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When I buy something off another site… - Will I have to register an account? Will I have to take time unsubscribing from the email lists they sign me up for?

When I buy something off another site… - Will I have to register an account? Will I have to take time unsubscribing from the email lists they sign me up for? - Will the checkout form work? Will it be secure? Will it be a single page, or will there be separate pages of shipping info, billing info, payment method, confirmation of sale, and receipt? - Will any of those pages be broken, forcing me to start over? - When will it show up? I'm not even so impatient that I need the "two day thing" (I usually pick a later date for a $1 Amazon digital credit anyway), but, when? There are nearly never estimates, and about half the remaining MIGHT send a tracking number later. Other things crop up, but basically there's countless little things that can go wrong and you if you pick Amazon they _all_ go away.

miked85 7y ago
You do have the real possibility of receiving a counterfeit item from Amazon though, which you do not have directly from the manufacturer.
- lotsofpulp 7y ago
  Yeah, no kidding. I'd rather deal with all of the other problems (which aren't really problems as I'm not liable anyway), than risking getting a counterfeit product from Amazon. Also, more websites need to implement Apple Pay.
- blacksmith_tb 7y ago
  Certainly a problem with easy-to-counterfeit items, but I would think knocking off a robot vacuum would be pretty difficult?
  - sqlacid 7y ago
    more likely to get a used returned item being sold as new; I bought an expensive water filter cartridge from AMZ and got shipped one that was obviously used. Somebody probably bought a new one, then returned their current used one. AMZ refunded money without question tho. You could get a new vac with a spent expensive battery pretty easily.
klingonopera 7y ago
> "Will I have to register an account? Will I have to take time unsubscribing from the email lists they sign me up for?" Registering an account would shoo me away too, but with PayPal and a study that showed this'll scare 75% of potential customers away, that mostly seems to be a thing of the past. Subscription lists in the EU have been greatly reduced by GDPR. Some still offend this, granted, but they are occuring less and less. > "Will the checkout form work? Will it be secure? Will it be a single page, or will there be separate pages of shipping info, billing info, payment method, confirmation of sale, and receipt?" The bureaucratic things you mention are governed by law here in Germany, so I needn't bother with that, for their (prolonged) existence presumes compliance. The technical security details are legit concerns in my opinion, too. OTOH, sticking to one merchant brings with it the risks of mono-cultures. > "Will any of those pages be broken, forcing me to start over?" Come on. > "When will it show up? I'm not even so impatient that I need the "two day thing" (I usually pick a later date for a $1 Amazon digital credit anyway), but, when? There are nearly never estimates, and about half the remaining MIGHT send a tracking number later." I usually can plan such purchases in advance, that a delay of even a week doesn't bother me. Parcel delivery services in Germany rarely require more than 5 working days for national shipments. > "Other things crop up, but basically there's countless little things that can go wrong and you if you pick Amazon they _all_ go away. " For this, I appear to have eBay. I feel they grant more autonomy to the merchant, which I believe to be actually better for the customer in the long-run. Amazon feels closer to the customer, but such a customer strategy runs the risk of a bait-and-switch to the disadvantage of the customer, once their monopoly solidifies.
- Eric_WVGG 7y ago
  "Come on" what? It happens all the time. You just countered my list with a list of "this usually doesn't happen" responses. But sometimes they do, and it adds up. And don't get me started on eBay, where about 15% of stuff I've bought has gotten lost somewhere in the void.
  - mdszy 7y ago
    "I might be mildly inconvenienced so it's 100% necessary for me to support a company that abuses its workers, sorry guys :/"
redsaz 7y ago
One of my concerns is on the security front, specifically credit card info, if PayPal isn't an option. I'm interested in trying out Privacy's one-time use credit cards to reduce that risk.

miked85 7y ago

You do have the real possibility of receiving a counterfeit item from Amazon though, which you do not have directly from the manufacturer.

lotsofpulp 7y ago
Yeah, no kidding. I'd rather deal with all of the other problems (which aren't really problems as I'm not liable anyway), than risking getting a counterfeit product from Amazon. Also, more websites need to implement Apple Pay.
blacksmith_tb 7y ago
Certainly a problem with easy-to-counterfeit items, but I would think knocking off a robot vacuum would be pretty difficult?
- sqlacid 7y ago
  more likely to get a used returned item being sold as new; I bought an expensive water filter cartridge from AMZ and got shipped one that was obviously used. Somebody probably bought a new one, then returned their current used one. AMZ refunded money without question tho. You could get a new vac with a spent expensive battery pretty easily.

klingonopera 7y ago

> "Will I have to register an account? Will I have to take time unsubscribing from the email lists they sign me up for?" Registering an account would shoo me away too, but with PayPal and a study that showed this'll scare 75% of potential customers away, that mostly seems to be a thing of the past. Subscription lists in the EU have been greatly reduced by GDPR. Some still offend this, granted, but they are occuring less and less. > "Will the checkout form work? Will it be secure? Will it be a single page, or will there be separate pages of shipping info, billing info, payment method, confirmation of sale, and receipt?" The bureaucratic things you mention are governed by law here in Germany, so I needn't bother with that, for their (prolonged) existence presumes compliance. The technical security details are legit concerns in my opinion, too. OTOH, sticking to one merchant brings with it the risks of mono-cultures. > "Will any of those pages be broken, forcing me to start over?" Come on. > "When will it show up? I'm not even so impatient that I need the "two day thing" (I usually pick a later date for a $1 Amazon digital credit anyway), but, when? There are nearly never estimates, and about half the remaining MIGHT send a tracking number later." I usually can plan such purchases in advance, that a delay of even a week doesn't bother me. Parcel delivery services in Germany rarely require more than 5 working days for national shipments. > "Other things crop up, but basically there's countless little things that can go wrong and you if you pick Amazon they _all_ go away. " For this, I appear to have eBay. I feel they grant more autonomy to the merchant, which I believe to be actually better for the customer in the long-run. Amazon feels closer to the customer, but such a customer strategy runs the risk of a bait-and-switch to the disadvantage of the customer, once their monopoly solidifies.

Eric_WVGG 7y ago
"Come on" what? It happens all the time. You just countered my list with a list of "this usually doesn't happen" responses. But sometimes they do, and it adds up. And don't get me started on eBay, where about 15% of stuff I've bought has gotten lost somewhere in the void.
- mdszy 7y ago
  "I might be mildly inconvenienced so it's 100% necessary for me to support a company that abuses its workers, sorry guys :/"

redsaz 7y ago

One of my concerns is on the security front, specifically credit card info, if PayPal isn't an option. I'm interested in trying out Privacy's one-time use credit cards to reduce that risk.