Amazon blacklists south africa's post office

Necuno

Necuno

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*waves* @ amazon

iol
Rampant theft by Post Office workers has infuriated internet retailing giant Amazon so much that it will no longer send goods to South Africa by post, Business Day has reported.

Anyone wanting to order directly from the US-based website must now pay for a private courier service adding about R420 to the price of a DVD.

No one from the Post Office would comment.

No other African country's postal service had been blacklisted by Amazon, Business Day said. - Sapa
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http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=nw20080618071522725C408859

businessday
Information Technology Editor

RAMPANT theft by Post Office workers has infuriated the internet retailing giant Amazon so much that it will no longer send goods to SA by post.

Anyone wanting to order directly from the US-based website must now pay for a private courier service — adding about R420 to the price of a DVD.

SA’s postal status makes the country the pariah of Africa, since no other country has had postal deliveries scrapped. The only other African country that cannot use the cheapest standard postal service is Nigeria, although Amazon still trusts Nigeria’s post office if buyers pay a slightly higher expedited shipping rate.

The new restriction came in at the weekend, with customers being told the theft rate was so high that goods would no longer be delivered unless they paid a priority shipping rate of $39,99 per order and an incremental $9,99 for each extra item.

Amazon has long distrusted SA’s postal service, and already refuses to deliver high-priced goods such as electronic items or perfumes, restricting shipments to CDs, DVDs and books. Private scamsters have also aggravated the crime rate, as people ordered and received goods but claimed not to have received them, forcing Amazon to send replacement items at its own expense.

The clampdown will benefit Wantitall, a local website that thrives on Amazon’s wariness. Wantitall collates orders for all type of goods and orders them from Amazon, but has them delivered to a warehouse in the US. They are then repacked and sent in bulk via courier to SA.

Amazon’s action is bad for consumers but good news for Wantitall, said its founder Justin Drennan. “Because of the fraud, they have stopped shipping via the standard postal service. Everything is being stolen at the Post Office,” he said.

Drennan said Amazon deliveries were easily targeted because of their distinctive packaging. “Ask how many people have had stuff stolen from Amazon and it’s massive. Amazon was reshipping things at its own cost but it’s had enough,” he said. “People were also ordering DVDs and telling Amazon they hadn’t received them. They are saying we are as crooked as they thought we were.”

Wantitall mainly handles the high-priced items that Amazon does not deliver to SA.

No one from the Post Office would comment yesterday. Its executives have been trying to clean up its image by improving systems, and reported a 69% reduction in theft last year.
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http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/topstories.aspx?ID=BD4A786385

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see http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?ie=UTF8&nodeId=596186

we only get priority shipping now which is currently at
Books, VHS videotapes, Software, Video Games, Jewelry, Clothing Items, Shoes, Baby, Toys - Per Shipment: $39.99, Per Item: $9.99

CDs, DVDs, Music Cassettes, Vinyl - Per Shipment: $39.99, Per Item: $9.99

Automotive, Computers, Electronics, Grocery, Home & Personal Care, Kitchen, Outdoor Living, Tools - Per Shipment: $39.99, Per Item: $4.99/lb

Any combination of the above items - Per Shipment: Highest applicable per-shipment charge, Per Item: As above (per item ones)
 
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No one from the Post Office would comment
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Of course not, why would they. Telkom and the Post Office, two companies where you can get a good job, even if you have a criminal record. No wonder this happens!!!
 
I wonder how much of this is actually customer fraud. I've never had an Amazon parcel
go missing on me however I did have 2 delayed at one stage, Amazon shipped both
via courier and then the originals arrived, Amazon let me keep them after I let them know. This was in 2002 mind you. After that I never had any Amazon stuff go missing.

All in all I had 4-5 items go missing since 1999 and I've ordered a lot. 2 were pilfered by
someone ahead of customs, stealing one item and then bypassing customs,
at least I did not get nailed customs fees for a $120 package each time, the
shop in question - which no longer ships to SA - remailed me the missing items.

Its possible that scammers in SA are ripping Amazon off by claiming missing parcels
and then collecting the replacement and the original items. These prolly get sold off.

Other shops which do not ship to SA any longer: Movies Unlimited, DVD Empire, DVD BoxOffice, DigitalEyes, KenCranes, DVDPlanet etc.

I do have to say though that Amazon parcels were CUSTOMS OFFICIAL friendly
and were well marked. SARS got a lot of $$$ out of fees from these parcels. Other
DVD vendors often downgrade the value of their shipments or send them in unmarked
boxes. SARS will suffer too, Yay! Good punishment at least!
 
South Africa used to be the Rainbow Nation - but someone stole the rainbow.
 
I'm surprised it took Amazon this long. I suspose no one in the Post Office will think something is wrong though.

Perhaps they see it as an employee perk.
 
and already refuses to deliver high-priced goods such as electronic items or perfumes, restricting shipments to CDs, DVDs and books
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There are various items they will only ship within the US. That aspect does not I think have anything to do with South Africa.

Your best option, if you are planning to order regularly, is a forwarder. Their courier rates are much cheaper than Amazon, and you can often use Amazon's free shipping within the US. For occasional ordering you could use Wantitall if you want to pay their prices.

Amazon could of course have stopped using boxes with their logo. They so often pack everything extremely poorly they may just as well throw it all into an ordinary cardboard box.
 
Did you really think that they would comment??? They are as guilty as sin!!!! I read alot about how people are complaining about their overseas envelops being opened or not even being delivered. Its crazy that in this day and age there is still so much theft in the post office.
 
crazy that in this day and age there is still so much theft in the post office.
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Nothing has changed. They have helped themselves to several of my stuff over the years. That's why we use reputable private couriers nowadays, even for domestic items between friends. I do not use the Post Office at all costs. I use Dawn Wing/DHL/whatever for anything, even documents, and stuff I buy from people on forums.
 
Ah man this is terrible news :(

Can anyone then recommend a good online store to buy cd's, I am not paying R280 for a single cd album here in S.A stores

Thanks
 
There are 2 issues here which are relevant:

What is the reason why there is a lack of will or pride in so many to do a job properly? You are going to be there 8 hours a day (or more), well put your back into it. See what you can achieve. In this case, why just sit on your g*t and turn a blind eye to thieving by your subordinates - the people you are meant to supervise? Anyone who will own up to being a lazy employee?

Secondly, how many of us think that it is OK to steal? It seems like most of us. Unfortunately, most of us will if we think we can get away with it. And is SA, there is a good chance of getting away with it.

I have a business owning friend where a envelope with cash was taken off desk. There were a lot of outside workers around at the time, so it was generally believed to be one of them. Easy to blame them. Anyway, my friend had had enough so he arranged for the whole lot take lie detector tests. It was one of the secretaries, a long time employee. And it was about R200!

Do you steal? Ever claimed a package was not received when it was? I had a guy who I strongly suspected pulled that trick on me - 2x! Easy to blame the PO! Also once in the UK.

BTW, I have had a 100% success rate (about 10 packages in the last few years) with my stuff arriving from the US. I must add that it is stuff not desirable from a thief's perspective.
 
You have all missed the point. Christmas will never be the same for SA postal workers. This is a shame for them and their families.
 
I deal with the Post office alot, guys send me HDD's and we swop TV series etc.
Whenever I take a package to the post office, I've seen how they toss the packages (with HDD's around) and it makes me so damn angry!
Now whenever I send HDD's, I package them that I could drop them from 50th floor and that hdd will survive, granted, the price goes up on packaging because its heavier, but I don't care, I also never send stuff via post, always with courier and I insure.
 
Londo said:
I have a business owning friend where a envelope with cash was taken off desk. There were a lot of outside workers around at the time, so it was generally believed to be one of them. Easy to blame them. Anyway, my friend had had enough so he arranged for the whole lot take lie detector tests. It was one of the secretaries, a long time employee. And it was about R200!
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Going OT here, but I'd immediately quit any job that required me to take a lie detector test. Apart from the trust issues, they are notoriously unreliable.
 
DJStealth said:
You have all missed the point. Christmas will never be the same for SA postal workers. This is a shame for them and their families.
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haha... Indeed... Not to long ago there was a spokesman from the post office on 702 claiming their tarnished image was fabricated. Would be nice to get his comment now.
 
CathJ said:
Going OT here, but I'd immediately quit any job that required me to take a lie detector test. Apart from the trust issues, they are notoriously unreliable.
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Quite the contrary, they notoriously reliable and surely passing a lie detector test would evoke trust in you from your employers? If I had an employee refusing to take a test that would indicate guilt or that he/she was hiding something.

In the example of the money missing off the desk surely it was left there by someone who believed and trusted in his employees? Yet they stole. How often is trust ever vindicated? How long does someone need to be in your employee before you trust them? if ever?
 
sandmanm34 said:
Quite the contrary, they notoriously reliable and surely passing a lie detector test would evoke trust in you from your employers? If I had an employee refusing to take a test that would indicate guilt or that he/she was hiding something.
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As an employer I would not ask my employees to undertake a lie detector test for any reason. I believe it invokes a sense of overall mistrust amongst your employees which is never a good thing. If necessary, I will hire a PI to investigate instead.

EDIT: How did we get on to the accuracy of lie detector tests?
 
The only time I had goods go missing was when I shipped
Amazon books to Zambia via their Postal service - but what can
you expect from an African country, rather ship via courier otherwise
you will not receive it at all.
 
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