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Comment by polote | Hacker News Reader

You can't focus on your competitors when you don't have competitors.

Has Amazon, the website, any competitors? They have an unique proposition, like Apple

Walmart and Costco come to mind for a lot of the sort of shopping I do. Single category retailers often provide better experiences (think Zara, Home Depot). Aliexpress has way wider selection across the board and very cheap prices (though with very long delivery times).

I tend to use Amazon more for the intersection of things that are somewhat niche and that I'd like fast delivery on.

Yup, Walmart seems the obvious comparison, at least for retail. Much of what you'll find on Amazon, you can find there, including fast, free shipping.

Can you buy things like high end bike parts on Walmart? Or addidas running shoes? Honest question

Honest answer - maybe. Amazon is so rampant with fraud parts[1] and shoes it's hard to know there as well. Best to buy "nice" things elsewhere than Amazon.

For me 100% no-go on Amazon is anything that goes in or on your body, like lotion and vitamins. Coin-flip you get a fake since almost anyone has the means to produce fraud.

[1] https://www.bikeforums.net/general-cycling-discussion/120619...

If you know exactly what you want, you're better off going directly to the company's website or a retailer specialized in that category. Pretty much every such company has e-commerce these days and the risk of getting scammed is basically zero.

I’ve tried doing that. I often end back buying it from Amazon. Why? The company is often selling for the same price, with an outsized shipping charge, longer delivery time, and no free returns.

Not when shipping, and ease of returns in the event of a problem are considered.

I don't mean to shill Amazon, I'd like direct to be as good; it's just rarely close in my experience.

Walmart.com has third-party sellers, same as Amazon. Both those things are available.

Does Walmart commingle goods from counterfeit sellers with that of reputable sellers for optimized delivery? Amazon does.

I don't know if Walmart has the same extent of 3rd party fulfillment that Amazon does, which seems to be the source & cause of the commingling issues. Walmart always seems to be either the supplier or it's 3rd party; don't know if this true though

> I don't know if Walmart has the same extent of 3rd party fulfillment that Amazon does, which seems to be the source & cause of the commingling issues.

This reads weirdly to me; I'd describe Amazon's situation as "they provide first-party fulfillment of 3rd-party sales.

Can you buy anything high end on Amazon? I wouldn't.

Walmart, Ebay, Alibaba/AliExpress, Costco all jump to mind.

Target also has a perfectly fine site. Their business is doing quite well the last few years, including online.

aliexpress seems to be pretty much the same, except cheaper and you know you will be getting a knockoff (instead of maybe)

Amazon and Apple have both taken ordinary products (the computer, the book, the cell-phone, the convenience store) and commoditized them using the power of the internet. No foul play yet, but the issues start when they begin gaslighting the little guys: Apple's biggest concern is their development ecosystem right now, and Amazon's biggest concern is antitrust commissions. Frame it however you like, but they still 'compete' with their traditional analogs, be it indirectly or directly. The mindset you're encouraging is the one that drives Tesla shares to $1k a pop, solely because "they're not like other auto manufacturers!"

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