Letters to the Editor: You can order TP on Amazon, but you might not actually receive it

To the editor: Thank you very much for the informative report on some third-party Amazon retailers who do not deliver as promised, especially for toilet paper orders.

I ordered two 10-roll toilet paper packages for $45.94 on Amazon Marketplace on March 27. This was at the height of the shortage, so the price was quite expensive.

The ad at first showed delivery between April 7 and April 29. When I clicked “Buy,” it showed delivery between May 7 and May 29. I assumed this order would be shipping from within the United States. I was given a tracking number that showed the order originated not from the U.S., but from China, probably on a “slow boat” across the Pacific.

After reading the L.A. Times’ article, I realized I wasn’t the only one who was duped.

Buyer beware when ordering on the Amazon Marketplace. Don’t be taken for a scam like I was. I don’t know if I will ever receive my order, but if I do, it probably will be the “doll-sized rolls.”

Gloria Simms, Winnetka

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To the editor: I am certain that many people are being scammed by online sales during this crisis, but I am also wondering about the possibility of some questionable activity by Amazon employees.

Four weeks ago I ordered latex gloves, which were received about two weeks ago at the San Bernardino Amazon facility. According to the tracking, Amazon received my package, but it has never been received by the U.S. Postal Service. All tracking ended at the Amazon facility.

I have been advised by Amazon that I can cancel this order, but I’d like to know where my package is. No tracking can locate it.

While I hate to cast aspersions on Amazon employees, I can’t help but wonder if some clever worker recognized the sender on this package and decided that this product was more valuable than gold and worth risking his or her job over.

Am I alone, or is this the new normal in an age of hoarding and fear?

Barbara Rosen, Fullerton

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To the editor: I don’t mean to dispute what’s reported in this article, but giant rolls of fluffy toilet paper are unknown in much of the world. Throughout much of Asia people use water, not paper.

Those doll-sized rolls received by some Amazon Marketplace customers are often what you find in places that cater to westerners.

Susan Hough, South Pasadena