I wanted to get printer photo paper for my printer, a Canon. I went to Walmart, They had nothing. Went to Target, they had one pack of photo paper and it was crazy expensive, so I went to micro center. That one was just as expensive. So finally I went back to Amazon, which I was trying to avoid, and saw the price 25 to 40% lower than anywhere I had been. Literally everything that I was looking for, I could find within seconds. Not even Best buy has even close to the amount of inventory or variety, even when you’re shopping online…

Therefore, I think Amazon has a literal monopoly in the tech industry right now, you’re literally forced to buy from them, because unless you have the money and financial fortitude to protest with your wallet, you’re going to be buying from them. There’s no other choice. They have so aggressively and dominantly taken over the supply chain market that no other tech company can currently compete with them in any aspect at all. You will be paying 40 to 50% more on everything by cutting out Amazon, and no one has the money for that anymore unless you’re upper middle class or above

  • stellargmite@lemmy.worldEnglish
    132·
    2 months ago

    Thanks for this. I’ve only used Amazon a few times and was always baffled at the train wreck of its chaotic layout / ux. I had to buy something there once and it was such a process it was like being asked to leave the store before paying. Thought at the time it must be down to legacy and new features being showhorned around ancient web1.0 history, its success being its burden with customers having to learn how to use the thing. Price fixing scam is what I will think of it now, while continuing to avoid it.

    • sugar_in_your_teaEnglish
      81·
      2 months ago

      chaotic layout / ux

      Maybe it’s stockholm syndrome or something, but I find it absolutely fine. My general rule of thumb is to look past the first page of results, since that’s where a lot of the sponsored listings are, and then look at several listings before deciding. As long as you’re aware that the first page or so of results are generally sponsored (i.e. ads), it’s not too hard to find a decent product. And since it’s online, it’s pretty easy to compare w/ other retailers (I’ll often look at eBay, Newegg, and a couple others depending on the type of product before pulling the trigger).

      That said, I’m definitely not your typical consumer (I rarely buy things on impulse), so it’s hard for me to understand the impact of their “price fixing” nonsense.

      • This is fine🔥🐶☕🔥@lemmy.worldEnglish
        7·
        2 months ago

        Nah, the layout is absolutely horrible. Especially when you check a box in the filters and other options disappear because Jeff forbid you want to look for motherboards by Asus, Gigabyte, and Asrock but ignore other brands.

        • sugar_in_your_teaEnglish
          1·
          2 months ago

          Are you talking about the immediate refresh thing? Because yes, that is frustrating.

          • This is fine🔥🐶☕🔥@lemmy.worldEnglish
            2·
            2 months ago

            I don’t know if it happens in browser but sometimes on their app other options disappear if you choose one from the filter.

            If I start looking for shoes, and check Adidas under brands filter then the page refreshes and I don’t see any other brands’ names.

      • KillingTimeItself@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        61·
        2 months ago

        Maybe it’s stockholm syndrome or something, but I find it absolutely fine.

        no it’s absolutely horrid. HOWEVER in your defense, so are like 95% of all websites, ever made, it’s not a unique problem.

        • sugar_in_your_teaEnglish
          1·
          2 months ago

          Yup, the modern web kinda sucks. But once you learn to navigate it, it’s usable. Mostly.

          • KillingTimeItself@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
            1·
            2 months ago

            yeah, i was thinking the other day, about how much money we’ve spent developing the technology to put a floating window over a web page, just so it can display you an ad.

            Aside from that web browsers are starting to become a secondary operating system, and i hate it, it’s stupid.

      • stellargmite@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        2 months ago

        Yeh people learn and it becomes normal which is fine. Ebay is as bizarre to me. Not hate, more a morbid fascination that things so maze-like to navigate can also be successful. Could be semi cultural as well. I’ve noticed this being the way in other US platforms with a similar legacy. I’ve also being (attempting to) subvert tracking for quite a while so maybe that’s working and its less useful as a result lol. I’m lucky in a sense that their corporation isn’t so strong where I live so theres more choice (ironically I may actually have less choice). Its annoying when they have the monopoly on a given product, but it’s also possible just to go without the shiny thing.

        • sugar_in_your_teaEnglish
          6·
          2 months ago

          Ebay

          Yeah, it’s a bit odd, but again, once you get used to it, it’s fine. My general rules of thumb:

          1. narrow by category - avoids the worst of the spam
          2. only include “buy it now” listings (unless you really want auctions)
          3. sort by price (including shipping)
          4. skip the cheapest listing and look for the first “cluster” of listings
          5. be careful with sellers with a small number of reviews; low reviews aren’t a deal-breaker, they just have a higher chance of BS

          I do that each time, and I haven’t had any problems so far.