[panitaxx]

I started buying clothing from the brand itself (eg shoes directly from adidas, etc). Some appliances also direct. I sometimes buy food from Walmart but only if they are the retailer (they don't seem to commingle inventories). I bought some ssd directly from Samsung site. Another problem with amazon is the sheer quantity of not-counterfeit but cheap unknown knockoffs. It seems more like an expensive AliExpress.

[cdubzzz]

I haven’t bought from Amazon in years. A few weeks ago my toddler left a rubber ball in our waffle maker and we didn’t realize it before turning it on and melting the thing. It ruined the non-stick coating.

After a bit of research I found a new waffle maker to buy. The place I found it had an Amazon affiliate link so I clicked through to price check — $94. Then I checked the manufacturer’s site — $69.99. Ordered it on Monday and it’ll get here tomorrow, free shipping.

This is a pretty common story for me. I almost always check Amazon out of curiosity and most of the time it’s more expensive then other options even when factoring in free shipping. I really don’t get what the upside is supposed to be.

[fomine3]

Amazon becomes an expensive AliExpress but it also has stock on near warehouse rather than Shenzen. Sometimes useful.