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Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

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Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#261

Post by jamiek88 »

thwarted wrote: post #204
mcpherrinm wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

BestBuy has added third party sellers online too: https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/about/selling-on-marketplace/bl... Though they don’t seem to have many yet, I did run across it recently. In-store pickup items are still seemingly safe though.

This is the trend because the existence of the brand's website as a multi-seller marketplace is considered more valuable/higher ROI than the actual direct selling of items. And that's a reasonable view considering most of what is being sold is commodity and prices, thus margin, having downward pressure. The e-commerce website gets a positive reputation and a brand is built for being a good place to buy things, so it…

At the risk of long term diluting that brand reputation.

Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#262

Post by swiftcoder »

SamBam wrote: post #248
CapmCrackaWaka wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know my comment will be lost in a sea of voices, but I need to share my experience _somewhere_ else other than amazon reviews. I got my fiancé two Christmas presents this year - both bought off Amazon. One was an electronic keyboard that was dead on arrival, the other was a snuggie type blanket that started falling apart yesterday. Both items had thousands of 5 star reviews. I usually go somewhere (anywhere) else b…

If you're still every looking for instruments, Sweetwater has excellent stuff, and really stellar customer service. They answered questions by phone before we purchased. I received a keyboard for my daughter, then we had a change of heart and decided we had gotten the wrong one, they handled everything for shipping it back and sending a new one, and called a week later to see if we were happy.

And they will call you once every few months for the rest of your natural life (and then some). Sweetwater is notorious for being a company whose contact list you can never, ever escape from. Change your phone number, move across the country... Sweetwater will find you.

Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#263

Post by treis »

scioto wrote: post #172
coldpie wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since NewEgg started up their 3rd party seller program, I've also switched to Best Buy. Running out of places to buy from that aren't flooded with trash.

> Since NewEgg started up their 3rd party seller program, I've also switched to Best Buy. Running out of places to buy from that aren't flooded with trash. I still buy from NewEgg, but the first thing I do when I hit the search results is to click the Sold by Newegg button. Might be a few bucks more, but at least I'm getting the real deal ... at least so far.

NewEgg screwed me out of a monitor. I wouldn't trust them as as retailer anymore. That's from someone who used to buy all their computer stuff through them.

Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#265

Post by nitrogen »

steelframe wrote: post #253
hinkley wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

B & H photos has done right by me so far. CDW seems okay. Newegg appears to have vendors reselling stuff from Amazon with markup. And while you can filter third party out, you quickly discover Newegg doesn’t have much inventory.

tl;dr: I expect to get something with shoddy build quality from Newegg, but at least the reviews seem non-gamed. After a few months of lackadaisically making sporadic attempts to order an RTX 3080, I finally threw in the towel and ordered a prebuilt machine which will come with whatever brand 3080 card is in stock at the time from Newegg. I could really use the CPU upgrade anyway, and the markup on the parts isn't at…

I know a couple of people who've done the same thing -- order a prebuilt machine just to get one of the new CPUs or GPUs. Hopefully it remains unviable for scalpers and thus viable for users who actually want to use what they buy.

Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#266

Post by [deleted] »

jimmaswell wrote: post #182
bombcar wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amusingly enough if you trace the history of brand names ... this is why they started! And this is the strength that the major retailers have against Amazon - if Amazon won't police (and they have problems with commingling counterfeit brands, too) then Walmart and Target will jump ahead.

I get the sense this problem is massively overstated around here. My experience on Amazon is great, same for everybody I know who uses it.

[deleted]

Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#267

Post by kabdib »

coldpie wrote: post #133
hanklazard wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've also found myself buying a lot of things from Best Buy, something I would have scoffed at 5-7 years ago. These days, I just want to know that I'm getting a genuine (vs replica) product and most of the time I can go pick-up my purchase same day, solving the "fast shipping" problem.

Since NewEgg started up their 3rd party seller program, I've also switched to Best Buy. Running out of places to buy from that aren't flooded with trash.

One 3rd party seller on NewEgg has been ripping off customers for years. (You order something from them -- say, a mouse -- and they find some shitty used product on Ebay or someplace and ship that to you. Getting a refund can be a challenge).

Multiple complaints (including contacting the CEO of NewEgg) haven't removed this bad actor. So I just assume that this practice of retaining terrible 3rd parties reflects NewEgg's true* extent of their caring for customers, and I don't buy stuff from them anymore.

Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#268

Post by s0rce »

bombcar wrote: post #38
cambalache wrote: post #29

I was a heavy Amazon customer 8-10 years ago. I only bought stuff sold directly by Amazon, and that was not hard to do, since +90% of the products had that option. The other day I was just checking the price of an article for my mom and I was shocked how different is now, the proportion has totally changed, +90% of the articles are not sold by Amazon and by the "stores" name it looks they are barely better than rando…

The same thing happened to Ebay and Etsy - once they reached a certain level of popularity based on the original premise it turned into a outlet for cheap junk. I've taken to finding as much as I can at places that DO NOT have a "marketplace" such as Target or Home Depot.

Ebay has lots of junk (the worst being the people who drop ship items from Amazon marked up or just outright scams) but its also a source of really good deals that you really can't find elsewhere. Refurbished PCs, obscure electronics, mechanical and pneumatic fittings, lots of stuff I order for work to test/prototype which can save $100s-$1000s.

I also use ebay for various antique/vintage stuff (only <$100). Seems like overall a positive experience and the few times I've had issues I've always got my money back and the scammers account was closed, although I'm sure they just pop up again under a new name.

Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#269

Post by afavour »

perl4ever wrote: post #246
CapmCrackaWaka wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know my comment will be lost in a sea of voices, but I need to share my experience _somewhere_ else other than amazon reviews. I got my fiancé two Christmas presents this year - both bought off Amazon. One was an electronic keyboard that was dead on arrival, the other was a snuggie type blanket that started falling apart yesterday. Both items had thousands of 5 star reviews. I usually go somewhere (anywhere) else b…

I can relate to this experience, but the thing is, similar things have happened to me with other retailers, that I think have especially high markups and used to be in my mind decent brands. I got a shirt from Macy's with sewn in stripes that started to unravel before long, this was many years ago, but I never bought clothes from there again. And more recently, I got pillow cases from bed bath & beyond, that were ver…

One extra problem with Amazon is that a lot of products are sold by third party merchants and their site UX seems to deliberately obscure the fact. Same goes for Walmart, though I have less experience using them.

If I order from Amazon, from Amazon, I tend to have good experiences. If I order third party from Amazon it’s a crap shoot.

Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#270

Post by valuearb »

opportune wrote: post #228
valuearb wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worked for a startup that sold a food product direct, with a significant part of sales on Amazon. We decided to switch our standard size from 12 packs to 8 packs to better fit our customers consumption habits. But on Amazon that meant creating new listings for new SKUs, abandoning hundreds of positive comments/ratings on each 12 pack flavor SKU, which would crush sales for a while. So instead we let inventory run o…

Honestly if I were your customer I would probably really dislike this since I tend to put food products on subscriptions. Also the fact you were able to do this for something (I am assuming) was relatively innocent shows someone could do this for more nefarious purposes.

We did have Amazon subscriptions, and it was a nightmare, esp. given how little contact Amazon allows with your customers.
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