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If you are looking for a 'non-essential', and the item is being sold by "Amazon.com" (as opposed to an Amazon seller like u/toasterlovin), may I suggest orderin

If you are looking for a 'non-essential', and the item is being sold by "Amazon.com" (as opposed to an Amazon seller like u/toasterlovin), may I suggest ordering from another store? Companies like Guitar Center; Bed, Bath, and Beyond; and the like are still fulfilling online orders, even if the stores themselves are closed. Also, individuals are still selling wares through platforms like eBay and Etsy. Please consider purchasing things from other stores, where available. Even if you have to pay for the shipping cost.

ipsum2 7y ago
> Please consider purchasing things from other stores, where available. Even if you have to pay for the shipping cost. You haven't given a reason for doing so.
- Aeolun 7y ago
  Because you want your item faster than 4 weeks from now?
  - Symbiote 7y ago
    And because it supports a small business, which is more likely to be struggling financially. The small(er) business probably pays a fair rate of tax, funding the services society is even more dependent upon than usual.
- PopeDotNinja 7y ago
  I think he's saying he doesn't want it to become the only store. Lots of other stores are hurting.
  - Kaiyou 7y ago
    That's because they ain't competitive. I'm only using other stores for stuff I can't find on amazon, because I'm trusting amazon to have my back if something goes wrong.
    - dangus 7y ago
      And another big online store like Target just won’t help in the case of an issue? I don’t believe that at all. My credit card is enough assurance that a seller won’t defraud me. I actually have found a number of products where Amazon is not price competitive with some other US stores like Target, especially considering everyone’s blind assumption that it makes sense to pay $12.99 a month to be in the Amazon club without even doing the math on how much that increases the price of each item you buy. I always have people ask me “don’t you have Prime?” as if it’s assumed that the deal is a no-brainer. It’s totally not. You don’t need Prime to buy stuff on Amazon and people are just conditioned.
      - Kaiyou 7y ago
        I don't have Prime, what I meant was that things with amazon are frictionless if stuff goes wrong. Also, I'm from Europe.
    - jfk13 7y ago
      Personally, I'll only use Amazon as a last resort for something I can't find elsewhere (and don't feel I can do without, which is of course usually a valid option).
- thatcat 7y ago
  Amazon warehouses carry many essential items, so by taking your non-essential demand some where else you allow more logistics resources to focus on delivering essentials asap.
- michaelt 7y ago
  > You haven't given a reason for doing so. You didn't see that HN thread about Amazon Prime shipments being delayed by as long as a month? :)
- SethMurphy 7y ago
  While it is great Amazon is available it would seem better to spend a little more money and spread it around. Think of the "shop local" movement. Until there is a benefit other than free shipping (i.e. safer deliveries and working conditions) we all need to help the economy any way we can. I don't want to live in a post-pandemic world where Amazon has more market power with fewer businesses to compete with.
  - cdubzzz 7y ago
    The frustrating thing about this is that you don’t even have to “spend a little more” every time. I make a lot of purchases from bigger stores like Target and Home Depot, and smaller local book, speciality food, home and garden stores etc., and back when I used to compare frequently, Amazon rarely had a better price. Eventually I just stopped checking.
toasterlovin 7y ago
Or order direct from the manufacturer. We’d love that!
- sokoloff 7y ago
  In general I don’t mind ordering direct philosophically, but here are the practical things that you (as a generalized direct seller) can do to make that more attractive: 1. Make it not cost more to me. I don’t care what your costs are, but I do care what mine are. If I find my way to your shop and have my wallet open, that’s the time to be cost-competitive, not to tack on a $7.95 shipping and processing fee (unless your product price is $8 less). 2. Give reasonable assurance that customer care, if needed, will be about as accommodating as A2Z. 3. Give reasonable payment options. Some people want PayPal. Others hate them. Personally, in part because of #2, I often use them.
  - toasterlovin 7y ago
    If you ever need bulk speaker wire, we’ve gotcha covered on all three points!
    - sokoloff 7y ago
      I genuinely appreciate that you’re avoiding mentioning your company name in your news.yc contributions. In this case, I am in the market for copper speaker wire but can’t find your company name in a quick read of your comment history or a google of toasterlovin. Would you mind sharing it? ;)
      - toasterlovin 7y ago
        Our brand name is Next. You can find us on Amazon or at shop-next.com. I think you’d be pretty happy installing our wire in your home, office, bar, etc.
  - jedberg 7y ago
    > Make it not cost more to me. Seriously. I just ordered an item from Amazon because white the manufacturer's price was $6 less, they wanted $45 for shipping, while Amazon's was free. I have to wait nine days, but it isn't that urgent, and I'll wait nine days to save $39 (the item itself is only $119, so $39 is quite a lot extra).
chrisBob 7y ago
I needed another monitor for my wife's work from home setup and ended up purchasing from Best Buy last week. Amazon had everything at least a week out, but I ordered Wednesday and got it Friday via Best Buy. I didn't get the exact model I would have ordered normally (from Philips), but I got a nice 4k Samsung screen.
adrianparsons 7y ago
For electronics, B&H photo is good, too! (Also I'm in NYC and they're a local company with local distribution centers)
jandrewrogers 7y ago
This is the correct advice. Other major distributors in the US have been massively scaling up to receive all non-essential goods that normally would be distributed through Amazon, carrying them through their own logistics infrastructure. These goods are then being delivered through the retail channels that these distributors currently support, which may not be where you are traditionally used to buying these products online. Source: I share a social distancing space with someone that currently is doing exactly this distribution shift for their global supply chain, moving all of Amazon's capacity to an alternate major distributor they use.
- somethoughts 7y ago
  Also BestBuy is doing delivery. Just ordered something last night and got it today. Lets keep as many retail options available to ensure there is no retail single point of failure.

ipsum2 7y ago

> Please consider purchasing things from other stores, where available. Even if you have to pay for the shipping cost. You haven't given a reason for doing so.

Aeolun 7y ago
Because you want your item faster than 4 weeks from now?
- Symbiote 7y ago
  And because it supports a small business, which is more likely to be struggling financially. The small(er) business probably pays a fair rate of tax, funding the services society is even more dependent upon than usual.
PopeDotNinja 7y ago
I think he's saying he doesn't want it to become the only store. Lots of other stores are hurting.
- Kaiyou 7y ago
  That's because they ain't competitive. I'm only using other stores for stuff I can't find on amazon, because I'm trusting amazon to have my back if something goes wrong.
  - dangus 7y ago
    And another big online store like Target just won’t help in the case of an issue? I don’t believe that at all. My credit card is enough assurance that a seller won’t defraud me. I actually have found a number of products where Amazon is not price competitive with some other US stores like Target, especially considering everyone’s blind assumption that it makes sense to pay $12.99 a month to be in the Amazon club without even doing the math on how much that increases the price of each item you buy. I always have people ask me “don’t you have Prime?” as if it’s assumed that the deal is a no-brainer. It’s totally not. You don’t need Prime to buy stuff on Amazon and people are just conditioned.
    - Kaiyou 7y ago
      I don't have Prime, what I meant was that things with amazon are frictionless if stuff goes wrong. Also, I'm from Europe.
  - jfk13 7y ago
    Personally, I'll only use Amazon as a last resort for something I can't find elsewhere (and don't feel I can do without, which is of course usually a valid option).
thatcat 7y ago
Amazon warehouses carry many essential items, so by taking your non-essential demand some where else you allow more logistics resources to focus on delivering essentials asap.
michaelt 7y ago
> You haven't given a reason for doing so. You didn't see that HN thread about Amazon Prime shipments being delayed by as long as a month? :)
SethMurphy 7y ago
While it is great Amazon is available it would seem better to spend a little more money and spread it around. Think of the "shop local" movement. Until there is a benefit other than free shipping (i.e. safer deliveries and working conditions) we all need to help the economy any way we can. I don't want to live in a post-pandemic world where Amazon has more market power with fewer businesses to compete with.
- cdubzzz 7y ago
  The frustrating thing about this is that you don’t even have to “spend a little more” every time. I make a lot of purchases from bigger stores like Target and Home Depot, and smaller local book, speciality food, home and garden stores etc., and back when I used to compare frequently, Amazon rarely had a better price. Eventually I just stopped checking.

toasterlovin 7y ago

Or order direct from the manufacturer. We’d love that!

sokoloff 7y ago
In general I don’t mind ordering direct philosophically, but here are the practical things that you (as a generalized direct seller) can do to make that more attractive: 1. Make it not cost more to me. I don’t care what your costs are, but I do care what mine are. If I find my way to your shop and have my wallet open, that’s the time to be cost-competitive, not to tack on a $7.95 shipping and processing fee (unless your product price is $8 less). 2. Give reasonable assurance that customer care, if needed, will be about as accommodating as A2Z. 3. Give reasonable payment options. Some people want PayPal. Others hate them. Personally, in part because of #2, I often use them.
- toasterlovin 7y ago
  If you ever need bulk speaker wire, we’ve gotcha covered on all three points!
  - sokoloff 7y ago
    I genuinely appreciate that you’re avoiding mentioning your company name in your news.yc contributions. In this case, I am in the market for copper speaker wire but can’t find your company name in a quick read of your comment history or a google of toasterlovin. Would you mind sharing it? ;)
    - toasterlovin 7y ago
      Our brand name is Next. You can find us on Amazon or at shop-next.com. I think you’d be pretty happy installing our wire in your home, office, bar, etc.
- jedberg 7y ago
  > Make it not cost more to me. Seriously. I just ordered an item from Amazon because white the manufacturer's price was $6 less, they wanted $45 for shipping, while Amazon's was free. I have to wait nine days, but it isn't that urgent, and I'll wait nine days to save $39 (the item itself is only $119, so $39 is quite a lot extra).

chrisBob 7y ago

I needed another monitor for my wife's work from home setup and ended up purchasing from Best Buy last week. Amazon had everything at least a week out, but I ordered Wednesday and got it Friday via Best Buy. I didn't get the exact model I would have ordered normally (from Philips), but I got a nice 4k Samsung screen.

adrianparsons 7y ago

For electronics, B&H photo is good, too! (Also I'm in NYC and they're a local company with local distribution centers)

jandrewrogers 7y ago

This is the correct advice. Other major distributors in the US have been massively scaling up to receive all non-essential goods that normally would be distributed through Amazon, carrying them through their own logistics infrastructure. These goods are then being delivered through the retail channels that these distributors currently support, which may not be where you are traditionally used to buying these products online. Source: I share a social distancing space with someone that currently is doing exactly this distribution shift for their global supply chain, moving all of Amazon's capacity to an alternate major distributor they use.

somethoughts 7y ago
Also BestBuy is doing delivery. Just ordered something last night and got it today. Lets keep as many retail options available to ensure there is no retail single point of failure.