It is the same mentality that is increasingly insulating buyers from sellers.
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Addresses are not shown on shipped orders after some time (I have not calculated that time frame). I had to send out a - delayed request - replacement for an item recently that I did not want returned (so I did not advise use of the Return/Replace option*) and the buyer’s address was no longer on the order page**. I did know to find it on the Order Report so all was well, but I wonder how long we will even get that level of detail on those reports.
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Just last week I inadvertently switched labels on 2 orders. Buyer 1 contacted me about receiving the wrong item right away and I immediately shipped the correct item. I tried to message Buyer 2 to give them a heads up about the wrong item still en-route, apologize and assure them it would be corrected. The only option active at the Contact Buyer link was Provide a Courtesy Refund. The other options were greyed out. So I had to wait for her to get a hold of me. Something went wrong on her first attempt to message me and I never received it, so her 2nd attempt was rightfully unfriendly because she thought I was ignoring her on top of sending the wrong thing. I could have prevented a few days of discontent on her part if only Amazon would’ve let me send a simple message.
True we would not have the volume of buyers without Amazon, but Amazon would not have the volume of buyers either without all the 3rd party seller merchandise at their disposal. I can’t say I fully agree with the idea that the buyers are strictly Amazon’s customers, IMO they are shared.
Does the B&M mall ‘exclusively own’ all the customers that walk in seeking a favorite retailer inside?
I’m fully aware of all the arguments in this debate, no attacks please.
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I know it’s risky to replace outside of Amazon’s infrastructure but for lower value items I don’t want back, I take the risk for faster resolution and less hoops for the buyer to negotiate.
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I could have asked the buyer to message me their address, but that’s another message round required and doesn’t seem very professional.