Chrome extension recommends local businesses while shopping on Amazon or eBay • Hacker News Board

Re: Chrome extension recommends local businesses while shopping on Amazon or eBay

#41

Post by jahewson » Sat, May 08, 2021, 3:18 PM UTC

reidjs wrote: post #29

I think I’m the only person who considers online shopping less convenient than just going to a local store and buying it. In person you just walk or drive over to the store, select the item, pay, and go home with the correct product. Online I have to turn on my computer or open an app. Type in a bunch of stuff, Search around, click cookie consent buttons, avoid newsletters, log in, enter your address, put in your cre…

> In person you just walk or drive over to the store, select the item, pay, and go home with the correct product.

I think you mean get the kids ready and put them in the car, drive for 20 minutes to Target, spend another 5 trying to park, schlep from the back of the parking lot to the store in 90 degree heat, wander endlessly around the store because they moved one of your usual purchases into and end-cap. Inevitably there’s some part of my bi-weekly purchase that is sold out and I must now figure out a substitute or make my next shopping trip sooner and off-schedule. Finally I stand around for 10 minutes in line behind someone who does not seem to understand credit cards despite them having existed for 60 years. Finally I load everything into the car, wrestle the children in and drive 20 minutes home. My children are now hungry.

No, I do not consider this more convenient :)

Re: Chrome extension recommends local businesses while shopping on Amazon or eBay

#42

Post by lotsofpulp » Sat, May 08, 2021, 3:18 PM UTC

usrusr wrote: post #32

corytheboyd wrote: post #11

This is a really good idea! I love my small businesses but being coddled by the internet is so real, you get used to immediately finding exactly what you want. With local stores, you have to put in some work sometimes, and ghasp talk to real people, potentially a few, at different stores, to get what you need. It sounds like a lot written out like that, but the important bits are that the people you talk to, you lear…

> and ghasp talk to real people, potentially a few, at different stores, to get what you need. That's really an issue: if you aren't the hard-boiled, super unemphatic negotiator type you'll likely buy the very first thing a salesperson has invested face-minutes in, if it just gets the easy 80% of requirements/desires right. "Thanks for your time, but I'll go see if there's another offer that is maybe 3% better or 2%…

People in the US were not haggling for anything less than a car in the decades before the internet.

Re: Chrome extension recommends local businesses while shopping on Amazon or eBay

#43

Post by mastazi » Sat, May 08, 2021, 3:19 PM UTC

From looking at the extension's source code, it seems that it grabs your last search in eBay/Amazon and sends it to Google Maps. If there was an option to use a different provider (other than GMaps) I would be more inclined to use it [1].

By the way I love the idea behind this extension! It's just that I would prefer not sending all my ecommerce searches to Google.

[1] note that Chrome extensions are not just used by Chrome browser, they are also used by other browsers not made by Google. So it's not impossible that some of the potential users of this extension may want to avoid using Google products where possible.

Edit - I just emailed the dev and offered to help, hopefully we will get in touch.

Re: Chrome extension recommends local businesses while shopping on Amazon or eBay

#44

Post by turbinerneiter » Sat, May 08, 2021, 3:19 PM UTC

fauigerzigerk wrote: post #34

turbinerneiter wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to default to Amazon because of this. But nowadays many shops don't need an account anymore, the browser can autofill that data and credit cards with 3d secure (basically 2fa) seem safe enough. Finding those shops to me is now the "hardest" part.

It may take just a minute to enter your contact and payment info, but then it takes half an hour to figure out their returns policy, shipping fees and delivery windows. I buy a lot more from tiny businesses if they operate on top of Amazon's platform.

In Europe, they are bound by the same law, so return policies are not something I worry about. Shipping fees are clearly stated at checkout and honestly so damn cheap that I don't care. Delivery windows? It's the same delivery companies that Amazon uses or used to use. In Germany mostly DHL, who I never had a problem with.

It's fine if your prefer what you prefer, I'm just saying that the experience of buying from random, smaller online shops got a lot better lately and is coming closer to Amazon.

Re: Chrome extension recommends local businesses while shopping on Amazon or eBay

#45

Post by Yhippa » Sat, May 08, 2021, 3:20 PM UTC

Would be cool if there was something like Grubhub/Doordash/Uber Eats for local businesses where you could buy "stuff". Might work a little bit better since you could get it quicker than Amazon. I know I've discovered so many new restaurants in my area because of those services that I wouldn't have tried before.

Re: Chrome extension recommends local businesses while shopping on Amazon or eBay

#46

Post by benrbray » Sat, May 08, 2021, 3:20 PM UTC

corytheboyd wrote: post #11

This is a really good idea! I love my small businesses but being coddled by the internet is so real, you get used to immediately finding exactly what you want. With local stores, you have to put in some work sometimes, and ghasp talk to real people, potentially a few, at different stores, to get what you need. It sounds like a lot written out like that, but the important bits are that the people you talk to, you lear…

I think cars are largely to blame for the sorry state of small businesses. Before moving from America to Tokyo, I had never lived in a place with anything even remotely resembling a walkable city center where you can easily browse and pick up what you need from local businesses. Everything is separated by a 15min+ drive, and I likely need to get on the highway to get there. Atlanta was the worst for this.

In Tokyo I have at least 3 daily grocery stores within a 10 minute walk, plus dozens of other small shops selling all kinds of things I might need. For specialty ingredients I've made an effort to hunt for specialty shops importing Indian, Thai, and Chinese ingredients. My favorite place to go is probably Kappabashi, a street lined with dozens of restaurant supply stores.

I've learned which places I should go for which items, and I love the variety it adds to my routine.

Re: Chrome extension recommends local businesses while shopping on Amazon or eBay

#47

Post by notatoad » Sat, May 08, 2021, 3:23 PM UTC

sokoloff wrote: post #38

I’d be happy to support local merchants, but they have to get the overall value proposition somewhat competitive. For the most part, they aren’t. Maybe it’s pricing, selection, policies, hours of operation, or some combination, but other than grocers and large chains, I’m not even sure they’re trying. Amazon is winning by serving the customers. Local shops will continue to have a hard time if the primary value prop i…

Yeah, Amazon (and increasingly, buying direct from brand's own e-shops) keeps winning my business by being better at every aspect of the sale. I’d like to keep money in my community, but it’s really hard when online has better service, better selection, better pricing, and better flexibility.

I could go downtown to buy a pair of shoes during that store's business hours, get to choose between 3-4 different styles, talk to a salesperson who knows less than the online product listing, then find out that my size isn't in stock and won't be restocked this year. Or I can order online at my convenience, see all the relevant information up front, compare prices across all the selection that exists and across multiple retailers, have the product arrive in a couple days, and pay less money. If local retailers want to exist, they need to find something to compete on.

Re: Chrome extension recommends local businesses while shopping on Amazon or eBay

#48

Post by usrusr » Sat, May 08, 2021, 3:24 PM UTC

Swizec wrote: post #28

Kalium wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Last weekend, I went looking for a particular kind of garment. I wasn't hopeful, but I thought I would give local shops a chance. I did it by going around, looking in various local stores, and talking to people. I did this in four or so different spots. I spent probably three to four hours at it. After that process, I was no closer to the garment I sought than I had been when I woke up. What I had learned from my eff…

On the other end of the spectrum you have items where expert help is necessary. When I bought my first motorcycle gear, I had little idea what to look for, what I need, or how to verify it does the job. Going to a store that specializes in motorcycles and gear was fantastic. They showed me how to fit a helmet, what to look for in a jacket, gloves, etc. I could try multiple items to find which brands fit my body, what…

Unfortunately, things can get quite messy when expert advice gets conflated with inventory management. And most shops struggling to survive against online doesn't make that better at at all. We really need to find some middle ground where foot-on-the-ground shop continue to exist, but not as an antithesis to online but as an extension. For bikes (of the pedal-pushing variety), there's now a market for what is effectively billed by the hour costumer-consulting regarding size fitting. I could easily imagine that getting transformed into foot-on-the-ground presence of online distributors, with neither income stream able to pay three full bill alone but working out in combination.

Re: Chrome extension recommends local businesses while shopping on Amazon or eBay

#49

Post by IG_Semmelweiss » Sat, May 08, 2021, 3:24 PM UTC

benrbray wrote: post #46

corytheboyd wrote: post #11

This is a really good idea! I love my small businesses but being coddled by the internet is so real, you get used to immediately finding exactly what you want. With local stores, you have to put in some work sometimes, and ghasp talk to real people, potentially a few, at different stores, to get what you need. It sounds like a lot written out like that, but the important bits are that the people you talk to, you lear…

I think cars are largely to blame for the sorry state of small businesses. Before moving from America to Tokyo, I had never lived in a place with anything even remotely resembling a walkable city center where you can easily browse and pick up what you need from local businesses. Everything is separated by a 15min+ drive, and I likely need to get on the highway to get there. Atlanta was the worst for this. In Tokyo I…

You are in tokyo. Come on.

Tokyo is not Niigata, or Sendai, or Saitama.

The tokyo bubble is not the same as the rest of japan

Re: Chrome extension recommends local businesses while shopping on Amazon or eBay

#50

Post by mumblemumble » Sat, May 08, 2021, 3:25 PM UTC

usrusr wrote: post #32

corytheboyd wrote: post #11

This is a really good idea! I love my small businesses but being coddled by the internet is so real, you get used to immediately finding exactly what you want. With local stores, you have to put in some work sometimes, and ghasp talk to real people, potentially a few, at different stores, to get what you need. It sounds like a lot written out like that, but the important bits are that the people you talk to, you lear…

> and ghasp talk to real people, potentially a few, at different stores, to get what you need. That's really an issue: if you aren't the hard-boiled, super unemphatic negotiator type you'll likely buy the very first thing a salesperson has invested face-minutes in, if it just gets the easy 80% of requirements/desires right. "Thanks for your time, but I'll go see if there's another offer that is maybe 3% better or 2%…

> "Thanks for your time, but I'll go see if there's another offer that is maybe 3% better or 2% cheaper" isn't something that feels good to all people.

Not necessarily because they're meek. For me, going to a brick and mortar store, interacting briefly with a human, and taking the first thing that meets my basic needs is a life hack.

The paradox of choice is real. Seeing the bounty of options available on sites like Amazon does allow me to try to carefully optimize what I get for every desire I could have, but, ironically, the process of doing so makes me less happy with whatever I end up with. Because seeing so many options means I've now got all sorts of opportunities to second-guess my choice. And because reading reviews to try and narrow down my choices invariably injects the reviewer's tastes into my thinking, and potentially guides me away from my own. And because pretty soon just seeing how many bells and whistles are available gets me wanting things I don't need and didn't even know I could have when I first decided I wanted whatever I'm shopping for, and therefore creates all sorts of trade-offs to have to weigh.

It's not worth it. "3% better" is a will-o-the-wisp beckoning me off into a quagmire, and "2% cheaper" is invariably a 2% discount on something that turned out to be 30% more expensive than what I originally planned on buying.