Is it me or are Amazon getting really shit?

[Deidretheelf]

I think I’m going to stop using them. They used to be fairly reliable in terms of quality. But they’re flooded with Chinese crap now, looks nothing like the picture sometimes barely the same thing. Terrible quality. Loads of fake reviews & review scams, sending out offers of £10 vouchers or free goods in purchases if you leave a good review (Google says these are never fulfilled). Half the stuff I get has to go back because the quality is crap. And it’s exhausting having to scroll through all the dross to find the decent stuff.

The poor quality crap has descriptions with every imaginable key word in it, including totally irrelevant stuff, so searches are clogged with irrelevant nonsense results.

Prime day was obviously loads of dross they couldn’t shift and the discounts were awful. Things like having ‘save £30 and buy this for £19.99’ but really it’s usually sold discounted to £20.99 so you’re only saving £1.

Is this just me being a miserable old misanthrope or has anyone else noticed this?

It feels like they’ve got so huge they feel untouchable and just flog any old crap as they think they’re customers are a captive market, especially because of lockdown.

@cocoloco987

I suppose its ok for branded things you need the next day but even that isn't reliable. I live in a city with 2 large depots near by yet I can never get the same day delivery. If it says same day it will change after you've paid, same with next day - tells you next day then after you W paid the confirmation says 2-3 days. The things you want are never on prime. Again major city and I can't get their Morrison's deliveries. People in much more remote locations get all these things. Definitely over this relationship!

I have found similarly, that I have ordered things from Amazon over other suppliers because of the delivery timescale then it changes after I have bought the item.

@Elys3 it's so irritating isn't it. Often the delivery time is the only reason I've chosen Amazon. If I knew they'd add an extra 2 days on then I'd have gone out and bought at a local shop when I had time

The outsourced delivery service they provide is also iffy. The robot vacuum I ordered from a website who used Amazon Delivery (not sure what the proper name is) never arrived but was marked as 'received' by the courier. No photo of the doorstep, no signature - literally no idea where it went, and no way of proving I didn't actually have it! A replacement was sent out, but ffs...

Before clicking pay now i always scroll down and make sure the correct delivery details are selected.Otherwise i so often find the Same Day delivery option has been changed to tomorrow instead

I know they've got some really dodgy business practices and I do try to support independents over Amazon. However, when buying directly from Amazon (as opposed to third party sellers) I've found the delivery and customer service is excellent. Refunds always given on request, no quibbles.

I recently ordered a digital piano from an independent store. The delivery was going to take 10 days, that was fine. It was more expensive than Amazon - fine too, we appreciate the costs in having a High St presence. Problem was the stand and pedals weren't delivered. Twice weekly for three weeks I called to ask for an update, was promised call backs, never happened. After three weeks not only did I not have the pedals and stand (pretty essential!) but they could not tell me when or whether these items would be back in stock. Ordered that day on Amazon, 20% cheaper, delivered the next day.

Plus i love my Kindle and you will need to prise that from my cold, dead hands.

I hardly use them though. Shopping in actual shops does not entail dealing with a much too big for product delivery box stuffed with reams of brown paper

you

we love Amazon.

Im going to look through orders and see what I can buy elsewhere.

I buy books and dvds mainly but do buy the other odd thing but check out who it’s from and never buy from Chinese companies

I don’t think Amazon are exactly ethical. But my husband has an account with them, only orders stuff that is sold and dispatched by Amazon and has never had any issues with quality. He’d never order from the 3rd parties on there. A few years ago there was a few weeks where items were delivered late but he’s not had any issues since then. He pays for prime.
There’s a lot of hate for Amazon but they’re certainly not the only business acting unethically, damaging the environment, avoiding tax etc. The business world is full of this behaviour. People only seem bothered when it’s in the press but it doesn’t take much investigation to see it’s everywhere. We live in a corrupt world.

They charge for returns unless faulty now. If you just don’t like it they make you pay.

Not true... in my experience anyway. I bought the wrong ballet shoes just two days ago, and clearly stated it was my error in the return request. I got a free return. They even came and collected it... next day!

I find prime delivery useful, but agree that there is a lot of Chinese tat there, as well as dodgy business practices. And I also agree with a PP that the search function is crap.

Agreed. Flooded with counterfeits as well. Got caught by fake razors and fake cat flea meds, never again.

Finding anything is a chore, the top 10 results are always promoted tat with gibberish keyboard-mash names.

It's a giant tax evasion scam, both by the Chinese sellers and Amazon itself.

I've only ever paid for 2 returns and I have purchased and returned loads....
Probably in the hundreds over the years.
Ita always been free and Hermes even collect from my house for me

Their fresh food delivery service is amazing. I ordered a food shop at 10am yesterday and it was on my doorstep by 5pm, I could’ve had it as soon as 2pm but wasn’t in. Amazing.

I have noticed quality elsewhere isn’t as good. Lots of prime things haven’t been next day since the pandemic.

Maybe I’ve been lucky, but I’ve never had anything counterfeit from them. I do avoid third party sellers though, and generally only buy from Amazon itself where possible.

They are better than most companies at getting the goods quickly to me, usually within 2 days free shipping. Can't complain. I never use 3rd party suppliers on there though for electrical goods, all fake

@boogiewithasuitcase

I find their search engine never brings up the results I want even when I search by brand. The eBay search engine is so much better.

Yes. It’s like the search engine is just a data-collecting device to get an idea of what you’re looking for so they can advertise loads of other potential items to you.

I know what I want ffs!

I’m in Ireland and, thanks to Brexit, effectively can’t use Amazon anymore.

I was a very regular customer and probably received 2-3 deliveries a week. Everything from cat litter to TVs. I though I’d be utterly lost without it, but I’m really not.

Absolutely, some items are more expensive to buy locally, but overall I’ve saved money as I’m buying less random crap.

I’m also enjoying not feeling the guilt of having a tiny item delivered to me in a gigantic box.

Will be interesting to see if Amazon UK is impacted much by Brexit with the loss of so much of the Irish customer base.

I generally use it for shoes because I have large feet and I really struggle to find shoes on the high street, plus a lot of the German manufacturers use it for sales. However, like others have said, it's tedious trying to find proper listings among all the sponsored shite from China and also the brand storefronts don't have a size search function, which is daft. I am going to go direct to the European companies or buy from online retailers in Britain from now on, Amazon can get to fuck.

@boogiewithasuitcase

I find their search engine never brings up the results I want even when I search by brand. The eBay search engine is so much better.

I definitely think something has gone off with their search functionality the last year. In terms of cheap knock offs and scams, that’s never happened to me because I don’t go for the cheapest price every time. It’s pretty easy to tell that a seller/product is a junk one simply from the description. Pay attention to grammar and spelling while reading it. Do the images look badly photoshopped or designed? There you go.

I tend to also buy only from verified companies that are genuinely recognizable like Vitacost for vitamins or health food, etc. It isn’t hard to avoid being scammed. Just don’t be a cheap ass constantly searching for rock bottom prices. My husband has fallen for lower quality stuff several times and it’s because he’s going for cheap. 🙄

@Boood

Maybe I’ve been lucky, but I’ve never had anything counterfeit from them. I do avoid third party sellers though, and generally only buy from Amazon itself where possible.

Exactly. Stop buying from cheap 3rd party dealers!