My neighborhood stores have huge markups and bad customer service. I don’t love Amazon but they are a better alternative for most things.
People should check again. After I decided to avoid Amazon, I’m surprised by how many things are cheaper and/or better quality at my local stores. I think Amazons reputation for lowest prices is less true every year.
How about both arguments are true. You just have to price check constantly and you will find some stores are cheaper and some are pricier than Amazon.
Yes, sometimes Amazon is cheaper. But one reason I quit amazon was because, even when it’s cheaper, I got so much counterfeit and super low quality disposable junk.
Seriously, take another look at your local stores. I suspect many people aren’t and are just making assumptions. I was surprised to find my local pet store offers free delivery, and literally everything at my local mom and pop hardware store is cheaper and better quality.
Local hardware stores are a must. And if you find a good one where they know what they’re talking about you can get a lot of great advice depending on the project you’re working on.
I’m sure most people here don’t remember when power strips and HDMI cables were $40 and coin batteries were like $15 each pre inflation because stores wanted to make money on them. We could only read, listen to, and watch what our local stores decided to stock and most things didn’t have reviews. If we needed a new power adapter for that one device with a special shaped connector, too bad. It’s literally impossible to buy it.
Try using them as a reference guide instead of buying from them. I find what I’m looking for rhen loom up the products own website. A couple extra steps but it’s not like I’m out hunting and gathering, I’m in air conditioning and chair or taking a huge dump.
Or alternatively, I live in the woods and it’s 60 min round trip to anywhere and there were never local stores near me to begin with, and between kids, jobs, chores, and house projects it’s just too damn convenient not to pull out a phone and have something come the next day- not like I’d have time on a week night to go out and buy it anyway, and then I get all the way to the store and they dont have what I’m looking for.
I detest Amazon practices, but I don’t have a real alternative that doesn’t just shift all the burden to me. I could “make a stand” but it doesn’t solve any of my problems and adds quite a few.
People want what Amazon provides, and I’d happily give my money to another company without shitty practices if one were available- but there in lies the problem. It’s a near total monopoly.
Europe:
- ‘Local’ stores were/are often ridiculously overpriced, had a very limited range, and it’s not like we’re talking about independent stores either. Many of those were killed by the unfair practices of large corporate chains who would sell at a loss. Before amazon killed chain mall businesses, the mall killed independent businesses on the high street.
- Packages are delivered to me personally. If I’m not there, they don’t deliver and are forced to try another time.
- No need for a PO box, as small independent stores and grocery stores often have a side hussle as a pick-up point. You go to pick-up your parcel and buy something in their store or do your groceries.
- Amazon prime is entirely unnecessary. You simply have to wait a bit longer.
- You can find independent sellers on amazon, then if their product is good, you buy from them directly next time around.
- Thanks to amazon, ebay, etc. it’s become far easier to buy second hand products. In the past you’d have to go to a second hand market, garage sales or visit twenty vintage/antique stores to find what you needed.
Amazon is evil though. So, yeah.
But there are perfectly rational reasons to use amazon.
Yeah if you live in like, Germany or France
More like Europe: sorry we don’t ship there lol. Oh we do? Hope you like paying twice the price for shipping that takes two weeks if you’re lucky
Sucks that my packages keep getting stolen
And that’s why in other countries, delivery services aren’t allowed to drop a package at the door unless you’ve explicitely told them to do so
Not true here in Sweden, tho. I work in parcel delivery and I’m instructed to leave at the door (or next to the mailbox if it doesn’t fit), at least if it’s Class A or Express. Class B get one delivery attempt and then sent to service point if unsuccessful.
Although I don’t do all types of parcels.
Are there even thieves in Sweden ?
Sweden has changed a bit in the last decade. Especially bigger cities. Luckily I’m in a small one.
Amazon totally drops packages outside in Ireland
Here in Romania that is unheard of. The courier will personally hand it to the recipient. If you are not home, you have the option to redirect it to a different address, courier HQ or some local stores that they have contract with. And even so, they ask for a verification code you get via sms in the morning. It’s very unlikely to lose a package.
Sounds like a better system. Here in Ireland, the trucks park with two wheels on the footpath and the flashers on, blocking one lane of traffic on a two lane road (completely fucking pedestrians and cyclists, and making cars have to be driven out into the opposing lane of traffic) while the driver fucks your package up against the door and they leave without ringing the bell (you’ll get an email or text, though).
We don’t use Amazon unless we, in the over 40 year old person usage of the word literal, literally cannot find something we literally need. When we extremely reluctantly do though, this is how it goes.
Up until a few months ago amazon didn’t have free delivery here, it was about 6-11€ for shipping, so the deals had to be really good to make it worth it. But since then, they added free delivery for orders over 49€, so I expect ppl to start using amazon more often.
The way couriers deliver the packages is the same for both amazon and the local online stores tho.
Same jar of fish food at my local pet store is $24 and on Amazon it’s $12.
Who the absolute hell is doing this? I’ve had very few packages stolen in my decades of experience. Maybe, 1 or 2 out of hundreds?..
Yeah this is such a strawman argument lol. There’s lots to hate about Amazon as a company, but to act like it’s actually an inconvenient service to use is fucking stupid. And Amazon didn’t put all the small businesses out of business, Target, Walmart, and friends had already done that. At this point it’s just Amazon vs the giant retail corps, and frankly I couldnt care less who wins that battle, except that I’d love to see the final outcome be mutual annihilation (not that that’s likely)
Same. And the thing with Amazon is most of the shit I buy on there, I can’t really buy local. Computer shit especially. Used to be, we had a Fry’s that was about 2 hours away. So, far enough that it required planning and usually would wait for the weekend, which usually meant amazon would be faster anyway.
edit: just to be clear, I wish that amazon didn’t have as much utility as it does because they’re a shit company, but I kinda feel like this is the norm with just about every corp these days.
That s not very few imo. I ve had zero out of hundreds
I mean, I’ve been getting packages a long time. I am not saying it’s happened for sure… or hasn’t for sure. But if it did it wasn’t memorable
Amazon Lock boxes are like PO boxes but free, you just order with one as a destination and you put a code in and it unlocks a locker with your item in it
I don’t like Amazon but I mean this does pretty much defeat porch piracy
I absolutely agree that local shops closing is a bad thing, but for a lot of niche goods companies like Amazon are a good thing. Delivery by one vehicle is far more efficient than everyone driving their own vehicle to whatever niche shop has your stuff. Don’t get me wrong, Amazon is 100% a big evil corporation with huge problems… but the fact that they deliver goods to your house is not the problem lol. Doubly so since you can designate a day for them to deliver and just be in on that day!
I used to go to a local book store, until they stopped stocking any new science fiction. Then they went out of business and I was forced to buy books at Amazon as there was no other book store to go to.
Depends on the area. Where I live I’ve never had a package stolen, Amazon or otherwise.
I wish Amazon didn’t treat their employees so shittily. But I really don’t want to find out which of the stores around me have the thing I want and go there by bus. Even without prime the tickets are more expensive than shipping.
Yeah, and shopping locally is so hit-and-miss. Some smaller stores are great, but there are also plenty that seem to act like serving you is such a fucking inconvenience. Oh I’m sorry you have to get off your phone because I want to buy something. You have to make change from £10? Sorry it’s inconveniencing you that I have to bring fucking cash just because you want to dodge some tax by not taking cards.
Yeah that’s a big thing for me. I hate having to check out 2-3 local stores to find out they don’t have the product I want. A lot of small businesses have such shitty online presence.
Online shopping used to mean lower prices and a bit of a wait.
Nowadays it’s: more expensive because of shipping, delivery not doing their job or even stealing your shit, which leads to you having to pick it up at a place further from your house than the store that sells it.
Over here they are supposed to deliver it to you in person but half the time (if not more) they’ll just leave a “you weren’t home note” even though you took the day off and then drop it off at a pickup point.
Downside is that i can’t stop online shopping because the stores never carry what i need.
Never had a package get stolen before, but if I ordered something expensive I have it sent to the Amazon locker about 5 min away. Last year I needed an ironing board, I went to Walmart, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Roses. The only ironing board I found was at Bed Bath and Beyond for $120. I bought my ironing board on Amazon for $25 and it arrived the next day, also I didn’t have to pay shipping because of prime. I have prime, but I cut Netflix when I got it. Now I get my packages faster, with free shipping, and I get Prime Video.
Recently I bought a new foam mattress and they brought it to my house, unboxed it, put it on the bed frame, and took the old one away. This cost me $200 and I had free shipping with Prime.
Hate on Amazon all you want, there are plenty of reasons, but they’re doing the business better than big box stores which had already driven most small businesses out years ago.
USPS has lost a dozen or so of my checks and packages but I have never had any of the hundreds of packages delivered stolen.
Sucks that every book I order comes without padding and arrives super damaged.
Fuck Amazon
