HN Explorer

Is Amazon Worth It?

11 points by Overtonwindow ↗ HN
When is the price of a good at Amazon so competitive that it's worth spending the money at, arguably, a pretty rotten company. For example: "Music Theory for the Bass Player: A Comprehensive and Hands-on Guide to Playing with More Confidence and Freedom by Ariane Cap", is one of the best books for beginning bassists.

With shipping but before tax: - On Amazon, it's $31.45 - Better World, a social benefit bookseller, it's $44 - Bookshop.org, which links readers to independent bookshops it's $38.45 - Barnes and Noble, $34.95 - Even gave Walmart a go: $31.45, the only company to match Amazon - although FakeSpot suggested a WalMart seller for $30.45.

Until FakeSpot's suggestion, I was going to go with Barnes and Noble, reasoning that at least it's a brick and mortar bookstore. Not exhaustive, but an interesting cross section. Given this list, at which price point "is Amazon worth it" for you? Why?

To put other ways: How much above Amazon are you willing to pay to shop at a local or independent seller?

How does one calculate that from an economic perspective, and is it growing, or shrinking?

15 comments

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smoldesu
> To put other ways: How much above Amazon are you willing to pay to shop at a local or independent seller?

I despise Amazon, but for most things it would have to be cheaper than Amazon for me to really care. I don't have the time to run elaborate price comparisons or hunt down the best deal on 100ct toothpicks, I buy things on Amazon because it's easy. On top of that, their returns policy is almost universally better than any mom-and-pop store I've dealt with, so unfortunately I reach for the Bezos Box every time I need something.

jjmellon
In the case of books, I think the battle has already been lost. I doubt that small acts of charity will keep Amazon's competitors viable at this point.
PaulHoule
For me it is not so much the price as the product range.

I prefer Best Buy to Amazon when I can. I use my Best Buy credit card preferentially to my Amazon card. Best Buy's prices for movies are often better than Amazon's prices. However, Amazon Marketplace has more obscure movies. For instance I am into Chinese movies and TV shows like Three Kingdoms, Dream of the Red Chamber and Wolf Warrior 2 and Best Buy just doesn't have these. Sometimes Amazon does, but I end up going to bootleggers from Singapore and other strange places to get my fix.

Sometimes I feel like Best Buy wants to fit me in a little box. I wanted an NFC reader for my PC. Best Buy chooses not to carry such things. I am looking for a VR headset to support software development, Best Buy chooses only to carry Facebook products. (Nope, I deleted my Facebook account and I'm not making a new one for that.)

Most interestingly, Amazon Marketplace lets you evade shortages by paying a higher price right now. For instance, Epson EcoTank Pro and EcoTank Photo printers are sold out at Dell, B&H photo, Adorama and such. You can pay a premium and get one today on Amazon.

[dead] tracer4201
> When is the price of a good at Amazon so competitive that it's worth spending the money at, arguably, a pretty rotten company.

I don’t think they’re any more rotten than most other big companies.

I use Amazon to buy books on my Kindle and sometimes paperbacks or hardcover, depending on whatever has a lower price.

For me, the main thing is convenience and service. In about 14 years, I had exactly one order not arrive in their order window and another order ($600 graphics card) that was marked delivered but probably stolen (I never got it).

Amazon gave me a credit one time and for the missing graphics card, they shipped me another one. No police report or anything like that required.

A few months ago, I went to the mall to buy a pair of shoes. 25 min there, 25 min back… sitting in traffic. Not only did they not really have what I wanted, but the two people working in the store clearly didn’t want to be there. It was an epic waste of time.

> To put other ways: How much above Amazon are you willing to pay to shop at a local or independent seller?

$0. Actually, I’ll usually go with the cheapest price, if let’s say it’s a pair of shoes I can buy cheaper from Nike. Sometimes the seller has a cheaper price but incredibly slow shipping, in which case usually I go with Amazon.

For electronics, it comes down to Best Buy or Amazon for me. If I need something quickly, there’s a Best Buy a few miles away from me, and they always price match Amazon.

downrightmike
Fun fact, if something is sold on amazon, the 3rd party seller cannot offer it for less. IE they have to sell the same price as amazon, even though amazon takes a 30% cut off the top anyway. Looking elsewhere benefits the real merchants.
topkai22
I don’t particularly romanticize brick and mortar retailers. There were/are good ones but there are also terrible ones. The best create a shopping experience that makes going in an enjoyable experience in and of itself or consistently provide expertise beyond what I can find on my own.

What I do prioritize is immediacy and support. If a retailer has something in stock I'll often go get it there to not wait 2 days and to be able to get a replacement quickly if something is wrong. Similarly, when looking for a bigger ticket item I prefer in person retail because I can (sonetimes literally) kick the tires and in some cases I can have a support relationship with the store. If I showroom an item at the store I will try to buy it from them, although I absolutely will ask them to price match the internet.

You asked "how do you calculate that from an economic perspective." I look at how much I'd had to pay at the brick and mortar store or the alternative, subtract out how much the cost is at Amazon, add back an estimate of the opportunity cost to go to the physical store/shop an alternative site, and then decide if the number is worth what I'd willing give for the shopping / support/ satisfaction of knowing I didn't support Amazon.

Hokusai
> How much above Amazon are you willing to pay to shop at a local or independent seller?

I want it regulated so it does not abuse it's position, and I want the government making sure that it follows laboral laws so its employees can live with dignity. That people can stop buying is not a reason to allow Amazon to abuse its position.

> How does one calculate that from an economic perspective, and is it growing, or shrinking?

Many people cannot afford to take the time and effort to do that kind of calculation. So, growing or shrinking, it only affects a small percentage of all Amazon potential customers.

otherotherchris
The media narrative against Amazon is not entirely accurate, they pay well above median for logistics roles and have better conditions. I reckon behind closed doors that the major complaint against them in the publishing industry is that they don't buy display and print advertising, and there is an effort to punish them for it vis-a-vis the coordinated attack on Google during the Google News blackmail era.

And this whole "pissing in bottles" thing is more an indictment of Americas lack of public toilets and abandonment of the public realm in general. Most civilized countries have infrastructure to meet basal human needs.

Hokusai
> The media narrative against Amazon is not entirely accurate

Anti unionization, abusing providers and streaming their business, allowing fake products, allowing fake reviews,... I am sure that is the press is not entirely accurate. There seems to be more than what usually is discussed.

coverband
B&N has an annual membership ($25) that comes with a constant 10% discount and occasional coupons that offer bigger discounts. With the membership, the same book would also be $31.45.

I'm not suggesting it's better or worse, just another option.

8bitsrule
The value of browsing a brick-and-mortar (especially stores with new -and- used books, and great employees) is what it's all about for me. Looking through the sections of interest, discovering options I might not have heard about. 'Shipping and handling' is built into the price (including special orders). (Amazon: 'starting at $5.99') No packaging to throw away just adds to the pleasure of avoidance.
rz2k
Bookfinder.com is owned by Abe Books, which is now owned by Amazon. The first non-Amazon (or Abe) US listing I found for that book leads to superbookdeals.com, where it ended up being on sale for $28 with free US shipping. I couldn't find immediate evidence that that seller is also owned by Amazon, but if it is, you could look at Alibris.

It does seem like a weird game that Amazon has ultimately acquired this service for discovering competitors, then left it operating.

Though you were actually talking about quantifying the value of choosing alternatives to Amazon, I thought it was worth pointing out how to find some other alternatives.

Raed667
I only buy from amazon when I suspect that I might need to send back an item (electronics mostly at this point).

Their customer-service and almost no-question-asked return policy is day-and-night compared to other local (big and small) retailers.

And for that alone I keep playing for Prime and even slightly more expensive things on amazon.