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?

@MotherWol

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.

This. Something has definitely changed with Amazon over the past few months.

You search for something with quite specific search terms and it gives hundreds of results with the actual thing you are looking at hidden 10 pages down past dozens of similar things from different suppliers and different brands.

I'll buy from Amazon if they have what I want, at a decent price and be delivered in a suitable timescale, which is not necessarily the fastest, just before I need it. I'm finding this is happening less and less these days, not more.

Plus I'd be very wary about things like batteries, memory cards, chargers and the like, because many of them are fake.

Amazed you can't find anything - I can get nearly everything I want or need on Amazon.

Their customer service is amazing, not just for delivery but if things are late or faulty. New ones sent out immediately, no fuss.

That is in stark contrast to Debenhams and House of Fraser.

I've bought many electricals on there and had no fakes. However I always buy from Amazon itself not marketplace. I don't trust it in the same way that I don't trust eBay now.

We use Amazon all the time. Pretty much every week we buy something from there.

Yes it sells books, CD’s, DVD’s, etc but they sell so much more now. They are my go to shop for pretty much everything except clothing ( but do get the kids underwear from there) & groceries.

I have bought 90% of my Xmas shopping on there this year. We have prime & I don’t actually buy anything if I have to pay postage over this.

There must be something you would like from them? They sell the same plus more than any shop I can think of.

If you can't find anything on amazon you're doing it wrong!
I buy joint supplements for my dog at a fraction of the cost of pets at home.
I bought branded paint for less than it is in B&Q
I bought deodorant simply because I forgot to get it while I was out, and then I found it was cheaper.
I buy hygiene products for an elderly relative, again at a lower cost than in the shops.
At this time of year, there is no pleasure for me to go shopping. I had occasion to take a relative to buy something at a chain store the other day.... We were in the shop maybe 10 minutes and had to order it to be delivered to home. But we queued for 20 minutes to get off the retail park and about 10 minutes waiting for a space. I could have just bought the item off amazon and saved the hassle.

I like Amazon because of their speed of delivery.

I know the Royal Mail is struggling. I’m not sure how it’s their fault. But Amazon dispatch straight away. RM is taking 14 days atm.

I know Amazon is massive and gets load of stick. Some of which l agree with. But it’s massive because it does things well. It’s as simple as that....

One day it will die. Just as other shops have. They fall in and out of favour. Maybe not in my lifetime. But until then, l will use them as they do it right.

I buy a lot from Amazon. With prime the delivery is excellent but I've started to become disenchanted.

You have to be alert for fakes or poor quality products. Unlike in pound stretcher where a cheap plastic item is £1 and you see it and decide if its any good, Amazon will sell the same item for £4.99 plus £3 delivery.

My kettle broke this week. Amazon didn't have anything I wanted. Thry had cheap but make your tea taste of plastic ones, broke within a year ones or quality ones that cost £75. Or other ridiculous price. I put an order in with Argos and had a new one within the hour.

I'm fed up with sending shit back to Amazon. It's easy but a faff. Have been caught out paying for shipping and returns.

You really have to keep track because Hermes delivery drivers are shocking. Recently I have had 2 orders not turn up and Amazon register them as delivered.

Also my ds kindle broke after less than a year. They are replacing it but I queued for an hour in the post office and we aren't able to keep reading the story as he has the subscription service for books.

I buy loads from Amazon and can't remember ever receiving anything fake, although a couple of things took bloody ages because they came from China, which wasn't obvious from the seller's information.

When businesses are shipping to NI, they often (not always though) slap on a massive extra charge for postage - 'free postage to UK mainland only' is the bane of my life! I realise this isn't necessarily the retailer's fault, but it is something I have to factor in and Amazon treats NI like any other part of the UK, except that next day delivery isn't always possible.

Amazon sells almost everything, so someone who can't find anything to spend their vouchers on must be very hard to please. I have to admit though, it's a lot easier when you know what you want - browsing for inspiration on Amazon is a bit crap.

My package went missing a few weeks ago and I assumed getting it sorted would be a real hassle, but a chat bot (ha!) offered me a refund 3 sentences into our virtual conversation. Better than hanging on for Customer Services on the phone for two and a half hours listening to Greensleeves. In saying that, I'm all for real people filling these jobs and they will always be needed for more complex issues, but at a time when there's more distance buying due to the pandemic, anything that cuts down the stress is great.

‘Listening to Greensleeves’😂 yep! Or Coldplay.

We buy loads from Amazon. Customer service is generally good on the rare occasion when there’s a problem.

I tried Hive last week for the first time and was able to choose which of a few near(ish) independent bookshops to support. The books I chose were a bit more expensive than Amazon, but I’m still waiting for them.

Smile doesn’t work through the app, but I’ve realised you can use the app to fill a basket and then open up smile on a browser to check out.

Also, l don’t buy proper books.

I have an e-reader, so get my books from Amazon

I rarely buy from anybody other than Amazon and have had recent frustrations with Hermes and Royal Mail.

Spped, reliability, trackingand no quibble returns make Amazon a frontrunner for us, especially as we are not always in.

I’ve used Amazon since it first arrived on the internet. Mainly for books initially but now for all sorts of things. I find you have to check prices for some items and you do need to read the details carefully to check it’s what you want and not coming from China (made that mistake once and ended up waiting two months for something before I had prime).

But like anything it’s a tool and so long as you do your checks you can have whatever you want the next day much of the time and without delivery costs/petrol and parking fees.

Sorry but I love Amazon. It’s not always cheaper I’d agree there but it’s the convenience factor for me. I mainly use it for boring things like bamboo toilet roll, cat food (big bulk boxes you can’t get in other shops around here!) and tea lights. It’s the fact they come so quick! If I want to shop in my local town the parking is ridiculous so even if it’s a few more quid on Amazon I’d have paid that to park.

I know they aren’t morally the best company but let’s face it most big corporations aren’t.

If other shops had as good online offerings then I’d use them, but lots are quite poor!

God, I love Amazon. Things I have bought over the last week (we’re moving next week - I don’t buy quite so much every week!):

Books and audiobooks
Yoga mat, strap and blocks
Apple TV
Facebook portal
Dog food, treats and toys
Cat and dog beds
Fleecy blankets - Amazon’s own brand, cheap absolutely fabulous.
Chunky wool socks
Walking boots
Hair care products

I just could not function without it. I hate going to the actual shops and only do it if I absolutely can’t get what I need online, so Amazon is a lifesaver for me. In fact the only things I don’t buy on Amazon are groceries and clothes.

We love Amazon, can't be beat. Why spend money on petrol and parking to piss about in town buying something more expensive. Brilliant customer service, fantastic.

@TestingTestingWonTooFree

We buy loads from Amazon. Customer service is generally good on the rare occasion when there’s a problem.

I tried Hive last week for the first time and was able to choose which of a few near(ish) independent bookshops to support. The books I chose were a bit more expensive than Amazon, but I’m still waiting for them.

Smile doesn’t work through the app, but I’ve realised you can use the app to fill a basket and then open up smile on a browser to check out.

smile works on my app (iphone)

Yes it is. I'd rather be given boots or John Lewis vouchers

I use it to deliver cat litter and cat food to us but other than that I very rarely buy anything from Amazon. I think it's because I rarely buy "stuff" and am impatient so prefer to drive to a shop where I can buy it immediately, even if it can get delivered for free the next day

I am so conflicted over Amazon.

I buy 90% of stuff there. I have a small baby, live rurally and don’t want to take him in real shops rn.

I know I should be supporting small businesses. But I bought some books from my local independent as a Christmas gift in an effort to do that. They cost literally twice what they would have on Amazon and took two weeks to arrive.

It’s hard to deliberately spend more for less convenience.

@buttery81

But I do like it for books

Please support your local independent bookshop over Amazon.

I've never had a local chain or independent bookseller in my high street as long as I can remember. ASDA sell some books, that's it. Most towns won't have an independent bookshop, they will have a Waterstones at best.

Anyway I use Amazon a lot. They employ thousand of people, including members of my extended family. And my high street is a depressing row of chain stores, pawn shops and the standard Greggs/Burger King. Not worth the parking costs.

There’s no local bookshop near me either. And l live in a sort of Victorian studenty neighbourhood where you would expect one. Nearest is a Waterstones in town.

But l don’t read hand held books. I just read on my Kindle and can only buy books from Amazon for this.

I love Amazon. It has kept me going over the last few months when I've had to shield. It's simple and quick, with lots of choice. There are items which I wouldn't have been able to buy locally.

I’m in a Tier 3 region and going shopping just feels like an unnecessary risk. I’ve managed to buy presents for adults online from various companies, such as an independent tea shop in Scotland, NOTHS, Etsy. But all my children’s Christmas presents have been brought from Amazon this year (aside from books which I bought from Hive.) We have Prime and I’ve saved a huge amount just on delivery. I’m conflicted about it as some of its working practices are poor (like the way it’s warehouse staff are timed between collections, I think the drivers are overworked) But what they do, is hard for other companies to match.