To think Amazon is overrated?

[SugarCanes]

I keep getting Amazon vouchers for Xmas and birthdays. And to be honest, I can never find anything I want so I end up spending it on presents for other people.

I don't buy DVDs - I have streaming services so no need. I don't buy music either and never have the time to read these days.

As for toiletries and household things etc, it's often more expensive on Amazon that it is in the supermarket or shops. I have bought some clothing bits in the past and it was always awful quality.

I don't understand the fuss?

I don’t understand this. I am actively trying not to use Amazon at the moment. But I have no independent bookseller locally and WH Smith is double the price of Amazon. They are great for books. Toys there are usually cheaper than on the high street. I get the special cream I need for my face on monthly subscription and it’s a few pounds cheaper than boots. Over the last few days I’ve bought thread, Kirby grips, hair nets (my daughter has a dance exam) and a device for pumping up the car tyres. The small bits cost the same as the supermarket but I didn’t have to go out and queue in my face mask and the pump thing was reasonably priced and had 300 reviews. I might question amazon’s ethics but they have pretty much everything with next day delivery. I would probably prefer vouchers for Frugi or Babipur myself but if I got and Amazon voucher I’d use it for household stuff I was buying anyway and give myself the money to spend on hippy stuff I like!

I have bought in the last few months
Subscribe and save so with discount for regilar orders
Coffee
Cat food
Bin liners
Compostable bin bags

I also have bought
Vanilla pods to mske my own vanilla essence
Angostura bitters
Knitting needles and wool
Kindle books
Photography eauipment
Craft kit
Woodwork tools
Feliway
Pet items

No of it fake or poor quality, lot of it from small businesses who use amaxon to sell

Please can I beg fellow Amazon fans to sign up for Amazon Smile?

You choose a charity from their long list, and every time you buy something Amazon donates money to it.

It does not cost you any more, the amount they donate is tiny, but they let you know how much you have individually generated for your charity and the total amount from all its supporters.

I find the simplest way is to browse normally, put items in your basket, then go back to Safari and click on Amazon Smile; basket items will be there, then pay as normal.

If anyone wants to choose a charity, Stray Cat Rescue Is very deserving!

I have an addiction to Amazon. Love it.

I don’t understand how there can’t be books you want.

I buy all my cleaning and household stuff off Amazon, just had a big stock up in the 20% off warehouse sale. I usually buy branded and use Prime and have found it competitive with other shops like JL, AO, Lakeland etc for price. In fact I probably get most things from Amazon unless John Lewis is selling something for the same price as you often get a longer guarantee from JL

We rely heavily on Amazon over the years as no local shops nearby. If you know when to shop, you get good deals with them, and they have amazon handmade which supports local handmade products.

^As for toiletries and household things etc, it's often more expensive on Amazon that it is in the supermarket or shops

Except when you have Amazon vouchers. Then it's free on Amazon isn't it^

But its not free, because the voucher has a value. If you use your voucher to pay buy something for £20 that's £15 elsewhere, you've wasted £5.

Apart from kindle books, I buy very little from Amazon, usually because its cheaper elsewhere, apart from the odd offer. Sometimes they have alcohol, petfood or electronics on there, but you do have to check the price.

OP, if I were you, I'd just continue to use the vouchers for gifts, and mentally reallocate the money so you can buy something else for you from elsewhere. At least the vouchers don't expire and they're unlikely to go bust.

I don't buy DVDs

What has that got to do with anything?

I really think you've mis-understood what Amazon is, your comment are equivalent to saying you don't like shops and you can't find anything to buy in them.

I actually use Amazon very rarely but I know enough to know that now large numbers of people are scared of shops that they can but pretty much everything from there

You sound like you've some notion of Amazon from 2010 and you're stuck there. For millions of products isn't it just a channel to markett/distribution service anyway

I often buy the gift vouchers for myself if they have an offer on when if you top up you get a bit extra added on.

Please can I beg fellow Amazon fans to sign up for Amazon Smile?

Oh, I second this! We supoort a local dog charity through this, Amazon smile has donated to them over the years for us, it's great.

You can buy absolutely everything on Amazon and the price is generally competitive. I often give vouchers for Amazon rather than anywhere else as I think there is always something the person can get. Ebay is good too but a bit more Wild West.

A lot of stores have Amazon and ebay shops as well as their own online and physical shops. I think that’s the future.

I will look at the Smile as it sounds similar to the M&S Sparks charity thing they do, I had seen the pop up but just closed it.

Amazon has been amazing this year and I'm very happy to use it. I've ordered everything for Christmas online and with Amazon prime things have arrived mostly within 24 to 48 hours. I ordered something from Etsy and it appears to be have fallen into a Royal Mail black hole for the past 9 days. I need something I can rely on and that's Amazon.

The cat rescue charity I foster for also has an Amazon wishlist. I looked at it the other day.

40 packs of Felix AGAIL are £18.56. These cost £10-12 from Zooplus, Farm Foods, Costco or on offer in the supermarket.

Another type of wet food we use is over £4 a can, instead of about £1.20 from Zooplus.

The kitten dry food is £33 vs £26 elsewhere.

I could go on. If people want to support a charity, they could do it for less without using Amazon, for example by donating the money so the people from the charity can put together an order from elsewhere, which is what we do, but we have an Amazon wishlist because people like using them and there is an element of convenience, but that comes at a price.

I cannot believe you can't find anything to buy on Amazon - are you shopping with your eyes shut?!
I love Amazon because it literally has everything and is convenient. I dread to think what I've spent there this year as during lockdowns it has become like our corner shop. I've avoided going to shops this year and Amazon have given me everything I've needed. We pay for Prime so get free next day delivery plus Prime videos and e-books - I've saved thousands on these things alone I'm sure! I do always check around to see if I can find my purchase cheaper elsewhere (independent and chain stores) but it is generally always cheaper at Amazon, especially when you factor in the convenience and free delivery. It's also great that my usual Amazon delivery drivers will always try at least twice in one day to deliver a package if I'm not in which is much better than having to go out to a collection point if I've missed a delivery.

Some of my recent purchases include;
Crafting / sewing materials
Star for the Christmas tree
Books
Puzzles
Slippers
T-shirts
Sweets
Coffee
Foot cream
Toys
Scarf
Cups
Birthday cards
Personalised cheese board
Dressing up costumes
Beard oils
Face masks
Make up
Thermometer
Baking equipment
Batteries
Sun cream
External hard drive

It is always worth looking at the warehouse open box/used good/like new for household goods as usually it is just damaged packaging and Amazon sometimes does deals of 20 or 30% off some warehouse stuff, there is 20% off at the moment and at the last Black Friday sale there was 30% off a lot of warehouse goods.

I give money to my child's school through Amazon Smile

@longwayoff

We'd all have been stuffed without Amazon and it's staff over the last year. So thank you to all of them. Ridiculous OP.

Agree with this.

Although I have tried to use more smaller independent businesses this year, I cannot knock Amazon they have managed to keep stock levels high and turnaround quick and thats in the main down to the warehouse staff and delivery drivers. They are certainly appreciated by me.

Amazon have also created 10,000 new jobs this year in the U.K.

Ooh and thanks Tricky for the tip on Amazon Smile

I use it way too much and feel horrible about it because-

They don't pay the tax they should
They push their staff to work in an unsafe manner, especially at the moment
They are brutal to small companies who get sucked into selling via Amazon
They destroy small shops

So much so that I am giving up Amazon for my ny resolution. Damned hard, as they are actually cheaper and you can actually find anything and they do often deliver the next day. Gah, gonna be hard 😪😪

Please support your local independent bookshop over Amazon

We have a bookshop here, I wouldn't even mind paying double the price Amazon charges if they actually had any decent books in, or could order them faster. I have bought quite a lot of books for people for Christmas, and I found one in there which is fine (£10 more than Amazon but I'm in a privelledged position that it's not a huge issue); but the ones to order would be 6 weeks plus, which is understandable at the moment, but when I could save around £50 overall on Amazon and they'd be delivered the next day, not so sure it's reasonable to support them just because. I did browse to see if any other books would fit the bill, but the selection was pretty bad, and catered to certain demographics and zero for anyone else it seemed.

@BarbaraofSeville

The cat rescue charity I foster for also has an Amazon wishlist. I looked at it the other day.

40 packs of Felix AGAIL are £18.56. These cost £10-12 from Zooplus, Farm Foods, Costco or on offer in the supermarket.

Another type of wet food we use is over £4 a can, instead of about £1.20 from Zooplus.

The kitten dry food is £33 vs £26 elsewhere.

I could go on. If people want to support a charity, they could do it for less without using Amazon, for example by donating the money so the people from the charity can put together an order from elsewhere, which is what we do, but we have an Amazon wishlist because people like using them and there is an element of convenience, but that comes at a price.

The cat food i buy on amazon is £25 for 96 everywhere else is over €30. I always shop around, but the subscribe and save deal is very good value

How can you not find anything to buy on Amazon?
I try the High Street first for gifts. But, for the love of god, there's loads of stuff that frankly I don't bother leaving the house for.

They don't pay the tax they should

Yes they do, they pay all of the tax that they legally have to. Sure they could voluntarily pay more, but I'm not overly surprised they don't.