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I was never a Prime member, but I have bought stuff from Amazon in the past. As of about 2 years ago, I've basically quit Amazon for all the reasons listed in t

I was never a Prime member, but I have bought stuff from Amazon in the past. As of about 2 years ago, I've basically quit Amazon for all the reasons listed in the article: confusing selection of products that I might want to buy (are those widgets the same as those other widgets or not?), the decreasing reliability of reviews, and the co-mingling of stock from different sellers. Admittedly, I'm buying "weird" stuff online: principally woodworking tools and hardware for furniture. Tools are a high-value item that lends itself counterfeiting. Somebody I knew bought a 3' (90 cm) Starrett blade for their combination square (MSRP ~$340) from Amazon, and got one that wasn't straight. Was it counterfeit? Was it a second that slipped out the back door of the factory? Was it a genuine one that slipped past quality control at Starrett? Who knows. He returned it and got a straight one, but there are other tools that are less obviously "wrong". Chisels with lower-grade steel, knock-off planes with poor quality castings or machining, counterfeit clamps (at $20-$30 a pair for basic handscrews you could probably make a tidy profit making sub-par ones and passing them off as the real thing). For my money, I'll buy from somebody who only sells tools, and stakes their reputation on delivering the tool I ordered, and a genuine one to boot. It turns out that dedicated retailers still exist for this stuff; beyond the US chains of Rockler and Woodcraft, there are a whole slew of independent vendors (Among others: Little Machine Shop, Infinity Cutting Tools, Lee Valley, Highland Woodworking). And they take far better care of their customers. On the hardware front, I ordered a lock and an escutcheon from (I think) Whitechapel, and when they picked the order, they determined that the key wouldn't fit through the hole in the escutcheon. /They called me/ to make sure I ended up with an escutcheon that would fit the key. To be sure, you pay for this level of service. Horton Brasses, Whitechapel, Brusso, etc all charge a handsome price. But at the end of the day, you know what you're getting, you can reach an actual human being if you need help picking something for your application, and they stand behind their products. I'm going to extrapolate from my area of interest here. Amazon only makes sense for stuff that's essentially fungible (e.g. USB cables), or you're just muggling around and don't mind exchanging a bit of your time to make something that isn't quite right work for you once. If you're doing anything in volume, predictability and repeatability matter a lot. Knowing that the X you order this year is going to work the same as the X you ordered 2 years ago counts for a lot.

alacombe 8y ago
On the other side, a $15 chisel set is essentially fungible as well.
- mauvehaus 8y ago
  Counterintuitively, the $15 price point is probably the point at which they are least fungible. Consider a 1/2" chisel: $5 chisels are universally crap (terrible steel, terrible finish) $35 or thereabouts chisels (Stanley 750, Two Cherries) are almost universally fine (modulo weird personal preferences that some people have?). Companies manufacturing chisels at this price point tend to do a lot of QC or have their processes down to the point where they put out consistent product for year after year. $50 and up (potentially way up) chisels (Lie-Nielsen, Blue Spruce, Veritas) are probably all outstanding. I wouldn't know, I don't own any. At the $15 price point, some are decent, some aren't. The Buck Brother's chisels that are made in the USA are generally regarded as having decent steel. Some are rumored to have less flat backs than others. I have a 2" one that I like just fine (except that the handle is damnably uncomfortable where the striking cap meets the plastic; the blade, however, is well made). Somebody I knew had a Narex chisel at the $15 price point that wouldn't hold an edge well. I understand that Narex is generally considered reputable, so maybe that's an aberration, or maybe they've gone downhill. Point being, the midrange is kind of terra incognita for quality.
  - alacombe 8y ago
    I didn't say chisel, I said chisel set, ie. 3 or 4 chisel for $15, which once you factor Amazon's commission, import, is probably a $2 or $3 set from the Chinese factory.
dceddia 8y ago
I went looking for a square the other day. An "engineer's square" or "machinists's square" or whatever it's called -- the chunky 2-piece super accurate kind. After scrolling through the listings & reading reviews I just got anxious about getting a bad one and gave up. It didn't matter whether it was a $6 knockoff or a $55 fancy one, EVERY listing had at least one review that claimed to receive an out-of-square one. Oy.

alacombe 8y ago

On the other side, a $15 chisel set is essentially fungible as well.

mauvehaus 8y ago
Counterintuitively, the $15 price point is probably the point at which they are least fungible. Consider a 1/2" chisel: $5 chisels are universally crap (terrible steel, terrible finish) $35 or thereabouts chisels (Stanley 750, Two Cherries) are almost universally fine (modulo weird personal preferences that some people have?). Companies manufacturing chisels at this price point tend to do a lot of QC or have their processes down to the point where they put out consistent product for year after year. $50 and up (potentially way up) chisels (Lie-Nielsen, Blue Spruce, Veritas) are probably all outstanding. I wouldn't know, I don't own any. At the $15 price point, some are decent, some aren't. The Buck Brother's chisels that are made in the USA are generally regarded as having decent steel. Some are rumored to have less flat backs than others. I have a 2" one that I like just fine (except that the handle is damnably uncomfortable where the striking cap meets the plastic; the blade, however, is well made). Somebody I knew had a Narex chisel at the $15 price point that wouldn't hold an edge well. I understand that Narex is generally considered reputable, so maybe that's an aberration, or maybe they've gone downhill. Point being, the midrange is kind of terra incognita for quality.
- alacombe 8y ago
  I didn't say chisel, I said chisel set, ie. 3 or 4 chisel for $15, which once you factor Amazon's commission, import, is probably a $2 or $3 set from the Chinese factory.

dceddia 8y ago

I went looking for a square the other day. An "engineer's square" or "machinists's square" or whatever it's called -- the chunky 2-piece super accurate kind. After scrolling through the listings & reading reviews I just got anxious about getting a bad one and gave up. It didn't matter whether it was a $6 knockoff or a $55 fancy one, EVERY listing had at least one review that claimed to receive an out-of-square one. Oy.