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I had a few bad experiences with Amazon. 1st I got an item from a fraudulent 3rd party shipper. Did not get my money back and amazon claimed they don't know hi

I had a few bad experiences with Amazon. 1st I got an item from a fraudulent 3rd party shipper. Did not get my money back and amazon claimed they don't know his identity 2nd Packet got stolen. Amazon claimed based on statistical analysis this packet is assumed to have reached me. Delivered to "mailbox". Paid with CC, made a charge back, closed my account. You know what is a pretty good competitor? eBay. As a business it may be terrible, but as a market place it is quite good.

TimSchumann 6y ago
> You know what is a pretty good competitor? Competitor on what vector? Speaking from a US-centric viewpoint here, but my thoughts; * Distribution & Warehousing - Walmart & Costco * Sales & Advertising - Google & Facebook A few notable online storefronts that are independent and I use frequently are B&H Photovideo and Newegg. Realistically though the options I listed above are the only companies I see having the scale to compete with Amazon at anything, and even then they're an order of magnitude behind. Just my opinion, again very US-centric.
- joyj2nd 6y ago
  Yes, sorry, I meant from a buyer perspective. As a side node: I am actually thinking of buying a tiny bankrupt travel equipment company. Friends advised against it because of "Amazon essentials". I would not sell on Amazon but it is a strong argument. Maybe someone has some words of wisdom regarding to this.
  - noizejoy 6y ago
    If you’re considering entering anything that depends on travel right now, you are much braver than me! Respect!
  - RandomBacon 6y ago
    > bankrupt What do they have that you want, or what do you think you're going to do differently? Why did it go bankrupt? If they claim it's only bankrupt because of COVID-19, then it must not have been very profitable (if at all) if they didn't have enough money to weather out at least 3 months. So I recommend not accepting that explanation.
    - joyj2nd 6y ago
      They were "bankrupt" before. They just selling what is left of the stock. I was always impressed by the quality of their products. It is a comparatively "old" company, they produce their stuff in Eastern Europe, not Asia. Why they did not sell? 1. Their webpage looks like from the 90ies 2. No marketing. I think I can solve this, I also have contacts with some small travel agencies. I am sure they would be interested in some affiliate scheme. 3. Has also some niche products where I have contacts in the US (Military, dogs etc.) Biggest problem is to convince the guy to either sell or take on partners.
  - monkmartinez 6y ago
    How does one find bankrupt businesses to purchase?
    - joyj2nd 6y ago
      Depends on the country. But why would you like to purchase one? I asked this business if I can buy a stake before they filed for bankruptcy because I saw potential and value that I could bring to the company. I still do. If a restaurant of bakery goes bankrupt I would not want it for free since I don't understand the business, nor can I bring value to the business.
seppin 6y ago
eBay charges almost 10% for all goods sold, that's larceny.
- george_kaplan 6y ago
  Not only on goods, they even charge commission on shipping costs. With eroding seller protection and stupid changes to the UI, I guess one of the only reasons they still have vendors is their monopoly.
  - seppin 6y ago
    And have begun collecting sales tax which only shows up after you've legally committed to buying the item. All on purpose, all user-hostile actions to take.

TimSchumann 6y ago

> You know what is a pretty good competitor? Competitor on what vector? Speaking from a US-centric viewpoint here, but my thoughts; * Distribution & Warehousing - Walmart & Costco * Sales & Advertising - Google & Facebook A few notable online storefronts that are independent and I use frequently are B&H Photovideo and Newegg. Realistically though the options I listed above are the only companies I see having the scale to compete with Amazon at anything, and even then they're an order of magnitude behind. Just my opinion, again very US-centric.

joyj2nd 6y ago
Yes, sorry, I meant from a buyer perspective. As a side node: I am actually thinking of buying a tiny bankrupt travel equipment company. Friends advised against it because of "Amazon essentials". I would not sell on Amazon but it is a strong argument. Maybe someone has some words of wisdom regarding to this.
- noizejoy 6y ago
  If you’re considering entering anything that depends on travel right now, you are much braver than me! Respect!
- RandomBacon 6y ago
  > bankrupt What do they have that you want, or what do you think you're going to do differently? Why did it go bankrupt? If they claim it's only bankrupt because of COVID-19, then it must not have been very profitable (if at all) if they didn't have enough money to weather out at least 3 months. So I recommend not accepting that explanation.
  - joyj2nd 6y ago
    They were "bankrupt" before. They just selling what is left of the stock. I was always impressed by the quality of their products. It is a comparatively "old" company, they produce their stuff in Eastern Europe, not Asia. Why they did not sell? 1. Their webpage looks like from the 90ies 2. No marketing. I think I can solve this, I also have contacts with some small travel agencies. I am sure they would be interested in some affiliate scheme. 3. Has also some niche products where I have contacts in the US (Military, dogs etc.) Biggest problem is to convince the guy to either sell or take on partners.
- monkmartinez 6y ago
  How does one find bankrupt businesses to purchase?
  - joyj2nd 6y ago
    Depends on the country. But why would you like to purchase one? I asked this business if I can buy a stake before they filed for bankruptcy because I saw potential and value that I could bring to the company. I still do. If a restaurant of bakery goes bankrupt I would not want it for free since I don't understand the business, nor can I bring value to the business.

seppin 6y ago

eBay charges almost 10% for all goods sold, that's larceny.

george_kaplan 6y ago
Not only on goods, they even charge commission on shipping costs. With eroding seller protection and stupid changes to the UI, I guess one of the only reasons they still have vendors is their monopoly.
- seppin 6y ago
  And have begun collecting sales tax which only shows up after you've legally committed to buying the item. All on purpose, all user-hostile actions to take.