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Louis Rossmann just released a video on this about Toshiba hard disks [1]. I canceled my Prime account in 2018, after my last online order for memory. Now, I on

Louis Rossmann just released a video on this about Toshiba hard disks [1]. I canceled my Prime account in 2018, after my last online order for memory. Now, I only purchase in-person from large vendors with direct-from-manufacturer custody [this costs more, obviously]. [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeUNC7z5MM0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeUNC7z5MM0

yjftsjthsd-h 2y ago
> Now, I only purchase in-person from large vendors with direct-from-manufacturer custody [this costs more, obviously]. Could you say which you've had luck with?
- ProllyInfamous 2y ago
  Really depends on the item/product, but for example I only purchase uniterruptable power supplies from CostCo, because if it breaks I can get a new one immediately without shipping fees. For hard drives, I usually wait for OfficeMax sales/coupons, and then stock up. Sometimes I have to drive to Atlanta (about three hours, round trip) but there are some incredible electronic parts stores in huge cities. Regardless of what/where I purchase, I always open items inside the store (before leaving, near the customer service desk) because I have literally had "new" items contain hazmat returns (e.g. a "new" septic pump, a la feces).
2OEH8eoCRo0 2y ago
I've had better luck buying memory on EBay from Shenzhen recyclers! I'm done with Amazon.
dudus 2y ago
Ask about price match. Often times they are happy to match the price with Amazon as long as it's shipped from Amazon.
bee_rider 2y ago
The only downside about canceling Prime is that you can only do it once. I canceled prime because they started putting ads in their video service, despite the fact that I was paying for it. That was a fun one. Now it’s like, well, what else can I do? I guess I’m boycotting Amazon, but is it really boycotting when their store is “here’s a random electronic device, maybe it is what you ordered,” I mean, why would I place an order for that in the first place? I’m also boycotting gun store that only sells footguns.
- blibble 2y ago
  they offer you the free trial again a few months after cancelling so you can sign up for the free trial every time you want some counterfeit tat shipped cheaply then immediately cancel it
- goostavos 2y ago
  The ads thing is unreal. "Customer obsession". I pay the extra 2.99 and still see pre-roll ads, but those apparently, according to customer service, don't count as ads. Oh, and part of the platform is under "freevee," which is an ad-based service, so "obviously" the fee for removing ads doesn't apply to that one. Prime started out great. I still like that I can pay money in exchange for watching something, but ham-fisting of ads fills me with contempt for the entire thing.
  - TheBozzCL 2y ago
    The same thing made me cancel Apple TV. People keep telling me “but those aren’t ads, they’re trailers!”
nextos 2y ago
What freaks me out is that clearly many large manufacturers design boxes so that it is easy to resell returned products as new. Lots of mobile phones are packaged with weak seals that do not damage the cardboard once taken out. Google does this and it looks intentional to me. Apple, which I don't like for other reasons, seems to be an exception. I am very uncomfortable buying electronics and hygiene products from many places because of this problem. For example, years ago, on what became my final Amazon purchase, I received used underwear (yuck!). Knowing that Amazon tends to sell returned products as new, I had explicitly bought a brand that is sealed, shrink wrapped, and promises to dispose returned items, but that wasn't enough. Recently, I was reading a newspaper article where they described how a criminal gang bought Google Pixel and high-end Samsung phones from reputable online and department stores. They opened them, installed malware, returned the product, and you can guess what happened next. Lots of stolen bank credentials. People tend to buy stuff, test drive it for a few days and return it as new abusing pro-customer regulations. Many shops are unwilling to take a loss and resell these things as new. Very dishonest, should be better regulated.
- ProllyInfamous 2y ago
  >They opened them, installed malware, returned the product ... lots of stolen bank credentials. Absolutely terrifying.
blibble 2y ago
I bought 4 new N300 disks "Sold by Amazon" in a single order one was obviously a return by someone else, it was in completely different unofficial packaging and was DOA getting the bot like staff to accept that it wasn't me that had broken it was such fun I ended up deleting my 20 year amazon account and haven't bought anything since
- dylan604 2y ago
  It's almost like you have to become an unboxing content creator for every single order you ever make regardless of where it was purchased. I purchased something from Home Depot that was clearly a return based on the type of tape used to reseal the box and even more obvious once opened to discover the missing contents. Luckily for me, there's a human available on their phone line, and they very quickly helped me to a very satisfactory resolution. So at least that happened.
  - ProllyInfamous 2y ago
    >I purchased something from Home Depot that was clearly a return Had this exact thing happen... with a septic pump [gross!]. ---- About one year ago, after terrible customer service from a major UPS vendor, I decided that I was now only ever purchasing backup batteries from CostCo: their "lifetime satisfaction warranty" means I don't have to deal with OEM return processes (IMHO) designed to prevent claims submissions (e.g. return shipping fees; questions designed to invalidate your warranty).
laweijfmvo 2y ago
I wouldn't even know where to buy RAM (good RAM, at online prices) in person...
- Ekaros 2y ago
  Not the absolute best prices, but in general local computer shops should get it directly from distributors that have reasonably good supply chain direct to manufacturer.
- the_snooze 2y ago
  Lots of places do price-matching. I can go to Best Buy and get Amazon pricing (for items sold directly by Amazon) without the Amazon BS.
  - ProllyInfamous 2y ago
    Best Buy is a "go to" that even most smaller US cities can visit — and yes they will always price match [the clerk doesn't giveAF].
    - FireBeyond 2y ago
      They've got a lot better. Years ago they'd have their own specific SKUs... "Sorry, this Western Digital 7200rpm 2TB drive is a WD72002048-AMZN, and we sell the WD72002048-BBY, so we can't price match." They got busted for having different prices if they detected you were hitting the website from a store (Wifi or terminal)... "I know you thought it was $109 when you looked online, but you must be mistaken, here, let's pull up the website, yup, $159". There was a brief loophole for a while when Amazon allowed ad-hoc Marketplace items from users - find what you wanted on Best Buy's site, create a listing to sell it on Amazon for $x cheaper, and then show them that as the price match. Then they moved to "must be fulfilled by Amazon to be eligible".
- pomian 2y ago
  Here is the link to Crucial, which is the customer selling division for Micron Memory. https://www.crucial.com/products/memory https://www.crucial.com/products/memory It works well. They are competitive in pricing, and have a good lookup system to make sure you get the correct type of RAM( and SDD). Free shipping USA and Canada. (Been using that for over a decide.)
sebazzz 2y ago
Funny, one of the preroll ads on the video was one of those Chinese (I presume - the robot voiceover was in my native tongue though) scam ads for a product, with a big QR code with viewer discount.

yjftsjthsd-h 2y ago

> Now, I only purchase in-person from large vendors with direct-from-manufacturer custody [this costs more, obviously]. Could you say which you've had luck with?

ProllyInfamous 2y ago
Really depends on the item/product, but for example I only purchase uniterruptable power supplies from CostCo, because if it breaks I can get a new one immediately without shipping fees. For hard drives, I usually wait for OfficeMax sales/coupons, and then stock up. Sometimes I have to drive to Atlanta (about three hours, round trip) but there are some incredible electronic parts stores in huge cities. Regardless of what/where I purchase, I always open items inside the store (before leaving, near the customer service desk) because I have literally had "new" items contain hazmat returns (e.g. a "new" septic pump, a la feces).

2OEH8eoCRo0 2y ago

I've had better luck buying memory on EBay from Shenzhen recyclers! I'm done with Amazon.

dudus 2y ago

Ask about price match. Often times they are happy to match the price with Amazon as long as it's shipped from Amazon.

bee_rider 2y ago

The only downside about canceling Prime is that you can only do it once. I canceled prime because they started putting ads in their video service, despite the fact that I was paying for it. That was a fun one. Now it’s like, well, what else can I do? I guess I’m boycotting Amazon, but is it really boycotting when their store is “here’s a random electronic device, maybe it is what you ordered,” I mean, why would I place an order for that in the first place? I’m also boycotting gun store that only sells footguns.

blibble 2y ago
they offer you the free trial again a few months after cancelling so you can sign up for the free trial every time you want some counterfeit tat shipped cheaply then immediately cancel it
goostavos 2y ago
The ads thing is unreal. "Customer obsession". I pay the extra 2.99 and still see pre-roll ads, but those apparently, according to customer service, don't count as ads. Oh, and part of the platform is under "freevee," which is an ad-based service, so "obviously" the fee for removing ads doesn't apply to that one. Prime started out great. I still like that I can pay money in exchange for watching something, but ham-fisting of ads fills me with contempt for the entire thing.
- TheBozzCL 2y ago
  The same thing made me cancel Apple TV. People keep telling me “but those aren’t ads, they’re trailers!”

nextos 2y ago

What freaks me out is that clearly many large manufacturers design boxes so that it is easy to resell returned products as new. Lots of mobile phones are packaged with weak seals that do not damage the cardboard once taken out. Google does this and it looks intentional to me. Apple, which I don't like for other reasons, seems to be an exception. I am very uncomfortable buying electronics and hygiene products from many places because of this problem. For example, years ago, on what became my final Amazon purchase, I received used underwear (yuck!). Knowing that Amazon tends to sell returned products as new, I had explicitly bought a brand that is sealed, shrink wrapped, and promises to dispose returned items, but that wasn't enough. Recently, I was reading a newspaper article where they described how a criminal gang bought Google Pixel and high-end Samsung phones from reputable online and department stores. They opened them, installed malware, returned the product, and you can guess what happened next. Lots of stolen bank credentials. People tend to buy stuff, test drive it for a few days and return it as new abusing pro-customer regulations. Many shops are unwilling to take a loss and resell these things as new. Very dishonest, should be better regulated.

ProllyInfamous 2y ago
>They opened them, installed malware, returned the product ... lots of stolen bank credentials. Absolutely terrifying.

blibble 2y ago

I bought 4 new N300 disks "Sold by Amazon" in a single order one was obviously a return by someone else, it was in completely different unofficial packaging and was DOA getting the bot like staff to accept that it wasn't me that had broken it was such fun I ended up deleting my 20 year amazon account and haven't bought anything since

dylan604 2y ago
It's almost like you have to become an unboxing content creator for every single order you ever make regardless of where it was purchased. I purchased something from Home Depot that was clearly a return based on the type of tape used to reseal the box and even more obvious once opened to discover the missing contents. Luckily for me, there's a human available on their phone line, and they very quickly helped me to a very satisfactory resolution. So at least that happened.
- ProllyInfamous 2y ago
  >I purchased something from Home Depot that was clearly a return Had this exact thing happen... with a septic pump [gross!]. ---- About one year ago, after terrible customer service from a major UPS vendor, I decided that I was now only ever purchasing backup batteries from CostCo: their "lifetime satisfaction warranty" means I don't have to deal with OEM return processes (IMHO) designed to prevent claims submissions (e.g. return shipping fees; questions designed to invalidate your warranty).

laweijfmvo 2y ago

I wouldn't even know where to buy RAM (good RAM, at online prices) in person...

Ekaros 2y ago
Not the absolute best prices, but in general local computer shops should get it directly from distributors that have reasonably good supply chain direct to manufacturer.
the_snooze 2y ago
Lots of places do price-matching. I can go to Best Buy and get Amazon pricing (for items sold directly by Amazon) without the Amazon BS.
- ProllyInfamous 2y ago
  Best Buy is a "go to" that even most smaller US cities can visit — and yes they will always price match [the clerk doesn't giveAF].
  - FireBeyond 2y ago
    They've got a lot better. Years ago they'd have their own specific SKUs... "Sorry, this Western Digital 7200rpm 2TB drive is a WD72002048-AMZN, and we sell the WD72002048-BBY, so we can't price match." They got busted for having different prices if they detected you were hitting the website from a store (Wifi or terminal)... "I know you thought it was $109 when you looked online, but you must be mistaken, here, let's pull up the website, yup, $159". There was a brief loophole for a while when Amazon allowed ad-hoc Marketplace items from users - find what you wanted on Best Buy's site, create a listing to sell it on Amazon for $x cheaper, and then show them that as the price match. Then they moved to "must be fulfilled by Amazon to be eligible".
pomian 2y ago
Here is the link to Crucial, which is the customer selling division for Micron Memory. https://www.crucial.com/products/memory https://www.crucial.com/products/memory It works well. They are competitive in pricing, and have a good lookup system to make sure you get the correct type of RAM( and SDD). Free shipping USA and Canada. (Been using that for over a decide.)

sebazzz 2y ago

Funny, one of the preroll ads on the video was one of those Chinese (I presume - the robot voiceover was in my native tongue though) scam ads for a product, with a big QR code with viewer discount.