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First post, by mothergoose729

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyuk2cbEZfs

Sad but accurate. I never realized how much the smart phone killed "gadgets".

Reply 2 of 13, by Big Pink

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Regarding the breadth of choice versus limited floorspace in a store: When I was looking for a new monitor (that met all my criteria) in 2009 I went to PC World because I wanted to support physical business as even then I was getting wary of Amazon. The sales assistant basically told me straight up the only way I was going to find what I was looking for was by buying online. Sure enough, it was on Amazon. What's the complaint then?

The only time I go into the local shopping centre now is to get my eye test at the opticians every other year. 15 years ago, whilst I was there I'd have a look in the independent record shop, Woolworths, GAME, etc - it's a ghost town now. I go in and I get out, no other businesses benefit. I hear about the loss of serendipity when it comes to streaming music and video, well there it is for shopping. If somehow the almighty Amazon algorithm does recommend a different product that interests you (and not just the thing you already bought again), whatever it is will be on their site. Amazon isn't going to recommend you make a purchase on some other company's e-commerce website. All that money stays in-house. To me, that sounds like the failure of commerce.

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Reply 3 of 13, by subhuman@xgtx

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I just noticed Amazon US has been filled to the brim with no-name generic Chinese products, and by "to the brim" I mean more than usual. Is it the same for .EU and .AU?

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Reply 4 of 13, by Big Pink

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subhuman@xgtx wrote on 2021-04-02, 16:56:

I just noticed Amazon US has been filled to the brim with no-name generic Chinese products, and by "to the brim" I mean more than usual. Is it the same for .EU and .AU?

Yep. It's why I gave up even trying to search for anything on Amazon.co.uk. Also true of eBay, even if I search by UK sellers the item is actually being sold out of Shenzhen. It's why I mostly search for used stuff now.

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Reply 5 of 13, by wiretap

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subhuman@xgtx wrote on 2021-04-02, 16:56:

I just noticed Amazon US has been filled to the brim with no-name generic Chinese products, and by "to the brim" I mean more than usual. Is it the same for .EU and .AU?

On top of that, they circumvent the product placement algorithms by farming with teams of people generating fake reviews and returns to push their products to the top and get competitors banned. Check out this short documentary: https://youtu.be/vOj-tRTbFfY

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Reply 6 of 13, by newtmonkey

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subhuman@xgtx wrote on 2021-04-02, 16:56:

I just noticed Amazon US has been filled to the brim with no-name generic Chinese products, and by "to the brim" I mean more than usual. Is it the same for .EU and .AU?

It's the same in Japan, and has been for at least a couple of years now. Anything you search for here results in pages and pages of the same exact product sold for roughly the same price, just under a dozen fly-by-night brands. Amazon's generous return policy helps in that you won't get stuck with junk, but it hurts in a way because I think the average person is disinclined to leave a negative review when they've received a full refund including shipping.

Reply 7 of 13, by Anonymous Coward

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I just noticed Amazon US has been filled to the brim with no-name generic Chinese products.

One day maybe people in the West will wise up and manufacture their own shit again...

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Reply 9 of 13, by darry

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Anonymous Coward wrote on 2021-04-03, 01:42:

I just noticed Amazon US has been filled to the brim with no-name generic Chinese products.

One day maybe people in the West will wise up and manufacture their own shit again...

IMHO, that may happen when/if fully automated factories become a common reality . Location won't really matter from a labor cost perspective and there is plenty of cheap terrain in areas like the rust belt or what is left of Detroit's industrial zones, to name but two examples .

Reply 10 of 13, by Jo22

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mothergoose729 wrote on 2021-04-01, 15:19:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyuk2cbEZfs

Sad but accurate. I never realized how much the smart phone killed "gadgets".

Neither did I. But I'm from Europe, also..

That being said, some oldimers (to put it nicely) blame cell phones for the dawn of amateur radio for 20+ years.

I'm not one of them, though. It's like apples and oranges to me.
Neither one replaces the other. In fact, I'm using both together.
My Android devices can run some useful utilities that support my ham hobby.

I think it's similar in other fields.

A movie or music lover prefers physical media upon highly compressed stuff.
CDs, Blu-Rays etc. have much better quality than MP3, FLAC or streamed MP4.

Of course, the stuff that normies consume is available on-line, plenty.

But even there are exceptions. Just think of head phones.
About everyone likes to test/compare them before buying, I believe.
That was possible in these stores, but isn't possible on-line.

Edit : What's also easily forgotten is the capacity problem, I believe.
Physical stores alone can't satisfy the demands of the customers.
In comparison to the 70s-90s, there are much more people around now.
On top of that, most of them have an interest in electronics.
Let's just think about it. Back in the 80s, kids had to share a single TV set.
If they were lucky, the household had two or three (parents bedroom, living room, kids' bedroom).
However, only in rare circumstances, sisters/brothers had their own each.
Nowadays, that's completely different. Normally, they have their own rooms, even.

Same goes for the CB/HAM radio hobby.
The allocated channels are way to few to handle even 1% of the population
(besides, the radio hoby is more than just communications, it's also about research and experiments).

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Reply 11 of 13, by VileR

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wiretap wrote on 2021-04-02, 23:47:

On top of that, they circumvent the product placement algorithms by farming with teams of people generating fake reviews and returns to push their products to the top and get competitors banned. Check out this short documentary: https://youtu.be/vOj-tRTbFfY

Judging by the ridiculous amounts of downvotes and the hyperbolic indignation in the comments, the same thing is happening to the video itself. How "meta" of them. 😉
At least, that's the less-depressing scenario. If those responses are genuine and 'organic', then those people fully deserve being scammed and exploited.

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Reply 12 of 13, by RandomStranger

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I still prefer physical stores and go there whenever I can. The customer experience just doesn't compare.
I also like "gadgets" over smart phones. There is a certain level of inconvenience having 4 devices on you instead of one not to mention when you don't have the one you just need, but those specialized gadgets often offer better user experience on their specific field than a "jack of all trades, master of none" smart phone.

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Reply 13 of 13, by Intel486dx33

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All those stores are closed in Silicon Valley too.
The only electronic stores we have left are

Central Computers ( Computer builder store )
Best Buy
Costco
Walmart
Target
Apple store
Microsoft store

I think todays students dont want to experience the old way of living.
They are the “NOW” generation.
They want it today and right away.
They dont want to wait for anything.

Also people want to escape from all the chaos in the world so they would like there
Home to be FREE of electronics. They want a simple quiet lifestyle.
Home remodeling and home improvement is still BIG in Silicon Valley.
People want there home to be a Nice quiet place with a nice garden.
They dont want electronic Chaos.

Think Contemporary decor and living.