Amazon is stuffing its search results pages with ads • Hacker News Board

Re: Amazon is stuffing its search results pages with ads

#311

Post by toomuchtodo » Tue, Sep 11, 2018, 5:42 PM UTC

jstarfish wrote: post #307

toomuchtodo wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The day Amazon feel threatened they can become the cheapest in the market quickly again. > Given purchasing power scale and people like fast delivery there will only be a handful of companies that can complete with Amazon ever, so it seems unlikely there will be a 'started in the garage' business compete with them now the market is maturing. I'd rather just walk into Target (same day pickup), Walmart (same day pick…

> Buy Buy Baby Always hated the name of that store. It sounds like a euphemism for Planned Parenthood. > The UX is still great for me to track down products I might like or need and then go shop for them in person. What a hilarious inversion of the way things used to be.

I too am surprised by the irony! And low and behold, a lot of brick and mortar stores price match Amazon.

Re: Amazon is stuffing its search results pages with ads

#312

Post by twblalock » Tue, Sep 11, 2018, 5:44 PM UTC

NeedMoreTea wrote: post #49

maaaats wrote: post #10

Unless you know exctly brand/make/model you wan't to buy on Amazon, the search is useless. Hundreds of similar results from dozens of vendors of varying quality. I liked it better when they sold things themselves, now they're just an eBay clone selling cheap knockoffs trying to hide the fact.

Even then it's borderline useless as when you search for the exact pair of trousers you want you'll now get other ranges, and dozens upon dozens of fake-brand cheap knockoffs. When you do find the item, you'll find in amongst the "customers also looked at/bought" 4 or 5 other pages containing the exact same item. At different prices and stock levels. None of which showed up in the search you just did for that item. I…

I'm pretty sure I got factory seconds buying some jeans on Amazon recently. I got a pair where the waist size on the inside tag was different than the one on the outside tag, and another pair of relaxed fit jeans with a regular fit tag on them. I think they were authentic, they were just factory seconds that somebody bought to sell on Amazon.

Re: Amazon is stuffing its search results pages with ads

#313

Post by ryanisnan » Tue, Sep 11, 2018, 5:47 PM UTC

chabes wrote: post #269

NegativeK wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a sibling comment pointed out, cheapest doesn't trump everything -- otherwise we'd be ordering from Aliexpress. I've spend _way_ too much money on climbing gear in the past three years, very little of which was on Amazon. I simply can't risk getting counterfeit safety-critical goods. And while I'm not worried about counterfeit mops, I have noticed that the Amazon first habit is now broken in general.

> I simply can't risk getting counterfeit safety-critical goods. That’s a good call. I usually buy direct from someone like Black Diamond when it comes to things like that. Also, like with most industries , it helps to have a friend with a pro deal, if you’re trying to save money on important stuff. I’ve found that AliExpress is good for cheap electronics that I don’t mind waiting for, but not much beyond that. I hav…

A word to the wise, the first rule about pro deals is that you don't talk about pro deals.

Re: Amazon is stuffing its search results pages with ads

#314

Post by dominotw » Tue, Sep 11, 2018, 5:49 PM UTC

arbuge wrote: post #19

Their basic underlying assumption appears to be that they're no longer in danger of losing customers and can now act accordingly. Now that they've captured 50%+ of US ecommerce, they've also raised many prices, to the point where they're far from the cheapest price in many cases. A random example... the cat litter I just purchased is $17.89 at Amazon, $13.49 at Walmart. Last week I bought a chair mat for $21.95 on Eb…

> . the cat litter I just purchased is $17.89 at Amazon, $13.49 at Walmart.

Isn't extra $4 for shipping? You are comparing store pickup to something shipped to your home.

Re: Amazon is stuffing its search results pages with ads

#315

Post by durpleDrank » Tue, Sep 11, 2018, 5:52 PM UTC

Honestly, they are screwed once people start using ali express instead. I know shipping times is a bit long, but I'm sure there will be some solution to this in the future. I wouldn't be surprised they built their own fulfillment centers on the continent.

Re: Amazon is stuffing its search results pages with ads

#316

Post by cam3ham » Tue, Sep 11, 2018, 5:54 PM UTC

durpleDrank wrote: post #315

Honestly, they are screwed once people start using ali express instead. I know shipping times is a bit long, but I'm sure there will be some solution to this in the future. I wouldn't be surprised they built their own fulfillment centers on the continent.

lol

Re: Amazon is stuffing its search results pages with ads

#317

Post by Alupis » Tue, Sep 11, 2018, 5:55 PM UTC

Gustomaximus wrote: post #164

cs702 wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Their basic underlying assumption appears to be that they're no longer in danger of losing customers and can now act accordingly. Speaking as a longtime customer, I agree: this is what Amazon's behavior feels like to me nowadays. Search no longer works well for me. Reviews and product ratings are no longer trustworthy. The authenticity of products in key categories (e.g., electronics) can no longer be taken for gra…

Does it though? 1) The day Amazon feel threatened they can become the cheapest in the market quickly again. 2) Given purchasing power scale and people like fast delivery there will only be a handful of companies that can complete with Amazon ever, so it seems unlikely there will be a 'started in the garage' business compete with them now the market is maturing. 3) With the extra profit Amazon are making vs a competit…

> 1) The day Amazon feel threatened they can become the cheapest in the market quickly again.

I don't think that's necessarily true. Majority of products sold on Amazon are sold by 3rd parties. Amazon's commission fee structure, and seller-eats-return-shipping-by-default is to blame for prices going up on many items...

Competition among sellers is fierce on Amazon - and historically was a race to the bottom, chasing sometimes $0.10 profits after paying for shipping materials, shipping fees, labor in warehouses to fulfill orders - or paying FBA fees which are often higher but gets a sales boost by Amazon for the privilege...

Amazon keeps raising commission rates, FBA fees, sticking sellers with return shipping label fees, commission minimums, etc. It all adds up to an unprofitable proposition - or you must raise prices to compensate. So, that's what has been done... making Amazon more expensive in general for almost everything.

Sure, Amazon could cut their fees tomorrow - but it will take time to work itself out into lower prices for consumers... especially since people are unlikely to trust Amazon's fee-holiday longevity. Amazon tends to change things at will with minimal notice.

Do yourself, and small businesses alike, a favor - find something you want to buy on Amazon - then search the seller name on your favorite search engine. You might be pleasantly surprised with the free discount you receive by purchasing directly from the vendor's website than through Amazon + all the fees.

Re: Amazon is stuffing its search results pages with ads

#318

Post by kmano8 » Tue, Sep 11, 2018, 5:55 PM UTC

sandworm101 wrote: post #117

kmano8 wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> they've also raised many prices, to the point where they're far from the cheapest price in many cases I've been loyal to Amazon, but am certainly willing to buy items elsewhere if the top to bottom price + experience is better. For example, camera equipment and many electronics, I've been finding prices better at B&H photo -- and you don't have to pay sales tax if shipping outside NY. Also, their customer service i…

Well, you may not be charged the tax but you probable still have a legal obligation to pay it. That you choose not to to fill out all the forms is on you. Each state and country is different in how they treat online sales re local taxes.

Sure. I'd be curious to see some data on who actually follows through on this. Pushing the burden to the consumer to document these transactions doesn't make any sense to me. Additionally, I bet many consumers don't even realize when taxes haven't been paid during checkout.

Re: Amazon is stuffing its search results pages with ads

#319

Post by burlesona » Tue, Sep 11, 2018, 5:59 PM UTC

astura wrote: post #212

chooseaname wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I heard once that Mac users see slightly higher prices, but I've never been able to personally confirm that.

I thought that was for airplane tickets?

Ugh. Do you have any source / evidence for that?

Re: Amazon is stuffing its search results pages with ads

#320

Post by virusduck » Tue, Sep 11, 2018, 5:59 PM UTC

matwood wrote: post #229

ntsplnkv2 wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been using prime since 2010. At first, it was incredible. 2 days, every time, no matter what. Now it's almost always 3 days because they do the "USPS last mile" bullshit. It never makes it early enough on day 2 to make it on the mail truck for that day. I've complained about this and still the same thing. Before I'd get a free month with a quick chat. Not anymore. Now I get a half-assed apology and have to pull…

> USPS last mile This so much. USPS is literally the worst service I have ever used. If I see an Amazon package switch over to USPS I immediately email and get them to send it again and switch it to FedEx or UPS. You're right though that it is becoming harder to get them to switch it back to a delivery service that actually cares about delivery.

Weird. UPS has always been the worst. I'd say about 50% of UPS packages either get misdelivered or marked as undeliverable for me. The numbers on my street are a little odd, but it's not that hard to actually find my house, and it is listed correctly on Google/Apple maps. No matter how hard I try to get UPS to get on the ball and fix their mistake, nothing ever changes.

USPS, OTOH, never messes up my deliveries.