Fulfilled by a third party on Amazon

It seems that Amazon.com is having more products whose orders are to be fulfilled by a third party. I am wondering what you think about them.

1. What is the usual wait time for the products to be shipped? In case of Prime, though it claims to be 2-day free shipping, sometimes it takes 2-4 days for the order to be fulfilled. The 2-day free shipping is quite meaningless. (For this question, I set up a vote. Please choose the average of length that you have experienced.)

2. Do you find those third parties usually honest and easy to deal with?

3. Are they products usually as described?

4. Would you rather not buy from a third party even when the price is a bit cheaper?

If you pay for Prime, the order is supposed to get to you in two days no matter if it's third party. I feel confident buying from them as Amazon backs it up.
If it's not backed up by Amazon then you won't get Prime shipping. I don't usually buy from that vendor.

I prefer to only order things that are both fulfilled and shipped by Amazon, myself. I don't generally like 3rd party situations where I can avoid them.

I have bought a lot of things that are fulfilled by a third party on amazon. I have prime so they ship very quickly (just like prime, because it IS prime) and usually arrive within one or two days. I don't have any problems so far with any of them.

prrs4me wrote in post #12865996
If you pay for Prime, the order is supposed to get to you in two days no matter if it's third party. I feel confident buying from them as Amazon backs it up.
If it's not backed up by Amazon then you won't get Prime shipping. I don't usually buy from that vendor.

Items shipped from a third party are not eligible for Prime. All Prime items are marked as such.

Randi wrote in post #12866061
Items shipped from a third party are not eligible for Prime. All Prime items are marked as such.

That is not correct. There are select 3rd-party sellers that qualify under "Prime" shipping.

MOkoFOko wrote in post #12866130
That is not correct. There are select 3rd-party sellers that qualify under "Prime" shipping.

Thats right. Just made a multi-item purchase yesterday and purchased a combination of Amazon items and 3rd party fulfilled by Amazon items. Invoice shows that items are from 3rd party vendors but all was shipped in one package via PRIME. Already received tracking info and everything is on track to be delivered tomorrow.

So just as long as you choose a 3rd party and specifies being fulfilled by Amazon. You'll be good. Hope this helps.

Well, I placed an order in Sunday evening. It's fulfilled by third party but it is claimed to be eligible for prime. Right now (12:20am, Wed), the status still says "not yet shipped". I doubt if it would suddenly appear at my door on Wednesday.

Previously I had a similar situation. I sent an email to Amazon and the reply basically said that the 2 days stated in prime starts counting from the day it is fulfilled/shipped, not the day it is ordered.

MOkoFOko wrote in post #12866130
That is not correct. There are select 3rd-party sellers that qualify under "Prime" shipping.

No, free Prime shipping is only available for items that are shipped by Amazon. There are some 3rd party items that are "Fulfilled by Amazon" and those are eligible for Prime shipping but all 3rd party items that are shipped by the non-Amazon seller are not eligible.

colormaniac wrote in post #12867791
Well, I placed an order in Sunday evening. It's fulfilled by third party but it is claimed to be eligible for prime. Right now (12:20am, Wed), the status still says "not yet shipped". I doubt if it would suddenly appear at my door on Wednesday.

Previously I had a similar situation. I sent an email to Amazon and the reply basically said that the 2 days stated in prime starts counting from the day it is fulfilled/shipped, not the day it is ordered.

As a frequent Amazon shopper, I haven't seen items state "Fulfilled by Insert 3rd Party Name Here)" and/or be available for Prime Shipping. Are you sure it wasn't, "Sold by Insert 3rd Party Name Here and Fulfilled by Amazon"?

Post the link to the item here. We'll have a better idea of what you're describing.

prrs4me wrote in post #12865996
If you pay for Prime, the order is supposed to get to you in two days no matter if it's third party.

Just because you have Prime does not mean fulfilled by a third party will arrive in two days. As noted some items may take a day or two to process. Such items are usually coming drop shipped from the manufacturer. In this case below the item clearly says ships from Amazon but the invoice tells me it was printed by a third party along with the fact it arrived in a UPS box. I have never recieved an order direct from Amazon that was not in an Amazon branded box.

http://www.amazon.com/​gp/product/B000AM8C80

texascaoboy wrote in post #12867916
As a frequent Amazon shopper, I haven't seen items state "Fulfilled by Insert 3rd Party Name Here)" and/or be available for Prime Shipping. Are you sure it wasn't, "Sold by Insert 3rd Party Name Here and Fulfilled by Amazon"?

Post the link to the item here. We'll have a better idea of what you're describing.

Maybe you are right. I'm not very careful about the exact wording. Now I am aware of the terminological difference "Sold by x" and "Fulfilled by Amazon". Anyway here is what I recently ordered, or you may just read what I quote below:
http://www.amazon.com/​gp/product/B004HE204E

Few hours ago I received an email from Amazon saying that: "Unfortunately, we are unable to ship the item(s) as soon as we expected and need to provide you with a new estimate of when the item(s) may be delivered..." But it says nothing about compensation because it's more than 2 days.

Thanks for the link clarification. From time to time, it will take a few extra days. I've had about 5/100 packages take a few extra days. In those 5 instances, it took no more than 4 business days. IIRC, it didn't have to do anything with the fulfillment/sold by status. I think sometimes they just do their best to not lose too much money on shipping. I've bought a watch battery (sold by Amazon) for $2.00 and had it shipped prime. They sent it USPS Priority instead (3 business days). So to answer your question, yes, from time to time it takes more than the 2-days, which can be annoying.

All my previous "Fulfilled by Amazon" purchases from 3rd party sellers got delivered after 2 days, just like all other items i purchased directly from Amazon. I have also returned an item to a 3rd party seller (also fulfilled by Amazon) without any issues whatsoever. Although it's really not, for all intents and purposes, I consider 3rd party sellers that are fulfilled by amazon synonymous to dealing directly to Amazon.

bongEstrella wrote in post #12870699
All my previous "Fulfilled by Amazon" purchases from 3rd party sellers got delivered after 2 days, just like all other items i purchased directly from Amazon. I have also returned an item to a 3rd party seller (also fulfilled by Amazon) without any issues whatsoever. Although it's really not, for all intents and purposes, I consider 3rd party sellers that are fulfilled by amazon synonymous to dealing directly to Amazon.

I agree. I treat the 2 equally. Returns and purchases have all been pleasant.