Do This BEFORE You Purchase From Amazon Local

Buying from Amazon Local is a great way to get discounts services in your area. It encompasses everything from deals at restaurants to beauty treatments to steals on merchandise and travel. When you buy something from their website or through their app, Amazon Local sends you a voucher which is redeemable for the goods or services you bought. Recently, however, I learned something the hard way: 

Research the company the voucher is for BEFORE you buy

A company that rents kayaks didn't want to honor my voucher. Had I done my research, I would have learned via Trip Advisor that this firm was notoriously unprofessional and had reputation for bad service. Thank goodness that I'd called the day before I went, spoken to the owner, physically showed up to the place, and was lucky enough to catch the owner's associate on-site. After a LOT of complaining and cursing (my daughter learned a few new words that day), he decided to honor the voucher. Still, had I known that this firm was so rude and unreliable, I never would have nabbed the deal. 

Was it Amazon Local's fault that this guy ran a bad business? NO. In fact, I love the way  the vouchers contain a What You Need to Know section for redemption instructions, merchant and ticket provider contact information, purchase limits, expiration dates, etc. I did, in fact, follow up with Amazon Local; their representative explained that merchants have to go through an application process in order to team up with Amazon and:

if a you try to work it out with the merchant and still can't Amazon Local will issue a refund. 

Sweet!  The rep also assured me that notes from our conversation to the business team so that if this business does try to partner with Amazon Local again, they'll have feedback to give him. 

Amazon Local has some phenomenal deals that can save you a ton of money. 

As in all cases, however, it's “buyer beware” and in this case “buyer research FIRST” before you click on the “Buy” button. 

Have you had any outstanding or horrible experiences with Amazon Local?  Let me know!

And as always, thanks for reading!