Why You Can Trust CNET Double-check your Amazon order to avoid crazy shipping costs
Otherwise you could end up like a woman from Georgia who found a $7,000 shipping fee on her purchase of toilet paper.
Amazon has a way of making shopping for necessities easy, but that doesn't mean you should blindly click away without carefully checking the total before hitting that Place Your Order button.
Learn from the unfortunate Georgia woman who ordered $88 (roughly £66, AU$117) worth of toilet paper from Amazon and ended up being charged more than $7,000 (roughly £5,258, AU$9,299) just for shipping costs.
Barbara Carroll, who manages a building and takes care of all its janitorial supplies, told WSBTV on May 21, "I ordered three cases of toilet paper for $88.17 and shipping $7,455 for a total of $7,543.12. After I screamed I thought, 'Oh this is not a problem, this is Amazon and Amazon will take care of it.'"
Apparently, Carroll fell victim to a third-party seller who thought they could charge any price, no matter how huge, for shipping costs.
Luckily, Amazon came to the rescue and refunded Carroll. Amazon has also taken action against the seller since according to Amazon policy, sellers cannot set "excessive order fulfillment and shipping costs" on orders.
"We have selling policies that all sellers agree to before selling on Amazon, and we take action against those that violate them and harm our customer experience," Amazon said in a statement to USA Today on May 21.
To avoid the same mistake Carroll made, it's best to double-check your final Amazon order before approving it.
One of the ways to avoid big shipping charges is to take advantage of Amazon Prime for free two-day shipping so you don't have to go looking for a bargain via third-party sellers.
Amazon also has a free (or flat-rate) for grocery and household item delivery so you can buy toilet paper and other necessities. Amazon's Prime Pantry will deliver these and other goods for free if you order a minimum of five qualifying items.
Whatever you choose to do, always look at your total bill before placing your order.
