I wasn't referring to shipping charges. Shipping charges were in addition to a "processing fee." I was referring to deceptive pricing. Walmart's website allows the sort of deceptive pricing scam where you don't find out about the "Processing fee" until the final stage of the checkout process! This tells me all I need to know about Walmart management, and how successful they are going to be in competing with Amazon. Naturally, I ordered my checks from Amazon.
The latest thing with Amazon, possibly it is only Amazon Prime, not certain about that, but now if you're returning an item you don't even have to package it in a box for shipping, or even print out a shipping label. You just get a return code via the internet, then drop the item off at the nearest UPS store. They package and ship it for you and there is no cost to you. Amazon has no competition. And it isn't because they have a monopoly. It is because they are willing to lose money on a transaction rather than piss off their customer. They do everything in a way that is most convenient for the customer.
Two years ago I bought a $500 toilet from Amazon. When we unboxed, we discovered that the base was broken. I called Amazon and they asked me to put it back in the box and they would send a truck around to pick it up. I explained that we had destroyed the box by cutting it apart. They said, no problem, the shipping company would box it for me. When the shipping company arrived the driver told me he couldn't take a mess like that unless it was boxed. I told him what Amazon told me. He said OK, no problem, and he took the broken pieces and all the box scraps. I assumed I would have to wait another two days for the replacement. Instead, without my requesting it or even knowing that Amazon had done it, Amazon flew, at no cost to me, a replacement in from somewhere in Tennessee and it was delivered by noon the day after I contacted Amazon. Amazon has eliminated competition by doing things better than everyone else.
