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Way past its prime: how did Amazon get so rubbish?

theguardian.com

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Re: Way past its prime: how did Amazon get so rubbish?

#201

Post by grues-dinner »

dwedge wrote: post #64

I bought a $120 book from Amazon a couple of months ago, internationally, and they sent the wrong book. I told them, and they said they'd refund it, don't need to send it back, and they'd even add $15 credit. The refund never arrived so a few weeks later I got in touch again and they said I need to send it back if I want a refund. They told me the previous CSR had lied to improve ratings. I asked who I can complain t…

> They told me the previous CSR had lied to improve ratings.

If anything it feels like the second CSR who actually told you the truth was acting more in defiance of the system than the first one.

Re: Way past its prime: how did Amazon get so rubbish?

#202

Post by bluebarbet »

Symbiote wrote: post #162
dwedge wrote: post #64

I bought a $120 book from Amazon a couple of months ago, internationally, and they sent the wrong book. I told them, and they said they'd refund it, don't need to send it back, and they'd even add $15 credit. The refund never arrived so a few weeks later I got in touch again and they said I need to send it back if I want a refund. They told me the previous CSR had lied to improve ratings. I asked who I can complain t…

> Another time Why is there another time? I don't understand why someone would continue purchasing from a shop after the first experience.

Because it's still better than the alternatives. I recently ordered a small item from a specialist retailer. Payment by Paypal was easy enough (ethically questionable, yes, but faffing about with credit cards on the internet in 2025 is just a complete PITA not to mention insecure). But the delivery was a nightmare. It took weeks, to the point that I needed to change the delivery address. But customer service turned out to be an AI bot which ignored everything I wrote while confidently reassuring me that it had understood and was acting on it. In the end I had to cancel the whole purchase. A terrible experience, alas worse than anything I've ever had from the evil monopolist of Seattle.

Re: Way past its prime: how did Amazon get so rubbish?

#203

Post by rfmoz »

zeroq wrote: post #43

side note: Amazon is a marketplace, and more and more different vendors came to that place selling cheaper, shady things. They seems to have an open door policy. It's somewhat understandable. But that same strategy got adopted in many different places. Decathlon on their website offer products from other vendors. It's really shady as they advertise hassle free returns everywhere but that only applies to products sold…

The marketplaces in brand shops are completely annoying. If you choose to buy from Decathlon, you expect their coverage over all products, not some of them. Only imagine the same in the physical shop, completely crazy trying to avoid falling into non-decathlon things along the display racks.

Re: Way past its prime: how did Amazon get so rubbish?

#205

Post by spockz »

wiether wrote: post #48
zeroq wrote: post #43

side note: Amazon is a marketplace, and more and more different vendors came to that place selling cheaper, shady things. They seems to have an open door policy. It's somewhat understandable. But that same strategy got adopted in many different places. Decathlon on their website offer products from other vendors. It's really shady as they advertise hassle free returns everywhere but that only applies to products sold…

The UX on Decathlon's website was never good, but since they opened the marketplace, it's worse than ever.

At least the decathlon site has an easy way to limit search results to only Decathlon products. I kind of like how it is because it also allows me to discover products from alternatives that might be better while keeping the option to stick to decathlon.

Re: Way past its prime: how did Amazon get so rubbish?

#206

Post by beloch »

b112 wrote: post #146
OJFord wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the return options is 'item did not arrive'. You can also select 'I need help with another issue' or something like that, and either chat with support and explain or request a call. (At least, in the UK. Like sibling comment to yours it's the amazing support and returns that makes me shop at Amazon (.de in their case) - I don't recognise the disaster described elsewhere in thread and I probably wouldn't shops…

In Canada .ca site at least, it's getting harder and harder to even find how to get help. To get to chat, there are maybe 20 clicks to do. It's a series of menus and the wrong answer at any point leads you back to the prior purchases page. If you finally get to 'chat', it's a terrible AI which never helps. If you respond incorrectly, AI closes the chat or gives dead end answers. Only after all of this, do you finally…

I boycotted Amazon in January because of you-know-who and Bezo's swift and utter obeisance to him. It's surprisingly easy to go back to the old ways of waiting a little while for shipments if you're capable of planning ahead. (Speaking of which, it might be time for those of us who are post-Amazon to start thinking about our Christmas shopping.)

Unlike the author of the article, I don't believe it's possible to fix Amazon. He's talking about regulations as a remedy, but the U.S. is not likely to pass such regulations any time soon. The U.S. government is far more likely to threaten other nations for imposing such regulations or taxes on American companies operating in their jurisdictions. We saw this very thing happen when Canada was forced to delete its digital services tax.

If you don't think Amazon is delivering good value for your money, stop giving Amazon your money. Even though there is no direct competition for delivering Chinese junk to your doorstep overnight, stop giving Amazon your money. "Good, fast, cheap. Pick two." Amazon promised us all three, but failed to deliver just like all the rest.

Re: Way past its prime: how did Amazon get so rubbish?

#207

Post by foldr »

A couple of years ago Amazon UK somehow bamboozled me into buying a monthly subscription for a pot of hair product. When the next month's item was delivered and I saw the charge on my card, I was so infuriated that I impulsively disputed it. Months later, Amazon sent me a rude email asking for their money, but I eventually won the dispute. It feels kind of good knowing that I'm one pot of hair wax up on Jeff Bezos. (I did offer to send it back.)

Re: Way past its prime: how did Amazon get so rubbish?

#208

Post by rfmoz »

eastbound wrote: post #108
zeroq wrote: post #43

side note: Amazon is a marketplace, and more and more different vendors came to that place selling cheaper, shady things. They seems to have an open door policy. It's somewhat understandable. But that same strategy got adopted in many different places. Decathlon on their website offer products from other vendors. It's really shady as they advertise hassle free returns everywhere but that only applies to products sold…

Darty, Fnac, Leroy Merlin do the same. It’s impossible to go to a shop’s website and expect to buy their products. They’re all just copying Amazon in a cheaper, scratchier version.

But Amazon started as marketplace and people associate the brand with that, also with their Amazon Basics stuff. But is the experience for the user is not equal for brands that have been working in their solely brand reputation. I think that they fall into “I do it because the competitors have done it before”, it would be nice to know the revenue for the marketplace part and time invested in development.

Re: Way past its prime: how did Amazon get so rubbish?

#209

Post by onetokeoverthe »

b112 wrote: post #146
OJFord wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the return options is 'item did not arrive'. You can also select 'I need help with another issue' or something like that, and either chat with support and explain or request a call. (At least, in the UK. Like sibling comment to yours it's the amazing support and returns that makes me shop at Amazon (.de in their case) - I don't recognise the disaster described elsewhere in thread and I probably wouldn't shops…

In Canada .ca site at least, it's getting harder and harder to even find how to get help. To get to chat, there are maybe 20 clicks to do. It's a series of menus and the wrong answer at any point leads you back to the prior purchases page. If you finally get to 'chat', it's a terrible AI which never helps. If you respond incorrectly, AI closes the chat or gives dead end answers. Only after all of this, do you finally…

[dead]

Re: Way past its prime: how did Amazon get so rubbish?

#210

Post by mraniki »

Hendrikto wrote: post #160
onli wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

.de promised to call me, never called. Split an order in three, used a bank account I had already removed from the system, then made me pay a fee three times when the money naturally could not be retrieved. One item in the order was a fake, when I returned it they claimed I kept it - thankfully I still had the receipt that I returned something, together with some stern words that was enough to end that. Never buy fro…

> Germany has a bunch of alternative online shops that are better. Such as? I never ran into such problems with Amazon, but I would like to know the alternatives.

Idealo for larger selection and comparison
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