• jballs@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      141·
      1 year ago

      Does Texas have something in place preventing people from getting solar? I don’t live in Texas, but my solar loan payment is a flat $200/month for 10 years then goes to $0. My buddy in Texas complains about getting $700 electrical bills, but when I recommend solar he acts like I’m recommending he cut off his left ball.

      • ugh@lemm.ee
        4·
        1 year ago

        I live in Texas but have never looked into solar. The fight to switch to renewable energy will be a long one because of the politicians. Texas makes a shit ton of money from oil. Politicians will continue to convince citizens that renewable energy is dangerous, ill-conceived, and “woke” so that we stick to traditional resources. There’s nothing stopping someone from getting solar panels, but I’d assume it would be more expensive. I don’t know if there has to be prior infrastructure in place, because that would be a problem. Some people don’t even have fast internet in the Houston suburbs because they don’t want to lay all the wire for only 100 people.

        • jballs@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          21·
          1 year ago

          Solar is awesome. It’s so cheap now that it’s a no brainer if you own a house that you’re planning on staying in for any decent amount of time. It’s cheaper than paying the electric company in most cases, and if you have a battery then it’s more reliable as well.

  • IDontHavePantsOn@lemm.ee
    373·
    1 year ago

    Sorry guys, I’m going to rant now.

    Does no one else remember that Amazon prime was established for 2 day shipping? That was the deal. Extra money for “free” 2 day shipping. Then they added prime video. What a deal! Right?!

    Then the pandemic happened. “Garble garble…SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES!”

    SINCE THEN HAVE YOU RECEIVED A PACKAGE IN 2 DAYS? For many people, no. Now that the pandemic is to blame, nothing has 2 day shipping. Now many things have added shipping costs. Now prime video is the only guarantee and its one of the worst values, and worst streaming experiences of all stream providers.

    Fuck Amazon. I can’t believe a class action lawsuit hasn’t been started. I’m now lucky to get any “prime” item shipped to my door in less than a week when the 2 day shipping was the entire reason for subscription.

    I’m now gladly paying the Waltons because at least somebody will shop for me and drop it off at my doorstep. Amazon, in my case, has lost a ton of business. Things I would normally order from Amazon I now order from Walmart or eBay, for less money, faster shipping, and a less likely lost package situation.

    Has anyone noticed that Amazon orders that have issues are now being hidden from you? Go back and find the last order they either lost or had to be refunded. It’s going to take you a bit longer because they don’t show it to you in your account. You will have to find the email with the order number to search for it.

    Also remember how Amazon’s big pull before prime was their easy returns? Yeah well those times are gone. Getting a human on the phone is impossible without finding the right phone number online, and they now outsource all of their customer resources to giant call centers. You will be lucky to get a refund for an item you never received. After 3 hours on the phone I finally got them to refund and item that was at the time, 2 months late. That item was $34.

    Amazon has pulled one of the biggest bait and switches of all time and I can’t believe it’s not more discussed. Garbage tier conglomerate.

    • barsoap@lemm.ee
      12·
      1 year ago

      Over here in Germany overnight shipping is pretty much the norm unless you get supremely unlucky and both source and destination addresses are in the boondonks. DHL also offers guaranteed overnight, but, as said, it’s usually not any faster especially since online retailers build their warehouses directly next to DHL hubs. So to sell prime, they started artificially delaying shipping – you can see that in tracking, they’re simply waiting until they hand stuff over to DHL, which then operates as fast as usual.

      DHL is not the only shipping company in Germany, amazon has contracts with pretty much all of them, and in my case the nearest pickup location happens to be Hermes. Which Amazon apparently hates as they’re delaying packages for a good two weeks.

      The result? I’m pretty much done ordering from Amazon: Other shops ship faster and aren’t more expensive. What amazon still has going for it is a ludicrously large selection so very occasionally (once in a year or so) I order there and, what do you know, they’re trying to get me with a free month of prime and actually ship on time, then.

      Truly, late-stage enshittification.

    • rifugee@lemmy.world
      11·
      1 year ago

      I’m surprised that you have had bad experiences.

      Evil corporation and all that and I am uncomfortable defending it, but I have had a drastically different experience.

      I frequently get stuff next day or within 2 days and always get refunds without having to jump through hoops or anything and there are multiple places to choose from for dropping off a return. Also, the price is almost always cheaper or within a dollar of where I can find it elsewhere.

      I’ve had some things take longer to arrive but they are clear about them not being prime and are up front about the delayed arrival time before I submit the order so I know what I’m getting into and if it’s something that I need quicker I just pick a different similar product that is prime eligible. There’s almost always an alternative that is a similar price with faster shipping. I’ve never had an order not show up either. In fact, I’ve never had to even call them or contact support at all.

      It’s too consistent to be good luck. Hell, it’s so convenient that I feel guilty for buying stuff that I could get locally for a comparable price but would require me to fight traffic and stand in line to pay.

      Maybe the difference is regional? Or maybe a rural area vs city thing? I don’t know. I guess the bright side for you is that you’re spreading your money around? Regardless, it sucks that you’ve had so many issues!

      • CoderKat@lemm.eeEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        Same here. Heck, I often even get one day free shipping, which is insane.

    • hinterlufer@lemmy.world
      4·
      1 year ago

      Yes, their service has gotten way worse over the last few years. But there’s also no obligation for you to stay subscribed to prime.

      • IDontHavePantsOn@lemm.ee
        1·
        1 year ago

        There is however an obligation for Amazon to provide the services they advertise and state in their terms of service.

          • IDontHavePantsOn@lemm.ee
            1·
            1 year ago

            Yes. That is still what they claim to offer. It might surprise you that Amazon does not have the consumers best interest at heart, but what will really surprise you is that I very secretly work for eBay and want to trash the impeccable reputation of Amazon.

    • Cornucopiaofplenty@lemmy.world
      3·
      1 year ago

      Sorry you’ve experienced that but I’ve had pretty consistent next-day or 2-day shipping whenever I’ve ordered anything with prime.

      • IDontHavePantsOn@lemm.ee
        1·
        1 year ago

        I know that there are many people that have not had any impact to their shipping times. Those that are near distribution centers, in cities, are not going to see the same change that I have, but Amazon has not held up their end of the bargain for many others. Amazon advertised 2 day shipping to an entire country, provided the service, and then cut the service to those who aren’t close to distribution centers and major shipping hubs. They havent lowered their prices or offered any incentives to make up for their lack of services they promised to provide.

    • Karyoplasma@discuss.tchncs.de
      3·
      1 year ago

      Honestly, I have received stuff in 2 days even without having Prime. They tell you it’s taking a week, but the package arrives much earlier. I don’t really order that much tho, so maybe I just got lucky.

    • MonkeMischief@lemmy.today
      3·
      1 year ago

      Amazon is US-based Temu at this point. Scam products, fake reviews, trash generics, non-existent service, and egregious privacy violations just using the site…

      (Not to mention directly competing and undercutting their own merchants out of business with “Amazon basics” trash)

      … And people are so quick to give them eyes and ears into their homes. Yeeeesh!

      And it doesn’t matter what crimes they commit at this point because AWS has basically cemented them into global infrastructure. The store is an afterthought by comparison.

    • Chr0nos1@lemmy.world
      2·
      1 year ago

      I actually just got something yesterday, that I had ordered the day before. I didn’t even have to pay more to get it delivered overnight. I do agree that Prime Video sucks, and I do have other issues with Amazon, but as far as shipping, the items I want are usually delivered in a couple of days.

      • IDontHavePantsOn@lemm.ee
        1·
        1 year ago

        I just made another comment about this, but the jist is that those who aren’t near distribution centers are getting screwed. They don’t give us 2 day shipping anymore.

  • Resol van Lemmy@lemmy.world
    15·
    1 year ago

    Pay an insane amount of money to get it tomorrow, pay nothing to get it the following day

    Yeah, makes sense, Mr Bezos. Not absolutely ridiculous at all.

  • Froyn@kbin.social
    9·
    1 year ago

    Muahaha. Must be Woot!
    Pay for delivery and we’ll get it there on X. Or don’t’ pay for delivery and it gets there when it gets there.

    • ridethisbike@lemmy.world
      11·
      1 year ago

      Honestly that looks like Amazon… And for the past year that’s been my experience, too. Everything takes weeks to get to me, it’s ridiculous.

      • Froyn@kbin.social
        6·
        1 year ago

        Amazon bought Woot! a couple years back. Unlike GameStop’s acquisition of Think Geek, Amazon has mostly left it alone.

      • ℍ𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕪@lemmy.world
        4·
        1 year ago

        For me it’s the total opposite. For the past year everything got delivered at least 1-2 days before the given delivery date. Sometimes even within 24h of ordering.

        And I don’t have prime or pay extra for delivery.

        • ridethisbike@lemmy.world
          2·
          1 year ago

          Guessing you live near a warehouse then. My brother lives in Phoenix and gets everything next day usually. My problem is I’m not near a major hub. Which is fine… I am ok with the shipping taking a week or so… But lately for me it’s taken weeks for anything to even leave the warehouse. Which is absolutely fucking insane

  • nexussapphire@lemm.eeEnglish
    9·
    1 year ago

    It probably wasn’t prime, that happens when the company selling doesn’t want to pay amazon to ship it through Amazon or doesn’t want to pay for shelf space in the Amazon warehouses.

    Look on the upside at least you don’t half to pay up to 50% of your profit to amazon just to stay competitive.

  • Queen HawlSera@lemm.eeEnglish
    7·
    1 year ago

    Plot twist, he ordered and antidote for a poison that only kills people on Friday. He can’t afford the shipping and now is trying to see if he can just barely make it to receive the antidote.