I find it amazing what one can order through Amazon. I guess folks living on the frontier back in the ages felt the same way about the Sears Roebuck Catalog.
I found an interesting site on the Internet that describes a few odd items that were listed in the catalog, many from the turn of the century...the last one!
Here are some examples from the site:
Leghorn chickens for $ .12, in 1947
A newfangled auto-mobile for $395 in 1909
A cure for consumption in 1898
As a kid I used to love going through Sears, Roebuck catalogs, especially the Christmas toy edition! And, in the early 70's I remember ordering clothing, and going into the order pickup desk at the store to get my order when it arrived. It was magical!
Some time in the late '80's the Mister wanted a modem and Telenet. This would allow him to see a print version of the Sears catalog on our Commodore 64, among other things! (This was before Al Gore claimed he invented the Internet! LOL) Imagine that magic! (And, if Sears had continued to embrace access through technology, just think where they might be today!)
So, now we have Amazon....and all of the other tempting sites out there that sell and deliver, just about everything.
Some time last week the Mister ordered a drag harrow from Amazon. It had free, two-day delivery with Prime.
- He got a message that the package had been delivered to a processing center in a nearby town and would be delivered the next day.
- Then he got a message that the delivery would be delayed
- After that he received a message that they didn't have the package.
So, do we really need it?
He called Amazon and described the situation. They reissued the order.
Surprise! The package from the processing center arrived. The packaging had been cobbled together and taped, and taped and taped.
So, do we really need two?
The next day, we arrived home, and there was a heavy package at our gate. This shipment was appropriately packaged:
Oops...it's another drag harrow. The result of the 2nd order that apparently wasn't canceled by the processing center once they figured out how to fulfill the first order!
The Mister called Amazon, and after going through lots of AI robots was able to talk to a real, live person from the other side of the world. The problem? Amazon wants him to take it to a UPS store to be returned. He explained that the package requires at least two men (better, a fork lift) to pick up. (He may have pulled the 'age' card to explain why he was unable to take it to the UPS store) The gal finally understood the situation and explained that a truck would pick it up within an hour.
That didn't happen.
The Mister called Amazon, again. This time after all of the AI voices he was connected to someone in the US - amazing! He read through the case, and explained that a truck would be by to pick up the package.
That hasn't happened, yet!
