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Had to buy some simple toolkit today. It was 5 bucks on Amazon, but I decided to find a local store that sells it. Same price btw. I think we should be a bit m

Had to buy some simple toolkit today. It was 5 bucks on Amazon, but I decided to find a local store that sells it. Same price btw. I think we should be a bit more aware about the impact of ordering everything through Amazon. Not only regarding delivery, but also the message it sends to local stores.

coryrc 2y ago
You basically can't buy couple-dollar things on Amazon, which is rather annoying. F.ex. I wanted a fiberglass pole, 5/16" diameter. I could buy 10 for $20. Home Depot had one for $3.50.
InDubioProRubio 2y ago
Imagine you are taxed to repair the roads, on which your untaxed competitors is driving too ruin you.. a nightmare.
- t-writescode 2y ago
  We are taxed for road repairs. It's a common tax on gasoline here in the United States; and, yes, there is a known issue around this with electric cars and some efforts in place to try and rectify it.
  - InDubioProRubio 2y ago
    Amazon in europe went "untaxed" quite a while via the irish route, thus beeing subsidized by mom & pop stores.
    - robertlagrant 2y ago
      Amazon employing people creates a lot of taxes. Don't forget everything's taxed, not just corporation tax. Every employee generates income tax, employee tax, if they invest their money the interest is taxed, almost everything they buy from a shop has VAT, fuel they purchase is taxed, everything they buy has a higher price because that business has to pay tax and so do its employees, ad infinitum. There's tax everywhere, and the roads will still be there if none of those people had jobs and weren't paying any tax.
      - Symbiote 2y ago
        The local stores also employ people. They also pay business taxes that Amazon avoids.
        robertlagrant 2y ago
        I don't understand the dichotomy. Local stores can exist and their taxes can pay for things, but the Amazon HQ also exists and can pay for things. And its employees likely pay the higher taxation bands as well, although I could be wrong.
        Symbiote 2y ago
        The local stores still support those higher-paying roles, though again probably more locally — the local accountant, the local lawyer when they need one, the local IT company. The Amazon HQ is great for Seattle and Luxembourg, but money spent there is gone from my local (or even national) community.
        robertlagrant 2y ago
        This is mostly the case from imports, though, isn't it? Anything you import rather than buy locally is money leaving the country. That seems to be by far the bigger effect if that's what you're concerned about. Ireland's situation, if I understand it correctly, is still to pull corporation tax from Amazon sales in Europe, just at a lower rate. So Ireland is going to be a massive net beneficiary, even if you only take into account the corporation tax paid by Amazon and not the larger effects (other taxes; infrastructure investment; etc).
      - pyrale 2y ago
        > employee tax There is no such thing as "employee tax". Usually, what exists is a scheme for some of the employee's salary to be paid in the form of retirement schemes, health care, etc. It's not a tax to subsidize unrelated things. Likewise, the income tax is not there to pay for the company's use of collective amenities, it's there to pay for the citizen's use. In the end, if your company doesn't pay all the stuff that other companies do, it's freeloading, and the society would most likely be better off with another company getting the business.
  - bdcravens 2y ago
    Many states recapture those lost taxes via vehicle registration surcharges for EVs. (For example, Texas charges $200, which is consistent with what a truck or SUV would pay driving around 12k mi/yr)
  - micromacrofoot 2y ago
    we'd be better off rectifying why everyone thinks they need to drive some monster truck
portaouflop 2y ago
I agree, in almost all cases there is a store nearby that sells it - and if not I probably won’t need it that bad. But for me it is an ideological thing - I absolutely loathe Amazon and it’s practices; I just have to visualise how I insert my money into Bezos gaping asshole and my desire to shop at Amazon is rapidly diminishing. But I think ordering stuff when you are able bodied is immoral as well - not super immoral but you should always feel a little bit bad if you order stuff that you could’ve picked up yourself. Also the distances in my country are tiny, if you live in the outback with 200km to the next neighbour it’s a different story
- kaskakokos 2y ago
  For me it is also something ideological but even from an economic point of view I never buy on Amazon, this is my reasoning: You buy it cheaper but you are generating a debt, it's like buying on credit: somewhere someone is being exploited or a natural resource is being overexploited, and you will pay for it in the future, with a poorer environment socially, economically and naturally. Everything comes back. I once read that I don't know which tribe made decisions that were good for the next 7 generations, well, buying on amazon is a decision that is not good even for the current generation, you will probably see the consequences in your own or your children's life.
iLoveOncall 2y ago
> Not only regarding delivery. You do realize that an electric Amazon van delivering hundreds of packages to your neighborhood pollutes a lot less than you taking your G-wagon to the local store, right? > but also the message it sends to local stores "You're obsolete", which is true? Local stores are usually more expensive, carry less inventory, require you to go there or charge delivery fees, have inexistent or predatory return policies, etc. It's simply a worse experience in every way. There was a time where this was compensated by the vendors having wide knowledge about the subject that they were selling items for, but it's not the case anymore, so really, what's left to local stores? I don't know why people have this tendency to romanticize outdated and objectively worse in every way things just for the sake of "tradition".
- chimprich 2y ago
  > You do realize [...], right? You are correct, but I don't like this idiom. Your point would come across better if it wasn't delivered in a patronisation sandwich.
- 0xEF 2y ago
  Ignoring the tone of your comment, I agree with you in a way, but I also wonder if that has something to do with where I live. The US suburbs don't really have what I would call "local stores," just big, well known corporate stores. So, when making the choice of where to buy Product X, my options are giving my money to Best Buy, Walmart, Ikea, Kroger, etc...or Jeff Bezos, whose online empire offers slightly more convenience than the others because I don't have to drive if I can wait a day or two. There's no family-owned businesses to hurt here because they were all chased out by the Big Box stores years ago. Heck, I remember when they filled in the pond I learned to fish in as a kid just to put up that Walmart. Sure, Amazon can be held up as contributing toward the death of the small business, but those wheels were spinning long before Bezos was selling books out of a garage or whatever mythology we want to accept. I don't like Amazon. I don't like the idea of one entity having that much influence and control over my consumer habits. I don't like that the business model is just drop-shipping in a trenchcoat of digital services. I don't like that their workers are basically treated as third-world labor. But I do have to admit that they have won the game and as a result, I have to use them. I wish it were otherwise, but we're past the point of no return, on that. We all gave them permission for this to happen by patronizing it for years, even down to the mistreated workers who keep applying for those jobs knowing full well Amazon's employment reputation. Amazon did not kill small business. Consumers did, ever suckered by savings and convenience.
sen 2y ago
I needed some 3D printing filament a few days ago. Shopped around locally and the absolute cheapest was ~$50. Amazon was $17 with next day shipping. The overheads of physical retail stores makes it all but impossible for them to compete with online shopping. I’d love to “support local” but I don’t have the expendable income to spend double/more on everything. What we ideally need is more “local online businesses”, but that seems to be very rare outside of niche hobby/craft type stuff.
- superb_dev 2y ago
  You should check out Protopasta! Their prices aren't rock bottom ($30 for a 1kg spool of PLA) but the product is really good and if you happen to live near the warehouse you can pick up your order on the same day
- euroderf 2y ago
  It turns local businesses into showrooms for Amazon, and that is a failing business model. I do not patronize Amazon. But f I did, I would pick a margin - let's say 20% - and resolve to buy locally when the price is at least that close to the online price.
  - krisoft 2y ago
    > But f I did, I would pick a margin - let's say 20% - and resolve to buy locally when the price is at least that close to the online price. Focusing on the price is a complete misunderstanding. Just looking at my recent amazon purchases. I have bought 3mm and 2mm thick brass sheets, 0.8mm endmills, a set of dwarven miner minis, and a highlander cow shaped slipper. I have no clue which shop would even hope to have these things. I could get on my bike and go to all the hardware shops around me in the hopes that maybe they have endmills, or all the department stores and walk up and down to see if they have the slippers I'm thinking about. And I would be still without brass sheets and dwarven miners. Or I can from the comfort of wherever I am browse a wild selection of things and get them for reasonable price. I bought the miner minis while physically situated in a coffee shop waiting for my friend to return from the washroom. Just because I happened to have a minute to think about what I need for our next DnD session. That is insanely convenient.
flamedoge 2y ago
Order from local store, order from Amazon, use first one to receive, return new one to whichever was more expensive.
vasco 2y ago
I've had this exact sentiment for many years but... what are we supporting really? Is it because you want a distributed network of inventory across the country near you in case of emergency? Is it because you like talking to someone when doing purchases? Is it because you think someone is doing a societal good by parking money in inventory they brought near you? Is it because you just don't like someone doing it more efficiently and getting "too" rich? ie dislike of big corporations? Like I feel like I should want to support local business but it is way less efficient and I can't really convince myself that I'm not just repeating something my parents also said.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- tsujamin 2y ago
  Perhaps it’s out of fear of what Amazon’s market and price-setting power would be post-local stores
  - roenxi 2y ago
    Amazon doesn't have any extra power post-local stores. If Amazon ups their prices then the local stores reappear. In some weird future where Amazon completely obliterates small businesses it might take a few years, but it'd take more than a few years of good prices before that from Amazon to get to that state. The manufacturers always have strong incentives to defect from an AWS dominated equilibrium. They want middleman prices to be low, it means they move more goods and make more money. Although I should stress I like the idea of buying local. If the money goes off to some exotic foreign place it is less likely that I will get my hands on it later on. Better to live in a wealthy community than a poor one, etc. Local capital is local prosperity.
    - themaninthedark 2y ago
      Local stores don't just reappear. It takes initial capital to purchase stock, rent building and hire employees. It takes knowing what market segment you are selling to to know what to stock. It takes business connections to but the stock.
bdcravens 2y ago
Amazon used to be the cheapest in almost every category, but more and more, I find that places like Harbor Freight beat them. I even bought a pricey resin printer and a wash and cure station the other day; Microcenter had them beat by $100+.
- bdangubic 2y ago
  I don't think people buy on Amazon because it is the cheapest, they buy on Amazon for convenience. EVERY SINGLE TIME I buy something from someone else (talking online here) I painfully regret that decision (didn't arrive on time, didn't arrive at all, shipped in multiple shipments, one arrived, two didn't and yet order is showing as delivered -> this is just small sample of what I have seen just in the last say 6 weeks). My wife and I have been trying all year to purchase as much as we can on other e-commerce websites but in often (always) ends up like these examples above...
- _yb2s 2y ago
  Harbor freight also has much more consistent quality and no fake name brand items. It’s funny because they used to be synonymous with low quality- but now they seem to have the highest quality tools you can easily buy as a consumer.
csomar 2y ago
If I don't need to drive to the "local" store, then the local store is miles better than Amazon especially if it has the choices you need. The problem is: 1. many times they don't have exactly what you need but Amazon does and 2. if it requires a ride, then both are no longer 5 bucks.
rightbyte 2y ago
Amazon does not seem to have good prices anymore. And it is hard to judge the quality compared to seeing stuff in person. I feel like they are riding on old momentum by now. The experience shopping there is terrible.
WillAdams 2y ago
I worked in an Amazon warehouse for two different periods: - for over a year part-time on weekends - four-day full-time in-between jobs recently https://www.reddit.com/r/EDC/comments/dmnuts/53mamazon_fulfillment_center_warehouse_worker/ https://www.reddit.com/r/EDC/comments/dmnuts/53mamazon_fulfi... Once, when polled by HR, I noted that it should be more efficient for many different people in a given neighborhood to place orders, and for one delivery truck to run through it dropping off packages even if somewhat fuel-inefficient, than for that myriad of consumers to make separate trips even if using fuel-efficient vehicles. Stores should not try to "out-Amazon" Amazon --- I buy my groceries from a store which is 1 mile away, and usually stop on the way home from work --- if I need something over the weekend or on a telework day which won't wait, I walk or ride my bike unless there is some other errand which needs to be made. Similarly, I prefer to shop the local hardware store (bike-distance) for hardware and tools (when suitable ones are available, if not, then it's Harry Epstein, or Jim Bode, or a trip to Woodcraft, or an on-line order). Folks forget what life was like before Amazon --- there were occasions when I drove all around multiple towns looking for one connector because I didn't want a project to wait for a special order and 6--8 weeks delivery --- my kids were amazed when we came across my copy of the book: _U.S. Mail Order Shopper's Guide: A Subject Guide Listing 3,667 Unique Mail Order Catalogs_ by Susan Spitzer https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4313476-u-s-mail-order-shopper-s-guide https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4313476-u-s-mail-order-s...
rectang 2y ago
Apple Pay has raised my confidence level about buying directly from smaller internet sites. Since those sites don’t get my raw credit card info when I use Apple Pay, I don’t have to worry about whether they’ve implemented CC handling well (most have not). I almost never have to resort to Amazon any more.
- rjh29 2y ago
  Did America go straight from giving full credit card info to Apple Pay? Chip and pin and card contactless both solve that problem
  - kasey_junk 2y ago
    Yes mostly. The cell phone wallets were the convenience difference that caused merchants to upgrade their POS systems to support contactless. Before that there just wasn't much reason for merchants to change their existing card infrastructure. Now customers feel inconvenienced if they have to use a credit card.
    - rjh29 2y ago
      I find it interesting because in my lifetime the UK went from magstripe (falling back to a carbon copy of the card with signature) to chip and pin, to contactless, and now smartphone. A lot of upgrading while the US just skipped it.
  - rectang 2y ago
    I was talking about buying from online merchants. I’m less familiar with the security implications of chip-and-pin or contactless card for in-person transactions. Do those technologies prevent the merchant from getting raw CC info? Rightly or wrongly, I worry less about the security implementations of hardware point-of-sale terminals than the security implementations of small websites. I mostly prefer Apple Pay for in-person transactions because of anonymity — my understanding is that it makes it harder for companies (other than Apple) to track my purchases.
nxm 2y ago
Should I spend 15 minutes each way driving (carbon emissions) to the store and waste 1 hr of my time in this case, when it can be delivered to me tomorrow? I definitely want to support local, but the cost/benefits are not as clear in this case.
- carlosjobim 2y ago
  You really need to consider the reality outside of your own bubble of concern. Especially as your bubble doesn't even extend beyond the door of your house, since you don't understand that the Amazon delivery driver is also driving and also spending his time.
  - cpitman 2y ago
    That driving and time is amortized across 1000s of deliveries.
    - carlosjobim 2y ago
      The product is delivered the same distance, whether it is from "Producer -> Amazon warehouses -> Customer" or if it is "Producer -> Retail warehouses -> Customer". An Amazon delivery car with a bunch of products to deliver is the equivalent of OP filling up his car with purchases when shopping in town.
      - deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]
      - gruez 2y ago
        >An Amazon delivery car with a bunch of products to deliver is the equivalent of OP filling up his car with purchases when shopping in town. Right, but if you want something in 2-3 days (which amazon provides), you need to make a dedicated trip. Even if timing wasn't a factor, at best doing a consolidated errand run allows you to visit a handful of stores, whereas an amazon delivery van delivers to dozens of houses in your neighborhood in one trip.
roboror 2y ago
I live in a big city and unfortunately the local price gouging has gotten out of control. It's now often 50% cheaper to buy basics like aluminum foil and cereal on Amazon compared to even the discount dollar store.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
stronglikedan 2y ago
Most of the time it's not the same price, and most of the items are not in local stores. I know because I comparison shop, and 90% of the time I end up ordering from Amazon, because it's still the quickest and cheapest way to get things.

coryrc 2y ago

You basically can't buy couple-dollar things on Amazon, which is rather annoying. F.ex. I wanted a fiberglass pole, 5/16" diameter. I could buy 10 for $20. Home Depot had one for $3.50.

InDubioProRubio 2y ago

Imagine you are taxed to repair the roads, on which your untaxed competitors is driving too ruin you.. a nightmare.

t-writescode 2y ago
We are taxed for road repairs. It's a common tax on gasoline here in the United States; and, yes, there is a known issue around this with electric cars and some efforts in place to try and rectify it.
- InDubioProRubio 2y ago
  Amazon in europe went "untaxed" quite a while via the irish route, thus beeing subsidized by mom & pop stores.
  - robertlagrant 2y ago
    Amazon employing people creates a lot of taxes. Don't forget everything's taxed, not just corporation tax. Every employee generates income tax, employee tax, if they invest their money the interest is taxed, almost everything they buy from a shop has VAT, fuel they purchase is taxed, everything they buy has a higher price because that business has to pay tax and so do its employees, ad infinitum. There's tax everywhere, and the roads will still be there if none of those people had jobs and weren't paying any tax.
    - Symbiote 2y ago
      The local stores also employ people. They also pay business taxes that Amazon avoids.
      - robertlagrant 2y ago
        I don't understand the dichotomy. Local stores can exist and their taxes can pay for things, but the Amazon HQ also exists and can pay for things. And its employees likely pay the higher taxation bands as well, although I could be wrong.
        Symbiote 2y ago
        The local stores still support those higher-paying roles, though again probably more locally — the local accountant, the local lawyer when they need one, the local IT company. The Amazon HQ is great for Seattle and Luxembourg, but money spent there is gone from my local (or even national) community.
        robertlagrant 2y ago
        This is mostly the case from imports, though, isn't it? Anything you import rather than buy locally is money leaving the country. That seems to be by far the bigger effect if that's what you're concerned about. Ireland's situation, if I understand it correctly, is still to pull corporation tax from Amazon sales in Europe, just at a lower rate. So Ireland is going to be a massive net beneficiary, even if you only take into account the corporation tax paid by Amazon and not the larger effects (other taxes; infrastructure investment; etc).
    - pyrale 2y ago
      > employee tax There is no such thing as "employee tax". Usually, what exists is a scheme for some of the employee's salary to be paid in the form of retirement schemes, health care, etc. It's not a tax to subsidize unrelated things. Likewise, the income tax is not there to pay for the company's use of collective amenities, it's there to pay for the citizen's use. In the end, if your company doesn't pay all the stuff that other companies do, it's freeloading, and the society would most likely be better off with another company getting the business.
- bdcravens 2y ago
  Many states recapture those lost taxes via vehicle registration surcharges for EVs. (For example, Texas charges $200, which is consistent with what a truck or SUV would pay driving around 12k mi/yr)
- micromacrofoot 2y ago
  we'd be better off rectifying why everyone thinks they need to drive some monster truck

portaouflop 2y ago

I agree, in almost all cases there is a store nearby that sells it - and if not I probably won’t need it that bad. But for me it is an ideological thing - I absolutely loathe Amazon and it’s practices; I just have to visualise how I insert my money into Bezos gaping asshole and my desire to shop at Amazon is rapidly diminishing. But I think ordering stuff when you are able bodied is immoral as well - not super immoral but you should always feel a little bit bad if you order stuff that you could’ve picked up yourself. Also the distances in my country are tiny, if you live in the outback with 200km to the next neighbour it’s a different story

kaskakokos 2y ago
For me it is also something ideological but even from an economic point of view I never buy on Amazon, this is my reasoning: You buy it cheaper but you are generating a debt, it's like buying on credit: somewhere someone is being exploited or a natural resource is being overexploited, and you will pay for it in the future, with a poorer environment socially, economically and naturally. Everything comes back. I once read that I don't know which tribe made decisions that were good for the next 7 generations, well, buying on amazon is a decision that is not good even for the current generation, you will probably see the consequences in your own or your children's life.

iLoveOncall 2y ago

> Not only regarding delivery. You do realize that an electric Amazon van delivering hundreds of packages to your neighborhood pollutes a lot less than you taking your G-wagon to the local store, right? > but also the message it sends to local stores "You're obsolete", which is true? Local stores are usually more expensive, carry less inventory, require you to go there or charge delivery fees, have inexistent or predatory return policies, etc. It's simply a worse experience in every way. There was a time where this was compensated by the vendors having wide knowledge about the subject that they were selling items for, but it's not the case anymore, so really, what's left to local stores? I don't know why people have this tendency to romanticize outdated and objectively worse in every way things just for the sake of "tradition".

chimprich 2y ago
> You do realize [...], right? You are correct, but I don't like this idiom. Your point would come across better if it wasn't delivered in a patronisation sandwich.
0xEF 2y ago
Ignoring the tone of your comment, I agree with you in a way, but I also wonder if that has something to do with where I live. The US suburbs don't really have what I would call "local stores," just big, well known corporate stores. So, when making the choice of where to buy Product X, my options are giving my money to Best Buy, Walmart, Ikea, Kroger, etc...or Jeff Bezos, whose online empire offers slightly more convenience than the others because I don't have to drive if I can wait a day or two. There's no family-owned businesses to hurt here because they were all chased out by the Big Box stores years ago. Heck, I remember when they filled in the pond I learned to fish in as a kid just to put up that Walmart. Sure, Amazon can be held up as contributing toward the death of the small business, but those wheels were spinning long before Bezos was selling books out of a garage or whatever mythology we want to accept. I don't like Amazon. I don't like the idea of one entity having that much influence and control over my consumer habits. I don't like that the business model is just drop-shipping in a trenchcoat of digital services. I don't like that their workers are basically treated as third-world labor. But I do have to admit that they have won the game and as a result, I have to use them. I wish it were otherwise, but we're past the point of no return, on that. We all gave them permission for this to happen by patronizing it for years, even down to the mistreated workers who keep applying for those jobs knowing full well Amazon's employment reputation. Amazon did not kill small business. Consumers did, ever suckered by savings and convenience.

sen 2y ago

I needed some 3D printing filament a few days ago. Shopped around locally and the absolute cheapest was ~$50. Amazon was $17 with next day shipping. The overheads of physical retail stores makes it all but impossible for them to compete with online shopping. I’d love to “support local” but I don’t have the expendable income to spend double/more on everything. What we ideally need is more “local online businesses”, but that seems to be very rare outside of niche hobby/craft type stuff.

superb_dev 2y ago
You should check out Protopasta! Their prices aren't rock bottom ($30 for a 1kg spool of PLA) but the product is really good and if you happen to live near the warehouse you can pick up your order on the same day
euroderf 2y ago
It turns local businesses into showrooms for Amazon, and that is a failing business model. I do not patronize Amazon. But f I did, I would pick a margin - let's say 20% - and resolve to buy locally when the price is at least that close to the online price.
- krisoft 2y ago
  > But f I did, I would pick a margin - let's say 20% - and resolve to buy locally when the price is at least that close to the online price. Focusing on the price is a complete misunderstanding. Just looking at my recent amazon purchases. I have bought 3mm and 2mm thick brass sheets, 0.8mm endmills, a set of dwarven miner minis, and a highlander cow shaped slipper. I have no clue which shop would even hope to have these things. I could get on my bike and go to all the hardware shops around me in the hopes that maybe they have endmills, or all the department stores and walk up and down to see if they have the slippers I'm thinking about. And I would be still without brass sheets and dwarven miners. Or I can from the comfort of wherever I am browse a wild selection of things and get them for reasonable price. I bought the miner minis while physically situated in a coffee shop waiting for my friend to return from the washroom. Just because I happened to have a minute to think about what I need for our next DnD session. That is insanely convenient.

flamedoge 2y ago

Order from local store, order from Amazon, use first one to receive, return new one to whichever was more expensive.

vasco 2y ago

I've had this exact sentiment for many years but... what are we supporting really? Is it because you want a distributed network of inventory across the country near you in case of emergency? Is it because you like talking to someone when doing purchases? Is it because you think someone is doing a societal good by parking money in inventory they brought near you? Is it because you just don't like someone doing it more efficiently and getting "too" rich? ie dislike of big corporations? Like I feel like I should want to support local business but it is way less efficient and I can't really convince myself that I'm not just repeating something my parents also said.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
tsujamin 2y ago
Perhaps it’s out of fear of what Amazon’s market and price-setting power would be post-local stores
- roenxi 2y ago
  Amazon doesn't have any extra power post-local stores. If Amazon ups their prices then the local stores reappear. In some weird future where Amazon completely obliterates small businesses it might take a few years, but it'd take more than a few years of good prices before that from Amazon to get to that state. The manufacturers always have strong incentives to defect from an AWS dominated equilibrium. They want middleman prices to be low, it means they move more goods and make more money. Although I should stress I like the idea of buying local. If the money goes off to some exotic foreign place it is less likely that I will get my hands on it later on. Better to live in a wealthy community than a poor one, etc. Local capital is local prosperity.
  - themaninthedark 2y ago
    Local stores don't just reappear. It takes initial capital to purchase stock, rent building and hire employees. It takes knowing what market segment you are selling to to know what to stock. It takes business connections to but the stock.

bdcravens 2y ago

Amazon used to be the cheapest in almost every category, but more and more, I find that places like Harbor Freight beat them. I even bought a pricey resin printer and a wash and cure station the other day; Microcenter had them beat by $100+.

bdangubic 2y ago
I don't think people buy on Amazon because it is the cheapest, they buy on Amazon for convenience. EVERY SINGLE TIME I buy something from someone else (talking online here) I painfully regret that decision (didn't arrive on time, didn't arrive at all, shipped in multiple shipments, one arrived, two didn't and yet order is showing as delivered -> this is just small sample of what I have seen just in the last say 6 weeks). My wife and I have been trying all year to purchase as much as we can on other e-commerce websites but in often (always) ends up like these examples above...
_yb2s 2y ago
Harbor freight also has much more consistent quality and no fake name brand items. It’s funny because they used to be synonymous with low quality- but now they seem to have the highest quality tools you can easily buy as a consumer.

csomar 2y ago

If I don't need to drive to the "local" store, then the local store is miles better than Amazon especially if it has the choices you need. The problem is: 1. many times they don't have exactly what you need but Amazon does and 2. if it requires a ride, then both are no longer 5 bucks.

rightbyte 2y ago

Amazon does not seem to have good prices anymore. And it is hard to judge the quality compared to seeing stuff in person. I feel like they are riding on old momentum by now. The experience shopping there is terrible.

WillAdams 2y ago

I worked in an Amazon warehouse for two different periods: - for over a year part-time on weekends - four-day full-time in-between jobs recently https://www.reddit.com/r/EDC/comments/dmnuts/53mamazon_fulfillment_center_warehouse_worker/ https://www.reddit.com/r/EDC/comments/dmnuts/53mamazon_fulfi... Once, when polled by HR, I noted that it should be more efficient for many different people in a given neighborhood to place orders, and for one delivery truck to run through it dropping off packages even if somewhat fuel-inefficient, than for that myriad of consumers to make separate trips even if using fuel-efficient vehicles. Stores should not try to "out-Amazon" Amazon --- I buy my groceries from a store which is 1 mile away, and usually stop on the way home from work --- if I need something over the weekend or on a telework day which won't wait, I walk or ride my bike unless there is some other errand which needs to be made. Similarly, I prefer to shop the local hardware store (bike-distance) for hardware and tools (when suitable ones are available, if not, then it's Harry Epstein, or Jim Bode, or a trip to Woodcraft, or an on-line order). Folks forget what life was like before Amazon --- there were occasions when I drove all around multiple towns looking for one connector because I didn't want a project to wait for a special order and 6--8 weeks delivery --- my kids were amazed when we came across my copy of the book: _U.S. Mail Order Shopper's Guide: A Subject Guide Listing 3,667 Unique Mail Order Catalogs_ by Susan Spitzer https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4313476-u-s-mail-order-shopper-s-guide https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4313476-u-s-mail-order-s...

rectang 2y ago

Apple Pay has raised my confidence level about buying directly from smaller internet sites. Since those sites don’t get my raw credit card info when I use Apple Pay, I don’t have to worry about whether they’ve implemented CC handling well (most have not). I almost never have to resort to Amazon any more.

rjh29 2y ago
Did America go straight from giving full credit card info to Apple Pay? Chip and pin and card contactless both solve that problem
- kasey_junk 2y ago
  Yes mostly. The cell phone wallets were the convenience difference that caused merchants to upgrade their POS systems to support contactless. Before that there just wasn't much reason for merchants to change their existing card infrastructure. Now customers feel inconvenienced if they have to use a credit card.
  - rjh29 2y ago
    I find it interesting because in my lifetime the UK went from magstripe (falling back to a carbon copy of the card with signature) to chip and pin, to contactless, and now smartphone. A lot of upgrading while the US just skipped it.
- rectang 2y ago
  I was talking about buying from online merchants. I’m less familiar with the security implications of chip-and-pin or contactless card for in-person transactions. Do those technologies prevent the merchant from getting raw CC info? Rightly or wrongly, I worry less about the security implementations of hardware point-of-sale terminals than the security implementations of small websites. I mostly prefer Apple Pay for in-person transactions because of anonymity — my understanding is that it makes it harder for companies (other than Apple) to track my purchases.

nxm 2y ago

Should I spend 15 minutes each way driving (carbon emissions) to the store and waste 1 hr of my time in this case, when it can be delivered to me tomorrow? I definitely want to support local, but the cost/benefits are not as clear in this case.

carlosjobim 2y ago
You really need to consider the reality outside of your own bubble of concern. Especially as your bubble doesn't even extend beyond the door of your house, since you don't understand that the Amazon delivery driver is also driving and also spending his time.
- cpitman 2y ago
  That driving and time is amortized across 1000s of deliveries.
  - carlosjobim 2y ago
    The product is delivered the same distance, whether it is from "Producer -> Amazon warehouses -> Customer" or if it is "Producer -> Retail warehouses -> Customer". An Amazon delivery car with a bunch of products to deliver is the equivalent of OP filling up his car with purchases when shopping in town.
    - deleted 2y ago
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    - gruez 2y ago
      >An Amazon delivery car with a bunch of products to deliver is the equivalent of OP filling up his car with purchases when shopping in town. Right, but if you want something in 2-3 days (which amazon provides), you need to make a dedicated trip. Even if timing wasn't a factor, at best doing a consolidated errand run allows you to visit a handful of stores, whereas an amazon delivery van delivers to dozens of houses in your neighborhood in one trip.

roboror 2y ago

I live in a big city and unfortunately the local price gouging has gotten out of control. It's now often 50% cheaper to buy basics like aluminum foil and cereal on Amazon compared to even the discount dollar store.

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stronglikedan 2y ago

Most of the time it's not the same price, and most of the items are not in local stores. I know because I comparison shop, and 90% of the time I end up ordering from Amazon, because it's still the quickest and cheapest way to get things.