11mo ago

It’s Surprisingly Easy to Live Without an Amazon Prime Subscription

slate.com It’s Surprisingly Easy to Live Without an Amazon Prime Subscription

Maybe it’s time to consider quitting!

The author canceled their Amazon Prime subscription on a whim and realized they didn't really need it.
Leaving Prime meant slower shipping but the author was happy to wait and still found the selection and delivery speed satisfactory.
Many people love Prime for its fast shipping and convenience, but some readers expressed ambivalence and considered canceling.

Archive link: https://archive.ph/3M27c

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428 comments

Buying anything on Amazon hardly seems viable anymore. There's so much counterfeit crap there, and a million low-effort rebrandings of the same stuff you can get on AliExpress for cheaper.
Shop local when you can, and at least shop not-Amazon for the rest.
- Shop local when you can
  Not sustainable for me, I price it from time to time and local stores are usually, at best, double what Amazon or even Walmart has it for and that's if the local store even has what I'm looking for to begin with
  So my choices are Amazon or Walmart (or similar big name stores) and going to Walmart....yea fuck that it's a last resort for everything but groceries...
  There's so much counterfeit crap there, and a million low-effort rebrandings of the same stuff you can get on AliExpress for cheaper.
  I keep seeing this over and over, but I order a lot off Amazon and I've never had a problem with it. Don't know if I'm just incredibly lucky or what, but the only times I get counterfeit / cheap Chinese crap is when I order it on purpose.
  Ofc, those things I can just get off AliExpress too and sometimes I do when I don't mind waiting which is the biggest issue with AliExpress, the waiting
  I, and probably millions of others, are shopping where the best price/value is and nothing else because we can't afford not to. I wouldn't mind shopping locally owned and paying the premium...if I could afford it. Stop pushing for expensive alternatives people can't afford and push for regulations instead.
  
  Ya simple solution: don't buy no-name chinesium crap regardless of the storefront and you won't be disappointed
  
  Search for a desk mounted USB hub. They're all cheap junk and none are to spec. I looked at well over 200 listings and most were white label.
  
  So it like, screws to your desk? I too am in search of a quality high powered fast data transfer USB hub that does not cost a kidney, and have not had any luck yet
  
  Yeah it had little screw holes on the back like a router or power strip
  
  And if you go to Best Buy, staples, Walmart, target… what is different? I’m actually close to a microcenter and they’re also no different.
  Where do you go for a desk mounted USB hub?
  
  Best buy had one that met the USB 3.1 spec
  
  I can't say that I have ever gotten anything counterfeit from Amazon. What I have been victim to is no name garbage that has 4.5 stars due to thousands of fake reviews. Generally it is stuff that is difficult to research good brands and the review websites often simply redirect back to Amazon. It's also very little use leaving a bad review because Amazon will remove it. For an example, Louis Rossman bought some fuses on Amazon. The 2A fuse did not blow until 10A was passed through it. That was not a fluke either. He left bad ratings which were removed and those products continue to be sold on Amazon. That is shit easily that can start a fire. If there actually was blow back, the manufacturer would simply stop selling that named version but keep the half a dozen other identical ones up they use to flood the results. So while this may not have ever been an issue for you, it can easily get someone killed. Your conclusion is spot on. We need regulation for this garbage. While Walmart is generally seen as garbage, there is at least someone responsible for purchasing shit to put in the stores and they generally have it tested. That is not the case for Amazon or Walmart's online marketplace or AliBaba.
  
  And not only are there a lot of crappy products with inflated scores because fake reviews, there are also a lot of good products with low scores because of fake negative reviews but competitors. The reviews are pretty much useless now.
  
  If I see something on Amazon that I want, I just go to the manufacturer's website and order it directly from them. If they don't have a site that sells it, then I try other online stores besides Amazon. If they only sell on Amazon, then I decide I just don't need it.
  
  Except a lot of times it's cheaper on Amazon, with faster shipping, even without prime. Most recent example I ran into.
  $75 direct
  
  $65 Amazon
  
  Cheap items/electronics can be more expensive on Amazon than direct, though.
  Amazon:
  
  Direct:
  
  Doubt that site has free shipping tho
  
  It doesn't, but shipping is $5, still way cheaper.
  Also, free shipping only kicks in at $35, so technically this doesn't either.
  
  Only 50% risk of counterfeits, but you save $10!
  
  I comparison shop almost religiously. Vendor sites are oftentimes more expensive and add shipping on top of that. BB, Walmart, etc. have similar prices but most times it's actually third party marketplace bullshit using these big name sites as a shittier Amazon.
  Prime doesn't matter so much for me, but 5% on all of my purchases with the Amazon credit card is definitely worth it.
  
  This is the way
  
  damn right
  every time i've intentionally picked the ASNDSZYY brand i've been disappointed in the thing and in myself. now i'd rather just spend up front for something actually good rather than waste time and effort going back and forth returning things
  
  I think people who see countfeit stuff don't know what they are buying before they go on Amazon and order from Chinese brands. I know what I'm going to buy before I go on Amazon so I never have the issue. I just use it to check prices and buy if it's a good enough discount.
- It's getting to the point where even searching for specific products is almost pointless. I did a search for a specific phone model recently and the phone showed up as the fifth result after four prompted results and several ads. When it becomes a chore to even track down a very specific thing you want, why would I keep going back?
  
  The only search worse than Amazon is probably Wayfair.
- Amazon hardly seems viable anymore. There's so much counterfeit crap there, and a million low-effort rebrandings of the same stuff you can get on AliExpress for cheaper.
  What do you mean? You don't want to buy PRAZO USB-C CABLE FOR DATA TRANSFER AND CHARGING, 3M LENGHTH, COMPATIBLE WITH LAPTOP, DESKTOP, IPHONE, ANDROID?
  
  I love these.
  EXTRA HIGH QUALITY PREMIUM KNIFE AND FORK AND SPOON CUTLERY EATING SET COMPATIBLE WITH RICE DISHES, ASIAN FOOD, CHIPS, SAUSAGES, CHICKEN, GALAXY S24+, SALAD.
- plus i have gotten several obviously used items when it wasn't even available as used and cost full price.
  
  I got a motherboard once where it was obvious that someone bent the pins then returned it. I had purchased new item though
- Every trip to Amazon overwhelms me with choice, then I realize it's all from Ali, then I close the tab.
  I really only buy things from it now if I know what I'm looking for already
- Plus their search algorithm, which used to be amazing, now pushes so much crap because the companies pay them to be at the top that the results are horrible now.
- Shop local when you can,
  So local strangers working to support some local guy's Maui beach house need our support instead of local strangers working to support some faraway guy's Maui Beach House?
  It's all local business when their main cost is the employment of locals. Don't be a snob.
  
  Anybody know more about this?:
  I’ve heard the following sentiment & a similar stat over the years:
  When you spend money locally, those dollars don’t just evaporate to some corporate headquarters across the country or around the world. Instead, they tend to stay in the community, where they’re reinvested between three and six more times. When consumers spend $100 at a chain store, only $13 stays in the local community, on average. At a local business, that number rises to a healthier $48.
  I can imagine a local shop owner sponsoring the local little league team… and I know the average hole-in-the-wall donut or phở restaurant owner won’t have a beach home, and I like they have the potential to make a decent bit of dough without college degrees… but perhaps somebody’s actually analyzed this?
  
  This is my main point of conflict with shopping strictly on price. I do try to support local when possible. I'm price conscious of course, but community support is also important. Not all (or even many it seems) local businesses do support their communities but when I see it I make a note that they're one of the local B&Ms I will buy from.
  
  In summary, I think the statement is untestable because it's so poorly confined. Basically it's something that grumpy local business owners with poor value-propositions tend to say. One of those things that sounds like it ought to be true but doesn't stand analysis.
  For example, there might be a "local" store which doesn't need many employees but sells products manufatured elsewhere. It's a local store but most of your money is going elsewhere.
  OTOH there might be a chain store that employs 100s of local people, and buys fresh produce from local farms. Not a local business owner but most of the money is benefiting your local community.
  Additionally, local people own just as many shares in large chains as anyone else.
  
  What an excellent point.
  Have to get to know the business owners in your own community and figure it out yourself perhaps!
  I suppose a study could figure out average impacts though, via random sampling? Not sure how my source had calculated it.
  Additionally, local people own just as many shares in large chains as anyone else.
  You mean our neighbors own stock of Wal-Mart so shopping there is beneficial that way?
  
  Yeah, I think that saying shopping at Wal-Mart is "beneficial" might be a bit of a stretch, I just mean to say that when someone says "shop at a locally owned store so your money stays local" they're really saying "shop in my store so I get your money". What most people don't realise is that their pension plan (called super in Australia, 401k or something in US?) probably owns a bunch of shares in Wal-Mart, so you may as well shop there if you're a part owner.
  
  I didn't know donut or pho restaurants made their own dough. It probably varies by location, though. I've seen some donut places where the boxes of shipped ready to make product were stored where customers could see it. It blew my mind how much they had on hand in order to not run out.

428 comments