Amazon gives non-Prime members free shipping at $35 or more of eligible items. Instead of simply letting users get the product with free shipping, they’ve added a discount that prices it exactly one cent below the $35 limit, while only subsidizing the price with $3.38, which is about half of what they’ll then charge you for shipping.

    • d00ery@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      I’ve switched to eBay. The delivery time is often the same and the returns are ok too

      • Trainguyrom@reddthat.com
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        3 days ago

        A few years ago I mused that we might see the day when eBay becomes a more trustworthy platform to purchase on than Amazon. I’m not sure when exactly the streams crossed but I think we are past it now

        • DireTech@lemm.ee
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          3 days ago

          That happened years ago. Better search and more trustworthy sellers since products aren’t co-mingled. No way is some seller with years of positive reviews going to send you broken junk and not try to make it right.

          • GenXLiberal@lemmy.world
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            3 days ago

            I agree.

            Amazon is difficult to find what you want if you are searching for a specific brand or item. It shows you many options.

            To me it seems like Amazon wants to sell you something as long as the make a sale. Whether it is what you actually wanted is a distant second.

        • needanke@feddit.org
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          3 days ago

          Hm, my experiences with e-Bay have been pretty bad (hard to return items or get customer support involved when something is wrong). I’ve had better luck with just random mid-sized buisnesses or directly ordering from the manufacturer.

        • UltraMagnus0001@lemmy.world
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          3 days ago

          I been going to ebay more recently. What I do is try to decipher the Amazon reviews and then go to ebay, even though I have Prime. My headlamp led was less expensive on ebay by 50%!

      • TheFeatureCreature@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        I wish I could do more shopping there, but eBay in Canada is extremely expensive which has lead to it being kind of a ghost town compared to the US. $20-$50 shipping fees, even on tiny items, is common.

        So I’ve started to use AliExpress more often. Literally the exact same item on Amazon but without the markup - sometimes even half the price. It’s not a great solution but the online shopping selection here in Canada is awful.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      Start using Amazon, but in an elaborate drop shipping scam where you sell a $.25 item for $38 and have Amazon pay you $3.99 to ship it to yourself as a proxy.

    • PlainSimpleGarak@lemmings.world
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      3 days ago

      It’s too convenient. Order something Sunday night, I’ll definitely have it by Tuesday afternoon if not earlier. I always wait until I have enough items I need over $50 before I place an order anyway.

      • dan@upvote.au
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        3 days ago

        In my area I can order something popular at midnight and receive it by 10am. If you’re in a major metro area, they can usually do next day, same day, and overnight on a lot of items.

        • Auli@lemmy.ca
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          3 days ago

          Sure but you don’t need it. Yes it’s nice. But once I canceled prime I just order less junk I don’t need. It was like an addiction. Just browse oh that looks cool.

      • qaz@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        90% procent of products on Amazon are from AliExpress dropshippers anyway