Too bad they didn't mention bookshop.org for getting books.
Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online
21–30 of 495 posts
Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online
#22paywall, whatever :( yep, amazon has been useless lately - ebay, on the other hand, all those independent sellers, very responsive!
Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online
#23I tried ordering some things from Home Depot the other day, and they silently cancelled half of my order while still charging me the same amount for delivery from the store and while saying that some things can only be delivered from a warehouse and that some things can only be delivered from a specific store and that delivery from each store has a $45 minimum purchase before they'll even consider delivery despite the fact that they're charging the same amount for delivery from the store no matter how much you order. That of course makes it difficult to then order the remaining items even if you call them and demand a refund for the first delivery fee, because the remaining items now don't meet the minimum. Then the delivery from the warehouse is some weird arbitrary calculation involving a nominal+ amount that then gets divided up across the items you're ordering (3.77 here, 2.83 there, and so on) such that if you remove any item the delivery fees for the other items all go up, and then there are some items that deliver for free if you order more than $45 worth from the warehouse which of course doesn't help you if some items can only be purchased from the individual stores. And then there are still things like cans of spraypaint that you can't get delivered at all and you're only allowed to pick up in person.
I know that right now is an exceptional time, but this kind of shopping experience is part of why people choose Amazon first.
Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online
#24If Amazon has shipping delay in US, then it is unlikely other smaller shops can fare it better.
Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online
#25Yeah I’ve ordered a few things now directly from the manufacturer. The problem is in a lot of cases I’ll see stuff that’s slightly cheaper on their site but then shipping is ridiculous. I ordered a mono price stand up desk recently. The price on Amazon was $10 more, but Monoprice wanted $45 for domestic shipping! So I waited three extra days and saved $35. It’s kind of a toss up now between speed and price depending…
I agree 100% with this. It's appalling how many other sites (esp. the direct manufacturer ones, like you mentioned) use dark patterns with their shipping/handling prices. It really does make you understand why everyone wants to use the big sites like Amazon, at least they are pretty straight fwd when it comes to the price, shipping, fees, etc. Nothing worse than getting down an e-commerce funnel only to find you wasted 10+ mins filling out stages of forms to then find the shipping/handling cost is absolutely ridiculous, and have to bail.
Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online
#26Can someone please explain to me like I'm 5 why adults have to be told that other retail outlets exist besides Amazon?
If you are one of these people, please kindly explain to me how you forgot there are other shops.
Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online
#27Amazon shipping hack - order what you want to order, wait 48 hours to see if it ships, and if it doesn't cancel and order elsewhere. This assumes you value ordering through Amazon (I do b/c prime shipping, easy return policy, and I have a large gift card balance) One thing I've noticed is that amazon may list a delivery date far out in the future, but it's possible you still get the product quickly, depending on what…
I've done this. It doesn't work for some third party shippers who claim to ship immediately (cancel option removed) even if they don't.
Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online
#28paywall, whatever :( yep, amazon has been useless lately - ebay, on the other hand, all those independent sellers, very responsive!
Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online
#29The estimates on Amazon right now seem way longer than the reality. I'm getting all my packages in 2-3 days despite Amazon estimating a week or more.
Same for me. 3 items earlier estimated for Apr 27 are already sitting in a box in my living room.
Same. I put in a big order figuring if I have a three week turn around, better buy three weeks of stuff. Two days later I see the poor delivery guy unloading all my stuff.
Now I am an inadvertent horder.
Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online
#30Yeah I’ve ordered a few things now directly from the manufacturer. The problem is in a lot of cases I’ll see stuff that’s slightly cheaper on their site but then shipping is ridiculous. I ordered a mono price stand up desk recently. The price on Amazon was $10 more, but Monoprice wanted $45 for domestic shipping! So I waited three extra days and saved $35. It’s kind of a toss up now between speed and price depending…
I agree 100% with this. It's appalling how many other sites (esp. the direct manufacturer ones, like you mentioned) use dark patterns with their shipping/handling prices. It really does make you understand why everyone wants to use the big sites like Amazon, at least they are pretty straight fwd when it comes to the price, shipping, fees, etc. Nothing worse than getting down an e-commerce funnel only to find you wast…
I’m convinced they do this on purpose. The more time you’ve invested, the more likely you are to acquiesce and pay their exorbitant shipping fee.