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Comment by iagovar | Hacker News Reader

This. I used to read this comments and think it only applied to the US. Also happening to Spain. Amazon has become useless. Rankings are weird, quality stuff is is very hard to find and I have to resort to forums that point to Amazon links that you cannot find using Amazon search.

Also, I'm more and more attracted to specialized shops again. For example for the last two years I've been buying most electronic stuff from a local shop. I needed a laptop charger and it was a totally awful experience going by Amazon, even typing output values and such. Fed up, went out, walked 15 mins, got one that wasn't the same I had but did the job and matched the specs.

It's exactly that. Why should I use Amazon if I can go to Alibaba or Aliexpress, what's the point if it isn't more convenient than moving my ass to a local store or get it cheaper in China.

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> Why should I use Amazon if I can go to Alibaba or Aliexpress

Because you want it tomorrow and not in 3 months (if ever)? And want to be able to return it?

I'm all for hating things that are popular, but I don't think anyone suggesting AliExpress as a replacement for Amazon has seriously used it.

AliExpress is for things like a replacement cable you don't need soon but you'll need sometime in the next few years, so you can save a few bucks. Anything else I'd use Amazon.

Buying from manufacturers' websites rarely seems worth it to me either. There's always an issue. I've been trying to talk to the manufacturer of my high-end ski goggles to get them replaced. They leisurely take a month to reply to my ticket. Some manufacturers don't even bother.

Amazon has issues, but let's not forget how good we have it. The alternatives aren't exactly slaying it either.

Basically getting some echo chamber fatigue where every HNer has to hop on the whiny bandwagon. We can order anything to our doorstep anytime from anywhere and return it. It's not that bad just because you can enumerate some issues and pet peeves.

This may change soon Worldwide shipments within 72 hours

Alibaba owns more than 50 % in Cainiao, a logistical company, and the latter organized a Global Smart Logistic Summit today, where it revealed new technologies for smart logistics. The summit was also the location where the group unveiled its plans to expand its global network with another five hubs: Dubai, Hangzhou, Kuala Lumpur, Liege (BELGIUM, note added by me) and Moscow.

https://www.retaildetail.eu/en/news/general/alibaba-opens-be...

I use both Amazon and AliExpress a fair amount. There are a lot of things I can wait 2-3 weeks for. I broke a car phone vent mount the other day. $10 or so on Amazon. $2.60 or so on Ali. I can keep my phone in the cup holder or my pocket for 75% saving.

When ePacket was often free, I used Ali a lot and small parcels would often be just over a week to the east coast.

It's not hating, I wouldn't buy something expensive in Amazon either. Anything where I need some real backup in case of something going bad I buy somewhere physical that I trust. In case of consumer electronics and pc parts I use Pcbox and App Informática, two Spanish franchises. Most of the times the price difference is under 5€ but guess most people is not aware.

It has been this way for me for two years or so. I think I made the right choice. Research on the internet, go fnac, pcbox, appinformatica, cetronic, decathlon... I don't even live in a big city and there are good options for almost everything.

And I'm +30, it's not like I didn't adapt to the internet.

With all the Amazon clones/fake/crap, I've found that eBay is quickly filling my needs. I used to overlook eBay because the same problems Amazon now has, but I'm finding eBay an easier platform to weed out the fakes...and things tend to ship quicker.

Same in Germany. Started training archery in the woods as sport and needed arm protector. Amazon offered plenty of them, most the same as in AliExpress. Or the ones as in specialized archery stores with 20% higher prices. Sadly there were no archery store near by to walk in and I was limited to online shopping.

Niche stores tend to be better, at least the feedback from clients means something, unlike amazon where sellers just open up with another account. And some of them test what they buy.

The problem is it varies so much. I've been trying to find a replacement pedal for a sewing machine. As far as I can tell there's no model number for the part. I just have the sewing machine model. Everything is sold out online.

I found a local place. Normally I would just go in and talk to them, but because of the circumstances I called. I called Saturday at 1pm and left a message and got a call back mid-day Monday. Their website still shows hours 7-days a week, but maybe they've reduced hours or staff and haven't updated. They confirm the style and model I'm looking for and say they'll call me back if it's in stock or if they'll have to order it. I called them today (Thursday) late-afternoon and they said they had been meaning to call me back. They have the part, I pay for it, and they say they'll call when it's available. When I ask when that might be they said, "If it makes it on the truck, then tomorrow. If not, probably in a week."

None of this is bad customer service, but it's really nice to click "buy" with a good faith estimation for delivery and expect it to show up on my doorstep in a day or two.

I noticed professional businesses are really into their thing, but aren't always on top of the customer service/running a business part of things. It's most obvious to me with tradesmen who make house calls. It's hard to schedule something, it's hard to get an invoice and even sometimes pay them.

Amazon ships in 1-2 days, while at least from Europe Alibaba/AliExpress seem to be in the 14-60 days timeframe, and I imagine returns would be more hassle.

Amazon ships many things 14-30 days now anyway.

That’s a temporary situation.

Temporary but for over a month already.

I bought a 3d printer from aliexpress. I received it in 6 days.

of course it was a more expensive item, and it shipped straight away via DHL.

The cheaper items I bought through alixpress typically ship via china post, and that took rather longer.

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