Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online • Hacker News Board

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#141

Post by bradlys » Mon, Apr 06, 2020, 6:23 PM UTC

eshyong wrote: post #32

irrational wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not me. Amazon is estimating 2-3 weeks on most things now, and so far are sticking by their estimates.

I'm guessing a lot of this is location dependent, and based on warehouse-proximity.

It's also based on the items you're ordering. Some stuff we've ordered arrives within a few days or less. Other items that I've ordered (tools) has taken about 3 weeks to arrive. Some items keep getting pushed back. I would cancel and buy elsewhere but I'd pay a lot in shipping since these aren't all items I can buy from one place online.

I have shopped online for other items though. I bought some insoles for really cheap from a UK based bicycle store, the items got here in less than a week... all the way from the UK! It's not like all shipping is broken down - just Amazon.

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#142

Post by salvagedcircuit » Mon, Apr 06, 2020, 6:23 PM UTC

Ironically, I find that I am ordering more from Mcmastercarr and digikey more than ever.

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#143

Post by Diederich » Mon, Apr 06, 2020, 6:25 PM UTC

RJIb8RBYxzAMX9u wrote: post #138

Diederich wrote: post #41

Help requested. My wife, who is in her 50s, is immunocompromised, and she also has a history of fast escalating and difficult to treat respiratory problems. We are and have been (for the past 32 days) treating this bug very carefully. If she catches it, she has a very good chance of not surviving it. Our son and I are at less risk, but we can easily bring this bug home. We've been having more and more trouble getting…

Expensive options: - Subscribe to meal kit services like HelloFresh or Blue Apron (or both). - Buy from other mail order grocers like Imperfect Foods, Omaha Steaks, etc. - Hire someone with TaskRabbit to do the shopping for you, particularly from grocers that don't deliver (i.e. Trader Joe's, smaller specialty grocers, etc.).

We actually have bought a fair amount of meat from Omaha Steaks.

> TaskRabbit

I had not considered that, we'll take a look. Thanks!

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#144

Post by ebg13 » Mon, Apr 06, 2020, 6:25 PM UTC

markkanof wrote: post #139

justforyou wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even better, you can reserve items to pickup at Home Depot online which are not actually in stock. Website quantities are not tied to point of sale, and are instead manually enteted by staff when they have the opportunity/bandwidth. (Or at least that was the explanation given by Home Depot's customer support.)

I feel like I'm using a different homedepot.com than everyone else on this thread. I'm not aware of an option to reserve things for pickup at the store, only to purchase them and pickup at the store. Every time I have done this they send an email when the order is ready to be picked up, and then I go there and pick up all the items. Not saying you didn't have the experience you did, just wondering if they actually do…

> I'm not aware of an option to reserve things for pickup at the store, only to purchase them and pickup at the store.

Those two things you just said are the same thing.

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#145

Post by mod » Mon, Apr 06, 2020, 6:25 PM UTC

dawnerd wrote: post #124

serf wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Amazon 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. Amazon used to have a history of banning 'bad customers' (lots of returns, cancelled orders, etc), is this no longer the case?

Anecdotal but I've cancelled a TON of orders and haven't been banned. Returns I can see, but definitely not cancelled orders.

> I've cancelled a TON of orders

Out of curiosity, why?

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#146

Post by tehlike » Mon, Apr 06, 2020, 6:25 PM UTC

Diederich wrote: post #41

Help requested. My wife, who is in her 50s, is immunocompromised, and she also has a history of fast escalating and difficult to treat respiratory problems. We are and have been (for the past 32 days) treating this bug very carefully. If she catches it, she has a very good chance of not surviving it. Our son and I are at less risk, but we can easily bring this bug home. We've been having more and more trouble getting…

I live in MTV, and I have helped a neighbor who was going through chemo once last week (so roughly in similar situation from immunity pov, her family does not leave home for same reason), and would be happy to help you. Email in profile.

I stop by costco once every two weeks, and would not mind picking up some stuff for you.

Like another commenter mentioned, nextdoor is fairly decent for getting help, you can find highschoolers doing runs for their neighbors.

Small side note: it's kind of hard finding some staples - toilet paper, eggs, etc, so make sure you are aware of it.

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#147

Post by sseagull » Mon, Apr 06, 2020, 6:26 PM UTC

jakearmitage wrote: post #72

ebg13 wrote: post #23

I 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 th…

HomeDepot's ecommerce is a joke. Not only the shopping experience is poor, they treat logistics as if they were doing you a favor. And, on top of all that, you get damaged items. I made 7 purchases and all 7, in different periods of time, had to be returned or replaced. Same for Lowe's. There's a reason people shop on Amazon. Other than BestBuy, no other retailer "gets" ecommerce.

I imagine this is one of those things where everyone has different experiences. Or maybe it depends on location.

We recently moved into a new house (from an apartment) and needed lots of little things renters never worry about. I have ordered quite a bit of stuff from Home Depot, from a washer & dryer to a lawn mower to random small tools and paint. Never had any issue whatsoever.

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#148

Post by dawnerd » Mon, Apr 06, 2020, 6:27 PM UTC

vernie wrote: post #67

I've been using eBay lately. Sellers have been consistently delivering in 2 days and it feels just as likely that I'll get fake shit as from Amazon these days.

I sell on eBay and it's pretty easy to beat Amazon. Most first class and priority packages arrive in under 3 days depending on your location to an airport. I'm right next to PDX and almost all of my packages go through there and end up on the other side of the US overnight. Those packages typically take two days. Also helps I ship same day so they're on a flight that night or the next morning.

As for the fakes, they certainly exist on eBay but it's a lot easier to spot. If an item doesn't have good pictures, that's a huge red flag. I personally stay away from sellers that just use stock images. I want to know exactly what I'm getting.

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#149

Post by mod » Mon, Apr 06, 2020, 6:27 PM UTC

colmvp wrote: post #103

thebean11 wrote: post #3

The 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.

In Canada at least, some Prime shipping estimates are ONE MONTH. At the end of the day, I'm not complaining because prioritizing medical supplies is prudent but I have to imagine that a lot of people are choosing to use alternative sources like Order-and-Pickup instead.

I'm in the south: shipping for my item was 29 days.

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#150

Post by whymauri » Mon, Apr 06, 2020, 6:27 PM UTC

cpascal wrote: post #114

jakearmitage wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

HomeDepot's ecommerce is a joke. Not only the shopping experience is poor, they treat logistics as if they were doing you a favor. And, on top of all that, you get damaged items. I made 7 purchases and all 7, in different periods of time, had to be returned or replaced. Same for Lowe's. There's a reason people shop on Amazon. Other than BestBuy, no other retailer "gets" ecommerce.

> Other than BestBuy, no other retailer "gets" ecommerce Target.com is a pretty solid experience. Walmart.com is also surprisingly good. Although I'm sure people can provide horror stories for both retailers.

I'll toss Staples on to there. I ordered a chair two years ago. Relatively modern website, free delivery, and it arrived earlier than anticipated with no damage. Just make sure you unsubscribe from their newsletter.

I also think they'll price-match.