Amazon is not what it used to be...

[Woodie]

The benefits of Amazon:

* Convenience - Sure, you can get many of the items from other places, and even some local stores.  However, Amazon saves you from having to fight traffic and annoying people for just an item or two.

* Free shipping - I rarely buy anything that is not prime or has free shipping, so the price is the same as if I bought it at a store.

* You can fine some unique and hard-to-find items - If there is anything that strikes me that I might want, I can usually find it on Amazon.  I was even able to find a discontinued fire alarm to replace one that was hardwired into my house but went bad.  I also found an old TV movie from the 70's that I haven't seen anywhere in over 30 years.  

* You can also find a wider variety of an item than you would at any local store.  Walmart may have 2 or 3 variations of an item, but you can find a dozen or more on Amazon.

* Easy returns - It has always been easy to return things to Amazon.  

* Amazon music, TV, and video - Sure there are better music and video options out there, but it is a nice perk to go along with prime delivery.

Basic things to always do when shopping on Amazon:

* Always price check - Some items are cheaper on Amazon, but not everything.  Sometimes it is actually more expensive.  So, whenever I buy anything relatively expensive, I do an internet search to see if I can find the same item at a cheaper price.

* Pay attention to expected delivery times - I typically only use prime where 99.9% of the time it comes within 2 days.  But when the item I need is not prime, I always look at what the expected delivery time is.  And probably 95% of the time, the item comes within that window.  The only times I have had an item delayed is when it is through a third party vendor who has run out of stock.

* Look at the reviews and Q&A - Fake reviews are pretty obvious to spot (tend to be generic and overly glowing).  But if you look at enough reviews, you can get a fairly decent idea about the product.  I particularly pay attention to the reviews that talk about specific elements of the product as well as some negative reviews to get a balanced look (be sure to weed out neg. reviews that are due to user stupidity). 

Problems with Amazon:

* Using a third party delivery system - I have had items that arrived in poor condition because it was obviously not handled carefully during delivery (torn, crushed boxes etc.).  I have known many people that have had items listed as delivered, but they never got it.  The mail carrier in my community is well known for delivering items to the wrong house.  I have also had items such as books put next to my garage during a rainstorm (despite having a covered porch), causing them to get damaged from the rain.  Items that have been labeled "do not bend" have also been bent and shoved into my mailbox.  So, there's really no accountability for third party delivery companies.  At least Amazon replaces or refunds the items, but it is an unnecessary inconvenience.

* Third party vendors do not always maintain the level of support as regular prime membership - While I have had very few problems when dealing with Amazon fulfillment, some of the other vendors have not been as reliable.  They may list an item as in stock, but then delay the order because they are out of stock.  An item may also arrive in poor condition because it clearly wasn't taken care of where it was being held, then they require you to jump through hoops to get a refund.

* It is killing retail - I know I am feeding the beast, but since you can now get just about anything from Amazon, many retailers have had their bottom lines hurt by the lost business.   

* Working conditions are reportedly not good - Amazon needs to provide a better workplace environment for its employees.  

 

[cookinbrak]

Does no one on here have a job? I work within a couple of miles of Food Lion, Harris Teeter, Lowes, Walmart, and Aldis. If I need something, I just go get it. Amazon, Wish, Ebay, etc, are for things I can't get cheaper here.

[The Pieyed Piper]

On 4/17/2018 at 7:29 PM, ARSEN said:

Their prices are terrible and they use lying teachnique to dupe customers into thinking they are getting a good deal when they clearly do not.  Their lightning deal and deal of the day are some of the biggest scams.  Many of their product ratings are fakes.  Walmart, Target, Costco and etc have much better prices and deals.  I have a feeling Amazon growth will take big fat step back very soon.

hhhmmmm....it's a jungle out there.

 

[Zaximus]

I met a dude at my job that is a top reviewer on Amazon so his reviews carry a lot of weight.    He gets contacted all the time and what they do is paypal him money to buy their product and then he writes a 5 star "amazing" review for them.    He keeps the product and then sells on ebay if he doesn't want it.      It's against Amazon's policy but there isn't much they can do.    I assume this is how those new products from overseas get reviews in the first place.    I looked at his profile and what you can notice is that EVERY review is like a 5 star review, also, there are reviews for the "same type" of product that a normal person wouldn't need that many of.    He had like 15 headphone reviews in a 6 month time frame for instance (all 5 star of course).

I thought it was weird since dude makes at least 6 figures but I guess free stuff is free.

Anyway Amazon delivered a package yesterday I didn't even expect till today, so no issue here with that lol.    Also had to return an item last week and that was easy.

[Peppers90 NC]

convenience trumps pretty much everything, unfortunately