We all know that Amazon has become garbage. What may surprise you is that everything else has surpassed it. This is not an ethical argument, we simply don’t need the middleman anymore.
Honeymoon Period
There’s a reason why everybody started using Amazon in the 2010s, it was arguably the best way to shop. Let’s go through all the competitive advantages it had:
- Cheap, 2 day shipping was unheard of anywhere else. Prime worked great, and delivery speeds were still pretty decent without it.
- Frequently had lower prices than brick and mortar stores. If I saw an item I liked in a store I would usually check and see if it was cheaper on Amazon.
- Access to almost every brand imaginable. Every company was hopping on the Amazon bandwagon because it provided a clear benefit.
- Can find whatever you want with a few clicks. There were less ads in the search results, and the ones that did exist were more obviously labeled as ads.
- Unrivaled customer service. Returns could easily be made for any reason, which helped make up for not being able to inspect the product before buying.
Amazon felt too good to be true back in like 2018, completely unrivaled. Big-box stores had very little, if any real presence online. In addition, manufacturers didn’t have any decent way to sell directly. Nobody could match the convenience, ease, and price Amazon provided. Sure she seemed kind of abusive and made workers piss in bottles, but everybody has their issues. With such an unparalled experience, people wondered if it was the beginning of the end of brick and mortar stores.
Break Up
Everything I initially enjoyed slowly rotted away. After 5 years of growing frustration with Amazon, I didn’t even know why I was still using it. Enough babbling, let’s jump into the grievances:
- Amazon takes 50% of the money from every sale made. Products that are real are the same price in brick and mortar stores.
- The website is now flooded with garbage knockoffs. Looking up “spatula” gives you over 400 results. Many name brands have jumped ship since Amazon wants to take half.
- Standard shipping times felt slower, packages would get lost more and more frequently, and Amazon would always try tricking me into paying for better shipping.
- She just got kind of bloated. It’s annoying having to dodge all the crap related to prime movies, music, groceries and all these other services I dont want.
- Fake reviews are everywhere, I do not trust the website after being fooled once.
- I’ve bought what I thought were name brands several times, only to realize the items came through a reseller. I got damaged electronics several times because of this.
- Returning items became more of a pain, I don’t want to go to Kohl’s to return falsely advertised crap. Customer service became worse online. More hoops.
Quitting Amazon felt unrealistic, I was under the impression I still needed it if I ever wanted to shop online. After getting two defective items in a row, I got pissed off and permanently deleted the account in 2023. Didn’t even bother going through their Rube Goldberg return process. Since then, I’ve tried out the alternatives and realize that Amazon’s quietly been eclipsed.
Hellooo Target!
Target is everything Amazon claims to be. Free 2 day shipping, high-quality versions of anything imaginable, very fair prices, and a great website. If there’s ever an issue with anything or I need help, I can just go to Target. Walmart offers the same exact thing, along with every other major company. EVEN SHOPIFY gives 2 day shipping capabilities to ANY SMALL BUSINESSES that uses it. Don’ fret if you’re a big reader, because Thriftbooks and Kobo are both fantastic. None of these options even require a membership.
Buying directly from a manufacturer gives access to much better support as well, and you don’t need to worry about a middleman damaging the product. I recently bought some headphones directly from Sony’s website, they were $25 cheaper than retail and got here in 3 days. I didn’t even need to make an account or fill in my shipping and payment info, Apple Pay took care of everything. Amazon’s advantages are gone and there’s absolutely no switching cost, so why not switch?
