4 ms·

The thing that absolutely blows my mind is the way other retailers want to be like Amazon, so they've all added 3rd party sellers to their websites. It's impos

The thing that absolutely blows my mind is the way other retailers want to be like Amazon, so they've all added 3rd party sellers to their websites. It's impossible to find anything because search results are dominated by absolute garbage on every retailer's site. They've taken the worst part of Amazon and latched onto it like it's the magic sauce that's going to make them relevant again. The other thing that I find super frustrating is that I'm willing to pay a bit extra to get something better quality. I don't care about $10 vs $30 when I'm buying a case for a $1000 iPad. However, on the Amazon market place that seems to translate into "Hey! This dumbass is willing to give us $30, so lets sell him the same $2 piece of plastic garbage with different branding." It's soooooo frustrating.

ilamont 6y ago
Wal-mart opened up their marketplace to 3PS, but it's really gated. They want to know your financials, DUNS number, and IIRC supply chain details. But another trend that's pretty bad - dropshippers of garbage. Not all dropshippers do this, but a lot do. Formula boils down to slick Shopify theme + Alibaba + social media = profit
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
sumtechguy 6y ago
What is more frustrating is the search stinks. Pick something that most places have.... say a DVD. Top 3-5 results will NOT be what you are looking for (sponsored links) or links to amazons 'prime selection' where they charge for a digital copy (if I wanted digital I would buy that). Then maybe the middle 3-5 items might be what you are looking for and the bottom 3-5 items will be 'sponsored links'. Finding things has become a pain. You have to play a game of get the title exactly right or it will not show you the thing. I have had items I marked down to look at later (not using the wishlist). Come back 3-4 days later and it will not even pop on the search at all. Find the exact title and ta-da there it is. Amazon has really gone downhill fast.
- mschuster91 6y ago
  > What is more frustrating is the search stinks. German electronics retailer Conrad is so guilty on this one. I'm searching for a 1/8 inch outer diameter seal, 180 °C temp resistance with a specific interior diameter and 2.5mm thickness - but even going on the product category for seals, it's impossible to filter. To make it worse: unlike in ye olde times, employees in the physical store also only have access to the website - they can't help you either. And forget about Amazon, their listings are full of crap.
curryst 6y ago
I'm with you here. I've often tried to update my minimum price to something that cuts out the crap, and half the results are the exact same thing under a slightly different listing. I've come to the conclusion that the only way to shop for things is to check out suggestions on Reddit (which are starting to feel more astroturf-y) and then search for that exact item.
rexf 6y ago
I agree, I try to use Target or Walmart's websites to buy direct from them (and their supply chain) when I don't trust Amazon's risk of getting a counterfeit. I'm not looking for 3rd party sellers. Amazon seems to have the best shipping/logistics (with Prime membership) and it's not even close for any other retailer. Walmart is OK, but Target has some really confusing triple selection that is really off putting (choosing between In Store, Same Day, and Shipping).
- thewebcount 6y ago
  > Target has some really confusing triple selection that is really off putting (choosing between In Store, Same Day, and Shipping). Oh man, this is so aggravating. They can tell me that something is in-store by me and I can pick it up in 1 hour. Unfortunately, I'm not able to go to the store. But "delivery" means someone else will go to the store for me and drop it off at my house for an extra $10. OK, fine, let's do that. But some items, even ones that it says are in-stock at the store nearest me, can only be shipped from across the country, or picked up in-person at the store. WTF? If I can pick it up myself, why can't my delivery person also pick it up for me?
frgtmypass 6y ago
I buy my electronics on B&H. Other photography stores are probably as good. Professional photographers buy from them, even if there's a premium, because they trust B&H. That's B&H competitive advantage; trust. If they screw that up they'll wither away. I used to buy on Newegg, but when I bought my most recent computer build I realized most of it was from third party resellers. They screwed the order up, and it was a mess to get my return. Newegg used to be so good! My wife recently bought something from Macy's, again, 3rd party without realizing it. They screwed up royally. They sold her something they don't have in stock, but sent her a "Package Delivered" message. Days later the item is still for sale, even though the person on the phone said that the item will not be available until Jan. Well my wife has already bought a replacement and she wants her money back. The Macy's rep said that it's not Macy's problem since she purchased from a third party. My wife snapped back that she bought an item from Macy's on the Macy's website. Man I hate modern shopping.
- tdeck 6y ago
  Your wife should file a chargeback. It's not a difficult process and it somewhat favors the cardholder.
  - frgtmypass 6y ago
    Unfortunately we've had a very bad experience with our credit card lately (Capital One). Last year for Christmas my wife bought me MotoGP tickets for us to enjoy in Austin during the spring of '20. The race got cancelled due to COVID and they refused to give us a refund. Eventually we asked for a charge back and the credit card refused saying the "organizer claims they settled it". Indeed, by promising us future tickets that are worthless to us (VR46 is retiring, we have kids and need to organize, etc). This was in the summer. MotoGP just refunded us the tickets, a year after we purchased them. My wife probably spend over ten hours on the phone total and countless scanning documents, etc for the credit card.

ilamont 6y ago

Wal-mart opened up their marketplace to 3PS, but it's really gated. They want to know your financials, DUNS number, and IIRC supply chain details. But another trend that's pretty bad - dropshippers of garbage. Not all dropshippers do this, but a lot do. Formula boils down to slick Shopify theme + Alibaba + social media = profit

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

sumtechguy 6y ago

What is more frustrating is the search stinks. Pick something that most places have.... say a DVD. Top 3-5 results will NOT be what you are looking for (sponsored links) or links to amazons 'prime selection' where they charge for a digital copy (if I wanted digital I would buy that). Then maybe the middle 3-5 items might be what you are looking for and the bottom 3-5 items will be 'sponsored links'. Finding things has become a pain. You have to play a game of get the title exactly right or it will not show you the thing. I have had items I marked down to look at later (not using the wishlist). Come back 3-4 days later and it will not even pop on the search at all. Find the exact title and ta-da there it is. Amazon has really gone downhill fast.

mschuster91 6y ago
> What is more frustrating is the search stinks. German electronics retailer Conrad is so guilty on this one. I'm searching for a 1/8 inch outer diameter seal, 180 °C temp resistance with a specific interior diameter and 2.5mm thickness - but even going on the product category for seals, it's impossible to filter. To make it worse: unlike in ye olde times, employees in the physical store also only have access to the website - they can't help you either. And forget about Amazon, their listings are full of crap.

curryst 6y ago

I'm with you here. I've often tried to update my minimum price to something that cuts out the crap, and half the results are the exact same thing under a slightly different listing. I've come to the conclusion that the only way to shop for things is to check out suggestions on Reddit (which are starting to feel more astroturf-y) and then search for that exact item.

rexf 6y ago

I agree, I try to use Target or Walmart's websites to buy direct from them (and their supply chain) when I don't trust Amazon's risk of getting a counterfeit. I'm not looking for 3rd party sellers. Amazon seems to have the best shipping/logistics (with Prime membership) and it's not even close for any other retailer. Walmart is OK, but Target has some really confusing triple selection that is really off putting (choosing between In Store, Same Day, and Shipping).

thewebcount 6y ago
> Target has some really confusing triple selection that is really off putting (choosing between In Store, Same Day, and Shipping). Oh man, this is so aggravating. They can tell me that something is in-store by me and I can pick it up in 1 hour. Unfortunately, I'm not able to go to the store. But "delivery" means someone else will go to the store for me and drop it off at my house for an extra $10. OK, fine, let's do that. But some items, even ones that it says are in-stock at the store nearest me, can only be shipped from across the country, or picked up in-person at the store. WTF? If I can pick it up myself, why can't my delivery person also pick it up for me?

frgtmypass 6y ago

I buy my electronics on B&H. Other photography stores are probably as good. Professional photographers buy from them, even if there's a premium, because they trust B&H. That's B&H competitive advantage; trust. If they screw that up they'll wither away. I used to buy on Newegg, but when I bought my most recent computer build I realized most of it was from third party resellers. They screwed the order up, and it was a mess to get my return. Newegg used to be so good! My wife recently bought something from Macy's, again, 3rd party without realizing it. They screwed up royally. They sold her something they don't have in stock, but sent her a "Package Delivered" message. Days later the item is still for sale, even though the person on the phone said that the item will not be available until Jan. Well my wife has already bought a replacement and she wants her money back. The Macy's rep said that it's not Macy's problem since she purchased from a third party. My wife snapped back that she bought an item from Macy's on the Macy's website. Man I hate modern shopping.

tdeck 6y ago
Your wife should file a chargeback. It's not a difficult process and it somewhat favors the cardholder.
- frgtmypass 6y ago
  Unfortunately we've had a very bad experience with our credit card lately (Capital One). Last year for Christmas my wife bought me MotoGP tickets for us to enjoy in Austin during the spring of '20. The race got cancelled due to COVID and they refused to give us a refund. Eventually we asked for a charge back and the credit card refused saying the "organizer claims they settled it". Indeed, by promising us future tickets that are worthless to us (VR46 is retiring, we have kids and need to organize, etc). This was in the summer. MotoGP just refunded us the tickets, a year after we purchased them. My wife probably spend over ten hours on the phone total and countless scanning documents, etc for the credit card.