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The Prime Reasons to Avoid Amazon

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Re: The Prime Reasons to Avoid Amazon

#161

Post by khuey »

phil21 wrote: post #152
onli wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, that is not correct or at least it has not been. Amazon was said to intermingle the inventory in the warehouses, mixing third party products with those shipped and sold by Amazon. So that gave you zero protection. I read that they made internal changes to tag shippings properly to reduce the risk of that behaviour, but am not sure it is true or has been effective.

Has this co-mingling of sold by Amazon ever actually been documented at any scale beyond “extremely rare stock/pick” mistake? I am of course aware of the option for manufacturers to enable this for their registered products on FBA - and it may not have been optional at one point in time. When I researched this a while ago I was unable to come up with much compelling evidence that it was an actual thing. It certainly…

I don't think Amazon has ever outright admitted that they do, but Amazon's own terms give them the right to commingle their inventory with those of third party sellers.

F-4 Storage

We will provide storage services as described in these FBA Service Terms once we confirm receipt of delivery. We will keep electronic records that track inventory of Units by identifying the number of Units stored in any fulfillment center. We will not be required to physically mark or segregate Units from other inventory units (e.g., products with the same Amazon standard identification number) owned by us, our Affiliates or third parties in the applicable fulfillment center(s).

https://sellercentral.amazon.com/help/hub/reference/external...

That combined with years and years of anecdotal reports of this happening certainly suggests a "where there's smoke there's fire" situation to me.

Re: The Prime Reasons to Avoid Amazon

#162

Post by tkgally »

lisper wrote: post #62

I would love to avoid Amazon, and indeed I would love to support local retailers, but more often than not it is simply impossible. The only way I can find out if a local vendor carries an item I'm interested in, and if they have it in stock, is to physically go there. The amount of time that requires is orders of magnitude more than what it takes to order the item on Amazon, where I am all but guaranteed that it will…

In Japan, the Yodobashi Camera chain has a web interface tied to their huge retail stores. The page for each product [1, for example] has a link to a list of stores where it is in stock [2]. If you’re in a hurry and near one of those stores, you can have it held for pickup later that day. If not, you can have it delivered.

I buy a lot from Amazon Japan as well, and I haven’t had the problems with shoddy or counterfeit products that others have reported. I don’t know if that’s just my luck or if Amazon Japan screens its suppliers better. But it’s nice to have strong competitors to Amazon in online shopping. In addition to Yodobashi, there are Rakuten, Yahoo Japan, Bic Camera, and Yamada Denki for a wide range of products, as well as Kinokuniya, Maruzen Junkudo, Sanseido, and others for books.

[1] https://www.yodobashi.com/product/100000001004349962/

[2] https://www.yodobashi.com/ec/product/stock/10000000100434996...

Re: The Prime Reasons to Avoid Amazon

#163

Post by quickthrowman »

blibble wrote: post #53
recursive wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or if it's electronic. Fire risk.

the fact legitimate electricians buy fuses/wiring/circuit breakers/crimps off amazon thinking they're as advertised is actually terrifying all the buildings you enter: houses of friends/family, supermarkets, hospitals, transport, restaurants, offices, all with potentially fatal fake electrics hopefully the fire door and extinguishers weren't bought from amazon

It’s usually homeowners buying and installing crappy electrical products off Amazon, or ‘handyman’ types who don’t have a license. I sell and run commercial electrical work at a union shop and we buy electrical material from supply houses, not Amazon.

You certainly could buy material off Amazon but if you’re passing the cost onto the customer, why not just buy the real thing?

Re: The Prime Reasons to Avoid Amazon

#164

Post by PaulHoule »

no_wizard wrote: post #87
PaulHoule wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My take is that Walmart.com comes pretty close. When I was driving through Pennsylvania two weeks back I saw a huge Walmart.com warehouse right next to an Amazon warehouse. The last mile delivery service of the two seems close to identical (though Walmart+ disingenuously offers "free" delivery from my local store that expect you to tip the driver. [1]) Amazon often costs 5 cents less and you might find that all the i…

If the idea is to avoid Amazon on any sort of ethical basis (including monopolistic practices and squeezing suppliers etc) Walmart is no different. You could change any issue you have with Amazon and replace it with Walmart and they all still apply, sans the peeing in bottles of delivery drivers

At least as a shopper my feelings about Walmart are pretty mixed.

That time I needed a game camera immediately and AMZN said 5 days I got it at 7am the next day at Walmart. Most of the bread at the bakery is that awful stuff people accuse of being “ultra-processed food” but they have something like the Vollkornbrot you see in German Bäckerei that is 100% honest and delicious to my taste. The pharmacist there is a real eager beaver who never fails to tell me something I didn’t know about a medicine I take and that’s not easy. On the other hand I ride the bus with someone who used to work there who says it was a shit place to work.

Walmart didn’t have a representative sitting behind Trump at his inauguration and even if it’s evil it’s better to have two evil competitors than one evil monopoly.

Re: The Prime Reasons to Avoid Amazon

#165

Post by jjulius »

mitthrowaway2 wrote: post #158
PhoneTag wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You seem to forget that you can call nearly any local retailer and they will check their inventory for you and often even set it aside for you. A phone call does not require orders of magnitude more time than an online order and you can build a friendly connection in your community that way, too.

For a lot of random things, like... say, a suction cup thingy that mounts my smartphone to a car dashboard, I have no idea which stores are likely to sell such things, and they could have a wide discrepancy in prices. I can type into Amazon and see a list of products and prices, but if I want to buy one at a local retailer I might have to call three or four stores before finding someone who carries the thing I'm look…

>... a suction cup thingy that mounts my smartphone to a car dashboard.

Try your local phone store. Most carriers have brick and mortar locations.

Re: The Prime Reasons to Avoid Amazon

#166

Post by mandeepj »

Animats wrote: post #2

A real reason to avoid Amazon is fake merchandise. I'd been buying a vitamin supplement from them for years. Then they sent me a notice that it was being recalled as a fake.[1] (Archive [2]) They paid a refund for the last purchase. But that's all. Amazon won't respond to questions about what was in it or who the real seller is. I no longer buy anything from Amazon that could be faked. [1] https://www.amazon.com/ask/…

> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DJUK8HS/ref=ask_ql_qh_d...

PreserVision -> I've never heard about that brand, so I would have never bought it. What was the reason behind your purchase decision?

Re: The Prime Reasons to Avoid Amazon

#167

Post by mvanbaak »

PhoneTag wrote: post #75
lisper wrote: post #62

I would love to avoid Amazon, and indeed I would love to support local retailers, but more often than not it is simply impossible. The only way I can find out if a local vendor carries an item I'm interested in, and if they have it in stock, is to physically go there. The amount of time that requires is orders of magnitude more than what it takes to order the item on Amazon, where I am all but guaranteed that it will…

You seem to forget that you can call nearly any local retailer and they will check their inventory for you and often even set it aside for you. A phone call does not require orders of magnitude more time than an online order and you can build a friendly connection in your community that way, too.

Will they do this outside businesshours?

Re: The Prime Reasons to Avoid Amazon

#168

Post by mitthrowaway2 »

jjulius wrote: post #165
mitthrowaway2 wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For a lot of random things, like... say, a suction cup thingy that mounts my smartphone to a car dashboard, I have no idea which stores are likely to sell such things, and they could have a wide discrepancy in prices. I can type into Amazon and see a list of products and prices, but if I want to buy one at a local retailer I might have to call three or four stores before finding someone who carries the thing I'm look…

>... a suction cup thingy that mounts my smartphone to a car dashboard. Try your local phone store. Most carriers have brick and mortar locations.

So for another example, I wanted to get a stainless steel pasta strainer. I checked four different kitchen/cooking stores and the ones that had them them only had ones that were too deep, and they were all priced as ridiculously luxurious items, over $90. Then I checked a local hardware store and they had exactly what I wanted and it was only $12. I only thought of that place because I passed it on the way home and was desperate.

Re: The Prime Reasons to Avoid Amazon

#169

Post by mandeepj »

SoftTalker wrote: post #4
Animats wrote: post #2

A real reason to avoid Amazon is fake merchandise. I'd been buying a vitamin supplement from them for years. Then they sent me a notice that it was being recalled as a fake.[1] (Archive [2]) They paid a refund for the last purchase. But that's all. Amazon won't respond to questions about what was in it or who the real seller is. I no longer buy anything from Amazon that could be faked. [1] https://www.amazon.com/ask/…

Good rule of thumb is that if it goes on or in your body do not buy it from Amazon.

>Good rule of thumb is that if it goes on or in your body do not buy it from Amazon.

If I do that, I always make sure I'm buying from the seller and not a reseller or distributor; I meant to say no other party besides the Seller and Amazon.

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