It works because they have AWS. If the entirety of the business was only the consumer site, it's looking more and more like Wish with each passing day.
What's an alternative to Amazon? eBay is worse. Walmart.com has the same problem with third party vendors. There are few other "buy anything" webstores. I also noticed during some Christmas shopping that buying from Amazon was actually cheaper than the actual brand sites themselves, in particular, adidas shoes and a sodastream were cheaper on Amazon than on sodastream and adidas dot com. Exact same products. I don't know why.
Also, Wish takes 40 days to ship. Ebay and other sites take 4 days. If I order something from Amazon right now I'll literally have it in 4 hours. Doesn't matter for all purchases but it's so convenient.
Amazon stopped being better than eBay around 2019 and has fallen hard. The search sucks, getting a good quality item is hard, reviews are games. Yeah returns are easy, but not getting what you want and needing to return is a PITA. Returns are also just as easy on eBay and not nearly as needed.
Amazon with Prime still edges out on shipping speed but eBay is close.
eBay acquaints you more with the seller and if you are buying from a seller with "Top Rated" status you can be sure you will get a good product shipped quickly.
If Amazon can clean up bad sellers / fake reviews and fix the search they can get back to being the best.
Personally I find better prices and quicker delivery or pickup for most common goods at Walmart and for the Chinese stuff that Amazon is filled with there's Ali, Temu, etc.
When I need something more niche I prefer eBay but still search Amazon, but again, their search sucks.
I disagree. eBay isn't great, but the quality of goods feels higher than on Amazon. At least the brands are known to me and have a history. Amazon is now just a front for cheap junk from a revolving door of manufacturers who look to me like they are avoiding scrutiny.
Retailers like B&H and Best Buy have worked great for me. Additionally, it’s become much easier to buy direct as Amazon’s quality as a retailer has degraded.
I know this sounds crazy, but you can buy straight from the brand's website if they have one. If you use a credit card or PayPal you still get buyer protection.
It makes me think I’m the only person that’s never had an issue ordering things from Amazon! I have prime and sort by recommended and I’ve never had a bad experience. Is it only for particular types of items?
No, it’s everything. Can’t think of anything that wouldn’t count.
Our issues are sponsored results crowd out the first page, strange no name companies crowding out brand names, can’t sort by retailer, or any usefu sort or filter mechanism.
It’s all gamed to have you click on a sponsored result. If you buy from third party better check the condition, terms, and return policy. Oh and it might be fake or previously used.
That said, I still find it useful but only because like someone else said, every other “a to z “ company is worse. That said, Amazon is competitive at price point still but it isn’t where I go to find products organically. I find recommendations elsewhere then comparison shop. Walmart at least you can sort sold by Walmart, BB/Home Depot work fine as well. Amazon has its place but it’s not a good or enlightening experience.
> No, it’s everything. Can’t think of anything that wouldn’t count. Our issues are sponsored results crowd out the first page, strange no name companies crowding out brand names, can’t sort by retailer, or any usefu sort or filter mechanism.
If it stopped there it would be almost okay, but then the page for the brand might get you items comingled with counterfeits.
Yes, I'm surprised at the amount of negative feedback. I buy quite a bit of stuff from Amazon and have never had a bad experience so far (my account has been active since the days when Amazon sold only books, circa 1997).
Items delivered work as advertised. Reasonable delivery times (I live in Singapore). I buy from both Amazon SG and US stores.
Are there some sort of filter where US based Amazon customers get targetted with shoddy products and foreign customers less so? Genuinely curious.
It's not possible to filter out the marketplace. The marketplace is full of dropshippers with highly inconsistent delivery times. There are some things I just want to buy from Amazon directly.
Chinese fire-and-forget brands crowd out real brands. Fine if you e.g. just want cheap gloves, but a terrible experience if you want more than that.
