7 ms·

I love how Amazon has gone from customer obsession to the lowest of the lowest common denominator. Easiest boycott of my life to stop buying tripe from them. T

by ljm 3y ago

I love how Amazon has gone from customer obsession to the lowest of the lowest common denominator. Easiest boycott of my life to stop buying tripe from them. They’ve successfully pivoted from customer obsession to obsessed customers.

andrenotgiant 3y ago
Everything on Amazon is shady knock-off garbage. I made the mistake of buying bandaids from there, they looked like a brand name but slightly off, they gave my kids rashes. I made the mistake of buying LED light bulbs from there, the brand name was reputable but who knows if what I actually got was the same brand or a copy, they started flickering and randomly going out within a year. I made the mistake of buying an LED monitor from there. It turned out to be some third party seller with a ridiculous return policy, so even though I had been conditioned to think Amazon had good return policy, now that they let third party sellers set their own policies I had to eat 30% of cost to return it. No more Amazon for me.
- sgarland 3y ago
  Light bulbs and batteries, I had to quit. Even if you’re buying name-brand, they’re so often counterfeit, it’s just not worth it.
  - sersi 3y ago
    I've had good luck with the eneloops, not sure how to tell if they're counterfeit but they've lasted multiple use over 3 years (I have a toddler so we use batteries like there's no tomorrow)
    - sgarland 3y ago
      Good point, I also have Eneloops from Amazon, and they’re fine. Maybe there isn’t enough demand for NiMH rechargeables to be counterfeited? I also bought mine as part of a charger-included pack, which may reduce the incidence further.
  - sytelus 3y ago
    Where else you go for online shopping?
    - Eisenstein 3y ago
      I will give you my list (East Coast USA): Walmart, Staples, Best Buy, Microcenter, Ace Hardware (there is usually a local one near you that is a Mom & Pop with the affiliation so they can do online orders and inventory management, etc), Walgreens, Lowes/Home Depot, Digikey, Ikea, eBay, or if you don't mind waiting you can just skip the middle man and go right to Ali Express. Also, it is always a good idea to check the manufacturer's site if you know you want something specific -- they almost always have a 10% - 25% off new customer/newsletter signup deal.
      - jethro_tell 3y ago
        Additionally, buying directly from the company used to be painful, who knows what's going on there? 20 years later, basic eCommerce is relatively well understood and someone that makes a product can easily have their own site that functions well. Add a password manager and it's just a couple clicks, really no more work that amazon. So for a huge amount of my stuff, I'll see if I can buy directly from the person/people that make it.
        mongol 3y ago
        E-commerce is more than a site. You need to handle the inventory, shipping, returns, customer service etc. Amazon, when working well, could take care exactly of those things, and cut out middle men such as distributors. But to appear next to these ridiculous brands seem no longer a good choice.
        jethro_tell 3y ago
        Sure, but in the context of ecommerce then and now, it's a much better world. Before, if you wanted to have a web store, you basically had to have a kid build you a website, updating was slow, every transaction processing system was different, (or they just took it in a web form and processed your card by hand on the visa machine in the office), the website didn't process inventory so someone had to keep that up-to-date. Then, they'd take your address and box to the post office and get a label. Hopefully, you didn't fat finger it, there was no data sanitation on the form and the post office isn't checking. And, if you didn't get the right product, they were out of stock, it was damaged . . . w/e, the return process was an email, goofy web form, or phone call to get a person on the phone to manually handle whatever went wrong, and that's if they weren't just a scammer and were actually going to ship you your stuff. Now, any business that wants to have an online store front can grab a template, upload some pictures of their inventory, and the site handles payment processing, buys and prints a label, schedules a shipping pickup, handles the return process including generating return shipping labels. Often, the processor has a quick payment resolution system. Amazon was really good at some point because they had enough people to build those things and make the experience pretty good, like, you just knew that you wouldn't get ripped off, you could send it back, hell, order two and pick the one you like and send one back. Youu didn't even have to enter your card number into some dodgy site or stop to type your shipping address and risk sending it next door with no recourse because amazon already has that seup. But now, a lot of that barrier to entry is gone as companies have made the various parts of the stack available for a small percentage of each transaction. You can go to a website that works, order something, pay with paypal or stripe which have some customer protections, just select the shipping address on file with the processor and get an email with a tracking number a minute later. If you don't like it, you can send it back and the site will probably even integrate with usps/ups/shipper of choice help you to create a label and arrange a next day pickup. And when you buy directly from the company, you can assume they are validating their product and it's not a fake, you know there's been no inventory mixing. You know what you are going to get. And, to top it off, with a password safe, you can track accounts at 500 places so it's not really that much of a hassle to have multiple accounts, and that's only if you have to make an account because the payment processor of choice (of which they probably have several), even requires you to make an account on their site. My point being, that other than amazon being a single point of shopping, they really don't offer anything that a small business can't for a relatively small effort.
  - mint2 3y ago
    No no, sometimes they are simply nearly expired product made for resale in another country. I received a cr2032 that was meant to be sold in Türkiye before, but I’m pretty sure it was actually Duracell.
- naikrovek 3y ago
  Wow you did buy one of everything. So you definitely have the authority to say > Everything on Amazon is shady knock-off garbage. I have had the opposite experience. Everything I have bought over the past 20 years has been legit, except for one single thing.
- JeffSnazz 3y ago
  I'm honestly confused how many people run into "nothing but counterfeits" and others never see any (or maybe the counterfeits aren't actually worse quality so this goes unnoticed)
- simplyluke 3y ago
  Amazon sells a bunch of knockoff oil filters. I accidentally bought them for a Toyota and luckily noticed. Imagine blowing an engine because you tried to buy an OEM filter.
  - asd4 3y ago
    I've had good luck with https://www.rockauto.com/ https://www.rockauto.com/ though I haven't bought anything big through them. The website is fun and nostalgic to me.
- jstarfish 3y ago
  Back in 2010, in the insurance industry we were warned that imported electrical products were found forging the UL (Underwriters Laboratories) labels. Surge protectors and electrical strips were cited as prone to meltdown at the time. I don't know if this was ever made public knowledge, but I'm wondering if this is now coming to fruition a decade later with all these e-bike fires. I figure if I ever need to commit arson I'm just going to charge a Chinese e-bike on a Chinese power strip and feign ignorance.
notatoad 3y ago
customer obsession, but the customer they're obsessed with is the scammy marketplace seller, because that's who they really make money off of.
papichulo4 3y ago
I tried to quit shopping from Amazon, and I did find alternatives. But, where do you buy your electronics from? a TV, a GPU, a monitor? What's their return policy? Amazon is 12 month 0% APR installments on anything >$50, 5% cash back on everything else, no questions asked drop-off at Whole Foods/UPS returns/pickups. Your money is back in your pocket that day. I tried Best Buy, NewEgg, and eBay. NewEgg, you'd think, would be better. But their return policy is non-existent compared to the convenience Amazon provides. I think how I feel Amazon.com has degraded is that they've made it so smooth to shop that I end up buying things I don't need. It feels like the site has spliced itself into my "oh yeah I can solve that" internal loop and makes me spend $30 on some crappy (cheap) solution and before I know it it's on my doorstep.
- johnfn 3y ago
  Costco for TVs and monitors. GPUs are a bit harder to find in stores, admittedly.
  - Eisenstein 3y ago
    > GPUs are a bit harder to find in stores, admittedly. If you live in the USA and have a Microcenter anywhere nearby, I suggest paying a visit.
  - aiisjustanif 3y ago
    Some Americans might not realize that in other countries with Costco you cannot get a membership unless you are in a certain profession (i.e., teacher) or circumstance.
- renegade-otter 3y ago
  Big-ticket items are easily bought directly from the brands. I had the choice of buying my 65" LG from Amazon, sure, I have an account already. But someone (Reddit?) suggested to buy directly from LG to make sure you get a factory-fresh box. Seeing all the Amazon shenanigans, it was an easy decision. 10 minutes and I checked out the new TV from LG directly. I buy small household items from Amazon, floor wipe refills, batteries - and these are not at risk of being scammy products in the first place, unless someone is a total dolt. As for return policies - that's just a matter of doing your homework. I don't think I ever returned anything to Amazon.
behnamoh 3y ago
The good thing with Amazon is their lax return policy. You have 1 month to test the product and if you don't like it, you return it to one of several available places (Wholefoods, Amazon locker, UPS, even leave it at the door for UPS to pick up, etc.) No other store/website even comes close to this. BB gives you 2 weeks to try the product, and you'd have to drive all the way to their location to return the thing. I keep purchasing from Amazon mainly because of the return policy, but I agree that there are cheaper options out there.
- senden9 3y ago
  A Amazon marketplace product I ordered was wrong. I ordered a memory module and got the wrong one. After checkingy order I saw that I ordered the right one. No problem, I thought. Filled a return form, entered "wrong product" as reason, send it back. The marketplace reseller denied my refund because he claims I swapped the product. I escalated the issue to the Amazon support. They told my that this decision is final and I can nothing do about it. I let my lawyer send them a letter. Only then Amazon gave me my money back. This if the story how Amazon lost me as a long time customer because of poor and stubborn support over a 23€ product.
  - tananaev 3y ago
    To be fair, they have to deal with a lot of returns fraud.
    - Larrikin 3y ago
      Why are you being fair to one of the richest companies in the world. They could afford to hire huge swathes of engineers and customer support reps to learn the truth.
      - bigfishrunning 3y ago
        You should be fair to everyone, from the richest to the poorest. Fair has no economic boundaries.
    - deleted 3y ago
Lamad1234 3y ago
[dead]
JeffSnazz 3y ago
> I love how Amazon has gone from customer obsession to the lowest of the lowest common denominator. Maybe I'm misremembering but I don't remember this halcyon time where amazon was able to distinguish themselves from competitors to the consumer via anything but listed inventory. Their website has always been a cluttered mess filled with spam....
- kortilla 3y ago
  You probably haven’t been using it long enough. 12 years ago+ it was amazing
  - JeffSnazz 3y ago
    Yea I guess I'm not sure what people envision when they say "amazing"—having an online store might have been revolutionary in 1994, but not by 2004, and certainly not by 2012. What set them apart was just inventory.
    - adlpz 3y ago
      What truly set them apart wasn't inventory. Any large physical retailer could match back them. It was inventory plus ease of use. Which is customer obsession. One click purchase. Next day delivery. Flat fee shipping (prime). No questions asked drop-off returns. True, useful reviews. Good algorithmic sorting. Best in class logistics. It was really much better than anything else online. Now reviews are shit, searching products is a nightmare of sorting through clones and knockoffs, marketplace returns are hit or miss... and that's why it's worse.
      - JeffSnazz 3y ago
        I can't say I've ever used one click purchase or next day delivery, but I'd argue prime is a great example of enshittification, not a positive customer experience. The service is effectively subsidized by the USPS and the customer probably shouldn't pay a dime.
jatins 3y ago
Does Amazon have no review/verification for what gets uploaded on their store?
- tjpnz 3y ago
  Of course not.
- jethro_tell 3y ago
  Not entirely, they can't check every single thing, and because they inventory mix, if I have a legit product and you have a fake, once it's all tagged as the same, they'll send whichever one the system picks regardless of who's 'store' I buy from. Additionally, because of inventory mixing, they don't really know who put the fraud in and who didn't (maybe they do, but they don't seem to do anything about it) Additionally, some of the stuff on the site is not stored or shipped by them at all, you buy from the store site and it gets shipped from the vendor. So no, they really haven't made a system that they can use to validate their items sold at scale.
astrea 3y ago
I basically use them as a delivery service. I only come to Amazon with a brand and model already in mind. Get basically instant delivery. Return it anywhere, any condition. Nowadays, manufacturers have started accepting payments directly and even payment plans and I still get quick shipping so they’re losing their edge there.

by ljm 3y ago

andrenotgiant 3y ago

Everything on Amazon is shady knock-off garbage. I made the mistake of buying bandaids from there, they looked like a brand name but slightly off, they gave my kids rashes. I made the mistake of buying LED light bulbs from there, the brand name was reputable but who knows if what I actually got was the same brand or a copy, they started flickering and randomly going out within a year. I made the mistake of buying an LED monitor from there. It turned out to be some third party seller with a ridiculous return policy, so even though I had been conditioned to think Amazon had good return policy, now that they let third party sellers set their own policies I had to eat 30% of cost to return it. No more Amazon for me.

sgarland 3y ago
Light bulbs and batteries, I had to quit. Even if you’re buying name-brand, they’re so often counterfeit, it’s just not worth it.
- sersi 3y ago
  I've had good luck with the eneloops, not sure how to tell if they're counterfeit but they've lasted multiple use over 3 years (I have a toddler so we use batteries like there's no tomorrow)
  - sgarland 3y ago
    Good point, I also have Eneloops from Amazon, and they’re fine. Maybe there isn’t enough demand for NiMH rechargeables to be counterfeited? I also bought mine as part of a charger-included pack, which may reduce the incidence further.
- sytelus 3y ago
  Where else you go for online shopping?
  - Eisenstein 3y ago
    I will give you my list (East Coast USA): Walmart, Staples, Best Buy, Microcenter, Ace Hardware (there is usually a local one near you that is a Mom & Pop with the affiliation so they can do online orders and inventory management, etc), Walgreens, Lowes/Home Depot, Digikey, Ikea, eBay, or if you don't mind waiting you can just skip the middle man and go right to Ali Express. Also, it is always a good idea to check the manufacturer's site if you know you want something specific -- they almost always have a 10% - 25% off new customer/newsletter signup deal.
    - jethro_tell 3y ago
      Additionally, buying directly from the company used to be painful, who knows what's going on there? 20 years later, basic eCommerce is relatively well understood and someone that makes a product can easily have their own site that functions well. Add a password manager and it's just a couple clicks, really no more work that amazon. So for a huge amount of my stuff, I'll see if I can buy directly from the person/people that make it.
      - mongol 3y ago
        E-commerce is more than a site. You need to handle the inventory, shipping, returns, customer service etc. Amazon, when working well, could take care exactly of those things, and cut out middle men such as distributors. But to appear next to these ridiculous brands seem no longer a good choice.
        jethro_tell 3y ago
        Sure, but in the context of ecommerce then and now, it's a much better world. Before, if you wanted to have a web store, you basically had to have a kid build you a website, updating was slow, every transaction processing system was different, (or they just took it in a web form and processed your card by hand on the visa machine in the office), the website didn't process inventory so someone had to keep that up-to-date. Then, they'd take your address and box to the post office and get a label. Hopefully, you didn't fat finger it, there was no data sanitation on the form and the post office isn't checking. And, if you didn't get the right product, they were out of stock, it was damaged . . . w/e, the return process was an email, goofy web form, or phone call to get a person on the phone to manually handle whatever went wrong, and that's if they weren't just a scammer and were actually going to ship you your stuff. Now, any business that wants to have an online store front can grab a template, upload some pictures of their inventory, and the site handles payment processing, buys and prints a label, schedules a shipping pickup, handles the return process including generating return shipping labels. Often, the processor has a quick payment resolution system. Amazon was really good at some point because they had enough people to build those things and make the experience pretty good, like, you just knew that you wouldn't get ripped off, you could send it back, hell, order two and pick the one you like and send one back. Youu didn't even have to enter your card number into some dodgy site or stop to type your shipping address and risk sending it next door with no recourse because amazon already has that seup. But now, a lot of that barrier to entry is gone as companies have made the various parts of the stack available for a small percentage of each transaction. You can go to a website that works, order something, pay with paypal or stripe which have some customer protections, just select the shipping address on file with the processor and get an email with a tracking number a minute later. If you don't like it, you can send it back and the site will probably even integrate with usps/ups/shipper of choice help you to create a label and arrange a next day pickup. And when you buy directly from the company, you can assume they are validating their product and it's not a fake, you know there's been no inventory mixing. You know what you are going to get. And, to top it off, with a password safe, you can track accounts at 500 places so it's not really that much of a hassle to have multiple accounts, and that's only if you have to make an account because the payment processor of choice (of which they probably have several), even requires you to make an account on their site. My point being, that other than amazon being a single point of shopping, they really don't offer anything that a small business can't for a relatively small effort.
- mint2 3y ago
  No no, sometimes they are simply nearly expired product made for resale in another country. I received a cr2032 that was meant to be sold in Türkiye before, but I’m pretty sure it was actually Duracell.
naikrovek 3y ago
Wow you did buy one of everything. So you definitely have the authority to say > Everything on Amazon is shady knock-off garbage. I have had the opposite experience. Everything I have bought over the past 20 years has been legit, except for one single thing.
JeffSnazz 3y ago
I'm honestly confused how many people run into "nothing but counterfeits" and others never see any (or maybe the counterfeits aren't actually worse quality so this goes unnoticed)
simplyluke 3y ago
Amazon sells a bunch of knockoff oil filters. I accidentally bought them for a Toyota and luckily noticed. Imagine blowing an engine because you tried to buy an OEM filter.
- asd4 3y ago
  I've had good luck with https://www.rockauto.com/ https://www.rockauto.com/ though I haven't bought anything big through them. The website is fun and nostalgic to me.
jstarfish 3y ago
Back in 2010, in the insurance industry we were warned that imported electrical products were found forging the UL (Underwriters Laboratories) labels. Surge protectors and electrical strips were cited as prone to meltdown at the time. I don't know if this was ever made public knowledge, but I'm wondering if this is now coming to fruition a decade later with all these e-bike fires. I figure if I ever need to commit arson I'm just going to charge a Chinese e-bike on a Chinese power strip and feign ignorance.

notatoad 3y ago

customer obsession, but the customer they're obsessed with is the scammy marketplace seller, because that's who they really make money off of.

papichulo4 3y ago

I tried to quit shopping from Amazon, and I did find alternatives. But, where do you buy your electronics from? a TV, a GPU, a monitor? What's their return policy? Amazon is 12 month 0% APR installments on anything >$50, 5% cash back on everything else, no questions asked drop-off at Whole Foods/UPS returns/pickups. Your money is back in your pocket that day. I tried Best Buy, NewEgg, and eBay. NewEgg, you'd think, would be better. But their return policy is non-existent compared to the convenience Amazon provides. I think how I feel Amazon.com has degraded is that they've made it so smooth to shop that I end up buying things I don't need. It feels like the site has spliced itself into my "oh yeah I can solve that" internal loop and makes me spend $30 on some crappy (cheap) solution and before I know it it's on my doorstep.

johnfn 3y ago
Costco for TVs and monitors. GPUs are a bit harder to find in stores, admittedly.
- Eisenstein 3y ago
  > GPUs are a bit harder to find in stores, admittedly. If you live in the USA and have a Microcenter anywhere nearby, I suggest paying a visit.
- aiisjustanif 3y ago
  Some Americans might not realize that in other countries with Costco you cannot get a membership unless you are in a certain profession (i.e., teacher) or circumstance.
renegade-otter 3y ago
Big-ticket items are easily bought directly from the brands. I had the choice of buying my 65" LG from Amazon, sure, I have an account already. But someone (Reddit?) suggested to buy directly from LG to make sure you get a factory-fresh box. Seeing all the Amazon shenanigans, it was an easy decision. 10 minutes and I checked out the new TV from LG directly. I buy small household items from Amazon, floor wipe refills, batteries - and these are not at risk of being scammy products in the first place, unless someone is a total dolt. As for return policies - that's just a matter of doing your homework. I don't think I ever returned anything to Amazon.

behnamoh 3y ago

The good thing with Amazon is their lax return policy. You have 1 month to test the product and if you don't like it, you return it to one of several available places (Wholefoods, Amazon locker, UPS, even leave it at the door for UPS to pick up, etc.) No other store/website even comes close to this. BB gives you 2 weeks to try the product, and you'd have to drive all the way to their location to return the thing. I keep purchasing from Amazon mainly because of the return policy, but I agree that there are cheaper options out there.

senden9 3y ago
A Amazon marketplace product I ordered was wrong. I ordered a memory module and got the wrong one. After checkingy order I saw that I ordered the right one. No problem, I thought. Filled a return form, entered "wrong product" as reason, send it back. The marketplace reseller denied my refund because he claims I swapped the product. I escalated the issue to the Amazon support. They told my that this decision is final and I can nothing do about it. I let my lawyer send them a letter. Only then Amazon gave me my money back. This if the story how Amazon lost me as a long time customer because of poor and stubborn support over a 23€ product.
- tananaev 3y ago
  To be fair, they have to deal with a lot of returns fraud.
  - Larrikin 3y ago
    Why are you being fair to one of the richest companies in the world. They could afford to hire huge swathes of engineers and customer support reps to learn the truth.
    - bigfishrunning 3y ago
      You should be fair to everyone, from the richest to the poorest. Fair has no economic boundaries.
  - deleted 3y ago

Lamad1234 3y ago

[dead]

JeffSnazz 3y ago

> I love how Amazon has gone from customer obsession to the lowest of the lowest common denominator. Maybe I'm misremembering but I don't remember this halcyon time where amazon was able to distinguish themselves from competitors to the consumer via anything but listed inventory. Their website has always been a cluttered mess filled with spam....

kortilla 3y ago
You probably haven’t been using it long enough. 12 years ago+ it was amazing
- JeffSnazz 3y ago
  Yea I guess I'm not sure what people envision when they say "amazing"—having an online store might have been revolutionary in 1994, but not by 2004, and certainly not by 2012. What set them apart was just inventory.
  - adlpz 3y ago
    What truly set them apart wasn't inventory. Any large physical retailer could match back them. It was inventory plus ease of use. Which is customer obsession. One click purchase. Next day delivery. Flat fee shipping (prime). No questions asked drop-off returns. True, useful reviews. Good algorithmic sorting. Best in class logistics. It was really much better than anything else online. Now reviews are shit, searching products is a nightmare of sorting through clones and knockoffs, marketplace returns are hit or miss... and that's why it's worse.
    - JeffSnazz 3y ago
      I can't say I've ever used one click purchase or next day delivery, but I'd argue prime is a great example of enshittification, not a positive customer experience. The service is effectively subsidized by the USPS and the customer probably shouldn't pay a dime.

jatins 3y ago

Does Amazon have no review/verification for what gets uploaded on their store?

tjpnz 3y ago
Of course not.
jethro_tell 3y ago
Not entirely, they can't check every single thing, and because they inventory mix, if I have a legit product and you have a fake, once it's all tagged as the same, they'll send whichever one the system picks regardless of who's 'store' I buy from. Additionally, because of inventory mixing, they don't really know who put the fraud in and who didn't (maybe they do, but they don't seem to do anything about it) Additionally, some of the stuff on the site is not stored or shipped by them at all, you buy from the store site and it gets shipped from the vendor. So no, they really haven't made a system that they can use to validate their items sold at scale.

astrea 3y ago

I basically use them as a delivery service. I only come to Amazon with a brand and model already in mind. Get basically instant delivery. Return it anywhere, any condition. Nowadays, manufacturers have started accepting payments directly and even payment plans and I still get quick shipping so they’re losing their edge there.