In a big way I hate it, but Amazon is truly great

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

Asking the minimum wage teenager “what do you recommend?” Haha ok -

And there’s plenty of high quality reputable sellers / websites you can hit up who give that experience - lots have “real” live chat or email to ask questions

Do you ask the live agents how much they make to ensure it’s enough to check off one of your arbitrary qualification boxes?

[Jason14h]

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

Do you ask the live agents how much they make to ensure it’s enough to check off one of your arbitrary qualification boxes?

No I assume it's usually the person who runs the site but they could be outsourcing!

Odds are the same or better then asking the teenager in the land based business though!

And technically the teenager could be making more then minimum wage and I would assume most of their GAF meter is pretty low in stores

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

No I assume it's usually the person who runs the site but they could be outsourcing!

Odds are the same or better then asking the teenager in the land based business though!

Based on what? If your concern is their rate of pay the outsourced worker could be getting paid even less.

Just because the store employee is paid a certain rate of remuneration doesn’t mean they’re not trained to do their job, to be fair it doesn’t guarantee that they’re going to be very good at it either. I just think it’s a lousy metric to base judgement of their competency on.

[blankall]

Do people really have that much trouble discerning the genuine from the garbage products on Amazon?

Sounds more like people are purposely buying off-brand and/or knockoff products and then using Amazon's return system as quality control testing for those products.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by blankall

Do people really have that much trouble discerning the genuine from the garbage products on Amazon?

Sounds more like people are purposely buying off-brand and/or knockoff products and then using Amazon's return system as quality control testing for those products.

No, but it definitely slows down the process when you have to sift through a sea of crap to find what you're looking for.

It's OK if you already know the exact name of the product you want, but if you're searching by category it's definitely slower than it used to be.

[TorqueDog]

Most of the time asking someone who works at a store with a really wide product selection which [thing] is best is probably coming down to a mix of what the manufacturer's marketing says and which ones seem to sell well with customers. Where I've found feedback to matter tends to be places like MEC, Arcteryx, etc. where they often employ people who are also into the activities that use the equipment they sell.

Amazon's reviews unfortunately are dependent on how much the reviewer knows in the first place. I bought a highly reviewed ground loop isolator from Amazon for a project I was working on, but the audio quality sounded like muddy, attenuated garbage. Deeper in the reviews (past the point where I'd stopped reading), someone reported that the filter completely trashed the sound quality in their system too, and to look elsewhere. D'oh.

[GomerPile]

In covid, I started to use amazon a lot, it was convenient, safe and helped me pass my day. The last couple years I have really changed my outlook, they have done nothing to benefit society. They made me lazier and have driven up peoples consumption of cheap ####. I can't remember the last time Amazon or their suppliers sponsored a local grass roots event? It is now my last resort, and I am ok waiting a week or two for the local book store, vitamin store, Home Hardware etc to order it and get it on its next truck. I have added Wal Mart and Costco to my lists as well, I dont outlaw them, they are just last resorts.

My 0.02.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

Most of the time asking someone who works at a store with a really wide product selection which [thing] is best is probably coming down to a mix of what the manufacturer's marketing says and which ones seem to sell well with customers. Where I've found feedback to matter tends to be places like MEC, Arcteryx, etc. where they often employ people who are also into the activities that use the equipment they sell.

Amazon's reviews unfortunately are dependent on how much the reviewer knows in the first place. I bought a highly reviewed ground loop isolator from Amazon for a project I was working on, but the audio quality sounded like muddy, attenuated garbage. Deeper in the reviews (past the point where I'd stopped reading), someone reported that the filter completely trashed the sound quality in their system too, and to look elsewhere. D'oh.

Yeah, reviews and recommendations are heavily affected by someone's knowledge and expertise. Unfortunately, by default, many brick and mortar employee recommendations and online reviews are submitted by people who barely know the spec sheet and never read the instructions on how to use the product. I recall being at a car dealership and basically just asking innocuous questions to see how many I could get the sales guy to answer incorrectly/not know the answer to without him basically knowing that he answered incorrectly. "So, paddles are obsolete with the sports mode available in automatic, right?" "Yes."

I read between the lines for online reviews and ignore ones where people don't know what they're talking about.

"OMG, best speaker/headphones ever! Blew my old one away." (Likely from someone who is not an audiophile and migrated from a pair of dollar store speakers/headphones)
"I think this is great value at this price. If you need more, then you'll need to spend more." (Someone who knows more about audiophile calibre sound)
"Worked fine as is. With these mods I did, I think it's even better." (This might be a "buy now" calibre review).

[Jason14h]

Thats why you read the 1 and 2 star reviews not the 5 star!

Sure some will be dumb, but thats usually where you will see the experts with comments you need to know.

[Jason14h]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

No, but it definitely slows down the process when you have to sift through a sea of crap to find what you're looking for.

It's OK if you already know the exact name of the product you want, but if you're searching by category it's definitely slower than it used to be.

Honestly can you give an example?

What product do you search online and not know the real brands vs knockoffs and it actually matters (Not a 5$ item)

It feels like people want to buy the cheapest item AND get the real brand and getting annoyed when those purchases don't allign

Maybe I am missing something / some category of good here

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

I recall being at a car dealership and basically just asking innocuous questions to see how many I could get the sales guy to answer incorrectly/not know the answer to without him basically knowing that he answered incorrectly. "So, paddles are obsolete with the sports mode available in automatic, right?" "Yes."

My car buying experience is pretty much exclusively this...

[photon]

I think it's just when I'm searching for something where I don't know a good brand of what I want or I am trying to find a cheaper option but still have an acceptable level of quality.

Like those battery car booster things. There's a ton of 6-7 random letter brand, but some of them are actually ok, fortunately Project Farm tested a bunch for me . So I kind of agree when just looking for certain things without a specific brand it can be a wave of garbage.

So I usually just know what brand I want before going onto Amazon and am more just price checking.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

Honestly can you give an example?

What product do you search online and not know the real brands vs knockoffs and it actually matters (Not a 5$ item)

It feels like people want to buy the cheapest item AND get the real brand and getting annoyed when those purchases don't allign

Maybe I am missing something / some category of good here

Basically anything I dont have a deep knowledge or repeating purchases for. The car battery booster example above is a good one. Also things like HDMI cables, computer peripherals, cookware, personal appliances (eg hair dryer) etc.

[calumniate]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

Thats why you read the 1 and 2 star reviews not the 5 star!

Sure some will be dumb, but thats usually where you will see the experts with comments you need to know.

One trick is they alway show 'most relevant' by default. That is kind of suspect. I prefer sorting by most recent but it takes a couple of steps. Gives you a better idea of what kind ot #####e you're buying

[Cappy]

The use of drop shippers and poor quality substitutes.

The lack of ability to touch and test products

The fact that most returns are thrown away

That fact that even branded products can come from drop shippers or unregulated suppliers.

Fake reviews

The collapse of brick and mortar shopping

Promotion of laziness and isolationism

Countless reasons I do not use Amazon unless I’m at my wits end. Go out. Touch grass. Meet some friends and do some shopping.

[Looch City]

Lol okay boomer.

Who needs friends when I have AI in my pocket?

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by photon

Like those battery car booster things. There's a ton of 6-7 random letter brand, but some of them are actually ok, fortunately Project Farm tested a bunch for me .

Damn you, I watched the whole goddamned video because you said this.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

Thats why you read the 1 and 2 star reviews not the 5 star!

Sure some will be dumb, but thats usually where you will see the experts with comments you need to know.

You get just as many morons in the 1 star reviews. Plus companies use bots to try and derail competitors stuff. It's not a guarantee to find answers based on the worst reviews anymore.

"OMFG I opened it up 8 months later, didn't work. Amazon didn't honor return. SCAM!"

"It was a few dollars more than other ones that looked similar. Works but is over priced garbage. Bull#### it doesn't have X feature (that isn't a feature the product has)."

"For how expensive this unit was, I was disappointed that the unit stopped working one it was submerged in water/water got inside." (Item not advertised to be water proof)

I look for reviews with content and constructive criticism. Basically anything that looks like it's 2-3 sentences or less is probably useless.

Originally Posted by photon

I think it's just when I'm searching for something where I don't know a good brand of what I want or I am trying to find a cheaper option but still have an acceptable level of quality.

Like those battery car booster things. There's a ton of 6-7 random letter brand, but some of them are actually ok, fortunately Project Farm tested a bunch for me . So I kind of agree when just looking for certain things without a specific brand it can be a wave of garbage.

So I usually just know what brand I want before going onto Amazon and am more just price checking.

Yeah... for stuff like that you have to assume you're buying a lower end brand and that for the price point, longevity is going to be an issue. The other thing you have to identify is that a question well posed is a question half answered. Beyond cost, you have to know why you're selecting the lower end brand that may not perform as well or last as long.

For instance, the USB jump starter. Just like power banks, I was tinkering with them several years before most others. Prior to NOCO, I've used like 3-4 different brands, some are still selling on Amazon and even I'd argue that their other offerings are excellent... other than the USB jump starter for value/time. I've bought some, in store and from Costco too which honestly speaker were nameless brands paying a recognized brand to slap their logo on it.

Cheaper brands I found that even with regular top ups once or twice a year/after a boost, the batteries would start bulging through the plastic casing after around 14-20 months. They still work... but I ain't risking wandering around with a bulging battery of that size. I don't remember how I stumbled upon NOCO brand jump starters. It was definitely on Amazon, but I don't know why I thought I'd give it a chance.

I bought one NOCO in 2020 and one in 2021. Both are still basically perfect. I found their performance better, clamps better than the ones on all the other ones, I felt like the jump would happen right away vs no instances where an SUV struggled to boost at a similar capacity rating and finally, no bulging after 2 years.

That's why for instance I'd recommend NOCO without a second thought. Anyone who wants to tinker with other brands, I say they'd have to do their own research. For my personal reasoning, it's been the best value/time for me by a long shot and I've tried enough other stuff that I know I'm not interested in wasting that time, or risking a bank that doesn't work when I need it, or worst yet, cheaping out $30-50 on a unit that literally sets my car or house on fire.


For other things with less safety concerns and more disposable in nature, I've been cross referencing Temu and Aliexpress for years. If I see something similar in look and specs to it, I assume it's basically the same thing even if the "brand" is different. I assume that on Amazon, I'm just paying a premium for it to arrive in a few days/week vs stuff on Aliexpress that could take weeks to months to arrive. Depending on the premium on Amazon vs Aliexpress, I'll buy off Aliexpress instead.

If it's a more recognizable brand, I'll try and search to see the common ways they fail (ie: Similar to what many people search up for vehicles). If there seems to be a pattern, then I'll avoid the unit or consider spending more on a higher model to avoid the issue. If the failures seem random or due to user error, then I'll take the failure into consideration, but not a full reason to not consider the item. People who give an item like a 3-4 star after they run it over and it barely works... that's so dumb.

[blankall]

People are really romanticizing the pre-internet retail experience. Particularly when it came to electronics accessories. Those were always the biggest crap shoot. The retail, particularly electronics, store would absolutely gauge you. In the early 2000s, you'd pay $40 for a cord to charge your phone. Sometimes as much as $80 for a branded charger. You could find unbranded ones for $20-40, but those would be an absolute crap shoot as to their quality.

If you wanted an HDMI cord, you got totally upsold on questionable brands like "Mad Catz". The sales guys would all push brands like that, as the markup was significantly higher than the big electronics brands (like Samsung) products. As a consumer you had no idea what was real or not. The quality on everything was just generally bad. Even that $80 charger would end up frayed with the cord half pulled out within a couple of months.

Now people are getting upset at Amazon, because they're paying $5-10 for an accessory and it might be amazing or it might the quality of a $5-10 accessory. Even then, you can mitigate the risk by just paying $10-20 for a brand name accessory from someone like Anker.

[jayswin]

Remember "monster" cables from future shop? Like quadruple the price of regular cables and just mercilessly pushed by their sales guys.