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Comment by missedthecue | Hacker News Reader

What's an alternative to Amazon? eBay is worse. Walmart.com has the same problem with third party vendors. There are few other "buy anything" webstores. I also noticed during some Christmas shopping that buying from Amazon was actually cheaper than the actual brand sites themselves, in particular, adidas shoes and a sodastream were cheaper on Amazon than on sodastream and adidas dot com. Exact same products. I don't know why.

Also, Wish takes 40 days to ship. Ebay and other sites take 4 days. If I order something from Amazon right now I'll literally have it in 4 hours. Doesn't matter for all purchases but it's so convenient.

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Amazon stopped being better than eBay around 2019 and has fallen hard. The search sucks, getting a good quality item is hard, reviews are games. Yeah returns are easy, but not getting what you want and needing to return is a PITA. Returns are also just as easy on eBay and not nearly as needed.

Amazon with Prime still edges out on shipping speed but eBay is close.

eBay acquaints you more with the seller and if you are buying from a seller with "Top Rated" status you can be sure you will get a good product shipped quickly.

If Amazon can clean up bad sellers / fake reviews and fix the search they can get back to being the best.

Personally I find better prices and quicker delivery or pickup for most common goods at Walmart and for the Chinese stuff that Amazon is filled with there's Ali, Temu, etc.

When I need something more niche I prefer eBay but still search Amazon, but again, their search sucks.

I disagree. eBay isn't great, but the quality of goods feels higher than on Amazon. At least the brands are known to me and have a history. Amazon is now just a front for cheap junk from a revolving door of manufacturers who look to me like they are avoiding scrutiny.

It’s like the Churchill quip about democracy: Amazon is the worst online retailer, except for all the others.

I have used Target and Costco shipping to great effect.

Retailers like B&H and Best Buy have worked great for me. Additionally, it’s become much easier to buy direct as Amazon’s quality as a retailer has degraded.

> I don't know why.

Because Amazon does not let you sell your product cheaper elsewhere.

I know this sounds crazy, but you can buy straight from the brand's website if they have one. If you use a credit card or PayPal you still get buyer protection.

Like I said Amazon actually had better prices

Well, sure, but who knows if you're actually getting the genuine product?

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