4 ms·

I am switching over the local stores as much as I can. Amazon took a turn for the much worse 5 years ago and it continues going down this spiral every year. Fe

I am switching over the local stores as much as I can. Amazon took a turn for the much worse 5 years ago and it continues going down this spiral every year. Few highlights: - fake item inventory: 50% chance of getting what you ordered vs some fake knockoff - delivery hell: stolen items (i have personally watched a delivery driver steal my package), delivered items that never arrived (probably falls into the previous category but i have no proof), failed delivery for addresses that worked for 5+ years before - item arriving from different country that I made the purchase, this is funny in Europe, UK has left the EU on 1st of January so there is import customs to pay on items. I order and item from Germany and Amazon send me from the UK because it is 1 cent cheaper for them. I have to pay the same amount of customs + tax that the amount of the purchase. After some back and fort they reimburse. So if there is a startup that allows me to order from a local store, I could not care less how much more expensive it is than on Amazon, I am going for it. I hope they succeed.

rightbyte 6y ago
> stolen items (i have personally watched a delivery driver steal my package) Did he pick up some other package by your door? Or how do you know he stole the package he was delivering.
- zikzak 6y ago
  It's not unknown to have a driver snap the confirmation and then take the package. Anyone who does this will eventually get fired but it seems to happen. Personally, I've never had an issue with this but there's doorbell camera evidence of it, etc. I think people following the vans and stealing packages is way more common (orders of magnitude).
- StreamBright 6y ago
  Guy came in his turck, got a bunch of packages in his hands when exited the vehicle, dropped off some of the packages, he had one package in his hand when got back and left. Few minutes later the notification came that my package was delivered. I was trying to understand who is stealing my packages, maybe neighbours or somebody breaking in after the delivery guys leaves. This was in a gated community. Finally I understood it was the driver. I called amazon about it but nothing happened. They just refunded me and did not do anything about it. Financially this is "optimal" for them (as least in the short run). I have never ordered anything to that address anymore and I started to use the company address in the city in a building that has 24 hour staff.
criddell 6y ago
> 50% chance of getting what you ordered vs some fake knockoff I don't think I've ever received a counterfeit item from Amazon and I get something from there at least once a week.
- distances 6y ago
  Just curious: assuming it's not food, what kinds of things you need at least weekly? I thought at the start of this work-from-home that it'll at least make parcel receiving much easier. But turns out I already have almost everything I need or want so I get a delivery maybe every second month or so.
  - criddell 6y ago
    I recently got into 3d printing, so it's a lot of stuff related to that lately. Before that I was learning how to sew so it was a sewing machine and stuff for that. I've been into light woodworking projects and metalwork as well and so there's often something coming for my workshop - Japanese saws, various bits of hardware, a tap and die set, welder, and so on. There's a constant flow of books and video games for myself and my kids. Aside from hobbies I order stuff for my dog (medicated shampoos, supplements, dog treats) and lots of household stuff (air and water filters, light bulbs, lawn mower, irrigation system parts, plumbing and electrical parts). For personal goods I get some clothing (shoes and socks), office supplies, batteries, vitamins, etc... My car battery seems to be dying so today I'll ordered a charger that has a repair mode and if that doesn't work well enough I'll probably order a new car battery from them. My purchases basically fall into three buckets. Grocery store items, clothing, and everything else is Amazon.
    - distances 6y ago
      Fair enough, frequent orders do make sense with these hobbies and pets. I never enjoyed the physical maker type of activities that much myself so my needs are pretty well digitally contained.

rightbyte 6y ago

> stolen items (i have personally watched a delivery driver steal my package) Did he pick up some other package by your door? Or how do you know he stole the package he was delivering.

zikzak 6y ago
It's not unknown to have a driver snap the confirmation and then take the package. Anyone who does this will eventually get fired but it seems to happen. Personally, I've never had an issue with this but there's doorbell camera evidence of it, etc. I think people following the vans and stealing packages is way more common (orders of magnitude).
StreamBright 6y ago
Guy came in his turck, got a bunch of packages in his hands when exited the vehicle, dropped off some of the packages, he had one package in his hand when got back and left. Few minutes later the notification came that my package was delivered. I was trying to understand who is stealing my packages, maybe neighbours or somebody breaking in after the delivery guys leaves. This was in a gated community. Finally I understood it was the driver. I called amazon about it but nothing happened. They just refunded me and did not do anything about it. Financially this is "optimal" for them (as least in the short run). I have never ordered anything to that address anymore and I started to use the company address in the city in a building that has 24 hour staff.

criddell 6y ago

> 50% chance of getting what you ordered vs some fake knockoff I don't think I've ever received a counterfeit item from Amazon and I get something from there at least once a week.

distances 6y ago
Just curious: assuming it's not food, what kinds of things you need at least weekly? I thought at the start of this work-from-home that it'll at least make parcel receiving much easier. But turns out I already have almost everything I need or want so I get a delivery maybe every second month or so.
- criddell 6y ago
  I recently got into 3d printing, so it's a lot of stuff related to that lately. Before that I was learning how to sew so it was a sewing machine and stuff for that. I've been into light woodworking projects and metalwork as well and so there's often something coming for my workshop - Japanese saws, various bits of hardware, a tap and die set, welder, and so on. There's a constant flow of books and video games for myself and my kids. Aside from hobbies I order stuff for my dog (medicated shampoos, supplements, dog treats) and lots of household stuff (air and water filters, light bulbs, lawn mower, irrigation system parts, plumbing and electrical parts). For personal goods I get some clothing (shoes and socks), office supplies, batteries, vitamins, etc... My car battery seems to be dying so today I'll ordered a charger that has a repair mode and if that doesn't work well enough I'll probably order a new car battery from them. My purchases basically fall into three buckets. Grocery store items, clothing, and everything else is Amazon.
  - distances 6y ago
    Fair enough, frequent orders do make sense with these hobbies and pets. I never enjoyed the physical maker type of activities that much myself so my needs are pretty well digitally contained.