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Comment by zdragnar | Hacker News Reader

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.

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

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.

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...

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

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.

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