[thfuran]

>But Amazon pivoted from a discount retailer to a premium retailer of convenience.

While it's true that they don't always have the best prices on everything, that's pretty much the exact opposite of my main gripe with Amazon. They pivoted into being a shitty bazaar.

[the_snooze]

> shitty bazaar

Such a great way to put it. Amazon doesn’t care about the quality or reputation of the stuff they (through random foreign listings) sell. Unless you know ahead of time exactly what item you want, shopping on Amazon is just paying a premium to sift through the bargain bin.

[leeter]

If I have to buy something on Amazon I've gone out of my way to make sure I'm buying from them directly lately. Too many issues with them pulling crap like this when it's a third party seller. But by forcing them to be the seller I force them to also be subject for that transaction to my state's consumer protection act. That seems to cause them to care more because suddenly they are on the hook because they are not just the marketplace.

[greedo]

That doesn't protect you since Amazon commingles merchandise.

[calvinmorrison]

The biggest indicator missing is value. Like, 5 stars for a 30 dollar vacuum pump... if it works a few times I would give it five stars. For a 300 dollar one. It better pull the needed mmhg perfectly and work for years. There's a use case for both

[kriro]

That's exactly why they are my place of last resort now. There used to be a time where I bought almost everything at Amazon. These days I have very little trust that the products aren't some cheap knockoffs or already used and repackaged stuff sold as brand new and so on. I always shop at dedicated stores now...I feel this is quite bad long term for Amazon but maybe I'm wrong. My trust in the shopping experience has evaporated over the years and I've been a Prime member since the first hour it was available.

[shanebellone]

Well, 3rd party sales make more sense at scale. I typically opted for 1st party especially in the case of high-value electronics.

I would definitely argue that you have to be more careful making purchases, but the retailer is clearly labeled. My complaint is that Amazon hides 3rd party ratings multiple steps past the original product listing.

[GeekyBear]

I've purchased items from Amazon since the days when they just sold books, but I've stopped doing business with them now that I can no longer trust that they will ship what I order.

[HelloNurse]

They seem to be both: in different product categories, and depending on what price marketplace sellers think they can get away with.