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Almost everything on Amazon is becoming an ad

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Re: Almost everything on Amazon is becoming an ad

#71

Post by moonchrome »

stavros wrote: post #46
moolcool wrote: post #42

It runs deeper than just everything being an ad. It's also completely flooded with rebadged junk from dropshippers. A few weeks ago, I was looking for a new whetstone, and this is what I got when I searched Amazon https://i.imgur.com/1Utp2dF.png The results keep going like that. You see constant repetition of the exact same units with slightly different branding, often with the same stock photography, repeated for pa…

I was about to say when I saw the end of your comment, that looks very much like the AliExpress experience. You get cheap stuff, but you gamble on them being a fake.

AliExpress isn't even cheap for what you're actually getting, but it is cheaper than Amazon if you're dumpster diving.

The reason I say it isn't cheap is because when I ignore the fake labels and look at actual goods delivered equivalents can be bought locally for similar price (sometimes cheaper, sometimes more expensive) without insane wait time and with warrenty.

Re: Almost everything on Amazon is becoming an ad

#72

Post by techas »

simonsarris wrote: post #69
moolcool wrote: post #42

It runs deeper than just everything being an ad. It's also completely flooded with rebadged junk from dropshippers. A few weeks ago, I was looking for a new whetstone, and this is what I got when I searched Amazon https://i.imgur.com/1Utp2dF.png The results keep going like that. You see constant repetition of the exact same units with slightly different branding, often with the same stock photography, repeated for pa…

Highly recommend Shapton stones and buying them from Lee Valley https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/tools/shapton-sharpening-sto...

No post body was provided.

Re: Almost everything on Amazon is becoming an ad

#73

Post by swayvil »

>Let me be clear: Advertising isn’t necessarily bad...

Sure it is. It's legalized production of mass-insanity.

When communication isn't intended to fuck your mind we call it "news" or "conversation" or something like that.

Advertising is most definitely 100% evil. The only reason anybody says otherwise is because that implies all kinds of scary stuff about our society and nobody wants to go there. Also, because such statements offend our sponsors. And also, if you are in the advertising business, talk like that makes you look like a real Morlock.

I think that's crystal clear.

Re: Almost everything on Amazon is becoming an ad

#74

Post by moolcool »

simonsarris wrote: post #69
moolcool wrote: post #42

It runs deeper than just everything being an ad. It's also completely flooded with rebadged junk from dropshippers. A few weeks ago, I was looking for a new whetstone, and this is what I got when I searched Amazon https://i.imgur.com/1Utp2dF.png The results keep going like that. You see constant repetition of the exact same units with slightly different branding, often with the same stock photography, repeated for pa…

Highly recommend Shapton stones and buying them from Lee Valley https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/tools/shapton-sharpening-sto...

I had a look at those, but I ended up going with the KDS 1000/6000. I'm still new to using it, but it works great!

Re: Almost everything on Amazon is becoming an ad

#75

Post by noveltyaccount »

jabo wrote: post #53

I recently had to buy something mundane - a light bulb, with a specific lumen and color temperature spec. Weeding out all the junk listings, ads and clearly fake reviews, I ended up spending an hour trying to get to the one I wanted to buy. Had a very similar experience for another product as well. At this point, I hesitate to look up stuff on Amazon just considering the time it takes to find stuff. I much rather pre…

More is less. Decision fatigue, terrible comparison shopping experience, nearly indistinguishable products. I think about this at the grocery store every time I look at yogurt or toothpaste, by the way.

Re: Almost everything on Amazon is becoming an ad

#77

Post by Cloudef »

moonchrome wrote: post #71
stavros wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was about to say when I saw the end of your comment, that looks very much like the AliExpress experience. You get cheap stuff, but you gamble on them being a fake.

AliExpress isn't even cheap for what you're actually getting, but it is cheaper than Amazon if you're dumpster diving. The reason I say it isn't cheap is because when I ignore the fake labels and look at actual goods delivered equivalents can be bought locally for similar price (sometimes cheaper, sometimes more expensive) without insane wait time and with warrenty.

For spare / repair parts aliexpress unfortunately is still the heaven. Sure you have to be really careful who you order from, but sadly the modern world hates selling spare parts and loves e-waste (especially for smartphones, it used to be different before ...).

Re: Almost everything on Amazon is becoming an ad

#78

Post by TrueGeek »

Cloudef wrote: post #66
moolcool wrote: post #42

It runs deeper than just everything being an ad. It's also completely flooded with rebadged junk from dropshippers. A few weeks ago, I was looking for a new whetstone, and this is what I got when I searched Amazon https://i.imgur.com/1Utp2dF.png The results keep going like that. You see constant repetition of the exact same units with slightly different branding, often with the same stock photography, repeated for pa…

There's lots of these scams where they sell some non-branded goods with lots of reviews (with videos) from paid SNS influencers. Sometimes they may sell something completely else but change the listing completely (becomes obvious from the reviews again). When you see a lot of similar listing for the same product or from same store, it's giant red flag to not buy it. Sometimes these goods may be good, but often or not…

And they don’t care about the paid reviews either. I contacted them saying a seller mailed me offering $50 cash via PayPal for a 5 star review. The chat agent replied with the “contact seller” link since I was unhappy. They had no interest in the photo of the bribe sent to me. I don’t even know why the seller has my contact info since the item was shipped by Amazon.

Re: Almost everything on Amazon is becoming an ad

#79

Post by TacticalCoder »

aslilac wrote: post #2

Amazon is unusable at this point, and I don’t get how they have so many customers. Free and fast shipping is no longer exclusive to them, and there are others out there with far nicer websites and no shitty ad listings.

> Amazon is unusable at this point, and I don’t get how they have so many customers. Free and fast shipping is no longer exclusive to them, and there are others out there with far nicer websites and no shitty ad listings.

I only started using them in 2017 and I still do use them sparingly. But typically only for stuff I buy directly from the brand's store on Amazon.

There are a few brands I still trust. They may all be going downhill at some point and the "official store" may actually be some front for cheap copies that stole the brand name, I don't know... But so far it looks okay to me.

Anker, Osram, Makita, S.T. Dupont (for refills), etc.

Last thing I bought from Amazon from some random brand was a box of 200 firelighters, supposedly ecological. I don't know if the brand is "true" or not, I don't know if they're actually ecological or not (they look like but it may all be a scam) but... They were cheap and they do actually help greatly lighting the fireplace.

So far Anker stuff looks like it's actually Anker stuff. Makita tools do look and feels like Makita tools, etc.

That's why I keep using them.

Now I do find the experience painful and I'm 100% sure that all these identical products but branded different when I search on Amazon for, say, 316L stainless steel are stuff that are going to rust in six months.

So I'd say that people using it because even if Amazon broken, it's still convenient to find all your usual brands in one place.

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