https://youtu.be/1qWJXflTPZk

The quality of stuff being sold on Amazon has been a race to the bottom for a while now, somewhat following in the steps of Ebay.

In this video Louis has two crimp butt connectors: one bought from Amazon and one bought from a hardware retail store - the Amazon purchased one, which a regular user of the site may consider as reputable at a glance, fails to crimp the wires securely. The hardware store one however securely crimps the wires in place.

It’s a pretty mundane example, but extends across to other products in other industry verticals too. A pretty major concern raised in the video was that the failure of this specific product would cause excess heat, potentially leading to an electrical fire in the worst case scenario.

There’s also the issue of reputable brands not even listing their products on Amazon anymore, leaving users with mostly poor quality alternatives shown prominently in search results.

Personally I find myself preferring to shop at dedicated or independent online storefronts, where it’s a bit more obvious what exactly I’m purchasing, and where there’s at least some minimum guarantee of quality - in contrast to a Prime “dropshipped”, generic product from Amazon. Also kind of like the fact that by purchasing from sites that aren’t massive marketplaces or outlets, real individuals benefit from my custom, not massive behemoths that don’t need the sales to survive

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  • @The_vEnglish
    11•1 year ago

    You really have to know what you are purchasing on Amazon.

    For example, I like when major brands have a storefront. I then compare prices at multiple distribution points and purchase from the best. Sometimes Amazon wins but usually other outlets get my business.

    The most annoying trend recently is the online pricing versus in-store pricing being radically different. Office Depot, Target, Walgreens, and many others have gotten stupid about this especially with electronics. My new hobby while standing in line at checkout is to validate the pricing of everything I am purchasing.

    I almost always end up finding something radically different.

    • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️English
      7•1 year ago

      Usually they’ll price match their own web site if you complain. It’s still a hassle, though.

      My business is an undercutter in our industry, and our online price is the same as our in store price. Ain’t nobody got time for that shit. Consequently, roughly 70% of my customers are online or phone sales and I never meet them. Suits me fine.

      • mars296
        9•1 year ago

        Not too long ago I found that Home Depot had a product cheaper than Amazon and in stock near me. When I showed up in store, it was more expensive and they would not price match their own website. So I left and ordered it from Amazon for cheaper than the in-store price. I could have gotten it cheaper from the HD website but I was so annoyed with the experience that I didn’t purchase from them.