Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

My old microwave finally died after a little more than 4 years use. I had mixed feelings about it finally dying. On the one hand, I was not thrilled to have to buy a new one, but on the other hand, I loathed that microwave due to the buzzer which simply would not stop unless you went to it and opened the door. Otherwise, it would keep buzzing loudly for days, weeks, months. I HATED that microwave. Anyway, I looked at at least 50-60 different microwaves on-line and read tons of reviews. I did not find one microwave that had at least a 90% satisfaction rating across the board. I dreaded buying another one because of the cost involved but also because they no longe seem to last longer than about four years, and finally because none of them seemed well liked by at least 90% of buyers, but a microwave is pretty essential to my home, so eventually, I chose this Toshiba. First of all, the Amazon Prime delivery was late, and they plastered the shipping label over the box's directions for how to best remove the microwave from the box. Luckily, I previously watched a YouTube video on this microwave, so I knew how best to unpack it---from the bottom. It took more than 15 minutes to unpack it and set it up. Then, I spent some time reading the entire operating manual. Lastly, I opened the door one last time to look inside (I did not plan to use it until the following day) and noticed the light did not come on. I verified that the light is supposed to come on once the door is opened. This is true of every microwave I have ever owned. The next day I used it, and the light did not come on even during use. Contacted Amazon trouble shooting, but the problem was not one that I could rectify. Now, I await a replacement to arrive three more days from now. Three days for a Prime member to receive a working microwave is a bit excessive. Many of my deliveries in the last year have been late--I would estimate at least 85%+ have been late. As for the microwave, it was very disheartening to receive a brand new microwave with something wrong with it right out of the box, especially at this price point. ETA: 08 October 21--the replacement arrived today after 7 p.m. I kept getting messages all day with the delivery time later and later. Finally, I saw the driver was two stops away, so I propped open my gate wide and waited in the yard. The delivery person was a nice young woman at least 30-35 years my junior, and she had a heck of a time carrying the box. She made it from her vehicle to my gate and had to put the box down for a minute or two to catch her breath and regain some strength. She then picked it up again and carried it to my porch whilst exclaiming "this thing is HEAVY!!!" I replied, it is a microwave. You can put it on the porch. She made it to the porch and more or less dropped it onto the cement porch from about 1.5 ft. up. I was so chagrined, but I said nothing. I brought it inside and spent another 15+ minutes unpacking it. First thing I noticed was there was no protective plastic covering over the number/display. They come from the factory with a plastic cover. This worried me. I immediately wondered if this was a refurbished microwave. I plugged it in and opened the door, and viola! The light worked! I was so relieved but not for long. I next tried to set the clock and discovered that the numerals 7, 8, and 9 on the keypad were dead. Now, I was very angry. I now have a replacement for the replacement on the way. It is supposed to be delivered between 4 and 8 a.m. Saturday morning (tomorrow)! I am not thrilled about this. I must remove the padlock from my gate before going to bed and leave my porch light on. I have had stuff stolen from my courtyard in the past, which is why I now padlock the gate, so I am not thrilled to leave the gate open, but the first one they delivered they just dropped over the gate and onto the concrete sidewalk on the other side. I do not know if it was that that ruined the light on the first one or not. This will be the third one now, and if there are any problems with it, it is going back, and I will buy from someone else. I now already have TWO that have to be boxed up and brought to the UPS store for return. They come with industrial size staples in the box that must be removed to remove the microwave from the box, and you cannot put them back in afterward, so all I can do is tape the boxes, and I am very worried the microwaves which are extremely heavy will simply fall through the boxes. This has been a miserable experience. I only hope that the third one will be BRAND NEW with no faults like no light or dead buttons. The old saying is very apt here...."they don't make 'em like they used to." ETA: 11 OCTOBER 21 Well, I boxed up the third microwave (which by the way would have been the perfect one out of the three had not Amazon delivery people punctured the box with something big and sharp that went right through to the microwave cabinet inside and damaged it) early this morning and moved all three out to my porch for UPS pick up today. I was going to bring the first one to the UPS store myself, but by the time I had two and then three to go back, I decided they should pick up. Amazon told me over the weekend that UPS would pick up the next business day, i.e. today, Monday. I am worried about the stability of the boxes since the manufacturer's instructions say to open the box from the bottom which means not only cutting through the tape but also removing two huge, thick industrial staples which cannot be put back into place once removed. I repacked all three microwave ovens with packing tape only, and given the weight of the microwaves, I am worried that at some point they might fall through the bottom, so I belled UPS early this morning to let them know about my concerns so that the driver and whoever else will handle the boxes will be mindful whilst handling them. I do not want anyone to get hurt. Well, the woman at UPS informed me that they did not receive any pick up requests from Amazon. She said she could send someone today to pick up, but I would have to pay for the pickup of each one. She recommended I contact Amazon. To say that I was furious would be a colossal understatement. I then belled Amazon and spoke with a nice young man. I was on the phone with him for a long, long time. I had to explain the entire story all over again. Thankfully, since I do not want to have these microwaves here for another 24+ hours, he made arrangements for UPS to pick up all three of the microwaves today by noon. He said he would bell me back at 3 p.m. to make sure UPS picked up. If UPS does not come to pick up these three huge boxes, I will be stuck with them until tomorrow--a dreadful thought. Amazon told me over the weekend to leave them on my porch for pick p today, but if I had done that, if I had not kept them indoors where they took up an enormous amount of floor space in my tiny living room, they would have been ruined last night as there was a massive thunderstorm that moved through last night. They would have been drenched. So, now I await UPS to collect these three microwaves today. Fingers crossed that they show up soon. If this whole fiasco had not been so sickening (and I do mean both actually physically and emotionally sickening--my blood pressure has been through the roof, and my neck and back ache from boxing and moving three bulky, heavy microwaves), this review read like a situation comedy script, but I assure you it has not been funny for me. Moreover, unbelievably, this is still not the end of the story. After I boxed up the third microwave this morning and before I belled UPS, I finally unboxed the fourth one. It arrived Sunday (yesterday) morning, and the box was in good shape, so I had high hopes for it. The light works. The number pad and clock work. It had not been harpooned by the delivery people like the third one had been. All seemed fine. Then, much to my chagrin, I realised that the door does not close properly. It closes, but the door sags downward by about 3/8ths of an inch. It is quite noticeable. I have no idea if this is harmful or not. Would microwaves escape from the oven whilst it is in use? Does this present and health and safety issue? I do not know what to do now. I think perhaps I will give myself a 1-2 week rest from all of this before I decide what to do next. So, to recap, I have had four of these microwaves delivered since last week: 1. First microwave was fine except the light did not work. This was the only issue with the first microwave. Replacement one was ordered. This was definitely a manufacturing issue; 2. Second microwave was missing the protective plastic covering over the control panel, and the 7, 8, and 9 numbers on the panel were dead. This was also a manufacturing issue that made me wonder if this microwave was potentially a refurbished unit. Second replacement ordered; 3. Third microwave was absolutely beautiful and PERFECT! I could not have been more thrilled. Then I noticed the damage to the side of the door. It would have been perfect except that the delivery person allowed a large, sharp item of some sort to penetrate the box and go right through to the microwave and cause a big dent and scratch on door. Made me wonder if they had a harpoon in the delivery van. How could you do that sort of damage and not even notice it?! This was not a manufacturer issue. Third replacement ordered; 4. Fourth microwave arrived in a clean, undamaged box. My hopes were very high again. Upon unboxing the fourth microwave I noticed that the door closes well enough, but it sags downward by about 3/8ths of an inch or more. I am unsure if this was a manufacturer issue or resulted from handling by the delivery people. I am too exhausted to pack up the fourth microwave today. I will have to deal with it in a few days after my body and mind recover a bit. The upshot is that this has been a miserable experience, and whist the first two microwaves had manufacturing defects, Amazon is to blame for the third and probably the fourth microwave. I believe if the packages had been handled with a lot more care, then the third one would have been perfect, and there would have been no need for a fourth one to be sent out. I like the microwave. It is an attractive unit that looks quite classy on the kitchen countertop. It is quiet. It is plenty powerful enough. It cooks a baked potato in about half the time of my old 900 watt microwave for example. I absolutely LOVE the option to mute the buzzer--this was THE deciding factor that made me choose this microwave over all others. I believe if you could get a new one delivered with care, you would likely be very pleased with this microwave. However, I would recommend you purchase the microwave at a local store where you could see what you will get before you pay for it and take it home. There could be manufacturing problems, but at least delivery problems would be obviated. I truly do love Amazon, but I cannot recommend anyone buy appliances from them. Amazon should hold these delivery people to account. ANY box that is handed over to the driver in good condition and arrives at its destination with a huge hole in it should be the financial responsibility of the driver because s/he has been negligent in handling the package. If the delivery people were made financially responsible, then I am certain there would be far, far fewer packages arriving in poor condition.