Although we are used to receiving Amazon parcels within 1 or 2 days of order confirmation (only if we are an Amazon Prime subscriber), not all products sold on the famous e-commerce site are available quickly, thus lengthening the delivery times of even a few months for cases of absent supply or with a high number of active requests.
Most of the time it says “Usually ship by” is due to the shortage of warehouse suppliesespecially for the most sought after and desired products by users (just think of the latest iPhone model or the limited availability of the PS5).
In the following guide we will show you What does Amazon’s “Usually ship within” mean?what are the expected delivery times for cases of low supply, how to check the estimated shipping date of the chosen product and what to do in some special cases (such as the purchase by invitation that Amazon offers for the PS5).
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1) What does “Usually ship by” mean on Amazon
Products sold and shipped by Amazon may not be immediately available; if the product in question also has a great demand on the market (such as theiPhone 14 Pro) the restoration of the supply may require from 30 to 60 working daysi.e. the time necessary to be able to process orders already placed and to be able to place new orders.
Amazon’s “Usually shipped by” notice is present immediately below the price column (on the right side) and stands out from the rest of the text because the writing is displayed in an orange color (as opposed to the green color used for in-stock items and red for items not available indefinitely).
If this writing appears there is not much we can do: even those who are subscribed to Amazon Prime will have to wait for the waiting list to endhoping that the new supply will bring a sufficient number of products to fulfill the orders already placed.
When we confirm an order with the wording “Generally shipped within” we need not fear anything: the money from the card or current account will be withdrawn only when the shipment actually departs and Amazon warranty times are valid from the day of delivery.
2) Check the changed delivery times
If the product is not immediately available, we can still proceed with the order, so as to put ourselves on the waiting list for the new supply: during the order confirmation phase the shipping window will appear in which the actual delivery will be made (usually 30 to 60 days after placing the order).
We can also check the date of the provable shipment by opening the menu Not yet shippedpresent in the section my orders the Amazon.
As soon as the product is available we will see it appear in the Amazon Orders section and we will receive an e-mail message confirming that the product has been shipped.
3) Purchase products by invitation
The console Sony PlayStation 5 it is a more unique than rare case in the panorama of technological products sold on Amazon.
Its demand was so high that many scalpers used gods powerful bots to be able to place orders automatically: in fact, the poor users cannot compete with the bots, bringing the consoles straight into the hands of the scalpers (who also resold them for €2,000!).
To avoid this Amazon has introduced an invite system for the PS5: if we want to buy a PS5 it is necessary to press on Request invitation and wait for the arrival of the new console supply; if our account meets all the requirements (we have been users for many years, we have proven that we make regular purchases and we are not bots) Amazon will allow you to reserve the console and to receive it within a few months of the invitation.
This system effectively cuts out the tout bots (hopefully), who still need to obtain certified Amazon accounts in order to place orders without cheating.
4) Cancel an order that takes too long
If the waiting time is too long or we change our mind after one or two weeks we can always cancel the order before availability by opening the menu Not yet shippedidentifying the order and finally pressing the key remove articles.
In this case nothing will be charged and we can use the money (never spent) to buy something else. If the order has already left and the charge has been made, we can always return to Amazonby sending the product back and obtaining the total reimbursement of the expense in the form of money (on the payment method used) or in the form of an Amazon gift voucher (lasting 10 years).
Conclusions
Not all products can be purchased quickly on Amazon: for some highly demanded products we will still have to wait a long time, obtaining fast shipping only when the product becomes available in the warehouses (in which case we will have fast delivery within 1 or 2 days if we have Amazon Prime active).
To learn more we can read our guides on how to avoid shipping charges on amazon come on what to do if an amazon package does not arrive or is missing.