* Showerhead that came without box, and clearly used. It still had a lot of water inside!
* Underwear from a brand that sells items inside a sealed bag and discards returns came used, without bag (yuck!)
* A module of Samsung RAM had visible wear signs and didn't work
* Cycling glasses came without box and several missing items
The underwear thing upset me so much I emailed Jeff Bezos. After lots of emails forwarded around, nothing happened.
It's sad because they used to be good. But the number of returned and counterfeit items sold as new is mindboggling.
The closest I had to a problem was when I sent an email stating that a product is not functional after a year and a half. They replied that the 30 days return window is over and that I should contact the producer.
I replied that according to the law, I have 2 years of warranty with zero costs from my side. They replied that are very sorry for the misunderstanding (or something like that), together with a return slip.
Teh second one would probably be when I was suggested to test Amazon Prime and I was charged 50€ right away. I replied this is a test. They replied that I actually signed for Prime, that it was not a test.
To what I replied it was, to what they replied they will reimburse me 50€ minus the fast shipping costs (that would otherwise be included in Prime). To what I replied i was really unhappy. To what they replied that 50€ are on their way to may credit card.
This is one of the reasons I buy with Amazon without much fear.
Also, Amazon returns are refunded as soon as the package is scanned at the post office, not 2 or 3 weeks after.
I'd really like to buy from a French company, but every time I try, they go out of their way to send me back to Amazon.
Also, in Netherland, Amazon isn't all that big. In the distant past, I sometimes ordered at amazon.com, later at amazon.de. Recently I got an invitation to amazon.nl which apparently just opened, but I really don't see the point. Netherland already had a couple of big online retailers: bol.com and coolbue. They're good, fast, reliable. I don't need Amazon anymore.
Bad experiences stick with people and they are more likely to write about it. Like the one time I ordered Harmon Kardon subwoofer from newegg like 15 years ago and it came entirely missing it's outer case, and neither newegg not Harmon Kardon (I went in person to their service center) would accept the return. It made me skeptical of ordering from newegg for a while, and it was unusual and annoying enough that I still remember it to write about.
Customer support switched to Indian contractor companies and it is not as nice anymore. Reviews became useless and downright harmful. I have gotten many incorrect items from their fulfilment program in the last 2 years. I never got any before it.
6 or 7 years ago there was a much higher proportion of items actually sold by Amazon. Now it's a morass of third-party sellers with inaccurate listings to the point that even just finding an item is quite a choice. I recently gave up trying to buy kitchen knives because most listings had no OEM part number, a vague description and photo and people arguing in the Q&A section about basic features like whether it had a serrated edge or not.
Amazon has become a dumping ground for people who buy things on Alibaba, at liquidation or even just at Costco and try to resell for a markup. Even a search for basic consumer products like a box of cereal will have the top results be these kinds of sellers. For instance, I just searched for "ichiban noodles" (a popular international brand of instant noodles that can be found for <$1/each in any grocery store in Canada). The top result is a pack of 8 for $27!
Yes, Amazon still replaces or refunds almost anything that you have an issue with, but I'd rather just get the thing I wanted the first time.
A perfect of example of this is a picture frame I bought from Amazon (or rather, third party seller fulfilled by Amazon). It arrived damaged because it was thrown into a too-large box with no padding. I notified Amazon and they sent another one. It arrived identically packaged and also damaged. Then I asked for a refund. At this point, almost a month had passed and I still didn't have a picture frame, despite a huge amount of resources having been consumed by Amazon.
No store that actually has to bear the cost of returns themselves would do that, but Amazon made out like kings on the transaction: they got a cut of the original purchase, their FBA fees, then got to charge the seller for disposal of a broken item - twice!
And Amazon in Canada does not stock or sell food items at competitive prices if at all. They barely sell a small number of Whole Foods items online. I generally buy local for most food items, except maybe bulk supplements or household items. Some things, especially now under lockdown, you can only find easily on Amazon...
Aside from that, everything has been great but I also never order clothes from Amazon.
In recent memory, I've had only one bad experience with a 3rd party seller not shipping the item I ordered. Oddly, I ordered twice before from them (through Amazon) and never had an issue. Something changed in the months leading up to the third purchase, because their reviews went from overwhelmingly positive to overwhelmingly negative, and I'm not sure COVID-19 would completely explain it (or maybe it does?). Two months after not receiving the purchase, I sent a dispute to Amazon and they refunded it in full. Can't complain.
I did have a product arrive damaged (actually a pack of two; one was fine). Amazon refunded the entire purchase price for both saying they couldn't do partial refunds (understandable).
Of the couple of other mistakes I can think of, they'd once sent the wrong item (a consumable) and also refunded without fuss, suggesting I should just dispose of the mistaken item as I saw fit. The other one was a carafe for frothing milk for cappuccinos that didn't arrive at all. IIRC, they refunded and sent a replacement the same day I emailed. Also had a hard drive show up with surface defects (placed in an unnecessarily large box and almost certainly got beat up during shipping), and I got a return label that same day with UPS showing up about a day later to pick it up. (Bonus: I know the usual UPS driver, so it was good to see him!)
Never have bought many clothing items from Amazon recently except for neck ties. Watching some YT channels that purchase from Amazon-related liquidators[2], the negative experiences with clothing and personal hygiene don't really surprise me. Worth watching, but be prepared to be somewhat terrified and maybe a little grossed out.
[1] I once bought a laptop cooling tray from Walmart out of curiosity. The quality was roughly what you'd expect. The USB cable failed after about a month of use (poorly terminated no doubt) and the tray is of the lowest quality manufacture you can imagine. Ironically, it was more expensive than better quality options off Amazon...
[2] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8Xi9F_8Sr1-1bKRDlCO1ZA
Everything else was 100% down to the manufacturer or negligent Marketplace seller.
I have tons of valid complaints about the shitty search engine, the poor quality of filters, the dark patterns pushing shit and the over-abundance of third-party Chinese crap, but Amazon still is more reliable and friction-less than the vast majority of e-tailers.
This being said the other sites have gotten much better (not much choice), to the point Amazon isn't my one-stop-shop anymore (as it would have been five or ten years ago).
Fake products are the necessary sacrifices we have to make in order to be fulfilled by Amazon. Quality control (like moderation or ethics) just doesn't scale, and we must maintain infinite growth at all cost.
Just this year I'm on 108 orders and counting, every
single one of them was fine, working, definitely not
used, definitely not counterfeit
I've also never really heard anybody else complaining about problems with Amazon either. I have a pretty large extended social circle, and I just don't hear any problems.
I 100% believe those who say they have these problems! I'm just trying to put things in perspective.
As for their own brands like thier tablets, they are probably worse quality than some counterfeits/awful brands. They have nasty cheap parts, for example the usb power port breaks in no time. I made the mistake of shopping for that non-amazon brand tablet for yesterday, but what a seriously shoddy company, for many reasons.
I will say that "definitely not counterfeit" is a very high bar these days. I have a pair of Ray Bans that I'm still on the fence about after several years.
They are responsive to regulatory action - when I filed a complaint about COVID related price gouging via my state attorney general’s office, they acted within two hours of receipt. A firm hand is effective.
I do avoid clothes though, it's difficult to find ones that are shaped correctly for my body, so I go in-person to a local store, buy ones that fit, then order more of the same style from their site online using the SKU.
I don't doubt that the problems described by others are real, but I think there's a lot of variance in the number and kind of problems people actually see.
The underwear issue was with Amazon US, and RAM with Amazon DE. But I've found Amazon UK quite problematic too.
I know it's a caveat emptor environment, but it's worked for me. It's eBay that I have to watch like a hawk (just assume if you buy an electronic component, you have at best a 50-50 chance of it not being crap). I'm curious as to the wide variety of experiences I see from others.
Plus, I support local people.
https://www.amazon.com/prime-wardrobe/b/?ie=UTF8&node=148071...
How much water could a showerhead even hold. Certainly not a lot?
Isn't it clear from the premises that that whole online thing is treacherous at best for the environment, our environment ?
I can understand the convenience, buying stuff you don't find in your local shops, etc. But much of what Amazon do is because they have customers... So instead of complaining about Amazon, why not just fix our own behavior ?
(sorry to say that like this, I know it's super not diplomatic and one sided and maybe I could even not defend my own point of view if we'd be to talk face to face, but at some point choices must be made)
They treat their warehouse workers cruelly, tolerate counterfeits, allow the review process to be juked to the point of uselessness, and contribute to a brittle monoculture.
But the environment? Any consumer good is transported by internal combustion engine from the factory, to some intermediate places, to the door. Maybe someone uses a bike for the last part, but mostly, they drive to the store in their private automobile. Amazon uses package delivery services, which is much more efficient, and warehouses have a smaller environmental footprint than stores, which are all backed by warehouses anyway.
It's either a small amount of additional cardboard and plastic, or a whole additional building and a few miles of driving a single automobile. It's pretty clear that Amazon wins this comparison.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Amazon can get me a TV with lower total emissions than if I shopped locally. If I comparison shopped locally, I’m virtually certain Amazon’d win.
I ordered a camera lens which also came in a padded envelope. $400.
I got a box of wet wipes from them. It had its own sturdy box and they were placed in another box lined with shipping paper. $12.
I also won't buy anything that goes into my body. I ordered toothpaste and it came from some guy's basement. He wrapped them in plastic wrap and wrote two pack on the outside.
Amazon gets lazier and lazier by the day and is in a lot of ways no better than a flea market.
Most of what I buy are products that I can't find offline easily or at all. So Amazon actually brings them sooner than what I would be able to find it offline, like vitamins or exotic incense. Also some audio electronics are too expensive in the few shops that, even in Madrid, are specialized in that area.
But computers or phones or monitors/tv? MediaMarkt or Fnac have a good enough variety and I can just walk out the shop with a box, that I can return no questions asked if defective, the same day.
I've also found out that some pieces of audio electronics or instruments are better bought used from individuals. I got a pair of pro speakers for 100€ that are triple that money new. You can go and see the thing before paying. Same for furniture that is dirty cheap used.
Edit: could be this related to USA car dependence?