It’s been ages since I’ve really done some deal hunting online with how ubiquitious Amazon is I’ve realized I’m not up to date with the current ecosystem for finding trustworthy online storefronts. Do you have any sources/tips for finding good quality products (especially with all the AI slop that exists nowadays)?
I’ve learned to live with less. I don’t need a new gadget or the latest shiny plastic distraction. I buy food, gas, beer. If I just have to have something, Costco or eBay. Closed my amazon, walmart, target accounts. Don’t miss them.
I barely buy from Amazon nowadays, quit the subscription 3 years ago. Except for very specific items anywhere else is cheaper, better quality or both. Besides trying to search for something on Amazon has become a nightmare.
Benelux has Bol, so that’s what I use.
I go rob container ship
I’ve always considered Amazon a store that mostly Americans use. Personally I’ve always just used eBay and Aliexpress myself.
I used to use eBay as well, before I was scammed, and eBay did absolutely nothing. On top of that it was impossible to reach a human. Ever since I never felt comfortable buying from there, knowing that if the automated service page can’t help me then I’m just fucked.
I once had a problem with amazon, a 100$ item was missing from a package, and after talking to a representative for 10 minutes they completely refunded me.
Amazon is monopolistic, and evil, but in my experience have excellent customer service.
Here in Canada I’ve started ordering from the Canadian Tire app instead.
Before searching I am asking myself 10 times “do I really need this” and I compare caracteristics ans prices on various websites (this process can take months), I check references about sellers and items, then I prepare myself to buy it but at this step I forgot I wanted/needed this, or it does not answer my need, in 80% cases.
Amazon is literally the best company like y’all really sleep on what the other big companies are doing. Support the company that gives homeless blind people a job that pays $22 an hour instead of the companies that fire people for being transgender or losing their apartment.
Idk what you’re talking about, honestly. But I don’t think anyone here is advocating you go from Amazon to another mega corp like Walmart or Target. But as far as problems with Amazon, take your pick: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Amazon
Interesting read, skimmed through it while working at Amazon. Seems like company wants money and company sold product for money, and also users generated offensive user generated content on a user generated content hosting platform. Nothing new. Yet you sleep on Walmart Marketplace.
Again, idk what you’re talking about. You keep saying people are “sleeping” on these other companies. That generally means you think something is underappreciated, and you want them to get the credit they deserve. I don’t think that’s what you’re saying here though, it seems like you’re saying we aren’t giving them enough negative attention.
I already said we don’t like other mega-corps, and literally specified Walmart. This post simply is about Amazon. Otherwise, I would’ve posted this article instead https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Walmart
aliexpress has most of the same stuff from amazon, just without the sellers nonsensical name slapped on it.
For more important stuff, most brick and mortar shops have an online storefront nowadays.
Idk, Aliexpress has plenty of the nonsensical names still. At least on the product listing, often the name isn’t bothered to be put on the product itself. However, for American’s Trump is wanting to handicap the de minimis for China.
You are right about the names, that was my point.
As someone who needs tall sizes, I long ago gave up on most stores selling anything that fits me. However using their online stores, I’m discovering that many still can have tall sizes, if I’m patient enough
I’ve never used Amazon. eBay is pretty much where I get what I want and that has been true since 2004 according to my account.
Why eBay? I understand getting deals on used stuff but it seems like anything newer is usually overpriced.
I don’t really buy much new stuff.
I just built my daughter a computer for 1k that would have cost nearly double anywhere else though.
I’m also a creature of habit. I’ve been using eBay for more than 20 years now and I don’t have to fuck with setting up a new account and all that anywhere else.
I did try Facebook marketplace recently and I have been ripped off twice. Yay. The only two purchases I ever made there.
Buy directly from the seller. Due to most people using Amazon the past decade, created a modern shipping infrastructure. Everyone has similar shipping pricing and timeframes. Amazon doesn’t provide anything special now. Other big box store just use their stores as shipping hubs like edge computing. There’s a lot of same day delivery.
I’m in Germany and have never used prime. When I used to order stuff from Amazon, it would take 3-7 days to arrive. That’s how much they care about customers that refuse to pay their damn subscription.
I’m in Germany and next day delivery on Amazon is next day delivery.
When Amazon started it was next day delivery, now a lot of stuff is two days.
What are you talking about? Amazon started as an online book store in 1994. They were not doing next day delivery, that’s for sure. Amazon had a big push for “Prime 2 day delivery” for a long time, but from my anecdotal experience it’s more than often longer than two days. Sometimes they offer one or two day shipping, but it’s not the norm.
Ten years ago two-day shipping meant two days from order to delivery. It now means two-day delivery once shipped in one to five business days. Most prime eligible purchases now just mean “free shipping.”
I got attached to Prime as a student where two-day shipping and a $50 annual student subscription made it a useful service. There are Prime features on parts of the Amazon website I couldn’t find my way back to the same way twice. The site is riddled with dark patterns from customer service to Prime video.
I haven’t been able to transition my household fully off Amazon, but I have switched to alibris.com as an alternative storefront for books and other media. Used sellers like thriftbooks, half-price books, and goodwill are all Amazon booksellers on alibris for the same price. They’re all shipping via media mail anyway, so Prime is useless on both sites.
Yes, they used to, and still do, do next day delivery depending on the item and where you live. It is certainly not the norm. That forum post is also not the evidence you think it is.
Regardless, you said when Amazon started it was next day delivery. That is simply not true. Perhaps you were talking about when Amazon was first available in your area it had next day deliver, which would be fair, but it’s not when it started.
A lot of that is also Amazon, but an individual can only do so much
Even though mom and pop stores are mostly dead, Amazon’s market share is thankfully still relatively contained where I live. So it’s still simply a matter of just picking a different “big box store” to order your things from.
While I don’t put enough effort into it to really make a difference, I’ve had decent luck using Amazon to narrow down a search, then purchase from a company’s store.
Of course that’s quite possibly Amazon also
Yeah lol a couple of times I’ve tried to do this only to get to the cokpany’s site and see “pay through amazon” in the checkout
I shop at the bin stores where they have a ton of Amazon and WalMart products. Some are returns but I always test them at the store and have found a ton of stuff for $4 or $10. I just bought a wet suit, 7 head electric shaver, fog machine, 4 smart bulbs, 3 USB plugs, hand warmers, queen sized inflatable mattress, ice bath tub (to wash my dog) and a Dirt Devil all for $72.
I like iherb.com for supplements, tea, olive oil, and castile soap. And whatever else you may find there amongst the strange assortment of things they carry. Other than that, I’ve been going right to manufacturers websites, except for mechanical keyboard stuff, where I search a whole bunch of different specialty vendor sites.
