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Let me start off by saying that Amazon is one of my favorite companies
to deal with.  They always have what I want (be it MP3s, ebooks, stuff
for my bike, or electronic gadgets), it's always priced pretty
competitively, and they always get it to me quickly.  Since I order
from Amazon twice a month or so, I decided to sign up for Amazon
Prime.  It's an excellent service; ordering things and not caring
about shipping is great, and it makes one-click ordering truly
worthwhile.

But, it's not all good, as Amazon cuts corners when shipping to Prime
members.

Overnight shipping for Prime members is $3.99 extra, which is a great
price, and I so usually select it.  (Pay $4, go to sleep, have your
item.  Nice!)  What I learned today, though, is that Amazon gambles
with the shipping.  If they think regular ground shipping will get you
your item in one day, they will ship it with regular ground shipping
and pocket your $4 (and your $79/year for Prime).  This normally
works; I've ordered a few items overnight, and they have all gotten to
me overnight.

Today, however, that did not happen.  I ordered a portable hard drive
yesterday that I need for a trip I'm leaving on tomorrow. It didn't
show up.  I looked at UPS' website, and noticed that my delivery had
been rescheduled for Monday.  Useless, as I am not going to be in
Chicago for a month.  I called UPS to ask why an overnight package
didn't get to me overnight, and found out that Amazon didn't ship it
overnight -- they used plain-old ground shipping.  (As an aside, even
though the package is literally within walking distance to my house
right now, UPS won't let me pick it up.  The customer service person
was really nice about it, though, and it's not their fault, so I am
not upset with UPS... today.)

So basically, One Day Shipping is "if you are lucky, you'll probably
get it in one day" shipping, not actual overnight shipping.  Caveat
emptor.

(In total fairness to Amazon, I ordered two other items at the same
time, and they did arrive today with real overnight shipping labels.
While annoying, Amazon has always treated me very well in the past,
and I am certainly not going to stop buying from them.  I just think
that The Internet should know that they are taking your money and
gambling with it.)

Update: After speaking with Amazon on the phone (nice system), I
already have my money back.  So while I still have no hard drive
space, it's not really Amazon's fault :)

Another update:

L<Amazon's
Website|http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=13819211>
says: I<Amazon.com may ship eligible purchases using either ground or
air shipping services as necessary to meet the estimated delivery
date. These options do not correspond directly to any carrier-branded
One-Day or Two-Day shipping services.>

So they actually advertise this.  My conspiracy theories are correct;
they will gladly give you "super saver" service and take your One Day
upgrade money.  I wish they would tell you, "you'll I<probably> get
your item overnight, even if you don't upgrade; click here to save
yourself four dollars."  If you don't click there, then they need to
pay the carrier to guarantee that you get the item overnight.  I just
hope they don't play these games with people that are paying
full-price for shipping.
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