Yesterday I had an errand to run in Westminster, so I went down to Piccadilly Circus around 10 a.m. and found the summer sun flaring up behind Eros, and casting a dark shadow.
My errand was to get my blood drawn and have a few other minor medical things done at Boots pharmacy. This is for a large-scale study called Our Future Health, which is being run by a charity in conjunction with the NHS. It's meant to track public health over a period of years and determine whether diseases or health issues can be detected earlier, among other things. They invited me to participate, so I signed up, and the blood draw was part of the deal. Apparently they'll analyze my blood for genetic markers that indicate susceptibility to certain illnesses and that kind of thing (as well as cholesterol levels and other basic stuff).
Anyway, they're looking for several million participants for this study, apparently -- so if you're in the UK and you're interested, check it out!
After the blood draw, I took a long walk through Soho and up through Fitzrovia and Camden. I hadn't been walking in days and even though it was quite warm I wanted some exercise. I stopped in at the Camden Market to check out the guy who sells old photo slides, and of course he had tons of them in a box that weren't there the last time I looked. But having just combed through several hundred old photos in Hebden Bridge, I just didn't have the appetite for it. I'll go back at some point. Slides are fun but they're quite an expense to "rescue" because I have to pay to have them scanned, or buy a slide scanner.
Speaking of buying things, Amazon has been jerking me around. I've been waiting more than a week for a book I bought (the monograph of James Bidgood's work, which I mentioned here) and yesterday I got a message from the third-party seller saying they had accidentally shipped the book to the wrong address and were unable to get it back and unable to replace it. So they're issuing a refund. Now, this seems fishy to me, and when I looked at their customer feedback I found that they had done this same thing to many other people. I also learned that despite the fact that they're a bookstore with UK in the name, they're based in Turkey. The conclusion seems to be that they offer books for sale they don't even have, gambling that they'll be able to get one at a cheaper price and promptly pass it along at a premium. In my case, they lost their bet.
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| Street art in Camden and also my mood re. Amazon |
I also ordered some small iron plant stands to elevate plants off the ground (dahlias!). They were supposed to arrive yesterday via Prime. At 8 p.m. I got a text saying they'd tried to make the delivery but were unsuccessful. Now, Dave and I were both home, and no one came to the door. I think the driver basically threw in the towel at 8 p.m. and went home. So anyway, they're supposed to try again -- hopefully today.
By the way, have you noticed that items on Amazon all have weird, IKEA-sounding brand or product names? My plant stands are called "Tosnail" (whether that's two-snail or toss-nail, I'm not sure), and the elevated dog bowls I bought for Olga are called "Foreyy." What's up with that?!
(Oh, I answered my own question -- click here to find out what it's all about. Thank you, Google and The New York Times.)
Amazon should have the decency and wherewithal to chuck that Turkish seller out of their marketplace. By the way, there was an item on the BBC Look North news programme last night about the water in the Rochdale canal between Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd. Apparently the level has fallen so low that narrow boats are now sitting on their hulls. It is all to do with a leaky lock gate. See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckrgxepdy55o
ReplyDeleteThe shadow is the most artistic here
ReplyDeleteI’ve noticed those “brands” on Amazon and promoted on Facebook, and read about some. Telling for me are the surplus sales before which the brands, that only appeared for a week, disappear. I love those shots of Eros, always a shadowy figure.
ReplyDeleteI learned something today! I have often times wondered where these obscure brand names came from. Now I know!
ReplyDeleteThat's another reason I don't "Amazon."
ReplyDeleteBezos is the main reason.
Love those two Eros shots.
ReplyDeleteYour experience..and the article and comments... reinforce my decision to avoid amazon at all costs.
YP is right about the canal...the lock gates ahead been shut pending mending...then one boater went through, ignoring advice and left those gates and the half dozen after that standing open... doesn't sound like a regular boater, let alone one living on their boat.
The nyt article is paywalled.
ReplyDeleteI often use Amazon as a search engine, look there for what I want, then order direct from the seller's own website. I've found some lovely artisans that way.
I try to avoid third party sellers on the Amazon platform as much as possible because about 100% of all the problems I've ever had are always with third party vendors.
ReplyDeleteHaving an "attempted delivery" fail happens all the time for me because I'm on the tail end of the route. In fact, most of the time I get a notification that it was delivered but it isn't there when I check. It always arrived first thing the following day though so I don't complain. It sure beats the alternative of driving two hours round trip to buy the thing in person.
I don't buy very much from Amazon but don't have any complaints. mostly it's a product I used to be able to buy locally and now can't. that and filters for the air purifiers.
ReplyDeleteyou probably would have loved some of the old pictures my niece and I threw out last week.
I try to avoid using Amazon if I can. Maybe you can find some other way to get the book you want...
ReplyDeleteI'm finding Amazon to be getting much worse. My husband ordered a kit with clay beads for Jack, to make bracelets. The kit is a bit of crap made out of plastic, the blurb on Amazon is an outright lie that Amazon allows. I'm returning the kit, I hate being lied to.
ReplyDeleteThat was a long day with many different experiences. The only thing I can say about health studies is that we didn't have them until recently. Time will tell how valuable they are.
ReplyDeleteI ordered a gift for a friend to be sent to her with expedited delivery. Not off Amazon but from a company that deals in work done by world-wide artisans. I got a notice from Fed Ex a day or two later that they were trying to deliver but couldn't find the address. The company, when addressing the package, had used my friend's name and street address but in Lloyd, FL.
ReplyDeleteHowever, within 24 hours after I contacted them about the mistake, a new package was on its way to the correct place. I hope this is true.
You are a good man to take part in the NHS study.
The NHS study sounds very good and I hope you will get to read the study findings when completed. Amazon is a global market. Product quality is a toss up. I will say, I find what I want quickly on Amazon at a fair price. I've had only one delivery problem and Amazon quickly reimbursed me. Going to the physical store, is not always successful especially when products are not on the shelf.
ReplyDeleteI thought that the article was paywalled at first, but then a pop-up said I could read as a friend had given me access...this doesn't come up immediately....
ReplyDeleteThose photos of Eros are wonderful, especially the first one!
ReplyDeleteThere have been a number of times (both with the postal service AND package delivery companies) that I think the driver just felt like calling it a day, leaving my package (or mail) until the next day. It's handy that some provide a photo of the delivery so if it went to the wrong place, I can figure out where to find it!
Love that shadow photo! I hadn't noticed that about Amazon products. I just checked my handbag that I bought from them a year ago and there is no label in it so I don't know what it was called. All I know is that it only cost about $30 and everyone thinks it's Burberry. I'm pretty sure that even a key chain at Burberry would be about four times that.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar delivery problem recently only my beef was with Fedex. In fact, I've had more bad experiences with Fedex than I've had good.
I'm becoming quite leery of Amazon's third party sellers which seem to be most of them these days.
ReplyDeleteWell done on the Eros photos and for volunteering for the study.
ReplyDeleteAgree with Bob's comment re not using Amazon.
Lovely photos as always x
ReplyDeleteOur post office keeps doing as you describe happened with Prime. But now, unless the parcel has tracking, they don't even bother to leave a card telling you to pick it up at the post office.
ReplyDeleteInteresting about the Amazon stuff -- that Turkish guy should not be permitted to sell. They don't notify me it's arrived either -- I have to check my page to see. Annoying.
ReplyDeleteThe NHS study sounds very interesting. If I was there, I'd participate!
Possibly those items are designed in Sweden (made in China) and that's why the weird names. Very shonky about that book though. I bought something from ebay once that didn't arrive and was issued a refund.
ReplyDeleteYP: I'm surprised Amazon is tolerating them, given how many negative reviews they have. Crazy about the canal! I was just walking that same stretch and probably saw those boats.
ReplyDeleteRoentare: That sculpture does make an interesting shadow.
Mitchell: It's a very strange phenomenon that (as you have probably read) involves Chinese manufacturing and American trademarking laws.
Michael: It's bizarre, isn't it?
Bob: Well, I get it, but it's hard to deny the convenience (especially for items I can't get elsewhere).
GZ: I hope there's CCTV or some other evidence of who that boater was. Surely he/she can get in trouble.
Boud: Oh, I posted a "share" link so you should have access. GZ said farther down that you just have to wait a moment?
Ed: Well, you're right -- in the grand scheme of things, a late delivery is STILL far more convenient than what we used to have to do to buy things!
Ellen: I'm sure I would have! But I also recognize we can't save every picture.
Ellen D: Well, this is an out-of-print book, so no local bookstore is going to have it. I could perhaps get it through ABEbooks.
Pixie: Yeah, outright lying to people is unforgivable. Amazon should boot that seller.
Red: Yeah, and this one not only involves millions of people but supposedly goes for years and years. We'll see!
Ms Moon: Well, good for you for getting that problem solved! I don't understand how some of these sellers screw up something so basic as a delivery address.
Susan: Exactly. I understand why people have qualms about Amazon but going to the store often doesn't work or isn't an option.
GZ: Thanks for letting us know!
Kelly: Yeah, I think they hit a certain hour and they basically have to stop. Probably labor laws. (Not that that's a bad thing!)
Sharon: Well, a lot of times these "brands" aren't marked on the product themselves. My plant stands don't say "Tosnail" anywhere on them -- not even on the box. I think it's just a tool for listing them on Amazon.
Margaret: Third party sellers are definitely a gamble. Amazon needs to do a better job policing them.
Damselfly: If there's another option, I completely agree.
John: Thank you!
Andrew: It's getting harder and harder to get a parcel, isn't it? A combination of starving postal services and overloaded delivery networks, I suppose.
Jeanie: I am perplexed about why Amazon allows that book seller to use "UK" in his/her shop name when they're clearly not in the UK. It's deceptive.