The general In****ification, vampire capitalism, everything wrong with consumerism etc thread

[Blitz24]

They are increasingly becoming difficult to separate from Chinese drop-shipping concerns though.

If there's a (non-specialist) thing you want, there's usually the real one and eight identical-looking items - one of which is promoted above the others - that ship from China and have brand name comprised of eight random but high-Scrabble-scoring letters.

Or it's a new medication.

 

[Meythia]

They are increasingly becoming difficult to separate from Chinese drop-shipping concerns though.

I am looking for a cutproof armsleeve, but I am reluctant to buy anything that remotely sounds Chinese.
Not because I am reluctant vs Chinese products, but because I dont have enough trust in the product delivering what it promises.
I guess I would be better of simply getting a hauberk ...

 

[TheCracker]

So you have been conditioned to be a loyal Amazon customer and ignore other options from the first thought of "need"

It's not like i don't buy stuff online from elsewhere too, but that can be a minefield. I bought a pair of trainers the other week mindful that i rely on Amazon too much. Shopped around, found somewhere that had them in the right size and colour i was after and at a good price. Seemed like a reliable seller, got decent Trustpilot reviews etc. Said would be with me within 2 working days, which was fair enough as you can't always expect next day delivery, but after 4 days i went to track the package and there was a massive list of: Item processed. Item despatched. Item in transit. Item in depot. Item in customs (apparently a Spanish company parading as a UK one and the item had to come from Spain (at what enviromental cost?). Item cleared customs. Item in depot. Etc, etc. Took just under two weeks to arrive in the end. Two weeks of wondering if i'd been scammed and would i ever get my trainers or the money back. They were in the end exactly what i wanted and most importantly fitted fine - which was all good as a closer look at reviews said that their returns policy was a total nightmare. Sometimes familiarity and ease of use is better than uncertainty. Unfortunately, i hate to admit, aside from the limited use of 3D printing, Amazon prime is the nearest we get to Star Trek 'replicators' for now.

 

[Danoff]

I don't suppose it answers your question suitably so I'll just reiterate, my feelings on this are fairly wide-ranging, as I say, in order to explain my position properly would be a 4000 word essay.

Perhaps you can summarize?

the notion of have something delivered that I could buy locally is a bit mental, but my 'local' is likely different to yours, I live in walkable town. If you have to get to a local ugly-as-**** strip mall, then walk across parking lot after parking lot, and 4-6 lane roads, because everything's separated by acres and acres of asphalt dedicated to cars, you're going to have a different opinion. It's easier and more pleasant for me to keep my money in a 'local/regional/national' economy.

If the item is already near your door, I agree that walking a few feet to get it might be the best course of action.

In my situation, and I think this is not uncommon for plenty of people, I have a store 5 miles from me. I also have an amazon wearhouse 5 miles from me. Likely the item I'm trying to buy is already sitting in that wearhouse and in the store. If I need to buy from the store, I drive to the store and pick it out. If I buy from amazon, it goes on an electric truck with 200 other orders, and it makes its way to me as it does for 200 other people. Imagine if all of them individually drove to the store instead of one electric truck efficiently bringing them all the item.

Now, if it's a big shopping trip, such as for groceries, that might not make sense. If we're talking about checking out with a cart full of stuff, amazon is likely not the most efficient solution. But I don't buy groceries from amazon.

Other times, the item might not be available "locally" but instead might be offered through another online seller. In this case, the chance that the amazon wearhouse already has the item in stock means that instead of ordering the item from out of state or out of the country, I can order it and it will be put on an electric truck 5 miles from me and efficiently brought to me with the orders of many others.