The Amazon Thread

[kcmets]

Prompted by discussion in another thread and posters
who have or plan to jump off the SS Amazon...

I'd have a hard time quitting. And KB loves the Firestick
thing. Yesterday I needed weed whacker cartridges. Went
to Loews where I've bought them before. Nothing. Home
Depot had seemingly a dozen brands. Nothing. I went on
Amazon last night and ordered a six pack and they were
on my porch at 11;20 AM. On a Sunday.

Tough to match that service.

[whippoorwill]

Yeah I get a little tired of small local businesses closing down, and sometimes it’s Amazon, but also sometimes it’s because you go in maybe 2-3 times a year and they have the same merchandise they had last time.

Hate to say it but when you live in a small town you like to support the business owners but sometimes you can’t.

What’s a Firestick?

[kcmets]

It's this: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... l/overview

Really, what I should have said is she loves Prime Video.

[whippoorwill]

Lol so do we :)

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

They've got us on shopping, streaming TV, 3 kindles even photo storage. Shopping would be the easiest to kick. The kindles tho.

[cal sharpie]

As mentioned in the other thread, we’ve been off them for years now. I live in Brooklyn and work in Manhattan. It’s pretty easy to find whatever we want and thereby support local businesses. Also, hearing stories from people I know who have worked there and the crap they make businesses go through to sell their products there only reinforces my determination to stay far away.

[Edgy MD]

Yeah, the proliferation of streaming platforms has sure made life without Prime Video easy street. Many of them are free and frequently offer more interesting fare.

We get access to two streaming platforms with our library cards, not to mention access to the city library's huge DVD collection.

Life without Jeff is good. Added bonus is that his ex-wife gave an un-Godly amount of money to the university up the street from me.

[Bob Alpacadaca]

I like Amazon. I just needed a special filter for my fridge, and the guy at Lowe’s said he didn’t stock it. We looked for the part on Amazon and had it yet next day - and fridge fixed. This was a good thing.

[Lefty Specialist]

Use them as sparingly as possible. But sometimes the thing you need can't be found anywhere else. It's annoying. Other retailers have tried to copy what they do, but no one does it as well. For instance we try to buy books at the local bookstore, but often they say they'll have to order it for us. I'll bet dollars to donuts they're ordering it from Amazon at their discount and selling it to us for full price. Can't prove it, it's just the paranoid in me.

[whippoorwill]

You’re probably right

One thing I have noticed in the past few years though is that Amazons search feature is not very good.

You used to be able to type in an item and get an exact match, not so much any more, even if you put in the brand name.

I was searching for XL Swiffer mop pads last week and got everything from mops to sweatpants.
And off brand mop pads that wouldn’t have worked.

[Frayed Knot]

I order through Amazon just a few times per year at most and don't have any other association with them [no Prime, no streaming and no whatever else they deal in these days] so it's not like a pledge to boycott would be any great sacrifice.
fwiw, the editor is still claiming that the decision to not endorse was his and not that that of Bezos but that doesn't really pass the smell test, does it?
Especially after all that, 'Democracy dies in silence' stuff. I think mostly Trump is pissed off at Bezos for having more money than him.

[cal sharpie]

A bookstore would never order from Amazon. In almost every case it’s cheaper and faster to order from the publisher. Also, bookstores view them as the real enemy.

[Chad ochoseis]

fwiw, the editor is still claiming that the decision to not endorse was his and not that that of Bezos but that doesn't really pass the smell test, does it?

It all puzzles me. I don't read the LA Times, but WaPo hasn't been ambiguous about their preference, even if they don't come out and say it. Sample news - not op-ed - headline from their site this evening: "Trump rally speakers invoke racist tropes to mock Harris".

So what is Bezos accomplishing by killing an outright endorsement, except pissing off an Amazon and WaPo clientele that likely leans a little more Dem than the country as a whole?

Like FK, I don't buy much from Amazon. I'm trying to buy less stuff in general, and most of what I do but comes from Costco. So I don't know yet if I'm just boycotting Amazon or doing my usual not-buying. I'm taking a wait-and-see view on WaPo.

[metirish]

Hate to say it but I order from Amazon a lot , just so damn convenient.

I stopped using the Fire Stick , I recently got the Nvidia Shield Pro as my streamer

[Edgy MD]

So what is Bezos accomplishing by killing an outright endorsement, except pissing off an Amazon and WaPo clientele that likely leans a little more Dem than the country as a whole?

So the theory goes, he's trying to accomplish getting on the right side of the guy who could be next president and has openly and regularly promised to use that position to avenge himself upon his enemies.

Most of us mostly have our lives and liberty to lose, but Jeff Bezos could lose billions.

[Chad ochoseis]

True enough, but my point was that WaPo has all but endorsed her anyway.

[Edgy MD]

Sure, but President Crankypants would presumpably remember that the tax-shelter-dwelling plutocrat had his back against those mean, nasty journalists.

[Fman99]

Hate to say it but I order from Amazon a lot , just so damn convenient.

Big at our house too. It makes life easier. We're busy people - it's nice to find it and buy it and have it on my doorstep the next morning.

[Edgy MD]

Shmamazon alternatives from Rolling Stone.

[Fman99]

Shmamazon alternatives from Rolling Stone.

This article perfectly represents why Amazon is what it is. I don't want to have to check 11 different sites to find something I need for my house. Who's got time for that ?

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

The best Amazon shopping alternative would be walmart.com-- same shit, same service, same price.

Shopping is the easiest thing to replace. Those Rolling Stone places are almost all useless and expensive

[metirish]

With Walmart you will get Paramount Plus with ads as part of the sub , I've been tempted

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Alternative to the Prime you'd be losing.

One worriesome thing-- more and more sports going to pay streamers. MLB doesn't do their new deal till 2028 but when it does you may want to have options.

[kcmets]

People define shopping differently. I don't shop at Amazon. I've
bought about two dozen things on Amazon in 2024, none of the
things are something I'd find at Wal-ly World dot com.

And we're in Wal-ly World 3-4 times a month. I don't think we've
ever bought any thing online from Wal-ly World. I am an online
creature going on 25 years but never got the shopping bug.

I hate reading my newspaper on the computer, but that's another...

[metirish]

Alternative to the Prime you'd be losing.

One worriesome thing-- more and more sports going to pay streamers. MLB doesn't do their new deal till 2028 but when it does you may want to have options.

Right, I rarely watch anything on Prime ,and i should, some good stuff there ,it's like I forget i have it for streaming