Amazon Ruined Online Shopping • Hacker News Board

Re: Amazon Ruined Online Shopping

#171

Post by dorchadas » Sun, Jan 20, 2019, 10:23 PM UTC

finaliteration wrote: post #96

Johnny555 wrote: post #53

Amazon made online shopping feel safe and comfortable, at least mechanically, where once the risk of being scammed by bad actors felt huge Maybe this was true once, but now Amazon has brought back that fear and confusion of getting scammed. You used to be able to count on reviews for some idea of the quality of the product, but now you need to do research at someplace like www.fakespot.com to see if the reviews are f…

A lot of people like to disparage Best Buy but I’ve found the stores in my area to be excellent and the staff to always be friendly and helpful. They’ll also price match Amazon in most cases. Their PC components selection isn’t huge, but for things like consoles, games, peripherals, etc., I feel like they’re great. They also offer one-hour pickup and in some cases will even give you a discount if you choose that over…

Best Buy actually matched my Mac for up to a year after I bought it. Allowed me to get it down about $200 a few months later. I also love having 0% financing on their credit card, though, like you mentioned, I've run into issues with PC components (considering building my own).

Re: Amazon Ruined Online Shopping

#172

Post by 4ad » Sun, Jan 20, 2019, 10:25 PM UTC

p1necone wrote: post #159

hirundo wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought this non-stick pan on Amazon and it was one of my best purchases of last year. The trick with non-sticks is to buy cheap enough cookware to affordably replace regularly as they wear out. My previous non-stick pan cost four times as much, wore out, and is now just hanging from a rack, looking fabulous. With the new one, I plan to toss it in another year and buy another. https://www.amazon.com/Tramontina-80114…

I don't see the point in non stick cookware. A simple stainless steel skillet with some oil in it will perform just as well and last longer for most uses (and you still need to add oil to a non stick skillet to get proper browning anyway, but it pools because of the non stick coating and doesn't work as well). And a seasoned carbon steel or cast iron pan will be non stick for when you're cooking fragile stuff like eg…

I hate non stick pots and pans, they are awful, and as you said, the olden alternatives are better.

But I love my non stick saucepan for heating milk. Nothing comes close to that.

Re: Amazon Ruined Online Shopping

#173

Post by fgandiya » Sun, Jan 20, 2019, 10:27 PM UTC

albertgoeswoof wrote: post #85

bonestamp2 wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also no sales tax at B&H for a lot of people. Of course, in some states, you're still supposed to pay the state sales tax directly when you do your income tax. I used to do this with amazon before they collected sales tax in my state. They allow you to download your purchase history (csv format) and see which items you didn't pay tax on so it's easy to calculate that line item on state taxes.

As a non-American this seems like a ridiculously complicated tax system.

It's crazy, but states and cities need to get money somehow.

Re: Amazon Ruined Online Shopping

#174

Post by kakarot » Sun, Jan 20, 2019, 10:28 PM UTC

adetrest wrote: post #150

NegativeK wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon's counterfeit problem seems like something they're not taking seriously enough. For a laser printer or a lamp, sure -- I'll buy from Amazon and deal with the return if I ever get screwed. But for climbing gear, of which I've bought quite a bit of, I simply won't touch Amazon. I haven't heard of counterfeit (versus obvious trash, which exists but is different) climbing goods on Amazon, but I simply can't risk i…

There is also the issue of genuine items sold as new which are actually very well repackaged returns. Amazon does minimal (if any?) checking of returns and I have frequently received items that had obviously been opened and used then returned and sold to me as new. I very fondly recall opening the package for Wahl electric clippers and having a bunch of hairs fall out of the box, but it's far from the only occurrence…

This keeps happening to me with books.

It's extremely frustrating because I know that it hurts the artist's bottom line when I have to return the same book 3 times because it comes with a worn spine or bent pages or unknown substances on it.

And I've had to report USPS multiple times for stuffing giant paperbacks from Amazon into my tiny mailbox but nothing's changed as of yet.

I thought books were what made Amazon famous? I'm so turned off by the quality that I'm wary of making purchases with their sister site at Comixology.

Re: Amazon Ruined Online Shopping

#175

Post by Bluestrike2 » Sun, Jan 20, 2019, 10:38 PM UTC

bartread wrote: post #148

NegativeK wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon's counterfeit problem seems like something they're not taking seriously enough. For a laser printer or a lamp, sure -- I'll buy from Amazon and deal with the return if I ever get screwed. But for climbing gear, of which I've bought quite a bit of, I simply won't touch Amazon. I haven't heard of counterfeit (versus obvious trash, which exists but is different) climbing goods on Amazon, but I simply can't risk i…

Ditto on ski gear and watches or other jewellery. For any kind of outdoor gear the counterfeit vs. genuine problem becomes a serious safety issue. As you say, Amazon aren't taking it nearly seriously enough.

The scarier aspect (though the thought of the number of ways counterfeit ski bindings can fail and kill you is...alarming enough in itself) of counterfeit outdoors equipment is that it's probably more likely that beginners new to a sport are going to be buying equipment off Amazon. These are the people who don't yet have the specific knowledge to spot countefeits (unless they're blatantly obvious). And they may not know enough to realize the possible risks.

Amazon's counterfeit problem is only getting worse, and there's no reason to expect anything to change anytime soon.

Re: Amazon Ruined Online Shopping

#176

Post by gjm11 » Sun, Jan 20, 2019, 10:40 PM UTC

Everyone (well, in some sense of "everyone") complains about the danger of getting counterfeit goods from Amazon. I've personally never noticed goods I've bought from Amazon being counterfeit, but I none the less feel like they've wrecked what used to be an excellent online shopping experience in a different way.

If you search for anything that isn't (1) a book or DVD or (2) a specific item from a specific brand, you are likely to find that the top, oh, several hundred search results are near-indistinguishable things presumably drop-shipped from China, each of which is supposedly made by a company with a weird six-letter all-caps nonsense name. Perhaps some of these are actually excellent products, but the only way to tell whether they're any good is from the Amazon reviews, and we all know how reliable those are.

I want a checkbox that says "only show me products from manufacturers with names I might recognize" or "don't show me anything that is shipped directly from China" or something.

(Not because there is anything wrong with things being made in, or shipped from, China. And these might, for all I know, be excellent products. But I have no way I actually trust of knowing whether these particular goods are actually bads.)

Random example: I was recently looking for an external USB-connected DVD drive. If I put >> into Amazon UK's search box, the "manufacturers" I get on my first page of results are: Rioddas, Rioddas, Patuoxun, Patuoxun, Oudekay, Asus, Oudekay, HOCOMO, LG, Rodzon, LG, PIAEK, Patuoxun, Amicool, Blingco, Inpher. This is actually an unusually good case: LG and Asus are "real" hardware vendors. So far as I can tell, the others are all Amazon-only pseudo-vendors.

Re: Amazon Ruined Online Shopping

#177

Post by dceddia » Sun, Jan 20, 2019, 10:47 PM UTC

mauvehaus wrote: post #36

I was never a Prime member, but I have bought stuff from Amazon in the past. As of about 2 years ago, I've basically quit Amazon for all the reasons listed in the article: confusing selection of products that I might want to buy (are those widgets the same as those other widgets or not?), the decreasing reliability of reviews, and the co-mingling of stock from different sellers. Admittedly, I'm buying "weird" stuff o…

I went looking for a square the other day. An "engineer's square" or "machinists's square" or whatever it's called -- the chunky 2-piece super accurate kind.

After scrolling through the listings & reading reviews I just got anxious about getting a bad one and gave up. It didn't matter whether it was a $6 knockoff or a $55 fancy one, EVERY listing had at least one review that claimed to receive an out-of-square one. Oy.

Re: Amazon Ruined Online Shopping

#178

Post by rasz » Sun, Jan 20, 2019, 10:48 PM UTC

freyir wrote: post #102

Recently, I was searching for a new office chair. Amazon offers the popular Steelcase Leap at full price, $978. You'd likely think you're paying full price to get a new chair. See if you can tell that you're getting ripped off: https://www.amazon.com/d/Office-Desk-Chairs/Steelcase-Fabric... Spoiler: buried in the fine print, and listed as a "feature," it says "open box refurb". Customers are unwittingly paying full p…

Special offers and product promotions

Color: Black

Buy Used and Save: Buy a Used "Steelcase Leap Fabric Chair, Black,46216179FBL" and save 78% off the $1,699.00 list price. Buy with confidence as the condition of this item and its timely delivery are guaranteed under the "Amazon A-to-z Guarantee".

Re: Amazon Ruined Online Shopping

#179

Post by treis » Sun, Jan 20, 2019, 10:52 PM UTC

mturmon wrote: post #63

hirundo wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought this non-stick pan on Amazon and it was one of my best purchases of last year. The trick with non-sticks is to buy cheap enough cookware to affordably replace regularly as they wear out. My previous non-stick pan cost four times as much, wore out, and is now just hanging from a rack, looking fabulous. With the new one, I plan to toss it in another year and buy another. https://www.amazon.com/Tramontina-80114…

Second shout out to that particular item, which I bought July 17, 2017, and have used about once a day in the 18 months since, on a gas stove. One of the best nonstick skillets I have owned. Even heat distribution, and no issues with peeling coating. Strong construction, but as lightweight as it could be given that. (I’m superstitious, and generally hand wash.)

Thirded. I scramble eggs in it most days and put it in the dishwasher. Nothing ever sticks. I've only had it for 8 months but it still works like new.

Re: Amazon Ruined Online Shopping

#180

Post by LeifCarrotson » Sun, Jan 20, 2019, 10:55 PM UTC

Johnny555 wrote: post #115

tossaccount123 wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

legally every Amazon warehouse should be seized by the Feds for knowingly helping to ship counterfeit goods across state lines. That's what happens to other retailers who do this[1]. Luckily, Bezos owns the Washington Post, has a 600 million dollar contract with the CIA, and is close to signing a 10 billion dollar contract with the Department of Defense. The new HQ in DC probably helps grease those hands as well 1. h…

You'd have to prove that they knew ahead of time that they were selling counterfeit products rather than having been duped by an unscrupulous supplier, and I'm sure they have the paperwork to "prove" that the supplier sent them legit product. Note that the article you linked to doesn't mention Amazon at all -- if Amazon was part of that counterfeit scheme, you'd think the NYTimes would be happy to get in a dig at the…

Why is that the standard of proof? Other retailers don't seem to get the "our supplier lied and we didn't bother checking" as an excuse.

I guess you could argue that Amazon is in a unique position somewhere between, say, Craigslist (which simply allows independent sellers to connect with buyers and should bear little responsibility for counterfeits) and an old-fashioned mom-and-pop (which buys goods directly, choosing legitimate or illegitimate wholesalers and handling the merchandise). But everyone is in-between these days.

And the time for a defense from ignorance is long past...