So, I decided to order a brand new XF18mmF1.4 directly (sold by) Amazon.com for my upcoming trip, and this is what I received…

Firstly, I was supposed to sign the package upon delivery. But, the delivery person just dropped the package off my front door and put “signed by person” in the delivery update.

When I received the delivery notification, I went to get it right away, but the delivery person was already gone. When I picked up the package, it didn’t have any weight in it, and I knew right away it was empty; all it had inside was a tiny cardboard box with a barcode sticker on it (see photo above). When I scanned the barcode with the Amazon app, it directed to the product page of the XF18mmF1.4 lens.

I’ve already contacted Amazon Support and they’ve sent me a replacement.

Has anyone experienced something like this with Amazon? Am I wrong to assume that there is a scam going on internally within Amazon warehouses? Or is this just a simple shipping mistake? I’ve been a Prime member for over a decade and never seen this before.

Any advice on how to avoid this, especially right now with new products from Fujifilm and the upcoming holiday season? All I can think of is to set your order as a gift and have it gift wrapped by Amazon — it costs $4, but at least you’ll have the assurance that Amazon will physically wrap your item.