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Shopping Sucks Now

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Re: Shopping Sucks Now

#141

Post by ip26 »

arkitaip wrote: post #46
kaibee wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect that once that fails, the next step is going to be having to join the Discord server or whatever chat-group exists for that niche. Then asking for a recommendation from some weirdo whose super obsessed with gloves or whatever. The future is weird.

Super niche forums have existed for this need for many years and cover everything from multi-tools and flashlights to makeup and perfume. It's just that they require more effort to use and many are disappearing due to social media.

I used to drive down those ratholes but found the superniche items of choice tended to be dated, hard to find, expensive & suffered from hyper-optimization. Worst of all due to being dated, I found mainstream products were actually comparable to superior in nearly all measures.

Re: Shopping Sucks Now

#142

Post by refurb »

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #115
refurb wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. Unless your decision has lasting, serious ramifications on your life, just make a decision.

Well... make a fairly fast decision rather than an optimal one. Say I'm looking for something that costs $20 online. I might look at three or four sites. I might take five minutes. It's not worth it to take more time. Say I'm looking to rent a ski chalet for a week for $3000. Now I'm taking considerably longer - probably at least an evening, followed by letting it sit in my mind overnight. Let the size of the purchas…

That’s exactly how I approach it.

The amount of time spent optimizing is directly related to the impact.

I won’t spend 1 hr looking for a cheaper hotel if it’s a $10 difference. I will if it a $100 difference.

Re: Shopping Sucks Now

#143

Post by kortilla »

macNchz wrote: post #35

Faced with the situation described in this article many times in recent years, I've come to appreciate the value of the wholesale buyer at traditional retailers. While obviously there are a variety of incentives involved, the buyer has evaluated a variety of products and found ones that they not only expect to be profitable for them, but that are also something they expect their customers to like and want to buy. Als…

This is pretty much the main reason to shop at Costco. I’m not really convinced anything is actually a good bulk deal. It’s just a matter of having a place to shop where you can safely grab stuff and have a decently high floor on quality.

Re: Shopping Sucks Now

#144

Post by wasdfff »

strbean wrote: post #130
cbdumas wrote: post #22

"Shopping" on Amazon.com is not a good strategy IMO. It's always best to find something you want on another, more specialized site (forum, review aggregator, specialized review site, etc.) and then look for the item you want somewhere online. Amazon, walmart, alibaba et al. are more like UI's for a warehouse for me at this point.

My issue with Amazon recently is that their search is so doctored now I literally can't find the product+brand combo I am looking for half the time. Any sufficiently small brand is drowned out by knockoffs and other crap. I can't recall a specific example right now, so this is a fictitious one: - Search "Allen Edmonds belt" - Results: belts by anyone but Allen Edmonds. "Brand" filter doesn't appear on the left for so…

“New version available.” Sizes: m, medium, MEDIUM, med. Colors: black, BLK.

Amazon is worthless.

Re: Shopping Sucks Now

#145

Post by ropiwqefjnpoa »

kaibee wrote: post #33
umvi wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Currently I only trust reddit for "genuine" reviews. Seems like Amazon reviews these days are gamed to the max. Once companies figure this out and reddit has a high degree of astroturf it will be impossible to find out what normal, unbiased (as in don't have an agenda) humans think about a product.

I suspect that once that fails, the next step is going to be having to join the Discord server or whatever chat-group exists for that niche. Then asking for a recommendation from some weirdo whose super obsessed with gloves or whatever. The future is weird.

Gloves Reviews Discord Server, I actually lol'd

Re: Shopping Sucks Now

#146

Post by IgorPartola »

I started riding a motorcycle two springs ago. In that short time I went though six pairs of gloves. Turns out, buying gloves online sucks. Sizing is terrible since the only size is the width of your palm. Fingers too long or too short or different lengths? You are out of luck. Thick fingers or thin fingers? Nope. Glove fits well but has an uncomfortable inner seam? Gotcha again. Love the glove but not the closure system? Oops. Glove fits but you hate the thickness of the material? Material breathes too much or not enough? Manufacturer put logos everywhere?

Yeah, I learned my lesson and buy gloves in person.

Re: Shopping Sucks Now

#147

Post by intended »

> what I want is for the world to be small again

In a nut shell, what modern age humanity will desperately wish.

I wonder how digital native kids handle this?

Re: Shopping Sucks Now

#150

Post by simonsarris »

kaibee wrote: post #33
umvi wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Currently I only trust reddit for "genuine" reviews. Seems like Amazon reviews these days are gamed to the max. Once companies figure this out and reddit has a high degree of astroturf it will be impossible to find out what normal, unbiased (as in don't have an agenda) humans think about a product.

I suspect that once that fails, the next step is going to be having to join the Discord server or whatever chat-group exists for that niche. Then asking for a recommendation from some weirdo whose super obsessed with gloves or whatever. The future is weird.

one of my private slacks started a collab spreadsheet of products we have found and now swear by.
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