Amazon No Longer Offers 2-Day Prime Shipping (Here’s What To Do About It)
Have you noticed that Amazon doesn’t deliver on their 2-day Prime Shipping anymore? It’s actually not even close for my address and I’ve had to return stuff to Amazon as I don’t need it by the time the package shows up. Anything that I want to buy today (a Monday) won’t be delivered until Sunday at the earliest. I tested this on a bunch of different shopping categories and made sure it was all products sold and shipped directly by Amazon, and none could be delivered before Sunday, 6 days from NOW. But alas, not all hope is lost, here’s what you should do to hold Amazon’s feet to the fire. It’ll only take a few minutes and put an extra $10 or $20 in your pocket.
Call Them Up and Ask For a 1-Month Refund
When I have a problem with Amazon I usually start a live chat session as it’s easier to say exactly what I want to say.
BUT…for the first time ever, I recommend actually calling them at 1-(888) 280-4331 and say, “Why don’t I get 2-day Prime shipping anymore?”
I tried doing this via Live Chat and it just went in circles due to what I’m guessing was a language barrier.
At this point, give them your zip code and ask them to run it through their system to find out for sure whether your address qualifies for 2-day shipping.
Most addresses do indeed qualify for 2-day Prime shipping.
See Also: 5 Reasons Why Amazon Prime Is a Terrible Buy
If your address does qualify, then you probably already know the EXACT reason why you’re not getting your packages within 2 days.
It’s because Amazon can’t hold up their end of the bargain and they should pay for it.
This is when you politely ask for a 1-month refund on your Prime membership (approximately $10) because Amazon can’t hold up their end of the bargain.
I did this recently via a phone call to their customer service department and it took me all of about 5 minutes to score the $10 refund.
There was ZERO hesitation from the rep I talked with and I think they are trained to hand out this refund for those who politely ask for it.
Note: My family orders from Amazon at least 1-2 times per week and I’m not sure if that played a role in getting the 1-month refund, but in either case, it’s definitely worth a shot.
PRO TIP: AIM HIGH & ASK FOR EVEN MORE
From the comments section, several Amazon Prime members were actually given a $20 “inconvenience credit”. Since we we know that a $20 credit is on the table, you might as well ask for it. You stand a decent chance of them giving it to you, and if they don’t just try again later with a different CSR.
Hold Amazon’s Feet to the Fire
I realize Amazon’s been hit by unprecedented demand in recent months, but let’s not forget they are one of the richest companies in the world.
Now that the economy and stores have opened back up in most of the country, the demand for online shopping has been greatly reduced.
Yet Amazon still can’t figure it out and solve their order backlog issues.
What ticks me off the most is Amazon wants to blame it on the pandemic and increased demand in online shopping.
I’d have no problem buying that argument back in March, April or May of 2020…BUT NOT NOW.
It’s my opinion that Amazon was losing money on the 2-day shipping guarantee and is using the current situation as a handy way to get rid of the fast shipping guarantee altogether.
See Also: Not Getting Amazon Delivery on Sunday? Here’s Why
I’d be SHOCKED if 2-Day Prime shipping ever came back at this point.
So the bottom line is get your $10 refund NOW before they aren’t so generous.
The customer service rep also told me that MANY people are calling to cancel Prime, she said she had already cancelled over 50 memberships in the past couple days.
Here’s what a chat rep told me when I asked him if Prime members were complaining about the issue:
PRO TIP: TRY AN AMAZON BUSINESS ACCOUNT
Thanks to reader Joseph, who commented recently letting us know that his Amazon Business account has been delivering in 2-days since last September. The interesting part is that his “regular Prime account” is stuck at 4-7 days for delivery. Since an Amazon business account is FREE to join, and also gives you quantity discounts, setting up an account could be worth a shot. Also, in case you were wondering, he said his business is not COVID related in the slightest.
Prime 2-Day Shipping Has Turned Into 5-Day Delivery
The reason that 2-day Prime shipping has turned into 5, 6, or even 7-day shipping has nothing to do with UPS or the USPS.
It falls 100% on Amazon as they now say that the “2-day shipping guarantee” is from when they actually process your order and get it in the mail.
So if it takes them a couple days to box it up and ship it out, then you’ll get it delivered to your home in about 5 days on average.
See Also: Amazon Package Arriving Late? Here’s How to Score a Refund
If you’re like me, the main reason you joined Prime and paid $139/year was for the 2-day shipping, so this is KIND OF A BIG DEAL.
Ask the Reader: Are you a Prime member? If so, when was the last time Amazon delivered something to you in 2 days?
By Kyle James
I started Rather-Be-Shopping.com in 2000 and have become a consumer expert and advocate writing about out-of-the-box ways to save at stores like Amazon, Walmart, Target and Costco to name a few. I’ve been featured on FOX News, Good Morning America, and the NY Times talking about my savings tips. (Learn more)
Just got off the phone with them… we went round and round about supply availability, which I kept pointing out had nothing to do with HOW LONG IT TAKES TO GET TO ME ONCE SHIPPED.
Eventually I got a $5 credit and a refund of the sale price ($25)… and got to keep the item for free.
But I think from now on I’ll look elsewhere for things I need when promised.
Thanks for writing such a great article. Your advice actually worked for me!
After ordering furniture for a room addition, I realized there was a $45 shipping and handling fee, even after the prompts to purchase more (blah blah blah, whatever) to be eligible for free shipping. It was not free. In fact, they only reduced it by only $29?!? ….so what happened to the other $15 for the so called “free” shipping? Delivery date? 9/11-12!?!!?!
Ok, so now they’ve got my attention.I decided to take your advice and attempt to call.
At first, I got a woman that sounded like she was half asleep and was NO help at all. In fact, she told me to purchase what was in my cart so she could “see it”.
Lol, I have been a Prime member long enough to know better. One, she CAN see what’s in the cart and two, once you submit to pay, it can take 10-14 business days to obtain a refund which is ok with me never.
Needless to say, at this point, I began to anger so I asked to speak with her manager.
Ann. Sweet Ann from escalation team, successfully convinced me to rejoin. I had stopped paying for Prime membership a while back bc of what is mentioned in your article.
I did that. Not only did she take off the shipping and handling, gave me $40 credit AND credited my membership for the next six months. My original order was $345. My final order, $217 PLUS six months of free Prime.
Trust me, I’m one that doesn’t like to complain. I almost just paid it and moved forward. Also, I’d like to mention, I DID SAY (bc they record AND listen to most calls) I NEED AMAZON TO HEAR MY VOICE, and spoke about the content in your article… just so that the Rep didn’t take it personally. Although frustrated with the organization, I maintained a level of professionalism and it payed off big.
Time consuming? YES! Worth it? ABSOLUTELY! That said, I agree, we all should must stand together as consumers and fight the greedy corporate giants.
Thanks again for writing such a amazing article. Saved me some big bucks! Oh yes, almost forgot, a couple hours later, I even received a few items from my order!
Just got 1/2 my annual subscription refunded!!! But we order a lot from Amazon.
I have a person Amazon Prime account, and I have one for work as I buy a lot for our department. Two day shipping has been back on the business side since last Sept, but my personal Prime account is at 4-7 days shipping. I can pull up the same item on each account and the delivery date for my person would be Sept 13, but for the business account it’s Sept 9. Same item. My company has nothing to do with Covid anything related really.
Very interesting, thanks for sharing the screenshots.
We have an Amazon Business account and until recently, we had FREE 2-day shipping on all orders. Now, everything I want to order says “Free shipping on orders over $25.” and the shipping is no longer 2-day. My orders are taking several days to ship. What’s the deal with that??
Just called them regarding two orders. They did refund one months subscription and also gave me a $25 dollar credit. I was told the delay was due to hurricane Ida and they will get back to how it was shortly. I’ll believe it when I see it.
Lol, I was offered $5 Amazon credit 😂. I told them I was over Amazon Prime, there is no value to it any longer.
As someone who directly deals with shipping for Amazon, I can say this is 100% due to the incompetence of their logistics teams and their constant need to try and fix things that aren’t broken. They also tend to attract employees that nobody else will hire, often promoting those same bad employees to more important positions that they perform even worse at. I’ve seen this at multiple sort centers and warehouses now and am convinced it’s most likely a nationwide thing. They also contract out for ALL shipping, even the guys in uniforms aren’t Amazon employees, and offer very poor compensation. Which is probably why they constantly have driver shortages.
Yes I am and I haven’t received my packages I. Two days even though the last thing I ordered said two days and it took a week and also they aren’t supposed to charge you until it ships and they took the money and sent the package out 3 days later I’m thinking about getting rid of my prime as wel
Just called – they basically said the policy is 2 days from the date the time ships, and there are no guarantees as to when that is. Offered me nothing with respect to refund. I ordered an item 4 days ago and it’s showing to deliver 2 days from now. I could order the same item TODAY, and it’s showing delivery 2 days from now.
Basically, a prime membership is looking less and less worth the cost….:/
Make the switch to Walmart.com They’ll get most things to you in 2-3 days at no charge and seem to offer nearly as many items as Amazon.
I ordered several items (we order FREQUENTLY) on 9/6. Most have expected delivery 9/15 or later. I just tried to order supplements recommended to me and they would not arrive until 9/20, after I leave. We do have a business account but that also has 9/20 as earliest possible delivery. Really disgusted with this switch with what they have promised as part of Prime membership. Bad form, Amazon, bad form. One item says “arriving wednesday”-today is friday so I assumed NEXT wednesday. Checking tracking, it isn’t even up to ‘order shipped’. All things needed before I leave town on 9/19 do not appear to be arriving before that.
We also have a Business account for a nonprofit I am treasurer for. The delivery dates are no different there, even after signing up for Business Prime. Have not compared costs of items yet
If you shop on Amazon a lot, then the Price is justified just by the free shipping. I remember when almost everything on Amazon had a $3.99 shipping fee. These days, I make up for the prime fee in one month.
Amazon employees have been suffering for years. I bet this is mostly about cutting them some slack and letting them take an extra piss in their shift. I think that 5-7 day shipping is still really good, especially if it’s free.
It is worth the wait for something I want
Walmart is the way to go. Walmart has actual stores that stock a lot of the items we buy on a repeat basis, such as pet food and items we consume in the day-to-day running of our households. Frequently you can get the items you order from Walmart on the same day as ordered, as well as curbside pick-up. And no special account or fee required.
Kyle thank you for your detailed write up about Amazon and their inability to get orders processed timely. I followed your advice, called the number you suggested and after going round and round for about 30 mins was able to get a supervisor on the line who was very honest. He said this is an issue in many areas, almost seemed like he wanted to say everywhere but he stopped short of that, he offered a full refund of my membership for 1 year. I was absolutely ready to drop them (and I know they don’t care about my 1 little membership fee) but really didn’t want to because as you said the free shipping it’s self is worth it for items you don’t immediately need and can wait 5-7 days to get. I really appreciate the Amazon supervisors honesty and willingness to refund a full year and I want to thank you Kyle for the suggestion.
Same thing just happened with me. Ordered several prime items in August and they all came with one or two days. Noticed today – 13th September – that every “prime” item has a delivery date of the 17th. Every single one. As per other people I called and got the canned excuses that (a) nothing has changed Prime has always been two days from when it ships not when its ordered or (b) it’s not in your nearest fulfillment center. Spoke to a supervisor and got the same canned responses. When I asked what was available for a delivery date of 15th September they could not answer me.
You’re lucky. Everything I want to order today (Sept 13) has a delivery date of Sept 21! 8 days!