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

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#421

Post by plorkyeran » Tue, Apr 07, 2020, 4:57 AM UTC

t-writescode wrote: post #386

odysseus wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think in many cases it's not a matter of dishonesty, but of laziness, lack of care, or not wanting to pay for a better checkout experience.

Also, there’s probably A/B testing that shows orders of magnitude less engagement if you put any blockers in the way of seeing the product.

It doesn't have to block you from seeing the product. Some e-commerce sites let you enter a zip code on any page to get estimated shipping prices, but don't require you to. Some let you enter a zip code as soon as you've added something to your cart. Some don't do estimated shipping prices at all and don't give you any idea how much shipping will be until you're at that step of the checkout flow.

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#422

Post by reilly3000 » Tue, Apr 07, 2020, 5:08 AM UTC

cschneid wrote: post #327

Spooky23 wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s crazy. Target smokes Amazon for most things these days, especially with pickup. Ditto for NewEgg and Walmart. Amazon is increasingly overrated, they peaked a decade ago and have declined to a warehouse club/flea market.

Newegg and Walmart have fallen to the same thing Amazon has: allowing 3rd party sellers. They're not as far along, but going down that path is what causes so many issues with counterfeits and generally poor experiences. I accidentally bought some thermal paste from a newegg seller who shipped it via slow-boat-from-china, and it took weeks to get to me. It was technically listed, but I hate any shopping experience tha…

Target is getting into the 3rd party seller game through Target+. It appears they have a pretty tight process for what gets approved to sell and who gets to sell it. Target by culture is extremely intentional about what they allow on their shelves, and it appears they are following suit with their 'curated' 3rd party sellers.

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#423

Post by homero » Tue, Apr 07, 2020, 5:14 AM UTC

How are the shipping companies keeping up? That's the bottleneck.

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#424

Post by wiredone » Tue, Apr 07, 2020, 5:22 AM UTC

Amazon’s value isn’t in the fact it’s a store with great shipping. It’s the trust component. Returns are simple, shipping and stock management is a non event and they have basically everything. Every other online shopping experience I’ve had has been hit and miss. Get the simple things right And sure I’ll try it. But no one has just look at these comments.

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#425

Post by patagurbon » Tue, Apr 07, 2020, 5:23 AM UTC

tmaly wrote: post #281

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…

I ordered a chest freezer from Home Depot. When I ordered it, I double checked that it was not listed as out of stock. I got a notice they were delivering on April 4. It was never delivered. The delivery company told me they were never shipped the freezer to deliver. When I called Home Depot, they said freezers are on back order to June. They told me I could call the manufacturer. This is a bit crazy. I have never ha…

This should be obvious to you now, but all Home Depots are out of chest freezers. Same with masks and many gloves.

For the issues with ordering, Home Depot ordering systems are truly a mess. There is very little automation after your order is sent to the store. The order system (ESVS) is also just a UX nightmare, making it difficult to do anything beyond a very specific workflow.

My personal favorite bit of insanity is we list certain prices online that aren't available in store. If you go to check out and want that price in store you have to order it online and wait for it to show up in our system. Then you can pick it up at the service desk. Even if it's in your hand.

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#426

Post by alyx » Tue, Apr 07, 2020, 5:24 AM UTC

Wistar wrote: post #323

Although the focus is somewhat narrower than amazon, for my professional needs I have had nothing but an excellent online experience with bhphotovideo. I have ordered hundreds of items worth tens of thousands of dollars from them starting about 2007. Their site can be a little frustrating, mostly from not narrow-enough categorization, but their app for iOS is very good. Their prices are usually as good and often bett…

Tried placing an order online Saturday afternoon, only to be informed that the website was not taking orders due to Shabbos.

I very nearly skipped over to Adorama.

The mind boggles trying to resolve why a server cannot accept an order while staff is respecting Shabbos.

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#427

Post by yibg » Tue, Apr 07, 2020, 5:31 AM UTC

boomboomsubban wrote: post #399

filoleg wrote: post #385

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, imagine this. I walk up to a cashier, and he by accident drops $10 in my shopping cart (without me noticing). Then he proceeds to inconspicuously take those $10, look at it, and silently put it back in the bag (again, without me noticing). I discover those $10 only when I get home. I had no idea it was even there, and the store employee definitely looked through every single item in my bag and saw those $10,…

>Did I steal those $10? Yes. You have acquired it without the intentional consent of the owner, who presumably thought it was your $10. I don't think it's a crime nor would I find you personally responsible.

That’s a weird definition of theft. By this definition if I pick up a quarter off the sidewalk I’m stealing too.

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#428

Post by patagurbon » Tue, Apr 07, 2020, 5:31 AM UTC

monksy wrote: post #252

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…

Let's face it Home Depot is garbage. From my experience they fail completely when at the store (employees running away from you, ignoring you, trying to avoid being asked for help, etc). The store, the way it's setup, tries to agressively cut corners. (The default for checking out is self checkout) I went to menards and I found the experience really rewarding. It's great. They're not a great company ecologically, lab…

There should always be a register open, it's company policy for a cashier to be at a register at all times (at least with the most recent setup). Some people like self, others hate it. In the end, though, it's about which cashiers are on duty, and I'm sure you're aware quality can vary widely.

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#429

Post by patagurbon » Tue, Apr 07, 2020, 5:33 AM UTC

omilu wrote: post #348

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…

I ordered a car port tent thing, showed as in stock, shipping in a few days. 8 weeks later never arrived, no notifications, only an order confirmation that said shipping in a few days. I called Home Depot and they said they don't have them in stock, they refunded me and gave me a $200 credit so I was happy. Couldn't believe how broke the ordering process was though.

It's because those notifications, at least from the store, are manual, associates have to manage each order in a horrendously ugly and complex system.

Re: Amazon Isn’t the Only Shop Online

#430

Post by senderista » Tue, Apr 07, 2020, 5:34 AM UTC

dan_quixote wrote: post #211

mauvehaus wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I beg to differ. Rock Auto is where it's at for auto parts. The website is ugly as hammered shit, but it's fast, shows you the options grouped by rough quality level (economy/you cheapskate, daily driver, performance, etc), shows you what part to select so it ships from the same warehouse as the parts already in your cart and saves you shipping, and returns are painless (disclaimer: I've only ever done returns for co…

My nomination is McMaster-Carr (mcmaster.com) - They have a huge catalog of parts/tools yet somehow it's so intuitive to browse. I was a mechanical engineer in a previous life and McMaster's website was my bible. Step one for any new prototype design was to browse this site. Best case scenario, you could cobble together your prototype from various COTS (commercial off the shelf) McMaster parts. And if that wasn't an…

The McMaster-Carr website is one of the finest examples of UX on the internet. Also they did next-day delivery literally decades before Amazon.