I wanted to get printer photo paper for my printer, a Canon. I went to Walmart, They had nothing. Went to Target, they had one pack of photo paper and it was crazy expensive, so I went to micro center. That one was just as expensive. So finally I went back to Amazon, which I was trying to avoid, and saw the price 25 to 40% lower than anywhere I had been. Literally everything that I was looking for, I could find within seconds. Not even Best buy has even close to the amount of inventory or variety, even when you’re shopping online…
Therefore, I think Amazon has a literal monopoly in the tech industry right now, you’re literally forced to buy from them, because unless you have the money and financial fortitude to protest with your wallet, you’re going to be buying from them. There’s no other choice. They have so aggressively and dominantly taken over the supply chain market that no other tech company can currently compete with them in any aspect at all. You will be paying 40 to 50% more on everything by cutting out Amazon, and no one has the money for that anymore unless you’re upper middle class or above
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Remember that time like 10 years ago, when some local news station was doing a story about Amazon having all the best tech deals, and then the one co-host butts in and says “You know why they have a monopoly, right? RIGHT??? SHE KNOWS WHAT I’M TALKIN ABOUT!!!”
And everybody was giving blank looks, like “Uh…no? What ARE you talking about?”
And he’s like “Because they sell all the sex toys, and deliver it right to your house! Ladies? Right??? IT’S CONVIENENT!!!”
And everybody just had their mouth open in shock like “WTF ARE YOU DOING???”
and then he goes on and on about dildos, as his cohost continually tries to move on, but he keeps talking about dildos. And she’s looking like she wants to strangle him.
Lolllll found it. https://youtu.be/cZ0qpPTH1ow?si=b17mHt0cXsDWK1O_
Not as bad as promised. I mean he has a point.
No, but I enjoyed your retelling.
You should watch news bloopers on youtube. There’s so many classics.
“…I so pale…” *You’re on!" Immediately goes into news reporter mode as her cohost giggles
Also, a woman talking to the weatherman: “How bout that 69, huh? I know you’re excited about the no rain, but how bout that 69???” Rest of the news crew stonewalls.
Or the woman doing an on-location report about a guy who grills hamburgers for his resteraunt.
“Now, can I try one of these?”
"Absolutely. I would LOVE to see my meat in your mouth!
“NOT THE FIRST TIME I’VE HEARD THAT!!!”
There was the cohost who was in a grape smashing competition to make wine, and she yelled “WAIT!!!” and then started stomping extra fast herself. Basically cheating. And then she slipped and fell face first off an 8 foot drop right onto her face. And she starts groaning in pain.
Never saw that but that is hilarious.
And he was right!
Here in Canada, I find the prices pretty neck and neck. Small items tend to be a bit cheaper at the stores, since there is very little overhead for them to carry small items compared to Amazon’s picking and delivery logistics. Big items tend to be a bit cheaper on Amazon. For tech specifically, Best Buy price matches items, so it’s not that bad… Memory express and CC sometimes have lower prices than Amazon too (see PCPartPicker).
The main reason to use Amazon is you can easily find some really obscure stuff. Then again, you can buy direct from manufacturer, like Vevor, for often cheaper.
Amazon’s pricing I not deterministic. You were likely tracked and information collected to know this was a key item for you. Amazon will market loss leaders to you in an attempt to get you to default to buying on Amazon.
As a former Buyer for a chain of retail stores, the loss leader is effective marketing. I sell you a popular item at or below my typical cost because statistically, a large percentage of customers are making a special trip to my store to buy that product and will make additional purchases at margin. On the wholesale Buying side, these are tools to get past bulk buying tier discounts for seasonal ordering with smaller scale retail.
Amazon is using a convoluted front end system of overlapping product categories and a supposed multi seller listings (despite collectivized logistics and warehousing) on the website you see. This is how they perform price fixing where you do not see honest or straight forward determinism. When you repurchase that same item later without making comparisons, the seller will shuffle so that a higher price is presented.
If you have a well isolated network where device history for social media and internet browsing is totally partitioned from e-commerce you’ll likely see even more of the scam. If you see anyone online show the search results and pricing on Amazon, then try to replicate those search results and product price on a device that is totally partitioned from your viewing of the item/price elsewhere, you’re likely to find it is not possible. If you then go back to the original device and do the same, you’ll magically find the same product and lower price. It is a scam market. This is why they are collecting and paying for all that data about you. We are in an age when automated individual targeting and manipulation is possible and happening. This is why data mining stalkerware is insidious. Scam markets are only the tip of the iceberg and what can be uncovered if you go looking for it. Anyone that has done database or logistics management should have major red flags flying when looking at how Amazon’s website is setup. The front end is absolutely untenable garbage for effective logistics. The only reason it is convoluted and search results are terrible is because it is a price fixing scam. The logistical efficiency proves that there is no connection between the front and back end of the site.
How much does it say these beans cost?
How does CamelCamelCamel display a price history if the price is different for everyone? Perhaps it’s inaccurate for some (Just hasn’t been for me the handful of times I’ve “had“ to use Amazon.)
And Amazon doesn’t price discriminate if they put something on a nationwide sale? So the bloggers can advertise that AirPods are at their lowest price ever?
reporting on their bad biz practices
They definitely get accused of other unsavory stuff:
Amazon “tricks” customers into buying Fire TVs with false sales prices: Lawsuit
oh so basically the entire shitpost about walmart or whatever it was having “dynamic pricing” is literally already real…
ok.
Thanks for this. I’ve only used Amazon a few times and was always baffled at the train wreck of its chaotic layout / ux. I had to buy something there once and it was such a process it was like being asked to leave the store before paying. Thought at the time it must be down to legacy and new features being showhorned around ancient web1.0 history, its success being its burden with customers having to learn how to use the thing. Price fixing scam is what I will think of it now, while continuing to avoid it.
chaotic layout / ux
Maybe it’s stockholm syndrome or something, but I find it absolutely fine. My general rule of thumb is to look past the first page of results, since that’s where a lot of the sponsored listings are, and then look at several listings before deciding. As long as you’re aware that the first page or so of results are generally sponsored (i.e. ads), it’s not too hard to find a decent product. And since it’s online, it’s pretty easy to compare w/ other retailers (I’ll often look at eBay, Newegg, and a couple others depending on the type of product before pulling the trigger).
That said, I’m definitely not your typical consumer (I rarely buy things on impulse), so it’s hard for me to understand the impact of their “price fixing” nonsense.
Maybe it’s stockholm syndrome or something, but I find it absolutely fine.
no it’s absolutely horrid. HOWEVER in your defense, so are like 95% of all websites, ever made, it’s not a unique problem.
Yeh people learn and it becomes normal which is fine. Ebay is as bizarre to me. Not hate, more a morbid fascination that things so maze-like to navigate can also be successful. Could be semi cultural as well. I’ve noticed this being the way in other US platforms with a similar legacy. I’ve also being (attempting to) subvert tracking for quite a while so maybe that’s working and its less useful as a result lol. I’m lucky in a sense that their corporation isn’t so strong where I live so theres more choice (ironically I may actually have less choice). Its annoying when they have the monopoly on a given product, but it’s also possible just to go without the shiny thing.
Ebay
Yeah, it’s a bit odd, but again, once you get used to it, it’s fine. My general rules of thumb:
- narrow by category - avoids the worst of the spam
- only include “buy it now” listings (unless you really want auctions)
- sort by price (including shipping)
- skip the cheapest listing and look for the first “cluster” of listings
- be careful with sellers with a small number of reviews; low reviews aren’t a deal-breaker, they just have a higher chance of BS
I do that each time, and I haven’t had any problems so far.
Great post. Thank you for this insight!
Do you mean you went to walmart and target physically, and then directly to amazons website, and no other online shop? There are a ton of competing online stores with similar or better prices than Amazon, often stores specializing in the product you’re buying. Instead of looking up amazon specifically, look up the item youre looking for
Exactly. For tech stuff, B&H Photo and Newegg are generally pretty good, and there are still niche sites within that depending on what you’re looking for (e.g. keyboards and mice have multiple high quality vendors). At the very least, it’s worth using the “shopping” feature on your search engine (I use DuckDuckGo and check their “shopping” tab to get a feel for which vendors sell a given thing).
I’ve been buying a ton of stuff recently on eBay because I usually don’t mind buying used if it’s something more expensive (i.e. cell phone, console games, etc), just be aware that they have different standards than other retailers (e.g. if it’s a refurb phone, you could get an aftermarket screen). But as long as you read the listing carefully, it’s usually all spelled out.
I put some of the blame on retailers as well. Retail stores just don’t want to carry inventory anymore, especially tech-focused ones with many of those just turning into glorified showrooms. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard some version of: “Sorry, we don’t have that in stock but we can bring it in for you.”
We needed a short length of garden hose here for the house so I went to two hardware stores and one garden centre looking for one. Nothing. Not even in their dedicated gardening sections. I had to order it off Amazon. A goddamn garden hose.
Amazon has done a lot of damage for sure but retail is suffering from several self-inflicted wounds too. Home Depot, for example, is a multi-billion dollar corporation and even they have a weaker retail presence now. That’s not Amazon’s fault.
Mean while my Best Buy has so much crap in the aisles that you can’t pass a person without having to do the weird turn side ways shuffle. Home Depot isn’t much better. Trying to push a lumber carts around is a joke now. So much crap stuck in the middle of the aisles or at the end of the aisles. So I don’t think it’s a lack of inventory but a variety of inventory.
Totally agree!
Looks like you’ve been hard at work blocking since people actually agree with you now
They don’t want to carry inventory because Amazon doesn’t. The prices are higher because vendors are contractually obligated to sell on Amazon at their lowest price. So retailers, with a need to have a physical presence and having to buy at more or less the same price a product is available for on Amazon, get fucked. Their only hope is vendors who make a “different” product to sell at other outlets. An example of what I mean is, Poppi soda sells for $20/12 pack on Amazon. They sell a 15 pack at Costco for the same price. Because it’s a “different” product they are not in breach of contract.
Check your local mom and pop hardware store if you have one! I had to get a feeder hose this summer as well, and the only place I found it was a local family owned hardware store.
Harbor Freight.
When you absolutely need something to work presicely once between the day you buy it and the day you’re late for jury duty.
I’ve gotten some surprisingly long lasting gems there, but you can never be sure. Like you said, I’ve also gotten a number “single use” tools from Harbor Freight. Overall though, it’s almost always been worth it.
Yup. Hand tools are generally pretty safe, anything with a motor is sus. And honestly, I respect my health enough to not buy safety equipment there (3M is the way to go most of the time).
Go on Facebook and ask your local buy nothing group. Check thrift stores line the habitat for humanity restore. Farm and home store like fleet farm/ farm and fleet. Plenty of ways to get ahold of something like that without buying new.
That requires Facebook
I’ll stick to not buying things instead
I wonder how much investment it drives in Facebook to be a user who registered under an assumed name on a VPN with an ad blocker enabled.
Unfortunately, probably some.
I feel you. Fortunately, in my area there’s a very popular classifieds section at one of the local newspapers, so I can stick to my guns avoiding Facebook.
So check local newspaper classifieds, Craigslist, and maybe your local library (you never know if they organize swaps).
There’s always dumpster diving
He said he didn’t want to use Facebook.
Retail stores just don’t want to carry inventory anymore
Retail stores are more than happy to carry anything consumers want to pay for. If they don’t stock it, it means people don’t buy it, and you can’t fault them for that.
That’s not Amazon’s fault.
That’s mostly the fault of consumers who buy from Amazon (and other e-tailors).
The problem with this “econ101” thinking is that it insists that the whole system runs on the choices of actors in a deterministic system.
Yes, the system isn’t perfectly deterministic, but on average and over a long-enough time period, it pretty much is. People are going to act irrationally, but generally people will be irrational roughly equally on either side of “rational.”
In this case, the market is probably big enough that if a big retailer doesn’t stock something, it’s because the average person has decided that buying it elsewhere (i.e. Amazon) or not buying it at all (i.e. longer is fine) is preferable to buying it at the local store. It’s not the local retailer’s fault that it’s unprofitable to stock that item, it’s a mix of consumers and online competition making that product unprofitable to stock.
That said, you’ll probably have a better shot if you go to specialized stores. In this case, look at farming and plumbing supply stores, since they’re more likely to service those customers who really need that short hose today to complete a project. Your regular home improvement stores (e.g. Lowe’s and Home Depot) cater to homeowners more than contractors (so having a little of everything is better than lots of something), whereas the specialist stores cater to contractors and small business owners.
I don’t know what any of these words mean.
Here in Germany there are still plenty of independent online retailers and they’re competitive with Amazon. I always try to avoid buying from Amazon and for tech products that’s usually no problem.
Do you have some good examples? I recently moved there, and want to avoid Amazon, when possible
I like to order tech stuff from mindfactory.de
Same in Spain. I don’t even have an Amazon account, btw.
Here in Italy practically no one is as quick as Amazon tho
So? What’s the deal in waiting a couple of days?
Exactly. I convinced my wife that we really don’t need everything to arrive in 0-2 days, it’s totally fine if things take 3-5 days. So I cancelled our Prime sub, and it’s been absolutely fine. In fact, we spend a bit less due to that minimum order size. We still usually get things in 2-3 days if we go w/ Amazon (we’re right next to a hub), but we’ve been buying from more retailers now that we plan for longer delivery times.
I’m also in Spain, and only use Amazon for things i genuinely cannot find elsewhere, which happens to be like once a year
Amazon has a healthcare company now too…
…and they own twitch.
Wait til you find out about AWS and how half the internet runs on it.
I tried blocking anything Amazon in my adguard home instance…holy shit that broke a lot of sites, I had to unblock it to have functional internet.
There are plenty of things to complain about with Amazon but, in my opinion, this ain’t it.
I went back to Amazon, which I was trying to avoid, and saw the price 25 to 40% lower than anywhere
Amazon typically has prices the same as any other retail store. Your experience is an exception. You can’t make a huge accusation like that based on a single product.
Not even Best buy has even close to the amount of inventory or variety, even when you’re shopping online…
You can’t compare a local brick and mortar store to Amazon. A vast array of hundreds of giant warehouses is never going to have the same variety of products as a handful of retail stores.
In addition, they leverage their warehouses to decrease shipping costs and local emissions. Which do you think costs more and causes more carbon emissions, a hundred people in old giant SUV beaters driving to and from a B&M location to shop for a single product or a single (often electric) delivery vehicle delivering a vast array of products to a hundred locations and are probably going to drive right by your house whether you order something or not?
Also Walgreens carries lots of different printing services and supplies and are pretty ubiquitous in large cities, so maybe give them a try.
I want to show some love to B&H Photo. They’re one of my go to’s specifically for tech stuff.
I feel like people give up on in store if they can’t find it at a big box store and go to the online equivalent of a big box store (Amazon).
Anybody who puts in a little effort should be able to find a specialty store either in person or online.
I got beat up on here for stating that Amazon delivery was greener for the exact reasons you said. Plus, some of my Amazon comes via USPS, which is driving by my house every day.
Reliable and fast delivery services also means less space devoted to parking lots and can generally be a really good way to transition communities away from car centric infrastructure. People just hate because cynicism is way easier than thinking critically.
Agreed as to Walgreens. Walgreens has surprised me with their photo and printing options. They are also located in the burbs, so that is nice.
I canceled prime a year ago as I can no longer support the monopoly and destruction to everyone else
Have you checked Staples?
They’re scheduled to close 225 storefronts by the end of 2024.
Even then, they also have an online store.
(And ew, they changed their logo five years ago apparently!)
Damn. Where I live Staples has better customer service and support than most shops.
Dunder Mifflin puts love in their paper.
So politely, how does Amazon offering a better price on a niche paper product conflate into them having a monopoly on the “tech industry”?
I’d posit the real thing here is that Amazon’s warehouses allow them to keep less-purchased products around in stock that a brick-and-mortar retail store simply wouldn’t bother with at all, but that’s been the case for decades at this point.
And, yes, printing out images has become an uncommon activity and I can’t say I’d blame any of the larger stores for only having a single expensive option available, but that’s their decision, not Amazon’s.
The long tail has always been one of Amazon’s strengths.
That said, buying anything from them runs a good chance of getting knock off garbage these days.
knock off garbage these days
Yep. I actually order more junk from AliExpress than Amazon now, because it’s the same shit except AliExpress is half the cost so if I’m going to get junk at least I’m paying junk-level prices.
(This is mostly components and other hobby-related stuff where there never really was any difference between AliExpress and Amazon, other than faster shipping.)
Bingo. Temu and Aliexpress. Same site, really.
Woodpecker or the item you can freely drop on the concrete floor without crying due to loss of investment.
Eh, going to disagree that Aliexpress == Temu.
Not that I’m saying Aliexpress is a paragon of virtue, but Temu is full of dark patterns, scammy “discounts” and just nonstop playing games trying to get you to buy now, refer people, and “win” shit. It’s a gambling app that happens to sell toxic trash as a side gig.
Aliexpress really has cleaned their shit up and basically sends you what you expect to get, when you expect to get it, and has made refunds for blatant bullshit (I had to return some clearly counterfeit remarked chips) if not easy then at least something you could actually accomplish.
100% agreed. There’s no way I’m touching Temu, but I do go to AliExpress every now and then. And most of the time, I can line up the Amazon listing for whatever I’m buying with a bit of research, so I can benefit from the reviews there (and not the 5 star reviews, but 1-2 star reviews).
Not only that but Amazon isn’t the only online retailer to sell stuff like this. OP only checked some brick and mortar stores then went straight to Amazon without even checking out other places like Canon directly, B&H, Walmart.com, etc.
Doesn’t look like they went to an Office Max/Depot or Staples either, which honestly, would be my first stop for printers and printer accessories these days, since printers have very much fallen into just office-use shit and that one damn thing a year you have to print because some jackass is still stuck in 1988.
Honestly, you should probably never go to Office Max/Depot or Staples for printer stuff because they often overcharge. Unless you need to print photos, get a reliable laser printer (Brother is great) and then shop around for toner when it’s time to replace in a few years. I found the toner I needed through the MFG website, then searched around a bit to see if there was a better deal. Toner is almost never an emergency, it’ll warn you when it’s low, which means you probably have a few months to order something.
Also, don’t get an inkjet, you’ll pay out the nose for it. If you do need to print photos, I recommend sending batches to get printed somewhere else. Yeah, it’s not as convenient as having the printer right there, but it’ll save a bit of time and headache, and probably some cash as well.
I buy paper at Costco and toner online at whatever retailer is cheapest. For office supplies, I generally stock up around back-to-school sales in August/September (in the US). The only time I go to an office supply store is if I really need some folders or something around tax season.
how does Amazon offering a better price on a niche paper product conflate into them having a monopoly on the “tech industry”?
For starters, it’s typically not “better price” so much as “only people able to consistently obtain supply”. The real price is very likely higher than it was 5-10 years ago when production was prolific.
But also, we saw this game play out with Walmart. The monopoly retailer has an opportunity to outsource to the least ethical producer.
So Amazon gets to be the sole distributor of printer paper, the manufacturer is some old growth harvestor in the Amazon using prison/slave labor for harvesting/processing, and even then you’re paying more for a worse product than when a well regulated and unionized workforce was producing the commodity a decade earlier.
I enjoy this narrative of “being forced” to go against ones own morals and principals by big bad companies because one just absolutely has to have a product for as cheap as possible.
You went to two stores and then straight to Amazon. That doesn’t mean they have a monopoly, that means you really didn’t try that hard to find an alternative.
If you think you have no other choice you are right because you stopped looking for one.
Yup, I know of a handful of local stores that would have what OP needs:
- office supply stores - there’s an Office Depot right next to my local Target
- photo supply stores - they specialize more in lenses and accessories, but they should also have photo paper
- art stores - even hobby stores like Hobby Lobby, Joanne’s, or Michael’s would have it
- CVS/Walgreens/etc - Walgreens even does prints, so you can just send your prints there if you really can’t find paper
- “tech” stores, like Best Buy (or Microcenter if you’re in the eastern US)
- random “everything” stores, like Big Lots, “Dollar” stores, etc (less likely, but worth a shot if one is close)
Your area will certainly be different, and there’s also a bunch of online stores, like B&H Photo (and dozens more, not going to list them all).
And I’m not in a big urban area, if you’re near a major city, you’ll have dozens of small stores that’ll sell that kind of stuff, along with some larger stores with discounted items.
Yes, asking for every damn material on facebook group of the university academic year is not suitable in the long run. Yes, there is to be one guy on my year hosting all material for free but he stopped and everybody moved to facebook groups.
Also there is always the second hand market… If you are really looking for deals and can take some risk which I think most adults with jobs can…
Yeah, I only buy pre-used printer paper
Brainrot like this a huge contributor to waste and plastic waste specifically but much freedom to consoom!
The second hand market is 80% suck since 2021 or so. Everyone wants retail for their shit. And goodwill has decided to be “the last reseller” and priced accordingly.
.
People want to sell their beat up tools for $10 less than the full warranty with returns tool (router, brad nailer, palm sander, belt sander, recently, different sellers.) a plug in craftsman belt sander as old as my dad and you want what now?
.
Shirts. Even the best thrift store will have a $7-8 minimum on a used shirt. Meanwhile, I can get 2 for $10-12 on Amazon, new, with returns.
.
Photo paper is an uncommon thrift. Though I found two 5x7 packs for $1 each this year. They were in a box with wrapped postits and index cards so I think someone was confused.
.
Remember, time is a commodity. Killing a day and coming out empty handed isn’t for everyone.
At least in my area, the online second hand market is pretty decent (in my case, classifieds at local newspaper). I even checked “photo paper” and found a dozen listings (I’m guessing they bought the wrong kind, got a really good deal on it, or decided they don’t actually print photos), but nothing as cheap as $1 (I see 2 packs of 50 sheets of 8.5x11 for $8 though, and that’s <1/4 the price vs retail).
Some things aren’t a good deal at thrift stores, but there still are some great deals. I’ve rarely found Goodwill to have good deals, but we have a few other thrift store brands in my area that actually have good deals. So like anything else, shop around.
I agree with you there. The second hand market is wonderful for finding ridiculous deals on things people just want gone.
The only problem with the second hand market is the effort needed for it. That effort keeps people from considering it a viable option for goods in the same way the effort to find another store made OP B-line to Amazon.
Agreed, but if you really do want to find a good deal, there are options. If everyone bought second hand, then second hand inventory wouldn’t exist. So I’m grateful for the consumers who buy new and resell second hand for less than half the price (with more than twice the life left).
If you’re the type where looking at something other than the two biggest retailers in your area is unreasonable, then yeah, second hand isn’t going to be your cup of tea. That just means more good deals on the second hand market for the rest of us (e.g. I see photo paper for like 1/4 price of retail on my local classifieds).
eBay, Facebook marketplace/ buy nothing, hibid, thrifts, neighbors, friends, coworkers, family.
If it’s sold and shipped by amazon, you should be able to price match it at bestbuy or target. I don’t know why walmart stopped price matching anybody.
You tried three in person places and then went straight to Amazon? Why not trying to buy directly from the manufacturer? You clearly didn’t try at all. Ignoring the fact that there are still plenty of other retail stores, you didn’t even try the online shops of any of your retail stores.
I frequently buy stuff online from Target because they also do free shipping, it usually arrives in 2-3 days, and they have somewhat frequent deals. So I’ll get a similar or lower price vs Amazon and still get it relatively quickly. Oh, and I can check inventory of my local stores if I really need something same-day. That way I don’t have to drive around all that much, I’ll just order for same-day pickup and grab whatever it is on the way home from work (and I pass like 3 Targets on the way home).
So I almost never need to buy regular things from Amazon. Between Costco, Costco.com, Target, Home Depot, and eBay, most of my bases are covered. For the rest, I search a bit before going back to Amazon.
I used to spend several thousand dollars at Amazon every year, and now it’s a few hundred. I’m not “boycotting” them or anything, I just prefer other retailers because I don’t those alternatives to disappear.
Ain’t recent data showing amazon longer cheapest?
Sounds like one off here tbh
