Has online shopping for physical products always been terrible?

[KarmaCow]

Out of desperation and getting swept up in sales, I made the mistake of buying something from Amazon recently and it just reminded me part of the reason why I try to buy physical stuff in person over online. It's just a quagmire of trying to examine a product through screenshots, sifting through reviews that are usually fake, and now with this order not making the mistake of also not sifting through the reviews of the seller. Compared to actually going to store, seeing the product, and talking to someone I think I'm done ordering online whenever possible.

Anyone feel this way? Maybe I just need to cooldown and this is more Amazon being terrible I'm just so annoyed by what on its face should be better but in reality is a worse experience.

 

[mrmoose]

I don't think I've ever gone to a store and talked to someone about the product without also checking online reviews, at least not in the last decade or so. For appliances and toys and tech gadgets and most things that are just boxed up, I'm fine ordering online (if it's available). It's clothes/shoes/stuff you have to try on that I'd rather go into the store unless I know exactly how their sizes go.

 

[kVH2LpZd]

I just bought a gigantic car roof cargo box on Amazon after trying to get it in the store. I prefer online shopping a million times over fucking Stores that never have the items i need.

 

[ScaleboundGOTY]

Did you send this post on dial up internet?

 

[Squarehard]

It has its downsides, but not to the level you're making it out to be.

 

[viral]

ok boomer

Jokes aside, no, I vastly prefer ordering online. It's more convenient, don't have to deal with transport and don't have to deal with other people.

 

[Illenium]

talking to someone I think I'm done ordering online whenever possible.

Click to shrink...

Talking to someone like who? A sales associate who's trying to make a sale? If the product you're buying is more high end you need to do a ton of research on it before making a purchase. Amazon always has refunds anyway so I don't really see a con

 

[Finale Fireworker]

Anything that's an "off the shelf" retail item, I buy online. No reason at all to go to a store. It's always the same.

If I am unsure that what I'm buying is what I need, I buy it from Amazon, who does 2 day shipping and free returns. No risk whatsoever.

 

[Dankir]

Don't have a karma cow man.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

...talking to someone?

 

[LuigiMario]

For stuff that's a known quantity I am fine with shopping online. Definitely still weird about things like furniture, decor, and clothes online, would rather buy at a store where I can see it in real life first.

I love "pick up at store" though, I basically exclusively shop at Best Buy, GameStop, and Target this way now and never have an issue.

 

[t26]

Only down side is poor job of packing and item getting damaged

 

[EvilChameleon]

It is tough sometimes to buy whatever the latest version of, say, a Blu Ray is in your area. For instance, this is on the Amazon page for The Force Awakens...

 

[KarmaCow]

I don't think I've ever gone to a store and talked to someone about the product without also checking online reviews, at least not in the last decade or so. For appliances and toys and tech gadgets and most things that are just boxed up, I'm fine ordering online (if it's available). It's clothes/shoes/stuff you have to try on that I'd rather go into the store unless I know exactly how their sizes go.

Click to shrink...

I try to check reviews but then it's another gamble of are those reviews worthwhile especially for more niche products. Star ratings and reviews on their respective website are absolutely not but there are so many reviews online outside of that. Add in those reviews being out dated where a product that was once top of line being outmoded in a year, it's just annoying to parse the deluge of information.

I just bought a gigantic car roof cargo box on Amazon after trying to get it in the store. I prefer online shopping a million times over fucking Stores that never have the items i need.

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Like I said, whenever possible but if I had the choice I'm picking going to a store.

Talking to someone like who? A sales associate who's trying to make a sale? If the product you're buying is more high end you need to do a ton of research on it before making a purchase. Amazon always has refunds anyway so I don't really see a con

Click to shrink...

It obviously varies by store with some just trying to get you to buy something but going to a local place nearby I can trust the person there to actually be knowledgeable and helpful. It's not just about money, it's also about convenience. In this particular case I ordered something from Amazon during Black Friday. It never arrived and now I missed out on those Black Friday deals when I could have just gone to the store and picked it up for maybe $10 more than I paid for on Amazon and ended up never getting.

 

[Waveset]

No, online bested physical for me many years ago. Can't stand going to busy shopping places, dealing with a sales pitch, finding it for a better price later on.

 

[ISOM]

Isn't shopping online more reliable considering you can often see products that are well reviewed vs going to the store and not knowing if the products is actually good? I don't think asking one person in person is better than looking at an aggregate of a lot of reviewers online.

 

[Seirith]

I've done the majority of my Christmas shopping online, either eBay or Amazon and everything I ordered is exactly what I wanted to buy and got. I've had no issues. To honest, I think having to go to a store, sift through crowds of people, try and find someone to help if you have a question and then hope they even have the item you want to be much more annoying.

 

[Alwayscrazybacon]

User reviews on Amazon usually are worthless "Item delivered a day late - one star", I'd look at off site reviews first for products and then see if that product is on Amazon.

 

[mrchad]

I prefer buying food and clothing in store, but almost everything else is easier to purchase online.

 

[Illenium]

It obviously varies by store with some just trying to get you to buy something but going to a local place nearby I can trust the person there to actually be knowledgeable and helpful. It's not just about money, it's also about convenience. In this particular case I ordered something from Amazon during Black Friday. It never arrived and now I missed out on those Black Friday deals when I could have just gone to the store and picked it up for maybe $10 more than I paid for on Amazon and ended up never getting.

Click to shrink...

Did you end up contacting amazon? Idk if you saw that amazon thread recently but a lot of people tend to miss out on their packages & amazon just sends them another one, no questions asked

 

[Jeronimo]

No, online shopping was much better 100 years ago, when there were less fake reviews, and you could physically inspect the products with wind-up internet. The good old days...

 

[DJChuy]

I mostly buy in person or use the pick-up in store option, but I do buy online for stuff I can't find in stores along with my shampoo.

I'm also scared of having things stolen or damaged during shipping. Amazon is cool with replacing them, but others aren't.

 

[RastaMentality]

You shouldn't be buying big stuff like TVs or appliances without consulting online reviews anyways. This is why I hate buying expensive stuff in the store since I largely end up just standing in the middle of an aisle browsing reviews from the internet.

 

[KarmaCow]

Did you end up contacting amazon? Idk if you saw that amazon thread recently but a lot of people tend to miss out on their packages & amazon just sends them another one, no questions asked

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I did and the only option was a refund. I took it because I'm just tired of dealing with this order, emailing back and forth about tracking numbers and updates over the past few weeks.

 

[Seirith]

It obviously varies by store with some just trying to get you to buy something but going to a local place nearby I can trust the person there to actually be knowledgeable and helpful. It's not just about money, it's also about convenience. In this particular case I ordered something from Amazon during Black Friday. It never arrived and now I missed out on those Black Friday deals when I could have just gone to the store and picked it up for maybe $10 more than I paid for on Amazon and ended up never getting.

Click to shrink...

You also are assuming that the people hired in the stores are actually knowledgeable and correct. I have heard store workers tell people wrong answers all the time and it drives my husband crazy when he hears it, especially at Best Buy with tech stuff.

 

[Seirith]

I did and the only option was a refund. I took it because I'm just tired of dealing with this order, emailing back and forth about tracking numbers and updates over the past few weeks.

Click to shrink...

You can use the online chat, it is very easy and they will ship you another one or cancel and refund you.

 

[Deleted member 60582]

Given the opportunity I'll buy something in-store 100% of the time before I'll break down and buy it online. Online shopping is still a last resort to me, because I vastly prefer seeing the product in person before I buy it, no matter how trivial it might seem.

 

[KarmaCow]

You also are assuming that the people hired in the stores are actually knowledgeable and correct. I have heard store workers tell people wrong answers all the time and it drives my husband crazy when he hears it, especially at Best Buy with tech stuff.

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I am but the place I'm talking about hasn't let me down. The people there have been way more reliable than dealing with Amazon in my experience. I'm not entirely relying on them, I do some research beforehand but I'm not going to be digging through tomshardware forum posts about comparisons when I just ask someone in person.

You can use the online chat, it is very easy and they will ship you another one or cancel and refund you.

Click to shrink...

This was through a third party reseller, fulfilled by Amazon. It was recommended by Amazon itself so I naively assumed it would work out. Amazon just offers refunds for that, which to their credit was quick.

 

[Muu]

What were you trying to buy OP?

I don't got time for window shopping at a physical store, so online is fantastic. And cheaper. If I actually need things in a timely manner I'd be at a store

 

[shinken]

Out of desperation and getting swept up in sales, I made the mistake of buying something from Amazon recently and it just reminded me part of the reason why I try to buy physical stuff in person over online. It's just a quagmire of trying to examine a product through screenshots, sifting through reviews that are usually fake, and now with this order not making the mistake of also not sifting through the reviews of the seller. Compared to actually going to store, seeing the product, and talking to someone I think I'm done ordering online whenever possible.

Anyone feel this way? Maybe I just need to cooldown and this is more Amazon being terrible I'm just so annoyed by what on its face should be better but in reality is a worse experience.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, no. Queuing in line to pay, fuck that. I also don't want to deal with rude employees. Not like it happens all the time, but it does happen from time to time. I can't even remember when was the last time I went to a physical store to buy physical stuff which weren't groceries. For clothes I do sometimes go to a physical store when it's from an expensive brand and i'm not familiar with the sizing.

Talking to someone? Most of the time I know a shitton more than the people working there.

You can regret your physical store purchases too, you know. If you think you bought a bad product, return it?

 

[Illenium]

I did and the only option was a refund. I took it because I'm just tired of dealing with this order, emailing back and forth about tracking numbers and updates over the past few weeks.

Click to shrink...

weird 😔 your item must've been pricey or something. Sorry bout that tho op.

 

[KoreanBBQ]

I've generally had good experiences buying stuff online. The only real issue for me has been TVs. So many models, yearly models, etc make it confusing.

 

[mrmoose]

I try to check reviews but then it's another gamble of are those reviews worthwhile especially for more niche products. Star ratings and reviews on their respective website are absolutely not but there are so many reviews online outside of that. Add in those reviews being out dated where a product that was once top of line being outmoded in a year, it's just annoying to parse the deluge of information.



Like I said, whenever possible but if I had the choice I'm picking going to a store.



It obviously varies by store with some just trying to get you to buy something but going to a local place nearby I can trust the person there to actually be knowledgeable and helpful. It's not just about money, it's also about convenience. In this particular case I ordered something from Amazon during Black Friday. It never arrived and now I missed out on those Black Friday deals when I could have just gone to the store and picked it up for maybe $10 more than I paid for on Amazon and ended up never getting.

Click to shrink...

I guess my point was, you should look up online reviews even if you're going into the store. I don't know what local store you go to and it's cool that they have knowledgeable people there, but you can't just go into most stores and expect to get an unbiased opinion.

Also, you could have gone to the store on Black Friday, but I hardly see that as an argument for in person shopping; it's a terrible experience because of the crowds and you're not guaranteed to get what you want anyway after spending all that time and gas.

On a side note, I didn't think amazon did free returns if you cancel because you didn't want something, I was under the impression they still charged you shipping.

 

[KarmaCow]

I guess my point was, you should look up online reviews even if you're going into the store. I don't know what local store you go to and it's cool that they have knowledgeable people there, but you can't just go into most stores and expect to get an unbiased opinion.

Also, you could have gone to the store on Black Friday, but I hardly see that as an argument for in person shopping; it's a terrible experience because of the crowds and you're not guaranteed to get what you want anyway after spending all that time and gas.

On a side note, I didn't think amazon did free returns if you cancel because you didn't want something, I was under the impression they still charged you shipping.

Click to shrink...

I'm not going completely blind but I'm also going to spend the time learning about the value of CL10 vs CL9 on RAM or the performance of this product by a review from 6 years ago vs another from 4 years ago. I actually did end up going to the store on Cyber Monday to get an SSD and yea there were a lot of people but nowhere near the crazy American stampedes. I just wish I had given up on this order at the time and also just picked up RAM there too.

 

[Rizific]

No I dont feel that way. Would much rather buy something online as its usually cheaper and doesnt come with the usual bullshit of having to go into a physical store. ESPECIALLY during this time of the year. I can't even think of a single time I've had anything close to that experience in the OP. And on Amazon? Emailing back and forth for a tracking number over the course of WEEKS? I ain't buying that

 

[Lashes.541]

Nope, I never talk to sales staff. I worked at game crazy for years, and was hired by the manager for the exact reason as I was the Only person working there that knew anything about games lol. From my experience retail staff no almost nothing about the stuff they sell. Sometimes it's hard buying stuff online like clothes for example and just having to guess on the fit but outside of that I would rather buy online.

 

[Felt]

This OP is the opposite of my reality

 

[Kthulhu]

I've personally never had a problem shopping on Amazon. I don't remember them ever screwing up an order.

 

[mrmoose]

I'm not going completely blind but I'm also going to spend the time learning about the value of CL10 vs CL9 on RAM or the performance of this product by a review from 6 years ago vs another from 4 years ago. I actually did end up going to the store on Cyber Monday to get an SSD and yea there were a lot of people but nowhere near the crazy American stampedes. I just wish I had given up on this order at the time and also just picked up RAM there too.

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Oh, outside of America, I must have missed that.

Well, if you still have retail stores with great customer service, I agree that you should frequent them if nothing else than to keep them in business. I fear it's too late for that here.

 

[captive]

i think it entirely depends on the product but i definitely feel this way sometimes.

the other day we ordered a Olaf stuffed animal for our daughter it came and its like 6" tall where as we thought it would be like 18-24" tall.

I ordered shirts from a customized shirt company. I made sure to find their sizing measurements, and measured against a tshirt that fits perfectly. The shirts came in and they are smaller than the measurements.

both of these would have worked better in person experience over online.

 

[Felt]

i think it entirely depends on the product but i definitely feel this way sometimes.

the other day we ordered a Olaf stuffed animal for our daughter it came and its like 6" tall where as we thought it would be like 18-24" tall.

I ordered shirts from a customized shirt company. I made sure to find their sizing measurements, and measured against a tshirt that fits perfectly. The shirts came in and they are smaller than the measurements.

both of these would have worked better in person experience over online.

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Sounds like in both cases the company was not correctly providing measurements.

 

[captive]

Sounds like in both cases the company was not correctly providing measurements.

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an astute observation by you. However, in person doesnt require the company to have accurate measurements for millions of products, as i can see for myself what they are.

 

[Vulcano's Assistant]

Not when the product has an specific name and code so there can be no doubt about it being the same.

Buying an "office chair" ? Yeas risky to know what your are getting.
Buying a Herman Miller Areon? You shouldn't expect any surprises unless it isn't a reputable seller.

And it is so much safer with selectronics. Becausee electronics are a market so reliant on newer versions every year, and product codes.

 

[Lucky Forward]

Is the OP Clifford Stoll?

Why the Web Won't Be Nirvana

Then there's cyberbusiness. We're promised instant catalog shopping—just point and click for great deals. We'll order airline tickets over the network, make restaurant reservations and negotiate sales contracts. Stores will become obselete. So how come my local mall does more business in an afternoon than the entire Internet handles in a month? Even if there were a trustworthy way to send money over the Internet—which there isn't—the network is missing a most essential ingredient of capitalism: salespeople.

Click to shrink...

 

[Bakercat]

If the product is in the store, I might go look at it before buying online. I usually go off of reviews and youtube videos on the item. Rule of thumb for me is to have only verified purchase reviews with recents given more attention.

 

[Felt]

an astute observation by you. However, in person doesnt require the company to have accurate measurements for millions of products, as i can see for myself what they are.

Click to shrink...

Sure, if a company is bad at online sales then buying in store is better for you there.

To be fair I personally don't order clothes online for that reason, but that doesn't mean something like amazon wardrobe doesn't work better.

 

[JCH!]

I'm the exact opposite. There's no way I'm going to a store if I can buy it online and have it delivered. Got better shit to do.

 

[KHarvey16]

This was for RAM? What was the problem exactly?

 

[lake]

Shopping on Amazon has been noticeably shitty for a long time now. Many categories are flooded with cheap Chinese products that are often clones of each other, sold by companies with made-up names. It often becomes very difficult and frustrating to figure out if any one of the dozens of choices is actually a good / safe / worthwhile product.

There was a thread about this recently, perhaps sparked (NPI) by the exploding scooter lawsuit news.

 

[KarmaCow]

This was for RAM? What was the problem exactly?

Click to shrink...

I ordered RAM because mine was bugging out and Amazon popped as one of the better ones on those price comparison sites. This RAM in particular was through a third party seller but it had a Amazon's choice tag on it so I trusted it and the rating was okay. I had just missed out on another sale because I took too long looking through reviews and this was in limited stock so I ordered it after quickly looking it up on other review sites. It didn't arrive in the estimated time and had to email the seller multiple times to even get a tracking number. Even after I got the tracking number, I found out it was probably another ploy because it ended up being delivered to somewhere in Norway (I'm in Canada). I stuck with this order up to this point because the ETA was after the black friday sales had ended so it's not like I could just refund and take advantage of another sale.

It's just an annoying experience where I need to develop a vetting process for everything from the product itself, reviews of that product, and I learned through this the seller on Amazon since Amazon doesn't at all because all those things have been manipulated by scams and plain old advertising lies. I'm fine with a little bit of inspection to see it's something I want but there are so many layers of bullshit to navigate that it's exhausting.