[mdeck_]

Between this issue, the general untrustworthiness of the reviews, and the fact that I can quite often find a better deal on masking tape, undershirts, or whatever else at my local brick-and-mortar store or a more specialized big-box retailer’s website, I actually rarely shop at Amazon anymore. I do still buy there—especially for certain categories, such as streaming videos—but I used to do SO much of my shopping at Amazon. All in all, Amazon just doesn’t feel to me like the outstanding store, the “shiny object” that I once thought of it as—it feels much more like a typical “rent-seeking” operation. But clearly they aren’t suffering for it—so they must be doing something right. *shrug*

[blinktag]

I’ve found myself searching for products first at Target or BestBuy (or even my neighborhood grocery store) before looking for products on Amazon. I’ve been burned repeatedly by poor quality products on Amazon (electronics, cookware, appliances) and other retailers just do a better job of stocking trustworthy products. I DID buy some books today from Amazon. Maybe they should focus on that product line for a while.

[donmcronald]

I always give BestBuy the first shot. It makes me sad they were trash for electronics 10+ years ago and the main thing that's changed is the good stores all went out of business. They're only the "good" store by virtue of not being the absolutely bottom of the barrel trash heap that Amazon's become.

Sadly everyone is trying to copy Amazon's worst trait and it's hard to find an online store that doesn't have a 3rd party marketplace.

There's a HUGE opportunity for retailers to become Amazon alternatives, but they keep copying Amazon instead of trying to be better than Amazon. Remind me why all these visionless CEOs deserve so much money.

[dismalpedigree]

Completely agree. I used to shop on Amazon for everything besides groceries and diy raw materials. EVERYTHING else was amazon. Now, I look at other options first. Even if I find it on Amazon I will try to find it elsewhere because of the knock-off product and fraud problems. My trust (and money) was theirs to lose, and they did.

[QuantumGood]

I keep checking, but I'm surprised at how often Home Depot, Office Depot and Microcenter are NOT lower than Amazon.