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Has anyone else started to change their buying habits to buy direct from brands websites instead of buying on Amazon? I simply don't trust Amazon for certain p

by mbesto 5y ago

Has anyone else started to change their buying habits to buy direct from brands websites instead of buying on Amazon? I simply don't trust Amazon for certain purchases. I feel like it's actually made me trust brands more instead of commoditized products.

cammikebrown 5y ago
I haven't used Amazon in over 18 months.
Waterluvian 5y ago
I think you'll get a lot of one variety of responses so I feel compelled to share: I don't dismiss any of the concerns regarding Amazon and authenticity and quality. But I have yet to have it affect me after hundreds of purchases for many thousands of dollars. Maybe it's just the kinds of things I buy. Maybe I don't notice the occasional knock off. Maybe I'm just naturally good at avoiding dark corners. As a result I haven't changed my behaviour at all.
- jghn 5y ago
  I take the approach of how big a deal it is if I get a counterfeit. If not a big deal and/or it’s likely all coming from the same Chinese factory anyways I just go through Amazon. If I want to maximize the chance that I get the real deal I try to get as close to the source as possible
  - callmeal 5y ago
    >I take the approach of how big a deal it is if I get a counterfeit. You could lose your global entry / TSA precheck privileges. [0] https://www.racked.com/2018/1/8/16849298/amazon-counterfeits-global-entry-customs https://www.racked.com/2018/1/8/16849298/amazon-counterfeits...
- themacguffinman 5y ago
  Well do you actually verify the authenticity of your purchases? It depends on the product category somewhat, some categories are absolutely rampant with Amazon knockoffs in a way that you literally cannot avoid by scrutinizing listings or eyeballing it. The first and only PC thermal paste that I bought on Amazon was from an official listing but I was delivered a straight up knockoff. The thermal paste company is a common knockoff target so they provide serial numbers that you can use verify the authenticity of your purchase. The knockoff product had the audacity to include a fake serial number, presumably because they know most people wouldn't bother checking. The knockoff paste is a slightly different shade of gray, but I only know that because I had previously owned a (verified) authentic paste as a point of reference.
  - Waterluvian 5y ago
    Did it work just as well?
    - themacguffinman 5y ago
      I don't know, I'm not going to risk expensive PC hardware and waste time trying to find out.
- jcims 5y ago
  Same. I'm probably close to $100K in purchases over the last 15 years from Amazon. There is one product I've bought that I'm reasonably confident is a counterfeit based solely on the build quality, and unfortunately it's a Leviton GFCI plug [1]. Not exactly something I want to risk to inferior quality control. 1 - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0037NXKY0 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0037NXKY0
- jacobolus 5y ago
  > Maybe I don't notice the occasional knock off. That’s likely. Many of the knock-offs are very convincing, especially if you don’t compare them side by side with the original.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
ilikepi 5y ago
Absolutely, direct or trusted retailers only now. I don't trust Amazon for any purchase anymore. I got tired of putting in so much effort to researching products and still feeling like I was rolling the dice. The video streaming service is the only thing keeping my Prime subscription active, and I'm hoping to drop it before the renewal date in July this year.
dragontamer 5y ago
There are other stores that specialize in particular items. Jetpens for stationary. Technical books can be bought directly from the publishers. Microcenter for computer parts. Uline and Office Depot for office items. Amazon has benefits from big brands who can police their stuff better than small brands. But smaller brands all seem to be complaining about Amazon these days, so I do try to buy direct I'd possible.
- jacobolus 5y ago
  > Uline As long as you don’t mind buying from militant far-right-extremist plutocrats.
  - SyzygistSix 5y ago
    Do you have more information regarding Uline being far right plutocrats?
thefourthchime 5y ago
Yeah, recently I bought a knife from bladehq because I was worried about getting a knockoff off Amazon. Two weeks later I got an email from bladehq that they had been exploited and my credit card was now known to hackers. So, fucked if you do, fucked if you don’t.
- abqio 5y ago
  Paypal, Privacy.com, and Blur can solve that problem. I'm sure there are others.
- brink 5y ago
  That's like getting food poisoning when you go out to eat, so you just assume all restaurants will give you food poisoning.
  - andyana 5y ago
    Not even food poisoning, more like your car for broken into, but nothing was stolen. The meal was fantastic, however.
- pottertheotter 5y ago
  I've been using the pay with PayPal option whenever a site has it for this reason.
  - ryanianian 5y ago
    PayPal will not help you if you inadvertently buy a scam product. I bought a TV light strip doodad for $20. What arrived was an empty box. It shipped from the US, but they wanted me to ship it back to China. PayPal could not have cared less. They agreed I needed to send it back to China. I escalated very far up their chain. Nothing. Apparently this is a common scam and PayPal does zero to help.
    - pottertheotter 5y ago
      I use my credit card with PayPal purchases, so I think a chargeback would cover that.
abqio 5y ago
I buy direct from the manufacturer whenever possible. When that's not possible, I go for a retailer with a somewhat "verified" supply chain. Walmart, etc. will do. Even Ebay is better because at least your purchase isn't coming from a comingled inventory. This is coming from someone who used to buy from Amazon over everyone else because it was so darn convenient. After seeing all the horror stories and having friends receive counterfeit or obviously defective, returned, and resold as new items; I just can't trust them anymore. Especially for things that go in or on my body. Or my pets for that matter.
- rectang 5y ago
  And yet, apparently selling counterfeit crap to rubes is better business than selling legit product. I may not trust Amazon to sell me anything these days, but I trust them to know their market and to mercilessly maximize their margins.
- bkjelden 5y ago
  I've been buying a lot of tools lately, and I've found myself in the spot where I trust Harbor Freight's supply chain more than Amazon's. Never thought I'd see the day where I was choosing Harbor Freight for quality.
  - cout 5y ago
    Some of my favorite tools are from harbor freight. As an example, the 1/4" ratchet with composite handle is such a pleasure to use compared to any other ratchet I've owned. I thought it was a gimmick, but I gave it a shot and now it's now my favorite ratchet.
    - flavius29663 5y ago
      harbor freight is excellent for some things, and abysmal for others. my cart saved my back, it's worth every penny of the 20 or so dollars. The dremel bits were just trash - I couldn't get one use out of them, same with the bench grinder.
    - 5y ago
happytoexplain 5y ago
Absolutely. Amazon is as good as street corner counterfeits for most things.
twodave 5y ago
If I'm buying the usual consumable goods, I'll buy from Amazon. There's not much point in counterfeiting those for the most part, and the financial risk is very low in the first place. Anything more expensive than $100 or so I'm going to try and find a) high quality materials and b) made as local as possible. It's not always possible. For those type of product, though, I'd rather spend 3x the amount, 1/5 as often.
- alasdair_ 5y ago
  The most counterfeited good I’ve found on amazon is moderately priced shampoo. It’s cheap and bulky and I have no idea why it’s faked but it’s super common.
paxys 5y ago
I have yet to come across a brand which offers reasonable shipping options and good customer service on their website. Despite all of Amazon's other problems, their logistics and support moat is deep enough that there is still no good option B.
judge2020 5y ago
I'll compare prices and if the price difference (including their shipping cost vs Prime) for the manufacturer/brand website is only $10-$15 then i'll most likely use the manufacturer website (especially if they use a not-horrible storefront system like shopify). This doesn't happen often, though, as even USPS shipping for medium or large items is expensive.
honkycat 5y ago
I'm definitely in the same place. My philosophy is Avoid Amazon for everything at this point. The counterfeit is out of control
fireattack 5y ago
I buy from Amazon purely for 30-day return policy which is quick and painless to process (single click, drop it to UPS store, done. Don't even need printer, tape or box if the original package it still intact.) Can't say I have the same experience from other ecommerce websites, brand ones or aggregated ones like BB or Newegg.
crazygringo 5y ago
Unfortunately no -- Amazon is often ~20% cheaper than a brand's website, plus offers free shipping which brand sites often don't, and (very importantly) I can trust that I can return an item with zero hassle if it doesn't work as advertised. Also the majority of brands don't even sell directly, only through retailers like Amazon, Wal-Mart, or Target anyways.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
andoofthewoods 5y ago
i just avoid Amazon flat out for most purchases. No way to tell what you're buying is genuine, and I've been burnt far too many times.
diogenescynic 5y ago
I tried that but a lot of companies just aren’t set up for it anymore and actually offer better customer service from Amazon or eBay because they are held to some sort of dispute process. I recently bought something that went on sale for a few hundred dollars less literally a week after I received it. I emailed and requested a refund and it was a huge issue and hassle. Same thing wit canceling an order for a backordered baby product and the company mailed it weeks after I requested to cancel it then refused to refund it despite it having now gone to an address I no longer lived at... I now prefer buying from Amazon. I bought a $1400 tv and it somehow broke like 5 months later but Amazon sent someone out to pick it up and refunded the order. BestBuy would never do that.. they’d tell to take a hike and deal with the manufacturer. I bought a bbq and it was delivered days later whereas Ace Hardware needed weeks..
johnwheeler 5y ago
100%. I've been thinking about this a lot lately actually. I remember how happy Amazon used to make me, and now you can't trust any of the reviews and worse you can't trust the merchandise. Not to mention that Chinese knock-off manufacturing has only gotten better over the last 5 years. Take a look at the Benchmade knife comparisons on youtube.
sameboat632746 5y ago
Yeah I loved Amazon but have moved away from them for everything but things that have really low risk like Kindle, video games, or toilet paper. I used to still use Amazon for research and reviews but now reviews are useless. Now my biggest reason to visit Amazon is for price comparison and price history via camelcamcelcamel extension.
newsbinator 5y ago
Yes, I gave up on Amazon recently because their outsourced customer service has become so bad. Unlike generic customer service, they used to solve problems. Now they simply go through the motions of appearing to solve problems. It’s really evident when a company’s customer service priorities change in this direction.
- ryanianian 5y ago
  I’ve had good luck with the outsourced service reps. It’s over chat usually and they know which canned responses to use for common scenarios (didn’t arrive, DOA, counterfeit, etc). What problem were they unable to resolve?
  - newsbinator 5y ago
    I ordered an item for Mother's Day. A few days later I noticed it still had no shipping date, and I was unable to upgrade the shipping option to 2-day shipping. I contacted Live Chat and they said: * "I will add rush delivery notes for you" * "we will do the rest for you with a rush delivery" Then it was the Friday before Mother's Day and I got a notification the item will be delivered some time the following week. I contacted Amazon Live Chat again: * We never promised you a specific delivery date. That's completely true, Amazon. Turns out "I will add rush delivery notes for you" and "we will do a rush delivery" is a meaningless customer service thing you can say like, "your call is important to us". This doesn't require taking any action to expedite the order or, failing that, telling the customer who is asking you about delivery for Mother's Day that they need to order a different product if they expect it to arrive in time. So basically Amazon Customer Service is now no better or worse than any generic chat bot you can use to accomplish (or fail to accomplish) the same thing. It's my own fault: if an item had no delivery date the week before Mother's Day, I should have canceled earlier.
  - ghostpepper 5y ago
    Not the poster you replied to but in my experience (missed delivery estimates, or more often missed/ignored delivery instructions) the only weapon in their arsenal is offering a $5 gift card to spend on your next Amazon order.
zwaps 5y ago
Yes, I buy everything above 50 euros straight from the manufacturer. Nowadays, most companies sell directly to consumers, shipping is fast enough and you generally get a genuine, updated and properly stored item. I usually make the following choice: For the item I want, is there a brand I trust, eg that designs and produces a high quality item, if possible locally? For example, I know some companies for speakers, kitchenwares and appliances that produce here in the EU (and I know people working there). I buy from them directly, since I care about not getting a fake. Or, is every product just a rebranding of the same thing from one or two factories in China anyway? If so, I go to amazon and buy one of the dozen identical trashware versions and accept that it will break. This bounds my willingness to spend. This strategy works for me. Only choosing Amazon as seller of last resort has reduced my issues with products to zero.
the_only_law 5y ago
I’ve never had problems with fraudulent items or anything buying off Amazon, but I do find myself buying from it less and less. Sometimes this is because I simply can’t find what I want. More often, this is because the biggest benefit I gained from Amazon, namely the next day or two day shipping via Prime does not seem to be as common anymore.
dagw 5y ago
I only use Amazon when they're the fastest shipping option and I'm in a hurry, when they are a lot cheaper, or when I'm actually looking for the no brand Chinese knock off.
annoyingnoob 5y ago
I've been an Amazon customer since at least 1999. I've been shipped many counterfeit/knock-off products that were sold as the real thing. I lost my honeymoon pictures on a fake SD card, that was over 10 years ago. The problems of fake products have only gotten worse. Its now rare that I buy anything on Amazon that costs over $100 and I always cross shop for those things. Amazon is good at commodity items but not much else. If I'm buying a name brand product over $100 I won't buy it on Amazon because its most likely fake or has no warranty. I really do not appreciate that Amazon has become Aliexpress in the last few years.
robbiemitchell 5y ago
No, because most sellers have: - Incredibly slow shipping - Painful return processes
- Spivak 5y ago
  - Expensive shipping - 3rd party customer service that has no power to do anything The fact that companies are paying / making me pay retail for logistics is the dumbest thing ever. The whole value of a "store" (i.e. a place that holds stuff) is the logistics and customer service. If you just want to be a manufacturer that's totally fine power to ya but then get your products to distributors and stores.
city41 5y ago
Recently I have started comparison shopping more and I almost always find Amazon is the most expensive option. I have Prime as well. For example I was shopping for dishwasher detergent and found Amazon was more than double what Target charged, and Target offers free shipping if your order is at least $35. And yes, I was comparing unit prices. I also find Amazon prices with free shipping almost always end up being a tad higher than other places when you add in their shipping costs. ie item is $8, shipping is $4 at some competitor, where it will be $13 with free shipping at Amazon. It's gotten to the point my wife and I pretty sure we are cancelling Prime and no longer shopping at Amazon.
- leetcrew 5y ago
  imo it's worth paying a little more just to get AMZL shipping. for my address, it's the only option that actually gets here in two days, and every day is a business day for them. UPS is usually two days, but misses the estimate a good fraction of the time. fedex is a little worse, and USPS priority mail is more like 10-12 business days.
  - meragrin_ 5y ago
    Amazon still has two day shipping? Could have fooled me. It is usually 3-4 days minimum, but usually more. "In stock" wiper blade, ordered yesterday but won't arrive until Monday. Probably won't even "ship" until Sunday.
beardbound 5y ago
I buy directly a lot. Shopify has made this easier. For electronics I buy most of my stuff either directly, or through someplace like Best Buy. They aren't always the cheapest, but they at least they don't send me counterfeit products. I mostly order stuff from Amazon stuff that I might get on Alibaba. All I order some music stuff from them. I prefer to order from Sweetwater, but they've been having stock issues due to demand during the pandemic. Although I'm still more likely to order from Guitar Center than Amazon.
t0mbstone 5y ago
My favorite way to buy is when manufacturers have their own store on amazon and maintain inventory in Amazon warehouses via Prime. On Amazon, I can see the seller's name at a glance and I can tell if it's the official seller. Buying it via Prime means I get free shipping and it often comes in the mail literally the next day (since I live in a major city with Amazon warehouses). If something is wrong, I know I can just drop the package off at the UPS Store down the street to return it and the refund immediately shows up in my Amazon account without any hassle. Buying directly from the manufacturer's web site, on the other hand, is a huge hassle. I have to create an account, enter my address and shipping info, and add my payment info (great, now my credit card info is stored in yet another place that could potentially be hacked), and the pay for the item. This whole checkout process is unique for every vendor web site, and when the item is shipped, I'm lucky if it arrives within two weeks, much less next day. Returning the item (if something is wrong with it) is also a huge hassle, and many third party vendors won't cover the return shipping costs, and may only replace the item for an identical one. I've never once encountered a fraudulent product when ordering directly from an official manufacturer on Amazon Prime. That only ever happens when I buy from third party sellers or buy used products.

by mbesto 5y ago

cammikebrown 5y ago

I haven't used Amazon in over 18 months.

Waterluvian 5y ago

I think you'll get a lot of one variety of responses so I feel compelled to share: I don't dismiss any of the concerns regarding Amazon and authenticity and quality. But I have yet to have it affect me after hundreds of purchases for many thousands of dollars. Maybe it's just the kinds of things I buy. Maybe I don't notice the occasional knock off. Maybe I'm just naturally good at avoiding dark corners. As a result I haven't changed my behaviour at all.

jghn 5y ago
I take the approach of how big a deal it is if I get a counterfeit. If not a big deal and/or it’s likely all coming from the same Chinese factory anyways I just go through Amazon. If I want to maximize the chance that I get the real deal I try to get as close to the source as possible
- callmeal 5y ago
  >I take the approach of how big a deal it is if I get a counterfeit. You could lose your global entry / TSA precheck privileges. [0] https://www.racked.com/2018/1/8/16849298/amazon-counterfeits-global-entry-customs https://www.racked.com/2018/1/8/16849298/amazon-counterfeits...
themacguffinman 5y ago
Well do you actually verify the authenticity of your purchases? It depends on the product category somewhat, some categories are absolutely rampant with Amazon knockoffs in a way that you literally cannot avoid by scrutinizing listings or eyeballing it. The first and only PC thermal paste that I bought on Amazon was from an official listing but I was delivered a straight up knockoff. The thermal paste company is a common knockoff target so they provide serial numbers that you can use verify the authenticity of your purchase. The knockoff product had the audacity to include a fake serial number, presumably because they know most people wouldn't bother checking. The knockoff paste is a slightly different shade of gray, but I only know that because I had previously owned a (verified) authentic paste as a point of reference.
- Waterluvian 5y ago
  Did it work just as well?
  - themacguffinman 5y ago
    I don't know, I'm not going to risk expensive PC hardware and waste time trying to find out.
jcims 5y ago
Same. I'm probably close to $100K in purchases over the last 15 years from Amazon. There is one product I've bought that I'm reasonably confident is a counterfeit based solely on the build quality, and unfortunately it's a Leviton GFCI plug [1]. Not exactly something I want to risk to inferior quality control. 1 - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0037NXKY0 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0037NXKY0
jacobolus 5y ago
> Maybe I don't notice the occasional knock off. That’s likely. Many of the knock-offs are very convincing, especially if you don’t compare them side by side with the original.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

ilikepi 5y ago

Absolutely, direct or trusted retailers only now. I don't trust Amazon for any purchase anymore. I got tired of putting in so much effort to researching products and still feeling like I was rolling the dice. The video streaming service is the only thing keeping my Prime subscription active, and I'm hoping to drop it before the renewal date in July this year.

dragontamer 5y ago

There are other stores that specialize in particular items. Jetpens for stationary. Technical books can be bought directly from the publishers. Microcenter for computer parts. Uline and Office Depot for office items. Amazon has benefits from big brands who can police their stuff better than small brands. But smaller brands all seem to be complaining about Amazon these days, so I do try to buy direct I'd possible.

jacobolus 5y ago
> Uline As long as you don’t mind buying from militant far-right-extremist plutocrats.
- SyzygistSix 5y ago
  Do you have more information regarding Uline being far right plutocrats?

thefourthchime 5y ago

Yeah, recently I bought a knife from bladehq because I was worried about getting a knockoff off Amazon. Two weeks later I got an email from bladehq that they had been exploited and my credit card was now known to hackers. So, fucked if you do, fucked if you don’t.

abqio 5y ago
Paypal, Privacy.com, and Blur can solve that problem. I'm sure there are others.
brink 5y ago
That's like getting food poisoning when you go out to eat, so you just assume all restaurants will give you food poisoning.
- andyana 5y ago
  Not even food poisoning, more like your car for broken into, but nothing was stolen. The meal was fantastic, however.
pottertheotter 5y ago
I've been using the pay with PayPal option whenever a site has it for this reason.
- ryanianian 5y ago
  PayPal will not help you if you inadvertently buy a scam product. I bought a TV light strip doodad for $20. What arrived was an empty box. It shipped from the US, but they wanted me to ship it back to China. PayPal could not have cared less. They agreed I needed to send it back to China. I escalated very far up their chain. Nothing. Apparently this is a common scam and PayPal does zero to help.
  - pottertheotter 5y ago
    I use my credit card with PayPal purchases, so I think a chargeback would cover that.

abqio 5y ago

I buy direct from the manufacturer whenever possible. When that's not possible, I go for a retailer with a somewhat "verified" supply chain. Walmart, etc. will do. Even Ebay is better because at least your purchase isn't coming from a comingled inventory. This is coming from someone who used to buy from Amazon over everyone else because it was so darn convenient. After seeing all the horror stories and having friends receive counterfeit or obviously defective, returned, and resold as new items; I just can't trust them anymore. Especially for things that go in or on my body. Or my pets for that matter.

rectang 5y ago
And yet, apparently selling counterfeit crap to rubes is better business than selling legit product. I may not trust Amazon to sell me anything these days, but I trust them to know their market and to mercilessly maximize their margins.
bkjelden 5y ago
I've been buying a lot of tools lately, and I've found myself in the spot where I trust Harbor Freight's supply chain more than Amazon's. Never thought I'd see the day where I was choosing Harbor Freight for quality.
- cout 5y ago
  Some of my favorite tools are from harbor freight. As an example, the 1/4" ratchet with composite handle is such a pleasure to use compared to any other ratchet I've owned. I thought it was a gimmick, but I gave it a shot and now it's now my favorite ratchet.
  - flavius29663 5y ago
    harbor freight is excellent for some things, and abysmal for others. my cart saved my back, it's worth every penny of the 20 or so dollars. The dremel bits were just trash - I couldn't get one use out of them, same with the bench grinder.
  - 5y ago

happytoexplain 5y ago

Absolutely. Amazon is as good as street corner counterfeits for most things.

twodave 5y ago

If I'm buying the usual consumable goods, I'll buy from Amazon. There's not much point in counterfeiting those for the most part, and the financial risk is very low in the first place. Anything more expensive than $100 or so I'm going to try and find a) high quality materials and b) made as local as possible. It's not always possible. For those type of product, though, I'd rather spend 3x the amount, 1/5 as often.

alasdair_ 5y ago
The most counterfeited good I’ve found on amazon is moderately priced shampoo. It’s cheap and bulky and I have no idea why it’s faked but it’s super common.

paxys 5y ago

I have yet to come across a brand which offers reasonable shipping options and good customer service on their website. Despite all of Amazon's other problems, their logistics and support moat is deep enough that there is still no good option B.

judge2020 5y ago

I'll compare prices and if the price difference (including their shipping cost vs Prime) for the manufacturer/brand website is only $10-$15 then i'll most likely use the manufacturer website (especially if they use a not-horrible storefront system like shopify). This doesn't happen often, though, as even USPS shipping for medium or large items is expensive.

honkycat 5y ago

I'm definitely in the same place. My philosophy is Avoid Amazon for everything at this point. The counterfeit is out of control

fireattack 5y ago

I buy from Amazon purely for 30-day return policy which is quick and painless to process (single click, drop it to UPS store, done. Don't even need printer, tape or box if the original package it still intact.) Can't say I have the same experience from other ecommerce websites, brand ones or aggregated ones like BB or Newegg.

crazygringo 5y ago

Unfortunately no -- Amazon is often ~20% cheaper than a brand's website, plus offers free shipping which brand sites often don't, and (very importantly) I can trust that I can return an item with zero hassle if it doesn't work as advertised. Also the majority of brands don't even sell directly, only through retailers like Amazon, Wal-Mart, or Target anyways.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

andoofthewoods 5y ago

i just avoid Amazon flat out for most purchases. No way to tell what you're buying is genuine, and I've been burnt far too many times.

diogenescynic 5y ago

I tried that but a lot of companies just aren’t set up for it anymore and actually offer better customer service from Amazon or eBay because they are held to some sort of dispute process. I recently bought something that went on sale for a few hundred dollars less literally a week after I received it. I emailed and requested a refund and it was a huge issue and hassle. Same thing wit canceling an order for a backordered baby product and the company mailed it weeks after I requested to cancel it then refused to refund it despite it having now gone to an address I no longer lived at... I now prefer buying from Amazon. I bought a $1400 tv and it somehow broke like 5 months later but Amazon sent someone out to pick it up and refunded the order. BestBuy would never do that.. they’d tell to take a hike and deal with the manufacturer. I bought a bbq and it was delivered days later whereas Ace Hardware needed weeks..

johnwheeler 5y ago

100%. I've been thinking about this a lot lately actually. I remember how happy Amazon used to make me, and now you can't trust any of the reviews and worse you can't trust the merchandise. Not to mention that Chinese knock-off manufacturing has only gotten better over the last 5 years. Take a look at the Benchmade knife comparisons on youtube.

sameboat632746 5y ago

Yeah I loved Amazon but have moved away from them for everything but things that have really low risk like Kindle, video games, or toilet paper. I used to still use Amazon for research and reviews but now reviews are useless. Now my biggest reason to visit Amazon is for price comparison and price history via camelcamcelcamel extension.

newsbinator 5y ago

Yes, I gave up on Amazon recently because their outsourced customer service has become so bad. Unlike generic customer service, they used to solve problems. Now they simply go through the motions of appearing to solve problems. It’s really evident when a company’s customer service priorities change in this direction.

ryanianian 5y ago
I’ve had good luck with the outsourced service reps. It’s over chat usually and they know which canned responses to use for common scenarios (didn’t arrive, DOA, counterfeit, etc). What problem were they unable to resolve?
- newsbinator 5y ago
  I ordered an item for Mother's Day. A few days later I noticed it still had no shipping date, and I was unable to upgrade the shipping option to 2-day shipping. I contacted Live Chat and they said: * "I will add rush delivery notes for you" * "we will do the rest for you with a rush delivery" Then it was the Friday before Mother's Day and I got a notification the item will be delivered some time the following week. I contacted Amazon Live Chat again: * We never promised you a specific delivery date. That's completely true, Amazon. Turns out "I will add rush delivery notes for you" and "we will do a rush delivery" is a meaningless customer service thing you can say like, "your call is important to us". This doesn't require taking any action to expedite the order or, failing that, telling the customer who is asking you about delivery for Mother's Day that they need to order a different product if they expect it to arrive in time. So basically Amazon Customer Service is now no better or worse than any generic chat bot you can use to accomplish (or fail to accomplish) the same thing. It's my own fault: if an item had no delivery date the week before Mother's Day, I should have canceled earlier.
- ghostpepper 5y ago
  Not the poster you replied to but in my experience (missed delivery estimates, or more often missed/ignored delivery instructions) the only weapon in their arsenal is offering a $5 gift card to spend on your next Amazon order.

zwaps 5y ago

Yes, I buy everything above 50 euros straight from the manufacturer. Nowadays, most companies sell directly to consumers, shipping is fast enough and you generally get a genuine, updated and properly stored item. I usually make the following choice: For the item I want, is there a brand I trust, eg that designs and produces a high quality item, if possible locally? For example, I know some companies for speakers, kitchenwares and appliances that produce here in the EU (and I know people working there). I buy from them directly, since I care about not getting a fake. Or, is every product just a rebranding of the same thing from one or two factories in China anyway? If so, I go to amazon and buy one of the dozen identical trashware versions and accept that it will break. This bounds my willingness to spend. This strategy works for me. Only choosing Amazon as seller of last resort has reduced my issues with products to zero.

the_only_law 5y ago

I’ve never had problems with fraudulent items or anything buying off Amazon, but I do find myself buying from it less and less. Sometimes this is because I simply can’t find what I want. More often, this is because the biggest benefit I gained from Amazon, namely the next day or two day shipping via Prime does not seem to be as common anymore.

dagw 5y ago

I only use Amazon when they're the fastest shipping option and I'm in a hurry, when they are a lot cheaper, or when I'm actually looking for the no brand Chinese knock off.

annoyingnoob 5y ago

I've been an Amazon customer since at least 1999. I've been shipped many counterfeit/knock-off products that were sold as the real thing. I lost my honeymoon pictures on a fake SD card, that was over 10 years ago. The problems of fake products have only gotten worse. Its now rare that I buy anything on Amazon that costs over $100 and I always cross shop for those things. Amazon is good at commodity items but not much else. If I'm buying a name brand product over $100 I won't buy it on Amazon because its most likely fake or has no warranty. I really do not appreciate that Amazon has become Aliexpress in the last few years.

robbiemitchell 5y ago

No, because most sellers have: - Incredibly slow shipping - Painful return processes

Spivak 5y ago
- Expensive shipping - 3rd party customer service that has no power to do anything The fact that companies are paying / making me pay retail for logistics is the dumbest thing ever. The whole value of a "store" (i.e. a place that holds stuff) is the logistics and customer service. If you just want to be a manufacturer that's totally fine power to ya but then get your products to distributors and stores.

city41 5y ago

Recently I have started comparison shopping more and I almost always find Amazon is the most expensive option. I have Prime as well. For example I was shopping for dishwasher detergent and found Amazon was more than double what Target charged, and Target offers free shipping if your order is at least $35. And yes, I was comparing unit prices. I also find Amazon prices with free shipping almost always end up being a tad higher than other places when you add in their shipping costs. ie item is $8, shipping is $4 at some competitor, where it will be $13 with free shipping at Amazon. It's gotten to the point my wife and I pretty sure we are cancelling Prime and no longer shopping at Amazon.

leetcrew 5y ago
imo it's worth paying a little more just to get AMZL shipping. for my address, it's the only option that actually gets here in two days, and every day is a business day for them. UPS is usually two days, but misses the estimate a good fraction of the time. fedex is a little worse, and USPS priority mail is more like 10-12 business days.
- meragrin_ 5y ago
  Amazon still has two day shipping? Could have fooled me. It is usually 3-4 days minimum, but usually more. "In stock" wiper blade, ordered yesterday but won't arrive until Monday. Probably won't even "ship" until Sunday.

beardbound 5y ago

I buy directly a lot. Shopify has made this easier. For electronics I buy most of my stuff either directly, or through someplace like Best Buy. They aren't always the cheapest, but they at least they don't send me counterfeit products. I mostly order stuff from Amazon stuff that I might get on Alibaba. All I order some music stuff from them. I prefer to order from Sweetwater, but they've been having stock issues due to demand during the pandemic. Although I'm still more likely to order from Guitar Center than Amazon.

t0mbstone 5y ago

My favorite way to buy is when manufacturers have their own store on amazon and maintain inventory in Amazon warehouses via Prime. On Amazon, I can see the seller's name at a glance and I can tell if it's the official seller. Buying it via Prime means I get free shipping and it often comes in the mail literally the next day (since I live in a major city with Amazon warehouses). If something is wrong, I know I can just drop the package off at the UPS Store down the street to return it and the refund immediately shows up in my Amazon account without any hassle. Buying directly from the manufacturer's web site, on the other hand, is a huge hassle. I have to create an account, enter my address and shipping info, and add my payment info (great, now my credit card info is stored in yet another place that could potentially be hacked), and the pay for the item. This whole checkout process is unique for every vendor web site, and when the item is shipped, I'm lucky if it arrives within two weeks, much less next day. Returning the item (if something is wrong with it) is also a huge hassle, and many third party vendors won't cover the return shipping costs, and may only replace the item for an identical one. I've never once encountered a fraudulent product when ordering directly from an official manufacturer on Amazon Prime. That only ever happens when I buy from third party sellers or buy used products.