I can't really imagine how that happenend. I'd assume they scan whatever they pack. Bad processes or intentional fraud by Amazon did not seem like likely explanations. A poor employee trying to improve their income? Not really sure how that scheme would work.
Either way, personally I am glad we switched to other suppliers. Too big market share for one is never a good idea.
I don't trust them anymore either, except maybe for cables or something.
I seem to have better luck with tech that is bought from Newegg or Target or Walmart and using:
Newegg: "Seller → Newegg"
Target: "Filter → Sold By → Target"
Walmart: "All Filters → Retailer → Walmart"
I think 'cause they actually check their supply chains...
Newegg: Make it as annoying as possible to filter out all non-newegg sales, make it harder to verify if something is in stock unless I click on the item itself, and those damn ads they insert into the top of the page 1 SECOND after the page has rendered. I start scrolling and all of a sudden everything gets pushed down. This happens every time I load a new page!
Target: No realistic indicator of stock whatsoever. I have verified this with multiple employees and stores, the number of items at a particular store is just a pure guess. The search by store is so poorly designed its laughable, I have to select a different store location if I want to view stock and finally still gotta filter out non target sold items.
Walmart: Similar issues as Target except this time, the search bar resets your store location every time you begin a new search. I am also creeped out when I was suggested items I bought before in a non logged in account just because I used the same credit card. (I don't know if they still do this)
I still prefer to buy from these places but man I really wish there was a store that didn't suck as much as these places. All these please are built by monkey developers.
I am thankful these guys still check their supply chains though so maybe I should shut up and stop complaining that America hasn't completely turned into a Chinese bazaar yet(although its getting there).
Store stock is pretty hit or miss with most any store. They try to keep stock in-store to a razor thin margin these days I think to maximise selection. They also don't seem to do full store inventories as often (short-staffed?). Result is that misplaced items or theft only get picked up when someone tries to purchase the thing, and then, only if the employee bothers to update the database (doesn't always happen). I've had this happen with all the major retailers repeatedly, even on common items.
That said, that really only matters if you're wanting to do a same-day in-store pickup. General inventory is reliable for all the stores. If the local store doesn't have it in stock, they just flag it and it goes to Target's general warehouses I guess, and you get (usually modest) delivery delay.
I understand stock can't be 100% accurate due to shrink and inventory not yet sold but the reality is that currently there is almost no basis in reality for their numbers it seems. All they need to do is track what items are delivered to the store and connect their POS systems to their inventory counters and then expose this to the site. They MUST be tracking it correctly internally or else they would have a lot bigger problem.
>General inventory is reliable for all the stores.
Unless the item is in demand like antibacterial wipes or a game console. Then they start to play all sorts of games and there is little hope of getting the item online or offline. You just have to be there at the right time.
It's not that simple. For example. I went to my local auto store for a new air filter. Their system reported they had 1 in stock. Went to shelf. It is not there. What happened? Well, it could have been stolen. Easy item to steal. It could have been picked up by a customer and dropped elsewhere in the large air filter aisle and would show up next time a general inventory was done. It could have been randomly dropped by a customer anywhere else in the store, or moved to a special display section then not moved back. It could have been purchased, returned immediately undamaged, then not moved back to the shelf... Physical stores are hard.
And Target has a far larger inventory.
It's the same reason I buy my nongreat nonoffice furniture from IKEA --- because they have the product and the logistics.
Regardless, a union is likely the solution for workers to improve their experience at Amazon at scale until there is enough political will (legislation/labor regulation) to stop treating these people as disposable.
How would you feel about a company that pays $200 an hour, but 90% of each new batch of hires are fired by that company within a week? And the 10% who don't get fired have to physically exert themselves through things like holding it in when they need to use a restroom, and operating with less sleep than is necessary. By the end of the first month, that 10% is reduced to 1%.