Some of the people who get that email DO know the answer, and are willing to share what they know to help out fellow customers.
For example, I was looking at portable CD players this morning, and somebody asked “does this model play steadily while walking or running?”–a store employee or customer service rep might be able to read me what the box says or what the manufacturer claims, but a customer who has this model and uses it jogging can provide their real-world experience.
A lot of times you see answers to the questions under the Q/A as “I don’t know” or “I haven’t opened it yet.”
Then people wonder why anybody would bother answering “I don’t know”. They don’t realize that person received an email just like you did and the email receiver doesn’t realize their answer might show up under the product.
I started a thread about this pet peeve of mine a while back. I’ve answered a number of questions when I felt I could and ignored ones I felt I couldn’t. For example, I bought a pair of smart bulbs that were 75w equivalents and a few weeks later was asked if I could answer a question about whether it could be used in a can receptacle rated 60w max.
I simply answered that the concern was heat and although the lamp was as bright as a 75w incandescent, it actually drew only 8w so it should do just fine.
And speaking of pet peeves, breakneck, if it bugs you so much, just ignore the email.
I think you’re misunderstanding what happened. Amazon has some functionality that allows prospective buyers to post questions about an item, and for others to answer those questions. At no point is there an expectation that Amazon would know about it.
That’s in part because they’re basically a marketplace not a single seller and can’t know about every product that every seller offers, and in part because a lot of the questions are ones that aren’t in the product literature to begin with.
ISTR that if you’ve bought that item in the past, they’ll give you a heads-up that someone asked a question about it, without any real expectation that you’ll answer it. They’d like for you to, but they don’t expect you to.
I have and have answered the question if I knew the answer. Why not help out someone with a question that you can’t tell unless you have actually used the product?
I bought a reconditioned phone from a reseller, and I’ve gotten a bunch of questions about it. I’m not sure you understand how Amazon works. Why would an Amazon employee know anything about the specific model of a phone a reseller offers?
Also, Q&A is about factual information. Reviews are about opinions.
I’ve found the Q&A helpful (you need to read a lot of them, not just one) and I have no problem answering questions where I could be of help to someone. As for you, the delete button is a powerful tool.
I like Amazon and am extremely happy with the service they’ve provided. I get a kick out of answering questions when I can, and many times my answers have been helpful.
A few years ago my gf wanted me to order a product that was ~$300. She showed it to me on the manufacturer’s website, but the page for ordering was down. I went to Amazon, and with Prime I paid the same amount.
I copied the description from the manufacturer’s site, and pasted it into Amazon’s search engine, then placed the order. It was the wrong product and wasn’t returnable.
I was able to explain to an Amazon rep why I thought there was shared blame. I offered to pay for return shipping and a modest restocking fee, but the rep finally got my original point and shipped me the item I wanted, telling me to keep the other.
The way I look it at, if it’s an item (especially a niche part or something) that I purchased and know about, and it will take me a very brief time I will do it. Yes, it’s “working for Amazon” but I look at it more like helping someone out who needs something and doesn’t know it it’s going to work or whatever. Amazon is basically the default source for a lot of things, especially if you have limited funds and need something fast. For example, when I needed a $12 washer part that Sears could have ordered and sent me in 2-3 weeks for 30 bucks or whatever, and I didn’t have $400 for a new washer unless my family didnt eat for 2 weeks or I wanted the electric disconnected or something. I am grateful for someone saying yeah that fits your machine and I could do laundry 2 days later. So when I got a part for my 2016 Civic and the description was not 100% guaranteed it would work for that specific model, and I bought it and it worked great, and someone else with the exact same car asked “Hey will this work for XYZ model car?” and it takes me 15 seconds to say “hey I have the same car and it worked great” - I am happy to do that. It’s not like “F Amazon, F you!, F errrrrrrbody!” If I didn’t want to I would just ignore it.
Let’s put it this way, I’ve asked questions of the sales staff at Best Buy. I generally get a fairly crappy answer to specific ‘not-on-the-box’ questions. I’m glad Amazon allows people who know more about the item at hand to be able to answer specific questions.
When I look at the Q&A about a product I am considering, these are the answers I am hoping to see. These are the people who should be answering these questions (not Amazon) and I wish they would answer more of them. “Is this also available in puce?” Who else is going to know the answer to that except the product seller (not Amazon).
Some questions (does this dress come in puce? Was this knife made in China? Is this lamp rated to be used in damp conditions?) are best answered by the manufacturer. Others (Does the bottom of this coffee mill accidentally fall off and spill the grounds when you are grinding? Does this clip, designed for bags of chips, open 1", which is how far I need it to open for my use? Is this toiletry bag sturdy, does it hold up to a lot of use?) are often better answered by customers.
I often buy from Amazon BECAUSE it has better reviews than most competing sites. And yes, I write reviews. And I sometimes answer questions, if I happen to know the answer. If I don’t, or if I’m busy, I ignore the question.
Heck, my “travel agent” is Trip Advisor. It’s value is 90% the high-quality reviews written by other uses of TripAdvisor. Hmm, I wonder if it survived the pandemic? If not, I will miss it.
Yes, you are right of course, some questions are unlikely to be answered accurately by the seller, but those are the kinds of things I look for in reviews, not in the Q&A (just talking about me personally) precisely because the reviews can be a mine of good information. And so many of the people who answer questions give completely useless answers – “well, the one I got was orange, is that close enough?” I am not meaning this to be a rant or anything, I just think the Q&A process doesn’t work very well most of the time, largely because many sellers aren’t giving it any attention.
I have asked a couple of questions. While I agree that there’s a shockingly high rate of useless answers. “Mine is orange”, or the ever-popular, “I don’t know”, I have gotten useful answers a couple of times.
So I answer questions when I have a useful answer to give.
I just thought it was funny that they threatened to kick me off because i mentioned someting about jeff bezos and all i mentioned was him being the richest man in the world you think he could afford to have staff that take care of this instead of crowd sourcing for free . I guess it beter be just kiss assing when talking about the tzar bezos
No, I’d assume a ‘repersantive’ of Amazon would be a company shill who might say “Oh, this engine hone fits perfectly! Buy the eleven-pack and get a discount!”
But I’d love to get an honest answer like “It’ll fit eventually, but only after you remove the hone cover, which they don’t tell you about. You’ll need a non-ferrous lever to get that off without reversing the polarity… and a spare half hour.”