to pay for Expedited delivery for games now.
      I too am worried about my Cyberpunk 2077 pre-order!

      • trustnoone on 17/07/2020 - 20:13
        +1

        I am still suspicious that they are trying to get people to pay for Expedited delivery for games now.

        It looks like Amazon is just being crappy, had a look at my account now and I do have expedited shipping (probably because I have Prime) and still not sent.

        https://imgur.com/qLXcn01

        I'm probably just going to cancel the preorder, my cyberpunk preorder (I need that guaranteed launch day) and amazon prime. Probably good for me to save money anyway.

  • MitchyD1989 on 04/09/2020 - 09:30
    +1

    Just got burned by them again over this. THPS1+2 releases today, and I pre-ordered months ago, the entire time the listing said it would be delivered today; the purchase in my Order History still even says it's arriving today.

    But as of this morning it still hasn't been dispatched, and I've now just received an email saying that it will be delayed. Pretty disappointed to not get an email until the day it's supposed to be arriving that there's a delay. Not the end of the world, I can play something else over the weekend (or if I change my mind later in the day, my local JB HiFi has it ready for pickup in an hour for only $5 more), but if you want to guarantee you get a game on release date, don't buy it from Amazon; go get it in-store instead. I sure as hell will be in future lol.

    • bulldoglikeapproach on 04/09/2020 - 11:48

      Exact same here, got the email saying it will be delayed.

      Interestingly my order says it will now arrive by 11pm today whereas previously it said 8pm today. I'm almost certain it's not coming though as I don't live in a major city and it hasn't been shipped yet.

      Same happened to me with Paper Mario, it ended up arriving Monday. Friday releases are the worst for delivery.

    • Darkscythe on 04/09/2020 - 14:54

      Same here. Complained to Amazon when I saw it had been delayed and was meant to get release day delivery and got a $5 voucher as an apology. I always found them reliable in the past but since COVID, it's got really bad.

      • MitchyD1989 on 04/09/2020 - 14:57

        You're lucky you even got that lol, all I got was an apology message and a reassurance that "they'll pass this onto the team to ensure this doesn't happen again".

    • Xenocaust on 04/09/2020 - 18:50

      I ordered it 3 months ago.

      I saw it in EBGames earlier, and hoped it'd be here this afternoon.

      Apparently it shipped with Australia Post today, and is forecast to be with me in 10 days. I'm in Perth

    • MitchyD1989 on 14/09/2020 - 09:41

      Has anyone who preordered THPS from Amazon actually received it yet? Mine didn't end up shipping until Saturday (5th), and as of now I still haven't received it. I know once Amazon ships it then that's beyond them and on AusPost instead, but they've always shipped their preorders a day or 2 early in the past.

      Just a bad coincidence between shipping late and delays in general on delivery in Melbourne due to Covid.

      • bulldoglikeapproach on 14/09/2020 - 16:58

        Yes, mine actually arrived on the Saturday the 5th via AusPost which I didn't realise was a thing.

        I would definitely be chasing that up. It should have a tracking number on your order. Check where it is and live chat to Amazon to ask for a partial refund.

        • MitchyD1989 on 14/09/2020 - 17:40

          That's good in your case, yeah they've started working/delivering on weekends to keep up with the demand since Covid.

          I've been checking the tracking daily haha, got to Melbourne from Sydney last Tuesday but hasn't moved since then. Chased up with Amazon last night (not that they can do much since shipping it but was more complaining about the fact it was shipped late), the person I chatted to tried to ship a replacement via courier but they're out of stock. In the end they refunded me the full price plus a credit on top as an apology, and I get to keep it when it eventually arrives.

          My mates who got it on release day have already stopped playing and gone back to COD and what not which is a little disappointing, but will still be good for nostalgia at least, and can't complain too much considering I made money out of it in the end lol.

          • bulldoglikeapproach on 14/09/2020 - 18:15
            +1

            @MitchyD1989: Yeah that's a good result, free game I guess. I'm about 15 hours in and have 100% the first game and about 90% the second. There's heaps of content though, definitely worth the wait.

            Enjoy mate.

            • MitchyD1989 on 21/09/2020 - 16:48

              @bulldoglikeapproach: Finally turned up today haha. Thanks mate, look forward to finally getting into it, got plenty of catching up to do.

  • Tames71 on 16/09/2020 - 06:16

    Usually when I get pre-orders on Amazon they arrive 1 to 3 days after release.

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