The Amazon Effect

[Huntn]

Amazon appears to rule the retail environment. Years ago in another thread, I mentioned this in a now closed section of MRs. I told you the story of spending 3 hours driving all over town looking for a specific kind of swim trunks for lap swimming and no one had them in stock. Amazon did, recieved in 2 days. Then there was the wireless phone battery, where I called the local Batteries Plus store, and they did not stock them, but could get them for me in 10 days. And finally the plumbing gasket I needed that the local plumbing supply store that caters to contractors did not stock. Amazon? Overnight. In all cases less expensive. In all cases, except for the gasket, multiple pages to choose from.

Ok, fast forward to today, visiting my Son in Wichita, Kansas, needed some stuff, went to the local Walmart Super Center.

• House slippers- all crappish and on the expensive end for what they offered. Ordered on Amazon.
• An inexpensive PC headset with a mic and volume control- haha, JBL, Bose. The somewhat inexpensive ones were wireless which I don’t want and where crappy looking, not sure if they had mics, because they were locked up in a case, no mics were visible, and no one around to help me. Ordered on Amazon.
• Lightning charger cable- locked up and expensive. The Apple ones, if I did not misread them were $30. Ordered on Amazon.

So again, Amazon wins despite the chance of getting cheap Chinese crap, they have fast delivery and free returns … if you are a Prime member. Isn’t everyone? 😉

 

[Chuckeee]

I’m NOT a prime member. So it take an extra day, I’m ok with that. And I always have a list of stuff I need so it isn’t hard to always get the minimum needed for free shipping. Coin batteries with some anti-perspirant and a few dog treats. And everything still has free returns

 

[minik]

I am a Prime member for many years now even with their credit card. However I have not made a single personal purchase at amazon website this year (Not sure why). Although I went to Whole Foods Market and Amazon Fresh, the experience went downhill since the pandemic.

 

[RokinAmerica]

Have a couple of young grandkids. Finding cool stuff for them in store stinks compared to Amazon. Prime all the way, but I use it a lot for movies and tunes also, so free delivery is just another benefit, a much appreciated one.

 

[eyoungren]

I have Prime. My wife also has Prime. But aside from here and there, my wife uses Amazon far more than I do. Generally, I can find what I need/want off of eBay cheaper. Yeah, I have to wait for it to be delivered, but most of the time none of this stuff I order is urgent. Basically, that's my use for Amazon - if it's urgent. Also for new stuff. I generally use eBay when looking for used goods.

 

[rm5]

Here's the problem:

1. House slippers: Okay fine, Amazon's probably the best place to buy those.
2. PC headset: Aren't there much better places to get those? Best Buy? Micro center? Sweetwater?
3. Lightning charger cable: Buying on Amazon will likely get you a low-quality knockoff that'll either break in 10 seconds or fry the board.

Not to mention my terrible Amazon experience. I did a session a few years ago where I needed six mic stands, and I only had three at home. So I resorted to the good ol' Amazon and bought myself three others. And they were the worst boom stands I've EVER used! Half the time they'd just slowly fall down because the clamp or whatever holding the arm wasn't tight enough! What an embarrassment to the musicians on stage and for me doing the recording.

I'd rather buy from a reputable site like Sweetwater or Micro center (or even eBay!) than risking getting crap on Amazon that might blow up or not function.

And Prime? Oh no... never will get it.

And then there's the ethical problems that I won't even get into.

 

[ItsNotaTumor]

The only things I buy from Amazon are Hot Sauces and Redbull. I long for the days when they had really nice branded clothing - there's so many cheap, garbage brands they sell in everything now. It depresses me. But thats the world now - how cheap and quick can we consume.

 

[H_D]

The bad thing is that the ******tification of Amazon is in full swing. Just searching a regular USB-C-cable results in a heap of shady Chinese wannabe-brands that Amazon pushes in your face, it gets harder and harder to find what you are looking for because neither you as consumer nor the brands selling their stuff are in the focus. After «marketplace» and after Amazon promoting their own quasi-fictional brands, I find myself using other places to actually buy stuff. What was really amazing about Amazon was their absolut support of you as customer when the product was in some way faulty, I have had amazing experience with them in that respect, fast helpful, not making a bad buying experience worse but really solving the problems of online purchasing (which always is a bit of a jump into the dark, no matter how much you try to inform yourself before pulling the trigger... you can read as much as you like, things like headphones and loudspeakers have to be experienced and so on). This has changed in recent years as well as brick/mortar-retail is less of a factor for them to compete with and I miss this level of care acutely.

 

[Flamingdeathbolts]

Amazon has become another place I price shop. Multiple instances where they are higher priced than other online stores or local stores. I like the ease of returns will give them that.

It will be interesting how the company evolves over next few years with starting to offer Health Care, Internet coverage, and even being able to buy a brand new car.

 

[Clix Pix]

Amazon appears to rule the retail environment. Years ago in another thread, I mentioned this in a now closed section of MRs. I told you the story of spending 3 hours driving all over town looking for a specific kind of swim trunks for lap swimming and no one had them in stock. Amazon did, recieved in 2 days. Then there was the wireless phone battery, where I called the local Batteries Plus store, and they did not stock them, but could get them for me in 10 days. And finally the plumbing gasket I needed that the local plumbing supply store that caters to contractors did not stock. Amazon? Overnight. In all cases less expensive. In all cases, except for the gasket, multiple pages to choose from.

Ok, fast forward to today, visiting my Son in Wichita, Kansas, needed some stuff, went to the local Walmart Super Center.

• House slippers- all crappish and on the expensive end for what they offered. Ordered on Amazon.
• An inexpensive PC headset with a mic and volume control- haha, JBL, Bose. The somewhat inexpensive ones were wireless which I don’t want and where crappy looking, not sure if they had mics, because they were locked up in a case, no mics were visible, and no one around to help me. Ordered on Amazon.
• Lightning charger cable- locked up and expensive. The Apple ones, if I did not misread them were $30. Ordered on Amazon.

So again, Amazon wins despite the chance of getting cheap Chinese crap, they have fast delivery and free returns … if you are a Prime member. Isn’t everyone? 😉

As it happens, my Prime membership comes up for renewal in a couple of days and, yes, of course I am going to let the process of automated debiting from my card do its thing and thus continue with the Prime membership I've had for several years now. To me it is well worth it.

Even though I live in a large urban/suburban area, there are still many times when I check online and particular stores don't offer what I need or want, or they are out of stock.....So just too easy to then just click the button on Amazon and receive the item either the next day or the day after (sometimes even overnight!).

Although I am a strong advocate for supporting local businesses, checking inventory online right at home sure saves a lot of time and gas driving around to various stores only to come out empty-handed and frustrated. It is also reassuring to know that if all else fails there is a place where the desired item(s) will be obtainable. Amazon also carries a lot of items which have never been and are simply not available in this area at all, and that is where the real value lies.

I also like looking at Amazon to see what options are available in certain items and brands and then from there explore to see if the item(s) might be available locally so that I can see them in person. More often than not, as I've already mentioned, they're not available locally, which in the old days would have been very frustrating.

Recently my coffee maker started indicating that it was on its last legs, so I looked at Amazon to see what is new these days with my preferred brand, and after having chosen a couple of likely candidates to replace my dying machine, I checked local stores. Not available. (One home goods store which used to carry this brand has now gone out of business. Ehhhhh.... Is there a correlation here? Undoubtedly!)

OK, so sitting at the computer heading back to Amazon, I selected my choice and a day or so later was making freshly brewed coffee with the new machine in my kitchen. Really, there's something positive to be said about that entire process as far as the consumer is concerned.....

 

[Clix Pix]

Here's the problem:

1. House slippers: Okay fine, Amazon's probably the best place to buy those.
2. PC headset: Aren't there much better places to get those? Best Buy? Micro center? Sweetwater?
3. Lightning charger cable: Buying on Amazon will likely get you a low-quality knockoff that'll either break in 10 seconds or fry the board.

Not to mention my terrible Amazon experience. I did a session a few years ago where I needed six mic stands, and I only had three at home. So I resorted to the good ol' Amazon and bought myself three others. And they were the worst boom stands I've EVER used! Half the time they'd just slowly fall down because the clamp or whatever holding the arm wasn't tight enough! What an embarrassment to the musicians on stage and for me doing the recording.

I'd rather buy from a reputable site like Sweetwater or Micro center (or even eBay!) than risking getting crap on Amazon that might blow up or not function.

And Prime? Oh no... never will get it.

And then there's the ethical problems that I won't even get into.

Unfortunately, Microcenter (computer/electronics store) is not available everywhere in the US. Those of us who are lucky enough to have it in our vicinity are very fortunate. A few times I've checked out something at both the Amazon and Microcenter websites and if Amazon was offering a lower price of the exact same desired item and it was available in inventory at Microcenter, I've printed out the page and taken it with me to the store to get the low price locally.

 

[Mousse]

Not to mention my terrible Amazon experience. I did a session a few years ago where I needed six mic stands, and I only had three at home. So I resorted to the good ol' Amazon and bought myself three others. And they were the worst boom stands I've EVER used! Half the time they'd just slowly fall down because the clamp or whatever holding the arm wasn't tight enough! What an embarrassment to the musicians on stage and for me doing the recording.

It sounds more like you not doing the proper research when shopping online. The vendors are listed. If there is a specific mic stand you wanted, it would have been the same quality as the one bought from a brick and mortar store.

When I was looking for a new camera flash, I searched for that specific flash. 5 different vendors were listed; prices ranged from $200-$320.

I'd rather buy from a reputable site like Sweetwater or Micro center (or even eBay!) than risking getting crap on Amazon that might blow up or not function.

I knew the flash was good, but which vendor to choose? I eliminated the low rated vendor and bought from the lowest price vendor with a 95% satisfaction rating. I would buy from a known vendor I trust, if they were listed. Rating, shmatings.🤗

And Prime? Oh no... never will get it.

Me neither. I don't do subscription.

 

[KaliYoni]

risking getting crap on Amazon that might blow up or not function.

it would have been the same quality as the one bought from a brick and mortar store.

Something to keep in mind is that for products offered by both Amazon itself and by Marketplace sellers, Amazon commingles its own inventory with Marketplace seller inventory in its warehouses, at least in the US. In other words, Amazon treats the combined inventory as a single pool of products for ordering and shipping purposes. This means that it is possible to receive a counterfeit or used item that was sourced by a non-Amazon seller even when the order is listed as sold and fulfilled by Amazon.

 

[Huntn]

Here's the problem:

1. House slippers: Okay fine, Amazon's probably the best place to buy those.
2. PC headset: Aren't there much better places to get those? Best Buy? Micro center? Sweetwater?
3. Lightning charger cable: Buying on Amazon will likely get you a low-quality knockoff that'll either break in 10 seconds or fry the board.

Not to mention my terrible Amazon experience. I did a session a few years ago where I needed six mic stands, and I only had three at home. So I resorted to the good ol' Amazon and bought myself three others. And they were the worst boom stands I've EVER used! Half the time they'd just slowly fall down because the clamp or whatever holding the arm wasn't tight enough! What an embarrassment to the musicians on stage and for me doing the recording.

I'd rather buy from a reputable site like Sweetwater or Micro center (or even eBay!) than risking getting crap on Amazon that might blow up or not function.

And Prime? Oh no... never will get it.

And then there's the ethical problems that I won't even get into.

The point I was making was about convenience, (btw no Electronic stores in the little town I’m in), the process taking significant time driving around town to brick and order stores and finding limited inventory as compared to the convenience of online shopping.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I used to shop on Amazon (books and CDs, mostly); nowadays, I don't.

For electronics, clothes - (yes, including slippers) - coffee, - in other words, quality purchases - I have never, and would never, order from Amazon.

My preference is small, local stores, or large, local stores where I meet people face to face, and chat about the products (or make phone calls and emails).

Yes, I do understand the attraction of the convenience factor, and how, for some, convenience (and speed of delivery) will trump other considerations.

However, leaving aside the questionable ethics of the company (and, yes, this is something that does matter to me), there is also the fact that I remain rather enamoured of the idea of deferred gratification; I think that anticipation can add to one's eventual enjoyment.

 

[Chuckeee]

The things that I find most intriguing about Amazon is the scope of the things they provide. I live in a major city and there’s many things I just can’t find: odd coin batteries sizes, my favorite brand of bar soap (which I’ve been using for 25 years), the door sensor switch for my 10 year old dryer, etc. But I can still find all this stuff on Amazon, it’s inexpensive and I can get it in two days.

 

[MapleBeercules]

Amazon appears to rule the retail environment. Years ago in another thread, I mentioned this in a now closed section of MRs. I told you the story of spending 3 hours driving all over town looking for a specific kind of swim trunks for lap swimming and no one had them in stock. Amazon did, recieved in 2 days. Then there was the wireless phone battery, where I called the local Batteries Plus store, and they did not stock them, but could get them for me in 10 days. And finally the plumbing gasket I needed that the local plumbing supply store that caters to contractors did not stock. Amazon? Overnight. In all cases less expensive. In all cases, except for the gasket, multiple pages to choose from.

Ok, fast forward to today, visiting my Son in Wichita, Kansas, needed some stuff, went to the local Walmart Super Center.

• House slippers- all crappish and on the expensive end for what they offered. Ordered on Amazon.
• An inexpensive PC headset with a mic and volume control- haha, JBL, Bose. The somewhat inexpensive ones were wireless which I don’t want and where crappy looking, not sure if they had mics, because they were locked up in a case, no mics were visible, and no one around to help me. Ordered on Amazon.
• Lightning charger cable- locked up and expensive. The Apple ones, if I did not misread them were $30. Ordered on Amazon.

So again, Amazon wins despite the chance of getting cheap Chinese crap, they have fast delivery and free returns … if you are a Prime member. Isn’t everyone? 😉

Supporting Amazon will just make things worse.
I have a rule, if its not at my local box store, ill buy it direct from the manufacture otherwise I dont need it.
Amazon has some good stuff but 99% of it is crap, their delivery is suspect (we just had a driver arrested in Vancouver for stealing 15k worth of stuff, he listed as delivered) I can only imagine how amazon treated these customers when they reported they didnt receive their items

Amazon Prime is not worth it, I have apple music and run my own plex server for nearly 10 years now (screw you netflix for removing startrek!)


Amazon is like the empire in Starwars story and I hate starwars, thats how badly I think of amazon, its a community destroyer and a cash printing machine for people who care less about you. I cant tell others what to do, but if you care about your community stop supporting companies like Amazon.

 

[msackey]

So again, Amazon wins despite the chance of getting cheap Chinese crap, they have fast delivery and free returns … if you are a Prime member. Isn’t everyone? 😉

Actually, I make sure that as much as possible we do not shop at Amazon. And we don't! We might get a few things from Amazon once or twice a year but that's about it. Everything else is shopping at a brick and mortar place. For some items, I make sure to get them from a local mom-and-pop type of place.

 

[msackey]

And Prime? Oh no... never will get it.

And then there's the ethical problems that I won't even get into.

Same here! Serious ethical issues. I know none of us can live pristine unadulterated lives because we are all entangled with all that's around us. But, it doesn't mean we have zero options. Yes, once in a while I do shop at Whole Foods (like yesterday when I bought pie shells from them), but by far I avoid Amazon and it's worked out.

 

[msackey]

I used to shop on Amazon (books and CDs, mostly); nowadays, I don't.

Same here. I make it a point to buy books only from local bookstores OR if online, that I purchase it from mom-and-pop local stores (even if they are not local to me).

For electronics, clothes - (yes, including slippers) - coffee, - in other words, quality purchases - I have never, and would never, order from Amazon.

We don't buy from amazon either. For clothing we shop at local or national chain stores, the brick-and-mortar kind.

Amazon is like the empire in Starwars story and I hate starwars, thats how badly I think of amazon, its a community destroy and a cash printing machine for people who care less about you. I cant tell others what to do, but if you care about your community stop supporting companies like Amazon.

I agree! There's another point to be made too, even if one doesn't particularly care about shopping at mom-and-pop stores. It's a point about shopping online versus shopping in person.

Do we really want shopping to be done increasingly (or even almost exclusively) in a virtual way, via screens? Do we really want to nurture a world in which we make the experience of shopping become and less and less in person and more and more about someone delivering to our doorstep the goods we ordered (or, even delivered to a designated parking spot, if thinking about the services offered by grocery stores).

There is a place for this kind of virtual shopping, yes. But I also don't think it should become the primary way. We really lose sense of community when there is fewer and fewer in-person experiences, and things become more and more mediated through screens. Besides losing sense of community, when one's daily rhythm doesn't include more in-person activities, is just means we sit more and more, and become more sedentary. Of course, for those who are doing the actual work of delivery, they are increasing their physical movements.

I don't want a world in which retail shopping is done mostly on screen. Yuck.

 

[rhett7660]

Here's the problem:

1. House slippers: Okay fine, Amazon's probably the best place to buy those.
2. PC headset: Aren't there much better places to get those? Best Buy? Micro center? Sweetwater?
3. Lightning charger cable: Buying on Amazon will likely get you a low-quality knockoff that'll either break in 10 seconds or fry the board.

Not to mention my terrible Amazon experience. I did a session a few years ago where I needed six mic stands, and I only had three at home. So I resorted to the good ol' Amazon and bought myself three others. And they were the worst boom stands I've EVER used! Half the time they'd just slowly fall down because the clamp or whatever holding the arm wasn't tight enough! What an embarrassment to the musicians on stage and for me doing the recording.

I'd rather buy from a reputable site like Sweetwater or Micro center (or even eBay!) than risking getting crap on Amazon that might blow up or not function.

And Prime? Oh no... never will get it.

And then there's the ethical problems that I won't even get into.

I live in a pretty big area (Los Angeles County) and well Best Buy is hit and miss, and here lately a big miss. We don't have a Micro Center that is close and if I was to go to the one in Tustin (Nearest one), I would be looking at an hour drive one way... sometimes longer depending on the day, time, and if there are any events going on along the way. Nope, not going to do it. , and I haven't heard of a Sweetwater, and after a quick search looks like audio gear. We do have Guitar Centers, which I usually shop at for my drum equipment, but I was able to find bass pedal's on amazon at a significant discount. Took it to GC and they did price match it... which they didn't have to do, but they did.

I think your mic stands might have been an ordering issue between the keyboard and chair. Saying that nicely! I have a feeling there wasn't a lot of research done on what you purchased.

I do a lot of ebay stuff also, but then again, you still have to be careful on them too. All and all, I like Amazon... No complaints with the service I have received. Been a prime member for some time now. I also like the movies and shows they offer, so there is always that. Also really like my Kindle!!!!!

But I completely understand those that don't like Amazon or the services it offers.

 

[rhett7660]

Supporting Amazon will just make things worse.
I have a rule, if its not at my local box store, ill buy it direct from the manufacture otherwise I dont need it.
Amazon has some good stuff but 99% of it is crap, their delivery is suspect (we just had a driver arrested in Vancouver for stealing 15k worth of stuff, he listed as delivered) I can only imagine how amazon treated these customers when they reported they didnt receive their items

Amazon Prime is not worth it, I have apple music and run my own plex server for nearly 10 years now (screw you netflix for removing startrek!)


Amazon is like the empire in Starwars story and I hate starwars, thats how badly I think of amazon, its a community destroy and a cash printing machine for people who care less about you. I cant tell others what to do, but if you care about your community stop supporting companies like Amazon.

Blasphemy!!!!

 

[scubachap]

the ******tification of Amazon is in full swing.

I still buy some stuff from Amazon but I'd agree with this.

They're still a great delivery company (as opposed to being a great store) and I still tend to use them get stuff to my elderly mother remotely and that works really well. It's probably the reason I still keep Prime. But, the cheap stuff is now really cheap and branded stuff is now comparable to elsewhere. For example this morning I just picked up a 5 ream pack a4 paper cheaper locally than I can get on Amazon.

I'm not so sure it's a bad thing though, it's difficult to justify passing up a free lunch as Amazon used to be but the ******tifcation means there will eventually be more money passing round locally.

 

[MapleBeercules]

Blasphemy!!!!

B5 all the way... Maybe some Startrek... Dont get me wrong... Im a believer in the trilogy every 3 years as per the gospel of How I met your Mother, but overall starwars is #4 on my scifi list

#1 B5
#2 Farscape
#3 Star Trek (mostly lower decks)
#4 Starwars

 

[MapleBeercules]

Same here. I make it a point to buy books only from local bookstores OR if online, that I purchase it from mom-and-pop local stores (even if they are not local to me).


We don't buy from amazon either. For clothing we shop at local or national chain stores, the brick-and-mortar kind.



I agree! There's another point to be made too, even if one doesn't particularly care about shopping at mom-and-pop stores. It's a point about shopping online versus shopping in person.

Do we really want shopping to be done increasingly (or even almost exclusively) in a virtual way, via screens? Do we really want to nurture a world in which we make the experience of shopping become and less and less in person and more and more about someone delivering to our doorstep the goods we ordered (or, even delivered to a designated parking spot, if thinking about the services offered by grocery stores).

There is a place for this kind of virtual shopping, yes. But I also don't think it should become the primary way. We really lose sense of community when there is fewer and fewer in-person experiences, and things become more and more mediated through screens. Besides losing sense of community, when one's daily rhythm doesn't include more in-person activities, is just means we sit more and more, and become more sedentary. Of course, for those who are doing the actual work of delivery, they are increasing their physical movements.

I don't want a world in which retail shopping is done mostly on screen. Yuck.

My biggest problem is Online shops expect me to pay in advance and wait for my items...When in our society did we think this was acceptable?
Online shopping should be COD, charge on Delivery not prepaid, and Id be more then happy to buy anything.

This is where box stores suffer, they have to buy the product and stock it before they can sell it, online stores just place an order from manufacture when you make an order from them...

I am 100% firm on if I hand you money, you better hand me my product back otherwise, Ill keep my money safe in my hands until you have the product I want