> Almost every single major purchase I go directly to the manufacturer website or a specialized store.

Let's take an example: If a Brother printer is full price from Staples, Best Buy and the Brother website, but $50 off on Amazon, why would I not order on Amazon and save myself $50? As it is, Best Buy and Staples are also operating marketplaces when buying online.

> Almost everyone today offer free or inexpensive quick shipping and easy returns. They also have better customer service.

I beg to differ. I bought a GPU from a local store that turned out not to be compatible with my workstation. Returning it was a huge hassle, I paid a 15% restocking fee. The next time I ordered a GPU, I went through Amazon. When it too didn't work, they took it back, no questions asked, full funds returned.

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WorldMaker an hour ago | parent | next [-]

If you find a Brother printer is full price from Staples, Best Buy, and the Brother website, but $50 off on Amazon, you take that price information to your in person Staples or Best Buy and ask if they price match it. They look at your rewards card/members card, say "Sure" and throw in extra toner at a good price. Or they point out that you are looking at a counterfeit product on Amazon and you get a good collective laugh.

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dingaling 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

"why would I not order on Amazon and save myself $50?"

Because of principles?

It seems that in the past 20 years the concept of boycotting a company in response to their behaviour has been lost.

The last widespread boycott I remember was from the late 2000s against Sony, I can't even remember why ( rootkits on CDs? ) but I'm still boycotting them now as it's an automatic reaction.

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alt227 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Unfortunately not many people have principles which overcome the desire for convenience. I stick to my principles hard, so much so I will happily go without convenience items, but I very rarely meet anyone else who does.

	▲	psunavy03 an hour ago \| parent [-]
		I need a rag to wipe up the condescension this post is dripping all over my monitor.

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perfectstorm an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

oh please. where do you stop boycotting? can you name a few companies that aligns with your principles? I feel like every major company I deal with has skeletons in its closet. if i were to start boycotting companies, i'll have a hard time getting anything done.

	▲	wyre 25 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		Better to have no morals or principles than have any, as I always say! /s Every company is going to have competitors that would love your business over these major companies. Pick your battles and do your best. It's only hard because the status quo is designed to be stupidly easy.

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SoftTalker 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

All those easy returns are paid for by Amazon's higher prices.

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glitchc 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Yeah sure, except that benefits the consumer. Amazon offers three things that are incredibly convenient for the consumer:

(1) Same day or next day shipping (2) No hassle returns for a full refund (3) No cost for return shipping. In some cases, the shipper will come to my door (!) to pick up the return package at no cost.

What was it like before Amazon? An internet filled with every possible storefront someone threw together with a CGI script, sketchy payment processes and dark patterns that hide information or trick you into extras. Getting something actually delivered was a crapshoot at best unless one went with a known vendor (ex. Best Buy).

What's the next credible alternative for merchants without Amazon? There's Shopify. I hold my breath every time I order from a website using Shop Pay. There's no clarity on when it will ship, sometimes details are excellent, other times the merchant forgets to add a tracking number. Return policies are merchant specific (read: very inconsistent), and Shopify takes zero liability if a package goes missing. They leave it up to me to sort it out with the merchant, as a result, ordering anything above $100 feels risky.

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SoftTalker 2 hours ago | parent [-]

The lower risk of ordering from known vendors was a thing all the way back to the days of the Sears Catalog and other big mail-order houses. That wasn't new with the internet.

With Amazon, there is a whole tier of customers who order stuff, use it for their one-time need, and then return it. All for ultimately no cost to them, but all the rest of us pay for it.

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HeyLaughingBoy an hour ago | parent [-]

That's not just happening on Amazon, tho. Hang out on /r/smallbusiness and you'll find tons of tiny retailers asking for help on how to deal with the same problem.

	▲	SoftTalker an hour ago \| parent [-]
		Returns for store credit only; restocking fees; buyer pays return shipping are the things most other retailers do. You just need to add a little reasonable friction to the process.

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iLoveOncall 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Are the higher prices in the room with us? Amazon is always at least as cheap. I mean they literally track the prices on competitors and auto-update them.

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ImPostingOnHN 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

If a Brother printer is $150 from Amazon, but $100 on Staples, Best Buy and the Brother website, why would you not order on a non-amazon site and save yourself $50?

Answer: you probably would, but Amazon engages in illegal, coercive price fixing to drive up the prices on those other sites by $50.