Leaving Amazon

The Portrait Cowboy said

Malbon said

Well yes but it's about having a choice, not about money.

So China has an online trading platform that's very similar to Amazon but is basically unheard of over in the Western world called Alibaba. It's the closest thing they have over there to Amazon and it is huuuuge for them. What is gaining a bit of traction over here is a company called AliExpress, which is a subsidiary of Alibaba. It allows people to buy really cheap shit directly from Chinese suppliers. The products are therefore almost entirely unregulated in their construction and distribution, not to mention a total lack of oversight as to the quality of materials used to construct the products in question. But, it's cheap so people are starting to use it more and more. Because cheap.

Amazon is much more a 'marketplace' now than it used to be. It takes significantly less to have a shop on Amazon than it does to have a shop on a high street, and quite frankly the process is easier still than holding a car boot sale. This means you have to be a touch more diligent in your purchase choices than you used to be, but it does mean that a whole load of totally legitimate sellers can now use the platform to reach a wider audience.

As the largest online sales platform the world has ever known, their security is the absolute best of any online retailer. You can return any item you want for free for a replacement or refund. Getting your money back from Amazon literally couldn't be easier (relative to any other online sales platform).

Online shopping is (or has) killing (or killed) the high street shopping experience. Which in some ways is bad, but honestly not the worst thing in the world - high street prices were often over-inflated to account for the overhead involved in having a shop on a high street, paying bills and staff and security and and and and etc etc etc. Shopping centres and outlet centres are still going strong so if you really do need to try clothes on before you purchase there's still the capacity for you to do so. But, Amazon isn't the cause of this, they're just the best at what they do.

Unheard of? Alibaba used to be massive! Emphasis on 'used to be'. Its founder, Jack Ma, hasn’t really been seen much since he challenged the CCP (draw your own conclusions). Temu has now taken the crown, adding the bonus use of slave labor by way of Uyghur Muslims in China it can achieve 100% profit minus delivery fees :-) and the western world loves cheap 

Edited by ANDY00

I think another thing worth noting for why to use Amazon (sorry) is that returns are just simple easy. There is no arguing the toss or having to jump through hoops to get your money back or have to argue till the cows come home. Majority of the time the money is returned to your account as soon as it's been scanned at whatever location you use to have the item picked up at. 

Firstadekit said

I think another thing worth noting for why to use Amazon (sorry) is that returns are just simple easy. There is no arguing the toss or having to jump through hoops to get your money back or have to argue till the cows come home. Majority of the time the money is returned to your account as soon as it's been scanned at whatever location you use to have the item picked up at. 

Amazon also offer a range of items on a 'try before you buy' basis.

You get a week after delivery to decide, and provided you start the return before then you don't even get charged for anything you return.

Jonathan C said

Firstadekit said

I think another thing worth noting for why to use Amazon (sorry) is that returns are just simple easy. There is no arguing the toss or having to jump through hoops to get your money back or have to argue till the cows come home. Majority of the time the money is returned to your account as soon as it's been scanned at whatever location you use to have the item picked up at. 

Amazon also offer a range of items on a 'try before you buy' basis.

You get a week after delivery to decide, and provided you start the return before then you don't even get charged for anything you return.

In the days of the high street, we called this browsing 😄. Since 2014, under the Consumer Contracts Regulations (which came into force in 2013), customers have the right to return a product within 14 days of receiving it when purchased online or at a distance. For faulty goods, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 provides a 30-day window for returns. Some companies may market this as an extra benefit, but it's actually a legal consumer right.

Edited by ANDY00

ANDY00 said

Jonathan C said

Firstadekit said

I think another thing worth noting for why to use Amazon (sorry) is that returns are just simple easy. There is no arguing the toss or having to jump through hoops to get your money back or have to argue till the cows come home. Majority of the time the money is returned to your account as soon as it's been scanned at whatever location you use to have the item picked up at. 

Amazon also offer a range of items on a 'try before you buy' basis.

You get a week after delivery to decide, and provided you start the return before then you don't even get charged for anything you return.

In the days of the high street, we called this browsing 😄. Since 2014, under the Consumer Contracts Regulations (which came into force in 2013), customers have the right to return a product within 14 days of receiving it when purchased online or at a distance. For faulty goods, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 provides a 30-day window for returns. Some companies may market this as an extra benefit, but it's actually a legal consumer right.

Edited by ANDY00

Amazon just give a blanket 30 days return - the Try before you Buy is in addition to that (it doesn't remove the 30 day return option), it's just that you don't get charged until 7 days after delivery (or not al all if you return).

If you buy things that are actually sold by Amazon (rather than sold by a 3rd party seller on Amazon) they are also fairly good when things fail after 30 days, but within 12 months.
I had an SSD fail after about 10 months - a few clicks and I was given a choice of refund or replacement. Since prices had dropped in the 10 months, I chose refund...(and used the refund to buy a higher spec SSD, which arrived next day).

Amazon didn't kill the High Street.

Out of town shopping centres, retail outlet stores, and landlord greed killed the high street... and this was long before Amazon got popular.

Stu H said

Amazon didn't kill the High Street.

Out of town shopping centres, retail outlet stores, and landlord greed killed the high street... and this was long before Amazon got popular.

Online shopping absolutely delivered the final death blow to most high streets. And those landlords raising rates and rents? Well, they are councils, who ultimately follow government regulations. The shift to online retail and increasing rates from local authorities have both played a huge role in the decimation of high streets.

Edited by ANDY00

I have yet to find a way to get Amazon drivers to follow simple delivery instructions. 

I have recently had items delivered over my (shared) back fence. £500 worth of product left on the doorstep in the rain, and 2 deliveries left at the completely wrong address.

All this with Prime membership.

Glad to see I am getting special treatment.

I disagree with OP but recently I did sign up for Prime thinking it was a free trial(I get them often) when it wasn't! A lesson learned.

Today they are offering me Prime for a week for 99p lol I dont use it that often to benefit Prime anyway. Although I did get 6 month free Amazon Music voucher recently so thats was nice.

In the past Amazon was always my first port of call when I wanted to buy something. Now they are a last resort. I try to support local, specialist, or independent traders where possible, even if it may cost me a little bit extra. Would much rather buy kit from Wex than Amazon so long as the prices are similar.

Molly Nouveau said

In the past Amazon was always my first port of call when I wanted to buy something. Now they are a last resort. I try to support local, specialist, or independent traders where possible, even if it may cost me a little bit extra. Would much rather buy kit from Wex than Amazon so long as the prices are similar.

Yes I think this might be where I am heading eventually.

Amazon basically lost my business when they slapped on the minimum postage charge, though I do still consult when I'm struggling to find something.

You then face an intensely annoying search tool which insists on showing you just about everything except the specific product you are looking for.

And then, yes, they try to dupe you into signing up for Prime. I have accidentally done it before and now know to look out for it.

The only way we stop getting more of this is to let the businesses which try it wither. Sadly there seems to be no end of people happy to go along with this sort of practice.

The Portrait Cowboy said

Also, just sign up for Prime. It's £9 a month and you get a streaming service and unlimited free next day deliveries (some areas have same day delivery in the UK). And unlimited storage for photos. Early access to discounted products. Exclusive sales events. *there are actually games, but literal games, provided as another free service through Prime.

I'm really not sure why anyone would want any of those things; my life does not revolve around buying products.

I use Amazon, but I preference other shops where I can e.g. Books from Waterstones, etc. 

LifeModel my life does not revolve around the £8.99 a month it costs to be eligible for those benefits, nor does it revolve around the opinions of other people on forums.

Not quite sure what relevance you think your life has on whether there is potential for value in prime benefits for other people? Also, if nobody wanted any of those benefits, Amazon wouldn't have over 200 million active subscribers 🤦🏻‍♂️

Edit: Additionally, an online TV streaming service, unlimited cloud storage for digital photographs and games you can play online have nothing to do with buying products. Nor does the access to digital music and a library of books you can read as part of an Amazon Prime membership, which I didn't list but are nevertheless benefits that similarly aren't about "buying products".

Edited by The Portrait Cowboy