• garretble@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    118
    arrow-down
    9
    ·
    6 days ago

    Reminder: don’t buy things from Amazon.

    Like, anything.

    “But fast shipping!” No. Stop. Most places now have pretty good shipping, often for free if you happen to buy a certain amount. It’s OK if the thing comes in 3-5 days and not tomorrow. You will survive.*

    *I know there’s a couple of niche cases where some people do need things quick and Amazon serves that purpose. But 99.999% of things are not that.

      • IllNess@infosec.pub
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        6 days ago

        I never heard of Boox.

        I might get the Palma to replace my nearly dead Sony Reader.

        Thank you for bringing that brand to my attention.

    • BombOmOm@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      24
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      6 days ago

      B&H and Home Depot have been two solid services for things they sell. Former is computers and photography. Both of them ship pretty damn fast.

      Honestly, what convinced me to start using them was how increasingly difficult it is to get quality items on Amazon. Sifting through garbage gets old fast.

      • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        11
        ·
        edit-2
        6 days ago

        Shout out to B&H. I bought my drone from them, and they offered the same model bundle at a slightly lower price than Amazon and also offered next-day shipping for no charge.

        They also have a physical retail store and real live people you can call if you have a question, unlike either winding up talking to a chatbot or being redirected to Mumbai after a 45 minute hold.

        I don’t know these guys from a hole in the ground other than that, but they beat Amazon and that was good enough for me.

    • Dragonfruit@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      6 days ago

      One thing amazon does that’s really useful is shipping to whole foods where you can pick up your item instead of it coming to your door which is really useful if you know someone will try to look through your mail

    • barsoap@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      6 days ago

      Amazon is slower than pretty much everyone else in Germany, and it’s been like that for literal decades. To get almost universal next-day delivery nation-wide a shop needs to do exactly two things: Have the parcels ready by evening, and not be located in the absolute boondonks (which would mean two-day delivery).

      Amazon, unless when ordering via premium shipping (included in prime but not worth it for that), takes days to even pack the parcel. Then they can spend a day or two sending it from one of their logistics centres to the other until handing it over to the actual parcel service.

      What they do have going for them is the mindbogglingly huge selection. Pretty much the only upside, if you need five small things from what would be five different stores each having their order minimums for free shipping amazon is the sane choice.

    • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      edit-2
      6 days ago

      Yeah, I try to avoid Amazon as well, and just cancelling Prime went a long way toward motivating me to shop elsewhere. But we still order from Amazon a fair amount (far less than before we cancelled Prime), it just takes a bit longer.

    • dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      arrow-down
      6
      ·
      edit-2
      5 days ago

      Counter argument: no.

      For sure Amazon is predatory. For sure the services are overpriced. For sure they are killing Mom and Pop stores.

      But you know what? I shop there for the same reason I shop at a Meijer or a Target or a Payless. Everything I want, one place, unified customer service, and it just shows up at my door. Probably 80% of my purchases are grocery delivery from Meijer and Amazon for basically everything else. Returns are no questions asked, service is fast, and selection is great, I just try not to buy amazon basics if I can help it.

      Shipt, Uber whatever, GrubHub, etc etc delivery services that are supposed to solve the same problem are all fucking garbage. For sure I’m a corporate sellout, but I have a shitload of time to spend with my kids and my wife instead of fucking around with other services or driving around town and I’m not sorry about it 🤷

      Edit: and with prime I got ad free movies, in home delivery, faster shipping, audible, and who knows what else besides. I won’t shop at Walmart so I’m probably a hypocrite, but I’m a hypocrite who is happy with the service for the money.

      • jol@discuss.tchncs.de
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        6
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        5 days ago

        “I am unwilling to do even the least of changes to my lifestyle to improve life on earth” is not the flex you think it is. It’s honestly sad.

        • dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          5
          arrow-down
          5
          ·
          edit-2
          5 days ago

          I’m not flexing. It’s a fact. Everybody makes choices and I am making mine. Do you own a car? And if you do, do you put gas in it, earth-raping heathen? Do you water your lawn? Have a gas lawnmower? How about solar panels? You ever take a bath instead of a gallon shower? Buy electronics sourced from countries with weak labor laws? How about sleeping with a fan on at night or participate in wish recycling without consulting your local center?

          I’m sure if we dig enough you’re shitty in some way too, yo. Maybe don’t be a supercilious dirt hat.

            • dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              arrow-down
              2
              ·
              5 days ago

              It’s not fun and it’s not surprising. Billionaires are generally cancerous and they own a lot of shit. If you can avoid them all, more power to you. I guess it’ll be my fault if trump gets elected.

          • jol@discuss.tchncs.de
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            edit-2
            4 days ago

            There’s easy choices, hard choices and impossible choices. I don’t own a car, because I live in a place with good public transit and safe bike infra, so I wouldn’t stick it to someone who owns a car because they need it. I don’t keep a lawn, that’s stupid. Can’t remember last time I took a bath at home, no. It’s literally impossible to know the origin of most electronics you buy, but I rarely buy them and usually buy second hand. My electricity provider produces only renewable. I try to make better small choices along the way. I’m in no way perfect.

            These are things that fit my lifestyle. Some are things you probably can’t do, and that’s fine. But not buying from the worst online shop in the world is one of the lowest hanging fruits. But sure, continue lying to yourself that personal change isn’t necessary. We’re not in a hurry.