61–70 of 90 posts
I only bought them because they are Ergotrons.
Once upon a time you could choose to buy good products from good brands on Amazon, or import cheap crap from China via Aliexpress or whatnot. But now that nearly every category on Amazon is dominated by cheap crap from dodgy brands in China, I'm feeling less reason to buy things from them (unless I need it tomorrow ). I suppose that's what's fuelling the popularity of new marketplaces like Temu?
Home brands of durable goods in the last 10 years have pretty much always been "Chinese crap" (I use this term loosely, sometimes the products are pretty good). BUT, and this is the key part - buyer teams from major brands vet the supplier, make cost/quality tradeoffs and do all the supplier due diligence (like making them attest the products are not made by "modern slavery", don't have lead in them, etc). They also…
Other retailers put their reputation on the line with their merchandise. Sure, the same factory that manufactures for Old Navy makes QRYGGS. But Old Navy vets it.
Amazon’s issue is that it tosses its hands up and says “Sold by QRYGGS, fulfilled by Amazon.” Amazon says: if it’s garbage, not our fault, but you can return it. That’s just wandering a flea market with random vendors selling junk.
So I’m actually disappointed that Amazon would double-down on this by eliminating its private labels. At least if I see it’s an Amazon brand, I know they vouch for it. Indeed, my experiences with Amazon brands have been at least decent. But given the choice between fighting the regulators, somehow firewalling the private labels from the other vendors, or reducing its flea-market trafficking, Amazon decided to double-down on the flea market and scale back goods that it vets. It’s a big red-light district of some good stuff mixed in with tons of garbage.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
My last two orders from Amazon were counterfeits. One was a pack of Sandisk thumbdrives that were very obviously fakes. I determined that Amazon simply doesn't care anymore. The value proposition was completely lost because I had to drive into town to return them. Twice in a row. Further, their prices have gotten horrible on a lot of things. I looked at some of their lawncare items, and most of them were 2-3x more th…
(side-note: You can get Sandisk stuff directly from Western Digital.)
Once upon a time you could choose to buy good products from good brands on Amazon, or import cheap crap from China via Aliexpress or whatnot. But now that nearly every category on Amazon is dominated by cheap crap from dodgy brands in China, I'm feeling less reason to buy things from them (unless I need it tomorrow ). I suppose that's what's fuelling the popularity of new marketplaces like Temu?
My last two orders from Amazon were counterfeits. One was a pack of Sandisk thumbdrives that were very obviously fakes. I determined that Amazon simply doesn't care anymore. The value proposition was completely lost because I had to drive into town to return them. Twice in a row. Further, their prices have gotten horrible on a lot of things. I looked at some of their lawncare items, and most of them were 2-3x more th…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
To be honest Temu sounds like someone was watching the Wish.com saga and decided it was a great idea to burn a bunch of billions. It can grow a lot while it's new but I have my doubts about longevity of this type "we only sell crap" platforms.
At least in Australia Temu hits the sweet spot of offering almost-China prices with reasonably speedy delivery (under a week). If you buy the same crap on Amazon.au, you pay a 3-4x premium for local warehousing, and if you buy it off AliExpress, it often takes a month or longer to deliver. That said, I presume the only way Temu can pull this off logistically is air freight, so I also have my doubts about his sustaina…
A lot of stuff is dispatched from their local warehouses (or at least flown in from China and consolidated locally) and distributed by their own courier network.
Sounds similar to Temu, and TBH is probably exactly the same network. If you get tracking updates from "Fast Horse Express", it's definitely the same network. :)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
My last two orders from Amazon were counterfeits. One was a pack of Sandisk thumbdrives that were very obviously fakes. I determined that Amazon simply doesn't care anymore. The value proposition was completely lost because I had to drive into town to return them. Twice in a row. Further, their prices have gotten horrible on a lot of things. I looked at some of their lawncare items, and most of them were 2-3x more th…
I'm just surprised that this hasn't become a big issue for Amazon. Is it that most people aren't aware? Isn't it a big enough story for some news outlet to investigate and report? If it became generally known that a large % of products on amazon are fakes, surely it would affect sales.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
My last two orders from Amazon were counterfeits. One was a pack of Sandisk thumbdrives that were very obviously fakes. I determined that Amazon simply doesn't care anymore. The value proposition was completely lost because I had to drive into town to return them. Twice in a row. Further, their prices have gotten horrible on a lot of things. I looked at some of their lawncare items, and most of them were 2-3x more th…
Prices of some things on Amazon such as hot sauce or soap can be absurdly high, while other times it’s the same as I’d pay at a local store. Definitely not bargains any more. I can’t trust any of the prices I see without double checking them, plus they do that thing where prices fluctuate based on how much they think you might pay. One month some bandages were $9, then $7, then $10, then $13, then $5. Sometimes the h…
This is so sad. I live off of Amazon brands, because they're so cheap, convenient, and relatively good quality. I've NEVER had a quality issue from them. Call me a corporate stooge if you want, but their mattresses, clothing, drugs, etc. have been a lifesaver.
Basics and Essentials will still be there.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
To be honest Temu sounds like someone was watching the Wish.com saga and decided it was a great idea to burn a bunch of billions. It can grow a lot while it's new but I have my doubts about longevity of this type "we only sell crap" platforms.
I've been getting ads on social media to buy silencers on Temu. Ok not silencers, but adapters where one end has the female thread of a soda bottle on it, and the other has the female thread to match the external thread available on a Ruger 10/22. While silencers are federally legal in the U.S., they are illegal in many states and subject to a federal transfer tax. I could see this being a problem for Temu, and I cou…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Home brands of durable goods in the last 10 years have pretty much always been "Chinese crap" (I use this term loosely, sometimes the products are pretty good). BUT, and this is the key part - buyer teams from major brands vet the supplier, make cost/quality tradeoffs and do all the supplier due diligence (like making them attest the products are not made by "modern slavery", don't have lead in them, etc). They also…
This is the whole problem with Amazon and why I call it a flea market. Other retailers put their reputation on the line with their merchandise. Sure, the same factory that manufactures for Old Navy makes QRYGGS. But Old Navy vets it. Amazon’s issue is that it tosses its hands up and says “Sold by QRYGGS, fulfilled by Amazon.” Amazon says: if it’s garbage, not our fault, but you can return it. That’s just wandering a…
But we will close your account if you return too many things.