Within the space of a day, I placed one order on Amazon and one order on Lulu (a “print on demand” service: i.e. they don’t actually “hold” any stock) and, in both cases, selected their “free shipping” option. I would expect Amazon, being the larger one and having all the books already “in stock”, to get my order to me first – but the results are below:
Lulu:
Order value: £6.56 (1 “print on demand” A4 paperback book)
Postage paid: £0.00 [Free Ground shipping]
Ordered: Thursday 20th June 20:15
Shipped: Monday 24th June 15:51 (via DPD)
Expected Delivery: Wednesday 26th June
Arrived: Tuesday 25th June 15:10
Time from order to delivery: 4 days, 18 hours, 55 minutes
Amazon
Order value: £23.46 (3 pre-printed paperbacks and 1 hardback book)
Postage paid: £0.00 [Free Super Saver]
Ordered: Wednesday 19th June 20:49
Shipped: Saturday 22nd June 09:13 (via Royal Mail)
Expected delivery date: Thursday 27th June
Arrived: Wednesday 26th June: sometime before 1pm (Royal Mail didn’t knock)
Time from order to delivery: 6 days, 15 hours, 11 minutes [working on midday delivery]