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The Prime Reasons to Avoid Amazon

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Re: The Prime Reasons to Avoid Amazon

#61

Post by parhamn »

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.

Where's the best value & quality for that sort of stuff? It's insane what some sites charge for seemingly simple supplements.

Re: The Prime Reasons to Avoid Amazon

#62

Post by lisper »

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 be available.

It is astonishing to me that brick-and-mortar retailers have not banded together to put an on-line front-end onto their stock. It would technically straightforward (albeit not trivial) to build a web site as easy to use as Amazon, but with guaranteed same-day or next-day delivery via a partner like doordash, and with more reliable quality because local vendors have more of an incentive to vet their suppliers. I would love to use a service like that, but AFAICT it doesn't exist.

Someone here, please build this. I will be your first customer.

Re: The Prime Reasons to Avoid Amazon

#64

Post by hinterlands »

PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #58

> Amazon needs to be stopped, and legislation will not do so. Only its loyal consumers – who keep the beast alive – can do that by taking their money elsewhere. We've (my wife and I) tried to stop using Amazon. But recently, I've run into issues where I need particular specialized bits and pieces (e.g. just today, a low profile 4" HVAC 90 degree elbow) that are only available via Amazon. A variation is where the item…

The other problem are people doing price arbitrage. You find the item on eBay and think to yourself, "cool, I'd rather patronize a small business" - but as it turns out, the item is drop-shipped from Amazon, Walmart, or the like.

Re: The Prime Reasons to Avoid Amazon

#65

Post by bluGill »

djoldman wrote: post #30

Regardless of what one thinks about Amazon, one's actions have approximately zero effect on it. Even if one controlled, 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000, or 100,000 people and commanded them to not use Amazon, it would have little effect. If someone opts to stay away from Amazon, they should at least do it with clear eyes: they are doing it to feel something and will not actually affect the company.

It would have a big effect on the alternatives though.

Re: The Prime Reasons to Avoid Amazon

#66

Post by SoftTalker »

yupitsme123 wrote: post #46
cogman10 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Strangely enough, yes to both (at least for in store purchases). And I find neither company particularly ethical. They have a tighter control on their supply chain and don't have a truly open "market" where anyone can sell crap (or stolen crap). A lot of this comes down to limited stocking and shelf space. Amazon effectively has unlimited storage space. Hence their ability to show off 6000 drop shipping products whic…

What you said is true for their physical locations, but both Target and Walmart implemented Amazon-style marketplaces a while back, and my impression is that there's very little oversight or quality control. Even less than on Amazon.

I'm pretty sure they don't co-mingle though. So if you make sure you're buying from Walmart or Target and not some other party you should be getting the same items that are in the stores.

Re: The Prime Reasons to Avoid Amazon

#67

Post by w-ll »

hinterlands wrote: post #64
PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #58

> Amazon needs to be stopped, and legislation will not do so. Only its loyal consumers – who keep the beast alive – can do that by taking their money elsewhere. We've (my wife and I) tried to stop using Amazon. But recently, I've run into issues where I need particular specialized bits and pieces (e.g. just today, a low profile 4" HVAC 90 degree elbow) that are only available via Amazon. A variation is where the item…

The other problem are people doing price arbitrage. You find the item on eBay and think to yourself, "cool, I'd rather patronize a small business" - but as it turns out, the item is drop-shipped from Amazon, Walmart, or the like.

This got me the other day, and it had me cracking up, they just put my shipping address and and checked out from Walmart. $5 lesson that Walmart actually sold what i wanted and i should have checked there first.

Re: The Prime Reasons to Avoid Amazon

#68

Post by starik36 »

AvAn12 wrote: post #52

It’s like some Soviet-style retailer where everyone is supposed to shop for everything. It’s about as contrary to competitive capitalism as a company can be. I signed off two years ago and haven’t missed it for a minute - though you should make your own decisions, as with everything.

I don't think you have the slightest idea of what a Soviet style retailer is.

Standing in line for 2 hours to buy milk with my grandma is a childhood memory that's burned into my brain.

Re: The Prime Reasons to Avoid Amazon

#69

Post by bluGill »

I can almost always find a small company - often thing-i-want.com that has just as good deals and they provide useful advice about which version is best - often I have bought the more expensive version for those reasons. (I think for the better though I rarely buy enough of anything to have an informed opinion on relative merit)
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