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Amazon used to be a better experience. Now you can’t trust that the thing you ordered is what will actually be delivered. I was a prime customer for more than 1

Amazon used to be a better experience. Now you can’t trust that the thing you ordered is what will actually be delivered. I was a prime customer for more than 15 years, but I cancelled this year because I no longer trust Amazon to deliver what I actually ordered, not some scammy knock off. (I like your idea about USPS parcel service though :))

neutronicus 5y ago
Also if you live in a city there's like a 15% chance your package up and takes a walk
- throwaway0a5e 5y ago
  Petty theft proliferates only because people are willing to let it. I live in a city that is stereotyped with rusting factories and falling down houses. We don't really have a petty theft problem because there's still political will to not tolerate petty theft. The police resources to proactively go after it don't really exist but they come if called. The thieves here are really clumsy and tend to break ribs and get black eyes slipping on ice in June or falling down one stair so that tends to dissuade people from making a regular income stream out of it so you're just left with opportunistic theft. When the police do happen to catch a thief they prosecute.
jacobr1 5y ago
> you can’t trust that the thing you ordered is what will actually be delivered I see this all over HN, news articles, and reddit ... yet I've never experienced it. Nor has anyone in friend/family circle. I don't doubt it happens, but it makes me wonder what kind of purchase bubble I'm in that prevents such an observance. Is this more prevalent with certain types of goods?
- kipchak 5y ago
  It might not also be immediately obvious also, a SanDisk SD card bought fulfilled by Amazon might be a fake and just write a bit slow or die after a year. How many people would notice a fake?
- gimmeThaBeet 5y ago
  My personal experience as well, but, y'know, plural of anecdote. The thought does cross me that maybe I just don't recognize it. Then, while it is unambiguously harmful to the genuine vendor, what is the consumer harm (assuming it is not just garbage, or like, toxic etc.)? That being said, there is a lot of stuff on amazon I'm honestly surprised is worth the space it takes up in their warehouses. And I have knowingly bought some low-quality stuff on amazon. But perhaps with the critical caveat of knowingly, I have yet to have a counterfeit foisted upon me.
  - acuozzo 5y ago
    > what is the consumer harm Fires from bootleg phone chargers and the like. (Google for "phone charger fire" to see how often this happens.) Explosions from bootleg batteries. Sickness from bootleg water filters and food. What if you bought CO/ALR receptacles to bring a home with Aluminum wiring up to code, but the terminals weren't made from Indium? What if you bought a marine battery for your sump pump backup, but it failed to perform and/or failed to notify you of its impending death? I can continue from here, but I think you get the point.
thesuitonym 5y ago
I'm no fan of Amazon, but their no-hassle return policy really makes scammy items a non-issue. If you get the wrong thing, just send it back and get a refund. Yeah, it sucks that you may have to go through this process one or more times, but at least it's there.

neutronicus 5y ago

Also if you live in a city there's like a 15% chance your package up and takes a walk

throwaway0a5e 5y ago
Petty theft proliferates only because people are willing to let it. I live in a city that is stereotyped with rusting factories and falling down houses. We don't really have a petty theft problem because there's still political will to not tolerate petty theft. The police resources to proactively go after it don't really exist but they come if called. The thieves here are really clumsy and tend to break ribs and get black eyes slipping on ice in June or falling down one stair so that tends to dissuade people from making a regular income stream out of it so you're just left with opportunistic theft. When the police do happen to catch a thief they prosecute.

jacobr1 5y ago

> you can’t trust that the thing you ordered is what will actually be delivered I see this all over HN, news articles, and reddit ... yet I've never experienced it. Nor has anyone in friend/family circle. I don't doubt it happens, but it makes me wonder what kind of purchase bubble I'm in that prevents such an observance. Is this more prevalent with certain types of goods?

kipchak 5y ago
It might not also be immediately obvious also, a SanDisk SD card bought fulfilled by Amazon might be a fake and just write a bit slow or die after a year. How many people would notice a fake?
gimmeThaBeet 5y ago
My personal experience as well, but, y'know, plural of anecdote. The thought does cross me that maybe I just don't recognize it. Then, while it is unambiguously harmful to the genuine vendor, what is the consumer harm (assuming it is not just garbage, or like, toxic etc.)? That being said, there is a lot of stuff on amazon I'm honestly surprised is worth the space it takes up in their warehouses. And I have knowingly bought some low-quality stuff on amazon. But perhaps with the critical caveat of knowingly, I have yet to have a counterfeit foisted upon me.
- acuozzo 5y ago
  > what is the consumer harm Fires from bootleg phone chargers and the like. (Google for "phone charger fire" to see how often this happens.) Explosions from bootleg batteries. Sickness from bootleg water filters and food. What if you bought CO/ALR receptacles to bring a home with Aluminum wiring up to code, but the terminals weren't made from Indium? What if you bought a marine battery for your sump pump backup, but it failed to perform and/or failed to notify you of its impending death? I can continue from here, but I think you get the point.

thesuitonym 5y ago

I'm no fan of Amazon, but their no-hassle return policy really makes scammy items a non-issue. If you get the wrong thing, just send it back and get a refund. Yeah, it sucks that you may have to go through this process one or more times, but at least it's there.