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Last summer I bought a new Nikon DSLR from Amazon. Not the type of item where I thought they'd substitute scam items! But when the box arrived, it was an opene

by jjav 5y ago

Last summer I bought a new Nikon DSLR from Amazon. Not the type of item where I thought they'd substitute scam items! But when the box arrived, it was an opened box with an old used and abused Nikon DSLR, parts even missing! Wow. At least the return was painless so I guess there's that. I try hard to avoid Amazon now. I prioritize a locally owned store if possible, second option is a reputable specialty web store that specializes in the kind of item I want. Third option is the local big box chain stores, at least I can see what I'm getting. Mostly I use Amazon only for books these days since I figure it'll be difficult to substitute a scam item for those. I hope.

floatingatoll 5y ago
Biblio.com is what Amazon originally was — a database of books for sale by marketplace sellers — but specializes in human support of booksellers in exchange for a sales commission on proceeds from buyers, rather than in "become the Walmart of flea markets" like Amazon retail.
alpaca128 5y ago
> I use Amazon only for books these days since I figure it'll be difficult to substitute a scam item for those Unfortunately you're wrong, it's a huge problem for books as well. No Starch Press already left Amazon because it was the only way to prevent fakes being sent out to customers buying the genuine book. Fakes including ones where the back cover wasn't printed or everything was printed black & white, low-quality paper etc. As Amazon just mixes fake & genuine products because they say the same thing on the package it's impossible for both sellers and buyers to know what they'll get. You get what the person handling the package will draw next from the pile.
TuringTest 5y ago
> I prioritize a locally owned store if possible, second option is a reputable specialty web store that specializes in the kind of item I want. Serious question, how do you find reputable specialty web stores nowadays? (for items which are not your professional specialty, i.e. when you don't have direct knowledge of the market or trusted contacts that can recommend those for you). Trying to google for items of medium quality, you only get shady reseller shops that are as bad as Amazon third-party market, or worse.
- xxs 5y ago
  using google is rather futile as you'd have to escape your own search bubble (incl. your recent searches). Other than that: trusted contacts, indeed.
- Slippery_John 5y ago
  Honestly, reddit. I moved to Berlin last year and wanted to buy some coffee making equipment. This was still the height of the pandemic, before vaccines were readily available here. So I hit up the local subreddits. And now I have a small list of sites where I can buy both good equipment as well as some great coffee. Of course now I can also go in person if I want to.
- xvector 5y ago
  B&H - general electronics, tax-free Headphones.com - headphones, tax-free Drop.com - general hobbyist goods DigiKey/Mouser - miscellaneous parts Your local bougie salon - high-quality body products (bodywash, hairspray, etc) Bed Bath and Beyond - bedding and bath products Design within Reach - furniture Ubiquiti - wireless APs, PoE switches, and the nicest Ethernet cables I've ever used ProtectLi - firewalls Crowdsupply - miscellaneous gadgets for supernerds -- Best way to find a good quality product is to go to the hobbyist subreddit/community for said product and see what vendor people use. Also, r/BuyItForLife.
  - JKCalhoun 5y ago
    "within Reach", LOL. (Sorry, love their furniture, not so much their prices.)
    - xvector 5y ago
      Yeah the prices are absolutely insane lmao. I've had good luck with CB2 and West Elm for more affordable but still decent furniture. But I'd get a flagship lounge chair from DWR
    - ndaiger 5y ago
      I agree the name is pretty terrible for a mass-market company because everybody associates it with price, but I believe the origin was due to the fact that they offered direct sales of products that were previously only available "to the trade" (aka professional designers/decorators).
ggfgg 5y ago
To be fair we used to get that a lot in retail stores in the UK. I bought my first DSLR many years ago from a large high street retailer (John Lewis) and was disappointed to find it was used, slightly damaged and carefully repackaged. When confronting them about it they weren’t very interested in making it good. I had to chargeback them with my credit card company. After which they referred it to a debt collector to recover the cost of the goods. The collector told them to go away after being shown the chargeback forms. The benefit of Amazon is they actually have decent customer service once you’ve navigated the ocean of crap they sell. Really you can’t got to Amazon unless you know exactly what brand and product you’re after already. Once that’s done I’ve never had any problems. In fact some of the “garbage” brands are absolutely fine too.
eloisius 5y ago
Sorry, books too. Last time I bought a book from amazon I ordered Milan Kundera’s Identity. On Amazon it looked like a Harper Perennial paperback, the same style, publisher and cover art as all his other books I have. What I received in the mail looked like a print-on-demand cheapo from Kinkos. The text was blurry and looked like it was from a dot matrix, the cover looked nothing the same. I couldn’t believe it. Of course I sent it back, and then I called a real book store and asked them to order it for me. To think, I used to dismissively say ‘no thanks’ when a shop didn’t have something I want in stock but offered to order it.

by jjav 5y ago

floatingatoll 5y ago

Biblio.com is what Amazon originally was — a database of books for sale by marketplace sellers — but specializes in human support of booksellers in exchange for a sales commission on proceeds from buyers, rather than in "become the Walmart of flea markets" like Amazon retail.

alpaca128 5y ago

> I use Amazon only for books these days since I figure it'll be difficult to substitute a scam item for those Unfortunately you're wrong, it's a huge problem for books as well. No Starch Press already left Amazon because it was the only way to prevent fakes being sent out to customers buying the genuine book. Fakes including ones where the back cover wasn't printed or everything was printed black & white, low-quality paper etc. As Amazon just mixes fake & genuine products because they say the same thing on the package it's impossible for both sellers and buyers to know what they'll get. You get what the person handling the package will draw next from the pile.

TuringTest 5y ago

> I prioritize a locally owned store if possible, second option is a reputable specialty web store that specializes in the kind of item I want. Serious question, how do you find reputable specialty web stores nowadays? (for items which are not your professional specialty, i.e. when you don't have direct knowledge of the market or trusted contacts that can recommend those for you). Trying to google for items of medium quality, you only get shady reseller shops that are as bad as Amazon third-party market, or worse.

xxs 5y ago
using google is rather futile as you'd have to escape your own search bubble (incl. your recent searches). Other than that: trusted contacts, indeed.
Slippery_John 5y ago
Honestly, reddit. I moved to Berlin last year and wanted to buy some coffee making equipment. This was still the height of the pandemic, before vaccines were readily available here. So I hit up the local subreddits. And now I have a small list of sites where I can buy both good equipment as well as some great coffee. Of course now I can also go in person if I want to.
xvector 5y ago
B&H - general electronics, tax-free Headphones.com - headphones, tax-free Drop.com - general hobbyist goods DigiKey/Mouser - miscellaneous parts Your local bougie salon - high-quality body products (bodywash, hairspray, etc) Bed Bath and Beyond - bedding and bath products Design within Reach - furniture Ubiquiti - wireless APs, PoE switches, and the nicest Ethernet cables I've ever used ProtectLi - firewalls Crowdsupply - miscellaneous gadgets for supernerds -- Best way to find a good quality product is to go to the hobbyist subreddit/community for said product and see what vendor people use. Also, r/BuyItForLife.
- JKCalhoun 5y ago
  "within Reach", LOL. (Sorry, love their furniture, not so much their prices.)
  - xvector 5y ago
    Yeah the prices are absolutely insane lmao. I've had good luck with CB2 and West Elm for more affordable but still decent furniture. But I'd get a flagship lounge chair from DWR
  - ndaiger 5y ago
    I agree the name is pretty terrible for a mass-market company because everybody associates it with price, but I believe the origin was due to the fact that they offered direct sales of products that were previously only available "to the trade" (aka professional designers/decorators).

ggfgg 5y ago

To be fair we used to get that a lot in retail stores in the UK. I bought my first DSLR many years ago from a large high street retailer (John Lewis) and was disappointed to find it was used, slightly damaged and carefully repackaged. When confronting them about it they weren’t very interested in making it good. I had to chargeback them with my credit card company. After which they referred it to a debt collector to recover the cost of the goods. The collector told them to go away after being shown the chargeback forms. The benefit of Amazon is they actually have decent customer service once you’ve navigated the ocean of crap they sell. Really you can’t got to Amazon unless you know exactly what brand and product you’re after already. Once that’s done I’ve never had any problems. In fact some of the “garbage” brands are absolutely fine too.

eloisius 5y ago

Sorry, books too. Last time I bought a book from amazon I ordered Milan Kundera’s Identity. On Amazon it looked like a Harper Perennial paperback, the same style, publisher and cover art as all his other books I have. What I received in the mail looked like a print-on-demand cheapo from Kinkos. The text was blurry and looked like it was from a dot matrix, the cover looked nothing the same. I couldn’t believe it. Of course I sent it back, and then I called a real book store and asked them to order it for me. To think, I used to dismissively say ‘no thanks’ when a shop didn’t have something I want in stock but offered to order it.