5 ms·

So what I'm hearing is "so big they had to fail".

by mceldeen 8y ago

artursapek 8y ago
I wonder if Amazon will ever get to that point. It's hard to imagine.
- ForHackernews 8y ago
  As it grows larger, the "Amazon marketplace" is getting more and more filled with garbage knockoff products and fake reviews. There may eventually come a tipping point where they lose user trust.
  - nvusuvu 8y ago
    I'm almost there now.
  - willismichael 8y ago
    My hope is that smaller, more focused online retailers and marketplaces emerge that can compete in specific verticals. For example, I already go to non-amazon sites where I prefer to buy music gear and computer hardware.
    - SneakerXZ 8y ago
      This is more popular in EU. In many countries Amazon even does not operate, and even in Germany people try to prefer different place if they can.
  - RhodesianHunter 8y ago
    Most people in my circle already won't buy anything they put in their bodies from Amazon, because the risk of Chinese counterfeits is just too great.
  - gregknicholson 8y ago
    If that happens, I don't think the problem will be perceived as "Amazon" — people will say "online shopping" is untrustworthy, like how "social media" is responsible for the world's ills, not "Facebook".
  - lostlogin 8y ago
    Unmentioned here as far as I can see is their attitude to worker’s rights. That’s massively off-putting for me.
  - sejordan 8y ago
    I feel like every time there is a discussion about Amazon on the Internet, this point is brought up. I spent about $9,000 on Amazon across 139 orders in 2018. I buy a lot on Amazon. I've never had a problem with receiving knockoff products. I don't understand how this can be such a prevalent issue when I've not run into it, given how much I use Amazon. The only thing I can think is that, if I'm buying something expensive, I'll strictly only purchase items "Sold by: Amazon.com Services, Inc" or alternatively, I'll use a marketplace seller if the seller is the manufacturer of the item I'm buying.
    - airstrike 8y ago
      > I'll strictly only purchase items "Sold by: Amazon.com Services, Inc" Most users don't think to check for that, though. I know my mother-in-law doesn't...
      - lotsofpulp 8y ago
        They intentionally don't offer the option to filter for it many times, otherwise, I would have that permanently selected.
    - dragonwriter 8y ago
      > The only thing I can think is that, if I'm buying something expensive, I'll strictly only purchase items "Sold by: Amazon.com Services, Inc" If you are trying to avoid counterfeits, that's not really helpful, since the problem with counterfeits is magnified by commingling, by which items sold by Amazon itself, and FBA sellers that do not opt-out of it are mixed and orders fulfilled with goods that may have been sourced by any of the sellers.
  - Shorel 8y ago
    For many things that is an issue. But I still buy laptops and other electronics from Amazon.
- wolco 8y ago
  For many it is here. If I can get the same product from walmart I do because returns onstore are easier and the product comes quickier without prime. Products always come at the very end of the fullfillment date but with walmart they fill the order before the expected date.
  - Thasc 8y ago
    Even with Prime, the couriers Amazon uses to service some areas take long enough to deliver that most other online retailers are preferable.
    - jerrysievert 8y ago
      For me, they’ve “fixed” that. I finally got their amazon couriers blacklisted, so they are shipping usps. But, if i order from an account without prime, they wait 11 days to ship, thus giving me 12 day delivery (just within their promised 2 weeks). If i order from an account with prime, it alternates between next day and two days. Editing to add: Last order without prime, Dec 28. “Shipped” yesterday (usps shows it arriving to them at 4:35 this morning from amazon, out for delivery today).
      - scrooched_moose 8y ago
        How'd you manage that? UPS/USPS do great in my area, while if it's Amazon or FedEx I'll get it a week from never.
        jerrysievert 8y ago
        Constant complaining to customer support when the package kept being marked “building closed” when they decided they didn’t want to deliver (this is a house, not an apartment, so no building to close). After 3-4 packages arrived a week or so late because of the same issues, they finally blacklisted amazon delivery. Since then, it’s been usps.
      - matwood 8y ago
- scrooched_moose 8y ago
  Anecdotally, I've seen a significant perception shift regarding Amazon over the last year, even among my non-techie friends. When this group of friends starts talking about these things I know it's moving beyond the Hacker News crowd to the general public. It used to be the place where you could get anything for a good price in 2 days and trust the quality. Now the selection is getting iffy in favor of house brands, Prime has a ton of strings attached (add-on, pantry, now) if it's offered at all, Amazon delivery is awful, the prices aren't nearly as good as they used to be, reviews are mostly fake, and you have to work to avoid knockoffs. Most people I know have dropped Prime and significantly reduced their orders. They haven't stopped entirely, but it seems to be more of a "Wal-Mart" in their minds - a quick and easy necessary evil, not something they particularly enjoy. It probably doesn't signify their decline yet, but it certainly seems to be a new stage in their lifecycle.
  - lotsofpulp 8y ago
    I also see the same shift. There's too much garbage to sift through and too high of a chance of getting something counterfeit. Whoever thought the operational cost reductions of "commingling" was worth the loss of trust in the Amazon.com was wrong in my opinion. I think people with disposable income would rather pay a little extra to guarantee they get a legitimate product, and it's not hard to google the model number or product name and select from Target or Lowes or Best Buy.
  - distances 8y ago
    Over here in Europe when I hear something negative about Amazon from non-techie people, it's always about working conditions. I guess the recent Spanish strikes have helped to publicize that more. Some people are thinking of avoiding ordering from Amazon, but I doubt that actually translates to that much of real action yet.
    - simias 8y ago
      Indeed. Conversely as a Frenchie Prime still offers next-day shipping and works as well as it ever did (that is, pretty well most of the time). It's pretty amusing to me that we seem to have a better deal with Prime on the old continent than on Amazon's home turf.
- emddudley 8y ago
  Bezos himself has stated: > "Amazon is not too big to fail ... In fact, I predict one day Amazon will fail," Bezos reportedly said when addressing a question about Sears recently going bankrupt. "Amazon will go bankrupt. If you look at large companies, their lifespans tend to be 30-plus years, not a hundred-plus years." > "If we start to focus on ourselves, instead of focusing on our customers, that will be the beginning of the end ... We have to try and delay that day for as long as possible." https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-says-amazon-will-fail-one-day-2018-11 https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-says-amazon-will-...

So what I'm hearing is "so big they had to fail".

artursapek 8y ago

I wonder if Amazon will ever get to that point. It's hard to imagine.

ForHackernews 8y ago
As it grows larger, the "Amazon marketplace" is getting more and more filled with garbage knockoff products and fake reviews. There may eventually come a tipping point where they lose user trust.
- nvusuvu 8y ago
  I'm almost there now.
- willismichael 8y ago
  My hope is that smaller, more focused online retailers and marketplaces emerge that can compete in specific verticals. For example, I already go to non-amazon sites where I prefer to buy music gear and computer hardware.
  - SneakerXZ 8y ago
    This is more popular in EU. In many countries Amazon even does not operate, and even in Germany people try to prefer different place if they can.
- RhodesianHunter 8y ago
  Most people in my circle already won't buy anything they put in their bodies from Amazon, because the risk of Chinese counterfeits is just too great.
- gregknicholson 8y ago
  If that happens, I don't think the problem will be perceived as "Amazon" — people will say "online shopping" is untrustworthy, like how "social media" is responsible for the world's ills, not "Facebook".
- lostlogin 8y ago
  Unmentioned here as far as I can see is their attitude to worker’s rights. That’s massively off-putting for me.
- sejordan 8y ago
  I feel like every time there is a discussion about Amazon on the Internet, this point is brought up. I spent about $9,000 on Amazon across 139 orders in 2018. I buy a lot on Amazon. I've never had a problem with receiving knockoff products. I don't understand how this can be such a prevalent issue when I've not run into it, given how much I use Amazon. The only thing I can think is that, if I'm buying something expensive, I'll strictly only purchase items "Sold by: Amazon.com Services, Inc" or alternatively, I'll use a marketplace seller if the seller is the manufacturer of the item I'm buying.
  - airstrike 8y ago
    > I'll strictly only purchase items "Sold by: Amazon.com Services, Inc" Most users don't think to check for that, though. I know my mother-in-law doesn't...
    - lotsofpulp 8y ago
      They intentionally don't offer the option to filter for it many times, otherwise, I would have that permanently selected.
  - dragonwriter 8y ago
    > The only thing I can think is that, if I'm buying something expensive, I'll strictly only purchase items "Sold by: Amazon.com Services, Inc" If you are trying to avoid counterfeits, that's not really helpful, since the problem with counterfeits is magnified by commingling, by which items sold by Amazon itself, and FBA sellers that do not opt-out of it are mixed and orders fulfilled with goods that may have been sourced by any of the sellers.
- Shorel 8y ago
  For many things that is an issue. But I still buy laptops and other electronics from Amazon.
wolco 8y ago
For many it is here. If I can get the same product from walmart I do because returns onstore are easier and the product comes quickier without prime. Products always come at the very end of the fullfillment date but with walmart they fill the order before the expected date.
- Thasc 8y ago
  Even with Prime, the couriers Amazon uses to service some areas take long enough to deliver that most other online retailers are preferable.
  - jerrysievert 8y ago
    For me, they’ve “fixed” that. I finally got their amazon couriers blacklisted, so they are shipping usps. But, if i order from an account without prime, they wait 11 days to ship, thus giving me 12 day delivery (just within their promised 2 weeks). If i order from an account with prime, it alternates between next day and two days. Editing to add: Last order without prime, Dec 28. “Shipped” yesterday (usps shows it arriving to them at 4:35 this morning from amazon, out for delivery today).
    - scrooched_moose 8y ago
      How'd you manage that? UPS/USPS do great in my area, while if it's Amazon or FedEx I'll get it a week from never.
      - jerrysievert 8y ago
        Constant complaining to customer support when the package kept being marked “building closed” when they decided they didn’t want to deliver (this is a house, not an apartment, so no building to close). After 3-4 packages arrived a week or so late because of the same issues, they finally blacklisted amazon delivery. Since then, it’s been usps.
    - matwood 8y ago
scrooched_moose 8y ago
Anecdotally, I've seen a significant perception shift regarding Amazon over the last year, even among my non-techie friends. When this group of friends starts talking about these things I know it's moving beyond the Hacker News crowd to the general public. It used to be the place where you could get anything for a good price in 2 days and trust the quality. Now the selection is getting iffy in favor of house brands, Prime has a ton of strings attached (add-on, pantry, now) if it's offered at all, Amazon delivery is awful, the prices aren't nearly as good as they used to be, reviews are mostly fake, and you have to work to avoid knockoffs. Most people I know have dropped Prime and significantly reduced their orders. They haven't stopped entirely, but it seems to be more of a "Wal-Mart" in their minds - a quick and easy necessary evil, not something they particularly enjoy. It probably doesn't signify their decline yet, but it certainly seems to be a new stage in their lifecycle.
- lotsofpulp 8y ago
  I also see the same shift. There's too much garbage to sift through and too high of a chance of getting something counterfeit. Whoever thought the operational cost reductions of "commingling" was worth the loss of trust in the Amazon.com was wrong in my opinion. I think people with disposable income would rather pay a little extra to guarantee they get a legitimate product, and it's not hard to google the model number or product name and select from Target or Lowes or Best Buy.
- distances 8y ago
  Over here in Europe when I hear something negative about Amazon from non-techie people, it's always about working conditions. I guess the recent Spanish strikes have helped to publicize that more. Some people are thinking of avoiding ordering from Amazon, but I doubt that actually translates to that much of real action yet.
  - simias 8y ago
    Indeed. Conversely as a Frenchie Prime still offers next-day shipping and works as well as it ever did (that is, pretty well most of the time). It's pretty amusing to me that we seem to have a better deal with Prime on the old continent than on Amazon's home turf.
emddudley 8y ago
Bezos himself has stated: > "Amazon is not too big to fail ... In fact, I predict one day Amazon will fail," Bezos reportedly said when addressing a question about Sears recently going bankrupt. "Amazon will go bankrupt. If you look at large companies, their lifespans tend to be 30-plus years, not a hundred-plus years." > "If we start to focus on ourselves, instead of focusing on our customers, that will be the beginning of the end ... We have to try and delay that day for as long as possible." https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-says-amazon-will-fail-one-day-2018-11 https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-says-amazon-will-...