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I know my comment will be lost in a sea of voices, but I need to share my experience _somewhere_ else other than amazon reviews. I got my fiancé two Christmas p
by CapmCrackaWaka 6y ago
I know my comment will be lost in a sea of voices, but I need to share my experience _somewhere_ else other than amazon reviews. I got my fiancé two Christmas presents this year - both bought off Amazon. One was an electronic keyboard that was dead on arrival, the other was a snuggie type blanket that started falling apart yesterday. Both items had thousands of 5 star reviews.
I usually go somewhere (anywhere) else besides Amazon because I have had bad experiences in the past, but this was the only place I could find the niche keyboard because it's an older model. I now have a firm rule that I will never order from Amazon again.
- coldpie 6y agoI've completely stopped ordering from Amazon, for three reasons: they have too much market power, they have serious ethics problems, and their 3rd party seller program has made the buying experience garbage. Welcome to the club.
- ethbr0 6y agoI've come full circle and only order books (usually used) or things I don't care if they're Chinese bargain-version off Amazon anymore. Target, or occasionally Walmart, gets what used to be Amazon's business from me.
- coldpie 6y agoEven books aren't safe. Support your local booksellers! https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/02/amazon-caught-selling-counterfeits-of-publishers-computer-books-again/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/02/amazo...
- dan-robertson 6y agoEven for non-counterfeit books, I’ve often got shit quality print-on-demand versions with plates that look like an inkjet printer running low on ink and with the letters having fuzzy boundaries.
- steelframe 6y agoFor books I've gone from buying on a Kindle to Kobo+OverDrive which I use to check out e-books from the library. But I'm one of those freaks who actually prefers e-ink devices over dead tree books.
- 80mph 6y agoI love my Kobo e-reader. Syncs perfectly with my library and Pocket, and using the natural light feature hasn't hampered my ability to fall asleep.
- Moru 6y agoSo instead of dead tree books it's better with dead ecosystem electronics? :) Have you seen what they do in China too get those rare earth minerals needed for electronics and batteries?
- aaron-santos 6y agoI purchased a book this year which included encoding errors. Original greek text which amounted to a couple of quotes was replaced with garbage output. Tables were printed but unformatted. Furthermore, it only included the first 1/2 of the text. The entire second half of the book was missing. I could look past many of these except for the last. Selling half a book is fraud.
- hinkley 6y agoB & H photos has done right by me so far. CDW seems okay. Newegg appears to have vendors reselling stuff from Amazon with markup. And while you can filter third party out, you quickly discover Newegg doesn’t have much inventory.
- cratermoon 6y agoNewegg went down the toilet in 2016 when Liaison Interactive bought it out. Adorama is also good and, like B&H, you can't do any business with them on Saturday.
- coldpie 6y agoHas any retail company ever gotten better after being bought out (thinking NewEgg, Toys R Us, Guitar Center...)? Some incentive is fucked up if decent businesses are being run into the ground.
- cratermoon 6y agoToys R Us and Guitar Center are among the retailers bought by private equity firms explicitly so the investors could wring the value out of the company and throw the remains in the dumpster. G.I. Joes was another. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/07/toys-r-us-bankruptcy-private-equity/561758/ https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/07/toys-r-... By the way the remnants of Toys R Us are now owned by Tru Toys and they are looking to make a comeback.
- sampo 6y ago> so the investors could wring the value out of the company and throw the remains in the dumpster What does that mean in practice?
- genericone 6y agoLow expected long term business value due to predicted market shifts. Compress all dwindling future value into an immediately extractable source of income at the cost of the existence of the business itself. Basically, squeeze the brand name dry until the brand name itself means nothing.
- monksy 6y agoDon't give them money if you don't support them doing crappy things. Still using them is giving them money. Also if you're looking for Chinese knockoffs.. go directly to the source and go with Aliexpress.
- dasudasu 6y agoEbay isn't that bad either for cheap Chinese products. Lots of direct Chinese sellers.
- julianlam 6y agoMany Chinese sellers will list items on Amazon for a multiple of the price listed on AliExpress. You're essentially paying a multiple of the price for faster shipping.
- nucleardog 6y agoAnd a middleman that will give you your money back more or less no questions asked if the product doesn’t match its description. Getting something in two days instead of two months and being able to get a refund if it was completely misrepresented is easily worth, say (as an example from today), paying $50 for an IP cam instead of $40 from Aliexpress for something with firmware so butchered from upstream it doesn’t even fulfill basic requirements or provide listed functionality anymore. And being stuck with it. At least the firmware is so full of security holes I can probably find some use for the device one day when I feel like spending another evening with it.
- coffeefirst 6y agoBookshop.org and Better World Books are great alternatives to Amazon for new and used respectively.
- hndude 6y agoFor used books you could try thriftbooks.com
- randallsquared 6y agoI would love to use Target or Walmart, but the killer feature that Amazon PrimeNow and Fresh still have for me over all the rivals is that they will not allow me to put something in my cart that they do not have. That's it. Instacart, Shipt, Seamless (yes, I've bought groceries through Seamless in NYC...), this is all I want from you: let me know what I'm getting.
- georgeecollins 6y agoIt is really good to diversify your purchasing. Walmart is often a great alternative to Amazon: Newegg or Bestbuy for consumer electronics; Jensen for bikes; Adafruit or Robotshop for hobby electronics; Apogee for rockets.
- CC38 6y agoFakespot can help reveal which products have misleading reviews https://www.fakespot.com/ https://www.fakespot.com/ Obviously it isn't perfect but it does help.
- a_wild_dandan 6y agoI use Fakespot, and I wonder about its accuracy. Seeing a 5-star product given a `D` rating is shocking. If Fakespot is reasonably accurate, then Amazon is inexcusably bad at removing fake reviews. Amazon has orders of magnitude more developer talent and user information than Fakespot to tackle accurate ratings. But I suppose that's the reality of differing incentives...
- CC38 6y agoI do think that Amazon is inexcusably bad at removing fake reviews. However, I think there are some instances where Amazon probably rearranged large numbers of reviews because they found out the reviews were for a different item. It's likely that Fakespot can't tell the difference between mass censorship and legitimate removal. So you do have to take the results with a grain of salt and read recent reviews.
- r00fus 6y agoIt's likely Amazon. Of course, there are instances where (e.g. mason jars) where fakes may be acceptable as they're commodity products. It's tiring using Fakespot just to find dozens of D and Fs. For the most part, I use other retailers or just don't buy the item (surprisingly it's a zen option to not buy stuff you don't pressingly need).
- JasonFruit 6y agoThey really aren't acceptable, though; they are often not really suitable for pressure canning, and the failure and breakage rate is higher.
- SevenSpirits 6y agoAmazon does have the disadvantage of being more worth circumventing. I.e. if amazon cracks down on some method of cheating the system, to a large extent the cheaters are going to find some other method of cheating. Whereas since Fakespot etc are less popular, there's less reason to evade their detection algorithms. That said, yeah, it sure seems like amazon's doing an awful job for consumers in this area.
- jimmaswell 6y agoThis experience is alien to me. I order from Amazon all the time and everything I get is generally fine. Occasionally something breaks after a while or is missing a part but that can happen anywhere and Amazon has extremely generous return policies. If anything I've come to trust AmazonBasics as a reliable brand if I'm deciding between products.
- ry4nolson 6y agoSame. I really feel like this is one of those things where 99+% of people have zero issues and don't comment on stuff like this. Myself and just about everyone I know order from amazon all the time and have very very few issues. And when we do, the return/replace/refund/whatever process is smooth as butter.
- colejohnson66 6y agoConfirmation bias combined with the fact that unhappy people are more likely to leave “reviews”[a] (like here). I’ve never had an issue with Amazon that they haven’t resolved, and it may seem like I’m a minority, but Amazon is the size they are today because, for ever 1 fsck-up, there’s 99 others who didn’t have problems.[b] [a]: Complaints. Reviews. Etc. [b]: Not excusing their bad behavior. Just stating the reality.
- throwaway201103 6y agoMaybe this is a longer game by Amazon. Let bogus reviews and bad experiences pile up for third party sellers, slowly driving people to only trust "Amazon Basics." They have nearly perfect knowledge of the profitability of any item, so they know what items they should have under the "Amazon Basics" umbrella. Over time they could expand this into other Amazon "Brands" at varying quality/price points.
- dasudasu 6y agoThey do already have other Amazon brands. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Amazon_brands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Amazon_brands For instance, Goodthreads is one step above Amazon Essentials for clothing.
- briffle 6y agoAny time I put a less than 5 star review, i get contacted by the seller, who many times offer to send me a free replacement, a newer model, or another product I may be interested in, if I change my review. I have refused, but I imagine many others did that.
- jamiek88 6y agoHa! I got a shitty appletv stick on holder that dropped off the TV the other day after a couple months, I put up a 1 star review hoping that would happen but it hasn't as yet!
- zucked 6y agoI'm pretty convinced there are a lot of sellers on these third party marketplaces that arrive with a truckload of Widget A - once Widget A sells out, they're gone... on to the next thing or rebranded and selling Widget C. Especially when you're selling a low-margin plastic commodity item. If you don't get support while they're still actively selling YOUR widget, good luck.
- jamiek88 6y agoYeah that would make sense, although I've seen the listing slowly morph into another product but retaining the reviews somehow.
- perl4ever 6y agoI can relate to this experience, but the thing is, similar things have happened to me with other retailers, that I think have especially high markups and used to be in my mind decent brands. I got a shirt from Macy's with sewn in stripes that started to unravel before long, this was many years ago, but I never bought clothes from there again. And more recently, I got pillow cases from bed bath & beyond, that were very expensive, but otherwise exactly what I wanted, and the seams started coming undone. Amazon is not a reliable brand, but on the other hand, one can justify trying it again and again, because it is not a single (tainted) brand. I've said before and will say it again, I read the reviews starting with the worst, as if all the five star reviews were always all fake. I don't know what they might have been for your products, but usually I see no connection between the best reviews and the useful information in the worst.
- afavour 6y agoOne extra problem with Amazon is that a lot of products are sold by third party merchants and their site UX seems to deliberately obscure the fact. Same goes for Walmart, though I have less experience using them. If I order from Amazon, from Amazon, I tend to have good experiences. If I order third party from Amazon it’s a crap shoot.
- wombat-man 6y agowalmart used to be better about this but now I notice they, and other major retailers are trying to adopt the amazon platform concept. Sometimes it's easier to just make a list and physically go to a store so I don't need to question whether or not what I'm buying is legit and deal with that stuff.
- silexia 6y agoI bought this exact drone for my nephew and was sorely disappointed by it. I agree with the earlier comments saying that we need to go back to buying from manufacturers in legitimate countries and relying on strong brand names like Sony and the like. Both Amazon and Walmart are not reliable vendors. Costco does still vet all it's products, I will probably just use them from now on.
- SamBam 6y agoIf you're still every looking for instruments, Sweetwater has excellent stuff, and really stellar customer service. They answered questions by phone before we purchased. I received a keyboard for my daughter, then we had a change of heart and decided we had gotten the wrong one, they handled everything for shipping it back and sending a new one, and called a week later to see if we were happy.
- swiftcoder 6y agoAnd they will call you once every few months for the rest of your natural life (and then some). Sweetwater is notorious for being a company whose contact list you can never, ever escape from. Change your phone number, move across the country... Sweetwater will find you.
- SamBam 6y agoHuh, they haven't called once since June, when I bought the keyboard. But it's possible they will in the future, though.
- recursive 6y agoThis hasn't been my experience. I have been called by them before, but it's been at least a year. And less than a half a dozen times in my life. And most of those were sometime after a large purchase where they were (claiming) to ask if the thing was working ok.
- shadowoflight 6y agoI personally prefer zZounds to Sweetwater, because they're honest about their financing plans instead of making it difficult to realize you're signing up for a credit card until you're halfway through typing in your social.
- mikehollinger 6y agoBest Buy is my secret weapon. For the last couple of years I’ve gotten gifts for people last minute with same day pickup - as small and simple as new earbuds and as large as a color laser printer. This Christmas I even got an echo show from them when Amazon itself was back ordered past the holidays.
- CapmCrackaWaka 6y agoYup, best buy is the first place I go for electronics. They don't have nearly the selection as Amazon unfortunately..
- baja_blast 6y agoI have been doing the same, Best Buy/Target/Walmart any big box retailer I know does some quality control. I have purchase way too many products from Amazon that broke immediately, just shockingly terrible quality. And the worst part is Amazon isn't cheap anymore, I have found that they have a 20-30% markup over their competitors and the cheap things just third party fake goods. IMO buying the cheapest products on Amazon is like using disposable plates and utensils, sure the one time purchase is cheaper than buying dishes and real utensils, but over time it's way more expensive. Honestly, opening a package from Amazon for a 5 star recommended item that you had high hopes for only to find a cheap piece of garbage is infuriating.
- silexia 6y agoWalmart and Amazon both do not quality control vendors. Target and Costco do. Use Costco and Target and Best Buy.
- tekknik 6y ago> And the worst part is Amazon isn't cheap anymore, I have found that they have a 20-30% markup over their competitors and the cheap things just third party fake goods. I’ve noticed this too, except it’s mostly with health and skin care brands that are trying to use Amazon for free advert / discovery and then push users to their site with lower prices and no Amazon take. I view this as a scumbag move by the vendor myself and find a new product from a vendor not doing this.
- StreamBright 6y agoI was thinking about creating a site (allreviews.com or something) where you could write a review about anything, purchase, service, etc. Not sure about the legal background. Could I face legal challenges having such site in the US?
- colejohnson66 6y agoReview sites are legal, but you’d almost certainly be at risk of defamation lawsuits from unhappy businesses. You’d most likely be in the clear, but it won’t stop them from trying.
- jb775 6y agoI cancelled my Prime last year because the "2 day" shipping was consistently taking 4+ days. The final straw was my Halloween mask not arriving by Halloween lol. Between late deliveries, bait & switch 5-star reviews, and being able to find cheaper prices elsewhere, I now only use Amazon if I can't find a product anywhere else.
- corty 6y agoAgreed. Shipping quality on Amazon has declined massively (before corona), and since marketplace and comingling, products have often become unreliable and even dangerous. On top, there was a forced price raise to sell me videos I didn't want. I did the math and am now prime-free.