What are you buying on Amazon, and why?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
41

Food - I don’t really buy food from Amazon or online at all. The few sort-of food items I do buy are those that are not easily available locally - a particular brand of hard candy or cold brew tea bags.

Clothes - sometimes. Mostly inexpensive items that come S/M/L -lately it’s been sundresses. Or socks. Sometimes brands where I know my size and the price is either good or I can’t find that item or it’s just easier to shop on Amazon for a very particular item than to go t 20 stores or websites looking for it.

Toiletries - sometimes they are less expensive . I just bought a Body Shop shower gel. It was less expensive than buying it directly from body shop online (after the shipping charge) and easier than driving to a mall. Other times Amazon has a larger selection - I use denture adhesive and Amazon has the full product line of at least 2 different brands which is close to 20 different products. Drugstores don’t carry all of them.

And lots of other stuff- phone cases , charging wires, nail polish. Mostly because Amazon has a larger selection than physical stores and because if I want a charging wire , a phone case , nail polish and pens, I don’t have to go to three or four different stores/websites to get exactly the ones I want.

42

I think it’s easier for men, as clothes are generally less fitted and varying in style. I can buy the same size from 5 different retailers (or the same size but different styles from the same retailer) and get five different variations of fit, so generally have to send back at least half of what I buy on line.

43

In the case of charging/USB wires, it often feels like your in-store options are getting gouged by Best Buy or buying a Walgreen’s shock-trap. That was what let Monoprice get into the market (before they got bought up and went to hell).

44

Cat food. Our cats have kidney problems and have been prescribed a special vetinary-formulated food which the local pet store doesn’t carry.

45

I do this as well, but for a differnt reason. I buy canned cat food in bulk from Amazon so that I don’t have to lug it home. I’ve found that the cost is about the same, if not cheaper than from the physical stores.

I do buy my cat litter at Costco, they run some pretty good deals every couple of months and then I stock up. But their cat food makes my cat puke, so I stopped buying it.

46

I buy tons of stuff on Amazon, like many others in this thread

Regarding food: Our local Safeway discontinued carrying one of my favorite types of cereal, so I’ve been ordering it on Amazon.

47

There were replacement knobs I bought about two years ago for the Samsung Range. Other than that I don’t shop there. I have my favorite online retailers I buy direct for clothes, shoes, outdoor gear, kitchen supplies. My local grocer is a small family owned store ( not Meijer) that keeps getting better and expanding product lines.

48

Just in the last month:

A book about the Sun
A book about the Moon
A book about the Earth
A two pack of hair conditioner
A pillbox shaped like a flower
4 bamboo beach towels
A pack of Collis Curve toothbrushes for kids
A plastic jar full of number magnets

That’s pretty representational, actually.

49

This brings to mind another reason to use Amazon. Shipping, not to ME, but to others! For years, we’d buy presents for my niece and nephew, friends out of state, and the like. And then you paid $30 to ship it to said friend, or family member, on top of what you paid to buy the present!

The last time I did this, pre-COVID, to send a distressed friend a care package of goodies, it would have been cheaper to go online and have them made in Austin professionally and delivered!

And that leaves out the hassle of going to UPS/FedEx/USPS anywhere near the holidays.

So yeah, the ability to buy things for other people and just have them arrive with minimal muss and fuss, especially if it’s just a sub-$10 plushie or Comedy DVD, for free is a huge plus.

50

I rarely buy from Amazon and only if I can’t find the item elsewhere. I was thrilled to hear about the FTC lawsuit regarding the antitrust case. Go FTC!

51

All dressed chips for the win!

To answer the question-

Everything, except most groceries (tho some things just aren’t available- see all dressed chips [though those used to be available locally and disappeared ] and a particular brand of ice pops that are only available in the summer) and prescription meds.

Just about everything else, because Amazon has it, and still bring it to me.

52

I like that FTC Chair Lina Khan is more aggressive about consumer protection, especially since it seems most of the government is more corporate-focused. But her choices as far as what/who to go after seems to be a simplistic “big company = bad,” rather than “hey, those guys are breaking the law!”

53

Since developing arthritis in my knees spending any time shopping is painful. I buy a wiiiiiiide variety of items on Amazon, I order often.

I was a very early adopter and got in the habit. It can be a real time sink if you have to search multiple online sites (not to even mention going to brick-and-mortar stores). Plus, as with a lot of people upthread, I just can’t find things at stores nowadays. It’s even more annoying spending half a day driving around to various stores and coming home empty handed.

54

Some serious serial shoppers here!

I want a great deal on crockery I check surletable, I’m not looking for cat toys at the same time. I want cat toys I crinkle up a receipt and send it rolling.

What bugs me about Amazon is they monopolize search results eliminating other online retailers.

55

Something else I’ve started doing with Amazon is regular subscription orders for certain foodstuffs that aren’t at my local supermarket, or are just a bugger to have to carry home (I don’t drive). Now they get delivered to my door, monthly, are discounted for bulk, and are always available. It’s a win / win.

56

As for the why:

  • I like to buy stuff but I don’t like crowds.
  • I especially like to buy stuff for my kid.
  • A lot of stuff you can’t find in a regular store
  • When you can find it, it’s not a good quality example of the thing you want, or it’s more expensive
  • I get points on my Amazon Prime credit card which typically amounts to $700-1,000 “cash back” every year

I have concerns about Amazon as a corporation, dangerous labor practices, climate change, rampant consumerism etc. But it’s hard to overcome habit and convenience, and using alternative places is not always the fix we want to believe. Whatever I buy in a local store has to be shipped to that store before I can buy it. Then I have to climb into my CRV and expend gasoline on picking up the thing and bringing it home. That’s just one example of why it feels like you can’t win.

57

Sometime before 5pm, Amazon will be delivering an emergency weather radio (my last one finally succumbed to leaking batteries) and a food container lid wrangler. Next week they will bring me a couple of bar items, a piece of art, a couple of books I still buy hardback, and probably a resupply of canned cat fud.

Like I said…everything.

58

I quoted this point because it bears repeating. In many cases Amazon has become a necessary evil, as margins drive specialty stores under. Or how many areas were a desert of availability in the first place. I remember in the mid 90s or so, working for the summer in the small town of Salida Colorado. The locals were ecstatic because a Walmart had opened! Prior to that, the small local TV store had closed 4-5 years earlier, because the community wasn’t enough to support it. It had never been big enough to attract specialty CD or music stores, so everyone had to do their specialty or big purchases in Colorado Springs (67 miles) or Denver (97 miles). And don’t even get me started about the years in Leadville CO.

Still, some of the problems are ones that Amazon may not have created (see my short rant about the big Box stores killing local stores and chains), but they certainly made worse. The early steep discounts on books almost certainly drove a lot of local stores and chains for books under, or were at least the proverbial straw. And their treatment of employees has been a known source of evil all but since day one.

Still, if Amazon dissolved today, what would likely pick up the slack would be Walmart.com in the US, which has similar partner structures and “everything -including- the kitchen sink” sales philosophy. So trading one evil mega corp for another.

59

Most grocery stores aren’t open when I’m off work and awake post-COVID. Amazon Fresh is in my area and comparable or better than other grocery stores on selection and value, especially with the unpredictability of things being in stock. Also a better deal than any other delivery services. That said, I mostly grocery shop in-person for fresh foods.

Amazon Subscribe and Save offers big discounts on already-low items that are consumable/refillable on a regular basis, including food, animal products, things you replace at regular intervals (razor blades, various filters), shampoo, soaps, etc. I pay much less for all this stuff and I have a reliable delivery date every month. I personally do coffee, cleaning supplies, pet food, all kinds of household and automotive filters, all the stuff mentioned like shampoos, toothbrush replacement heads, gum, snacks, drinks, pretty much anything you can think of. In fact the first thing I do if I want to add something to my life like a vitamin/supplement, cologne, trash bag, whatever - I look it up on Amazon and see if they offer coupons and the after discount price, etc.

I’m pretty low income. I have a co-worker who tracks his spending and he told me he spent $88 last month in the break room just on drinks. That’s insane to me. I can barely spend that on substantive food I actually prepare. My other co-worker buys a drink every day for $2.29 a bottle. Average 20 days a month, that around $46. You can get two-12packs on Subscribe and Save for $14.26 a month.

Wife’s car needed repairs a shop would charge over a grand for easily. ordered the parts for around $140 and a specialty tool for around $70. Made the repair easily as someone who is not mechanically inclined at all using online tutorials.

Washing machine went out. Youtube video and $12 part on Amazon fixed it.

These stories are endless. Pretty much any part or tool and any household supply or personal consumable you can find with a wide selection and fast shipping with deals.

60

I buy nothing on Amazon unless they are the only supplier possible. Even at that, when I find out Amazon is the only source, I question how badly I need or want that item. Their practices towards their workers, towards writers, and towards publishers are unacceptable, and I refuse to support them.