It’s been ages since I’ve really done some deal hunting online with how ubiquitious Amazon is I’ve realized I’m not up to date with the current ecosystem for finding trustworthy online storefronts. Do you have any sources/tips for finding good quality products (especially with all the AI slop that exists nowadays)?

  • madjo
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    314 days ago

    Free shipping? On eBay? Are you high? Not even local listings have free shipping on that platform. Often they’re even abused to make the listing seem really cheap only to find out that they offset that cheapness by very steep shipping costs.
    Also their international shipping hub that they make you use has so little care for your purchases that there have been many reports of stuff being broken in that warehouse, despite careful wrapping around the packaging.
    Meaning the seller gets screwed out of the money from the sale (because the buyer wants their money back), and the buyer gets screwed out of the product.

    • JailElonMusk
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      113 days ago

      Not high just someone that uses eBay and has had good results. There’s no perfect option in capitalism.

      “Approximately 71% of eBay purchases come from listings that offer free shipping.”

      I’ve had great results and I chose to share them, what’s your suggestion then?

      • madjo
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        313 days ago

        I guess the experience of Ebay in the US is completely different from the experience of Ebay outside the US.

        As for alternatives to Amazon, in my country there’s bol.com. Shopping local is also a good idea. Don’t buy groceries at amazon, but instead in grocery stores.

        Then there are thrift stores. It’s better to thrift than buy new.

        • @[email protected]
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          113 days ago

          My experience with eBay in the US is also, more often than not, with free shipping. I’m not sure what items you’re looking at but there are tons of options with free shipping

          • madjo
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            113 days ago

            Outside the US?

            There’s barely any product with free shipping. It’s also still more the auction site it used to be than a deals site. It’s regular people/organisations selling their wares, and they have to pay shipping costs, so they’ll charge shipping costs.

            In fact, some people inflate the shipping costs, to offset the lower sales price that they set in order to show up higher in the listings.

            • @[email protected]
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              113 days ago

              I see, I misunderstood your comment saying “I guess the experience of Ebay in the US is completely different from the experience of Ebay outside the US.” was you saying your experience is from within the US. You didn’t specify which one was your experience, nor did the person you replied to. I was thinking your experience was from within the US, and theirs was from outside the US.

        • JailElonMusk
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          113 days ago

          Thank you for the insight, that sounds like a great option!

          I never considered the experience could be different based on where you buy from. My apologies for any confusion.

          • madjo
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            413 days ago

            I started out a bit high strung, I guess. My apologies for that