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?

@buttery81

But I do like it for books

Please support your local independent bookshop over Amazon.

I don't have a local independent bookstore. To get to a physical bookstore that isn't just the shelves in a supermarket I'd walk 3 miles and get to a Waterstones. And that's in a large city - with no independent bookstores.

I use it for pretty much everything apart from the food shop. All of the Christmas presents have come from there this year bar about...3 items. All of my books are via kindle. DH work give Amazon vouchers throughout the year as rewards and bonuses so Xmas is pretty much paid for on Amazon that way. If I need something I can get it delivered to my house either that day or the day after so I can avoid the shops.
Its so trendy at the moment to hate Amazon. People need to get over themselves.

@Backbee maybe I mean they don't behave in a way I view as ethical. Obviously they are not stupid enough to break the law. But ethics bother me a lot...especially the way that warehouse workers are pressurised to work in non covid secure ways.

It’s a misconception that amazon is cheaper, for many products it’s cheaper else where

I love Amazon personally, but ... I work in a school, and we are not allowed to order anything from Amazon. It often just hasn't been quality/safety tested to the same degree.

They don't pay the tax they should

That's just not true though, you might mean that the UK tax system doesn't work in a way that you think it should so that Amazon pays more tax but do you really think the the Inland Revenue haven't searched high and low for any instance where they aren't paying what they are legally obliged to pay?

You cant blame a business for a tax system.

How can it be overrated if it has the same stuff available pretty much anywhere on the high street, for less money.

Some Amazon hacks
Shop via Smile so you’re supporting a charity
Even if you have Prime you can support smaller businesses. Scroll down and after the Amazon option there’s often another option at the same price.
Tip the deliverer.

I like the Morrison’s food shopping option for Prime. Free delivery, same or next day. Yes please.

@bloodyhairy

I love Amazon personally, but ... I work in a school, and we are not allowed to order anything from Amazon. It often just hasn't been quality/safety tested to the same degree.

If you're buying a specific item are you saying that there are two versions? Eg Print sticks for sale in WH Smith's and some kind of unsafe version that's shipped to Amazon sellers?

If that's your school rule and you're forced to buy a branded product from a moe expensive supplier than it re-inforces my opinion that a lot of tax payer money is wasted by schools that have little concept of how tmke the best of the money they have.

@satnighttakeaway sigh...yes yes I get it. But large companies employ specialists and set up complex structures to minimise tax.

Or, they choose not to do this. And pay decent tax. Like people on low incomes are, erm, forced to due tolack of said things above being available to them Like the Body Shop.

I am allowed to express opinions about this. They are based on my views, not ignorance of how tax laws work...the opposite in fact.

And well done for getting in some school bashing comments there 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I can’t be the only one who finds Amazon a really rubbish browsing experience? Particularly for things like electronics and homewards so much of it is cheaply made and it’s impossible to judge if it’s going to be decent quality. I don’t want to have to choose between 20 virtually identical pairs of headphones and work out which ones will last longer than a week. It doesn’t matter if it arrives next day if it breaks almost immediately. Amazon works if all you care about is fast delivery but I can’t stand it.

@MotherWol I also worry that their reviews might all be utterly made up...

It's not the products it's the speed and ease - I didn't start using it much til I had a baby and then saw the merits.
Something breaks? Forgotten a birthday? Desperate to throw money at some parenting problem? Just click and it's with you the next day

Well what you meant to say then @RBKB is that they don't pay the tax that you personally think they should, rather than stating they don't pay the tax they should. And if something is sold directly by Amazon then yes, it will have the same safety status as anywhere else. If it is bought via a 3rd party seller on Amazon (which sometimes can be hard to notice), then there isn't the same guarantee. I am more surprised schools don't have a catalogue agreement to be honest for stuff like stationary, they should be paying less than the general public let alone more.

I just bought a birthday card, yes I could traipse into town to buy it and spend ages browsing the shops, not good in a pandemic or I could buy one for the same price on Amazon and get it delivered this evening.

I love Amazon personally, but ... I work in a school, and we are not allowed to order anything from Amazon. It often just hasn't been quality/safety tested to the same degree

I find that very strange. Our school Finance department has “Can it be sourced cheaper and/or faster from Amazon or other online retailers?” as one of their purchase request questions.

@Backbee I know what I meant to say. You're getting tiring now. Your 'logic' and my 'logic' come from different belief systems and we'll have to agree to differ.

[quote RBKB]@satnighttakeaway sigh...yes yes I get it. But large companies employ specialists and set up complex structures to minimise tax.

Or, they choose not to do this. And pay decent tax. Like people on low incomes are, erm, forced to due tolack of said things above being available to them Like the Body Shop.

I am allowed to express opinions about this. They are based on my views, not ignorance of how tax laws work...the opposite in fact.[/quote]
There's no such thing as decent tax, there's tax legislation that whether you agree with it or not anyone and everyone is entitled to use in the way that benefits them the most

I'm surprised that someone would tax knowledge wouldn't be railing against the system rather than against particular tax payers.

I thik your bit about the Body Shop was mangled by your device, I don't know anything about their to situation, do they voluntarily pay more than they need to? If their owners/shareholders approve that then good for them but not a stick to bash others with.

And too right I'm going to criticise any publicly funded body that wastes money with ill thought out of rules. What's wrong with that?

I loved it when I lived overseas . Used to get everything from There, books, toys, art supplies, household supplies, gadgets , hard to get snacks everything! then I’d ship it or if I’m not in the U.K. I’d ask someone to ship it for us, it always felt like Christmas opening all the boxes .

I now rarely shop there. I get most of the books from bookshops, toys and art supplies from places like yes Bébé or John Lewis, Ocado for everything else.

@exLtEveDallas

Absolutely not the stance our school takes. Recently, a teacher purchased magnets from Amazon, for a lesson with her class. She then wasn't permitted to use them.
If it hasn't come from an educational catalogue, we can't use it.
State school, not private, in case you were wondering.

They sell everything and it arrives within a day, sometimes the same day.

Some things are cheaper elsewhere, but you're paying for the convenience. If something breaks and you need an urgent replacement, they can get it to you.

Their customer service is also good - if something is faulty or gets stolen before it reaches you, they refund. I can drop off returns at the corner shop or post office without a printer.

Yes, there's a lot of crap on Amazon. You have to know how to filter past the crap.

However, support small businesses? There are plenty of them on Amazon too, you know!

@exLtEveDallas

I love Amazon personally, but ... I work in a school, and we are not allowed to order anything from Amazon. It often just hasn't been quality/safety tested to the same degree

I find that very strange. Our school Finance department has “Can it be sourced cheaper and/or faster from Amazon or other online retailers?” as one of their purchase request questions.

I'm very pleased to hear that, a very common sense approach that most of us probably use when buying anything

I get most of my stuff from there. Wanted a new running head torch - ordered it yesterday at 8am, it was delivered same day and cheaper than anywhere else had it.