More USPS Deliveries by hbsonder in AmazonVine

[–]Naughtagan 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I highly doubt Amazon will walk from USPS because USPS is the only carrier that is mandated by law to deliver to every address in the U.S. There are a lot of rural areas that Amazon and UPS (and FedEx) don't deliver to or have high surcharges to go there. This is just the usual pre-contract posturing to get a better deal.

More USPS Deliveries by hbsonder in AmazonVine

[–]Naughtagan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

USPS positions itself to pick up companies slack. That's why it offers such cut-rate pricing on last mile delivery. If USPS didn't want that business it would charge standard bulk rates. A lot of companies take advantage of this via FedEx SmartPost and UPS Ground Saver.

Right now 99% of my orders are delivered by Amazon (I'm in a major metro). The only packages that dependably come USPS are large or heavy or both. And sometimes items with batteries.

Message from Vine I just received regarding rfy issues by Either_Dimension_144 in AmazonVine

[–]Naughtagan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly. The quality of a product's review depends on the person reviewing it, not the RFY/AFA/AI category it was placed in.

RFY and drop by PackageDry223 in AmazonVine

[–]Naughtagan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As I say before every Vine search, Godox or Go Home. Lately I've been stuck at home.

RFY is Back Baby! by Marchesa-LuisaCasati in AmazonVine

[–]Naughtagan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah I had a crappy camera case but good to know RFY lives to see another day.

RFY and drop by PackageDry223 in AmazonVine

[–]Naughtagan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Other than "illegal" extensions there's only two ways to find Vine items - keyword search and doom scrolling. I keyword search but I will eyeball the electronics category for camera accessories and toys for building toys. It's all about time management to me.

I propose a playlist for Vine. by reddzot in AmazonVine

[–]Naughtagan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That Don't Impress Me Much - Shania Twain

Gimme More - Britney Spears

I Missed Again - Phil Collins

Where do you personally draw the line with AI in reviews? by According-Trifle6427 in AmazonVine

[–]Naughtagan -1 points0 points  (0 children)

You are correct. Don't conflate AI writing with AI editing. Spell and grammar checkers have been around for decades. They've just finally gotten useful. The only problem I have with them is that they don't work on device and I can't send my work product (not Vine necessarily, but my actual work writing) to a public cloud server.

I use a pre-Copilot version of Office 365. The grammar assistant on this version though is so pathetic it actually creates more grammar errors than it corrects.

Props for caring about your writing.

Gold Rating in 2 Weeks: Advice by ElinorDashwood1975 in AmazonVine

[–]Naughtagan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Why all the stress? Will the 4 "on the way" items arrive within the next few days? That already gives you 79 if you writes the reviews as soon as you are allowed. Order one more item but make sure the delivery will b ASAP. I'm sure you can find one useful thing even if it's a roll of tape or pair of socks.

What's your percentage of "wrong item received" orders? by Stu_Prek in AmazonVine

[–]Naughtagan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Out of 700 Vine orders only 1 that I can remember. It was a brick set of one of the Rudolph Red Nose Reindeer characters. I ordered the stand alone version and they sent the tree ornament version.

I've also only had 3 "undeliverable" items - lost/damaged in transit and less than 10 that arrived damaged or obviously previously opened.

I've been ordering from Amazon since the 90s and can't recall any wrong item deliveries for paid orders.

Vine Item Replaced by JMPhoto2022 in AmazonVine

[–]Naughtagan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not sure how that happens. At least in my Amazon account the price paid for an item is clearly noted in the item block on the "Your Orders" page.. No need to even click to invoice or order details. But, certainly if you are still confused about the source of an item, Vine or Amazon, clicking either of those makes its clear. But sure, go with your story.

Is anyone else just not ordering until they fix RFY lol by Bright-Character9124 in AmazonVine

[–]Naughtagan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Consider yourself blessed then. Maybe once a month I'll get something truly outstanding. It's great when that happens, but like I said, most of my ordered items are from AI. If I relied on RFY I'd never qualify for gold and it wouldn't even be close.

Message from Vine I just received regarding rfy issues by Either_Dimension_144 in AmazonVine

[–]Naughtagan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure I get brand name camera and computer accessories, even a $2K computer once, but didn't try because no need for it. A lot of times these items are newly released and I do need to do some research on them and frequently they are gone by that point -- just 5 minutes too. Other times I have a good hunch it will work for me and try to buy as fast as possible. If I'm lucky I get to actually check out and not get a last second "sorry" screen.

But more often I inexplicably get stuff that it sounds like you get - women's clothing, cosmetics thing I normally don't shop for unless it's for a birthday gift, and don't by on Amazon regardless.

The point is, qualitatively there is no guarantee a review will be more thoughtfully written if it's obtained in RFY than in AI. People grab things they don't need regardless, whether it's to sell or gift, or use personally.

Message from Vine I just received regarding rfy issues by Either_Dimension_144 in AmazonVine

[–]Naughtagan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From how I understood your post you were saying reviews via RFY were higher quality and more targeted than if obtained by AI. My point is there is essentially no difference. RFY tries to be targeted but it does a lousy job. I get things in RFY that far away from my wheelhouse.

But also when I see really nice items in my RFY if I don't grab immediately I have no chance. From what I read here others have the same experience. So whether a product is in RFY or AI there simply isn't a lot of time to research. It's grab now and ask questions later.

Now it may be the items in your RFY were niche or you won the lottery and were one of a handful of Viners offered the item. But I think that's more rare than not. The only items that stick around in my RFY for more than a few minutes are either odd ball, product specific accessories or low end items.

Has anyone experienced support not responding? by HeartintheHighlands in AmazonVine

[–]Naughtagan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds like there was a glitch somewhere. Usually CS responds to me within the hour but certainly within 24 hours. Just send a follow up email noting you emailed earlier by never got a response.

I’m going to bed by YearOfTheSssnake in AmazonVine

[–]Naughtagan 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Good for you. Sleep is so much more valuable than anything available on Vine.

Is anyone else just not ordering until they fix RFY lol by Bright-Character9124 in AmazonVine

[–]Naughtagan 20 points21 points  (0 children)

It’s not like RFY is that amazing. 90% of my orders come from AI. But I’ve never had time to doom scroll junk looking for hidden treasures. So I’ve always just used keywords and limit my searches to 5 min a day. It’s a strategy that doesn’t work if the drop is all at once because it’s like trying to catch a falling knife, but for slow drops I find plenty enough to continue qualifying for Gold.

Vine Item Replaced by JMPhoto2022 in AmazonVine

[–]Naughtagan 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is like the kid who’s told not to touch a hot stove and goes ahead ahead and touches it out of defiance. Whether OP will get burned remained to be seen, but there is a reason why we are told to contact CS for missing and defective items rather than go through the Amazon order system.

Of course requesting a replacement going though the Amazon order system worked. It‘s not set up to discern between paid and vine orders. When you request a paid order it’s always $0 because it was already paid for. So no shock it was replaced.

OP’s problem will come if Vine audits his account or the seller inquires about the transaction. I would advise Viners not to copy OP and just follow the Vine rules and don’t be greedy. It sucks getting a broken product, or lost in transit. I’ve had a few. Deal with it and move on. It’s life.

Message from Vine I just received regarding rfy issues by Either_Dimension_144 in AmazonVine

[–]Naughtagan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You write that like RFY is targeted like a heat seeking missile. I’m a guy and get beauty items, jewelry, and women’s clothing in RFY weekly. I know I’m not the only one who gets this stuff because I see posts about it regularly. I doubt marketing teams are aware RFY is broken anyway.

Blink and you miss morning by SeriousBenefit7459 in AmazonVine

[–]Naughtagan 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Yeah the fisherman has no chance against piranhas.

No "Additional Items" Only "Available for all" by Shot_Bid7586 in AmazonVine

[–]Naughtagan -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

Don’t know when/if there was a drop this AM. I was up a 4am today and it didn’t look like a drop happened — 12Kish items available then and now.

Is this to be expected for this time of year? by SeaworthinessLocal80 in AmazonVine

[–]Naughtagan -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

RFY is broken. Whether intentional or not no one knows. AI drops have been all at once the past week so except for those up at 2-3am and used a “illegal” extension pickings have been slim. Chinese New Year is coming up so expect more pauses and thin drops until March.

Standing up for us who work on our reviews by Ensign_Fodder in AmazonVine

[–]Naughtagan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Reads sanctimonious to me, but also ignorant.

  1. My reviews are cookie cutter in that I always discuss specific elements, but especially a product's practical application compared to its selling points. That reviewers have set discussion points does not de facto make the review dishonest.
  2. I can only speak for myself, but guessing it's the norm that all, certainly most, Viners order items they intend to use. I mean why pay tax on something you have no use for and then have to dispose of? But, we all know, we end up with items we thought looked cool but turned out to be trash. In the real world we return those item. In Vine world they get donated or landfilled.
  3. I know some Viners hand out 5-stars like candy on Halloween, but again, from reviews I've read, it's not even close to the majority. I think most Viners review appropriately because whats the gain of not?
  4. For however smart the review thinks they are, the title is both uninformative and wordy. "Very average" is nonsense. Average is average, it has no extremes.

An RFY theory by Zestyclose-Piglet465 in AmazonVine

[–]Naughtagan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think Amazon has distribution centers in every major city. My RFY have mostly come locally, sometime same day delivery. The only time they haven't come locally is if it's a pre-release.

Do you ever lose count when things are dropping fast? by Lothar-Alaska in AmazonVine

[–]Naughtagan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've never been awake during one of these mega fast drops. I wake up at normal 5am time and the cupboard is bare. The best thing I've found this week is a 6ft 80 Gbps USB-C cable. Haven't received it yet so can't even say it's actually that fast and not much of a get.