'Be wary of ordering online': Amazon under fire over suspected scam

"Always thought Amazon was relatively reliable. Not anymore..."

Scams are everywhere at the moment, whether it’s online, over the phone or, for one Aussie, in their deliveries.

A Brisbane local has taken to social media believing they’d been the victim of a brutal scam. But, while the truth is yet to be uncovered, the internet had one simple message.

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Image: Reddit.

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“Be wary of ordering online”

An Aussie has taken to Reddit after believing they’d been the victim of an Amazon scam.

The poster said they’d purchased some expensive items from a third party seller on Amazon, and couldn’t wait for them to arrive. But, what showed up was far from right.

“Ordered a new phone, phone case, and screen protectors from Amazon. Spent a lot on this. Had to provide a password to the delivery driver for security to receive my product. Actually received deodorants,” the poster wrote.

“Is this a scam from the company (had good reviews), or is this people at the depot/delivery drivers changing products out? “

The poster then questioned the legitimacy of Amazon as a platform.

“Always thought Amazon was relatively reliable. Not anymore... be wary of ordering online,” they said.

After spending over an hour in a support chat with Amazon, the poster said they were ultimately given a refund for their items. But, it wasn’t enough.

RELATED: ‘This is the photo the driver took when he delivered the item'

Is it a scam?

Commenters were divided on whether or not the incident seemed like a scam, with many saying it was likely to be an innocent mistake.

“More than likely someone in dispatch has mixed up delivery labels and someone who ordered deodorant got your phone,” one commenter suggested.

“Those deodorants are usually pretty pricey - seems an odd choice for a scam,” another pointed out.

However, others were certain the incident constituted a scam - particularly given that it wasn’t purchased from an Amazon warehouse directly.

“Often they'll fill a box with other much cheaper products to get the weight to match with what it should have been with the more expensive product that you ordered,” said one commenter.

“Amazon marketplace has been flooded with Temu vendors in the past 6 months. Unless you’re buying name brand products, you need to be much more careful in general… If it’s a more generic phone brand it could just be a scam,” said another.

“Pretty sure it's the company scamming. Chase it up anyways. Sorry mate,” a third said sympathetically.

“It's a scam no question, but gotta look at what you're buying and why it's that price, Amazon is a marketplace not everything there is sold and shipped by Amazon,” another agreed.

“It may be a higher price but I get peace of mind from it”

Regardless, the message from commenters was clear - give Amazon (and its marketplace sellers) a miss for these big ticket buys.

“I still buy my bigger ticket electronics from places like JB or Officeworks. It may be a higher price but I get peace of mind from it. Also they both do same day delivery (JB within 2hrs) if an item is needed urgently for a fee,” said one person.

“Geez, buying a phone via Amazon is asking for trouble. No way I'd buy from them when you can buy from a proper Australian business like JB Hi-Fi,” another agreed.

Kidspot has reached out to Amazon for comment.

Originally published as 'Be wary of ordering online': Amazon under fire over suspected scam