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I don't buy very much on Amazon anymore. Mostly name brand stuff that isn't often counterfeited. Guitar strings, books, moisturizer and such. It is still very g

I don't buy very much on Amazon anymore. Mostly name brand stuff that isn't often counterfeited. Guitar strings, books, moisturizer and such. It is still very good for grabbing random widgets (I just bought a knob puller for my guitars). Other than that I mostly order from places that I know stock quality product. Sur La Table for cooking stuff comes to mind.

bluGill 5y ago
The problem comes when you don't know. I needed a new battery for my Dyson vacuum - out of stock at Dyson, but online has a lot of third parties for half the price (and often more capacity) - but what do I trust as real? I ended up at Amazon because they will probably ship me something and if it doesn't work I have a chance to return it. I was tempted to try that Vietnamese company directly, but how do I know?
- coldpie 5y ago
  I've mostly switched back from shopping online to shopping in local retail. If you're actually stocking shelves, instead of just running a digital flea market, you have to be choosy about what you stock. There's a ton of value in having someone filter out the trash and buy from reliable sources. I'm happy to pay more for that service, and usually I can get the item same-day since I'm already there in the store. For example you may have a local vacuum/appliance shop who has a direct relationship with Dyson and so can buy genuine parts on your behalf, or even have them in stock wholesale.
  - bluGill 5y ago
    There is a lot of truth to that, but it only applies where a local retailer stocks what you are interested in. There are a lot of parts that can't be got locally. There are a lot of hobbies that can't support a local store.
- cgriswald 5y ago
  Trust is how you know. I trust Target, Best Buy, whomever, to sell me an actual Dyson battery. I’ve never had any problems with any company not taking an online return (except once with Amazon charging me for a replacement for a ~$10 item they said was delivered but wasn’t). Amazon doesn’t really stand out in that regard these days. That Vietnamese company with the 3x capacity:price ratio is probably selling junk. There are just so many more junk sellers (at least by name—maybe a handful operating all those names). So it boils down to taking a gamble when the odds are against you, getting lucky, and building a relationship or going to a retailer you trust already.
  - bluGill 5y ago
    Those I trust that would sell me the battery I need are buying from Dyson and so out of stock. They also charge 2x for a smaller battery. I'm left with janky brands: either from amazon or from janky companies. I've had great luck in these situations buying from a small company that filtered out which cheap brands were good products. However I already have some other reason to trust those small companies.
Tor3 5y ago
I've long since stopped buying anything from Amazon except the occasional book. You can't trust reviews, but you also can't trust that the product you think you're buying is what it says it is. It doesn't really bother me that I "can't" buy from Amazon, there are lots of alternatives these days. There are even more local options than before.
Mauricebranagh 5y ago
Often I will use amazon for research/discovery and might actually buy direct from another site which has a better price - gear for music in the UK for example. You also can tell low quality products for the poor English/Grammar and knockoff similar brand names. Amazons search really sucks quiet often a long tail search term will return product that in no way matches searcher intent.
- sosborn 5y ago
  I always found it interesting how bad pricing is on Amazon for music gear. I assume they know that musicians will go to established shops (shout out to Sweetwater) and that people just getting into it won't know any better.

bluGill 5y ago

The problem comes when you don't know. I needed a new battery for my Dyson vacuum - out of stock at Dyson, but online has a lot of third parties for half the price (and often more capacity) - but what do I trust as real? I ended up at Amazon because they will probably ship me something and if it doesn't work I have a chance to return it. I was tempted to try that Vietnamese company directly, but how do I know?

coldpie 5y ago
I've mostly switched back from shopping online to shopping in local retail. If you're actually stocking shelves, instead of just running a digital flea market, you have to be choosy about what you stock. There's a ton of value in having someone filter out the trash and buy from reliable sources. I'm happy to pay more for that service, and usually I can get the item same-day since I'm already there in the store. For example you may have a local vacuum/appliance shop who has a direct relationship with Dyson and so can buy genuine parts on your behalf, or even have them in stock wholesale.
- bluGill 5y ago
  There is a lot of truth to that, but it only applies where a local retailer stocks what you are interested in. There are a lot of parts that can't be got locally. There are a lot of hobbies that can't support a local store.
cgriswald 5y ago
Trust is how you know. I trust Target, Best Buy, whomever, to sell me an actual Dyson battery. I’ve never had any problems with any company not taking an online return (except once with Amazon charging me for a replacement for a ~$10 item they said was delivered but wasn’t). Amazon doesn’t really stand out in that regard these days. That Vietnamese company with the 3x capacity:price ratio is probably selling junk. There are just so many more junk sellers (at least by name—maybe a handful operating all those names). So it boils down to taking a gamble when the odds are against you, getting lucky, and building a relationship or going to a retailer you trust already.
- bluGill 5y ago
  Those I trust that would sell me the battery I need are buying from Dyson and so out of stock. They also charge 2x for a smaller battery. I'm left with janky brands: either from amazon or from janky companies. I've had great luck in these situations buying from a small company that filtered out which cheap brands were good products. However I already have some other reason to trust those small companies.

Tor3 5y ago

I've long since stopped buying anything from Amazon except the occasional book. You can't trust reviews, but you also can't trust that the product you think you're buying is what it says it is. It doesn't really bother me that I "can't" buy from Amazon, there are lots of alternatives these days. There are even more local options than before.

Mauricebranagh 5y ago

Often I will use amazon for research/discovery and might actually buy direct from another site which has a better price - gear for music in the UK for example. You also can tell low quality products for the poor English/Grammar and knockoff similar brand names. Amazons search really sucks quiet often a long tail search term will return product that in no way matches searcher intent.

sosborn 5y ago
I always found it interesting how bad pricing is on Amazon for music gear. I assume they know that musicians will go to established shops (shout out to Sweetwater) and that people just getting into it won't know any better.