It works because they have AWS. If the entirety of the business was only the consumer site, it's looking more and more like Wish with each passing day.
Also, Wish takes 40 days to ship. Ebay and other sites take 4 days. If I order something from Amazon right now I'll literally have it in 4 hours. Doesn't matter for all purchases but it's so convenient.
Amazon with Prime still edges out on shipping speed but eBay is close.
eBay acquaints you more with the seller and if you are buying from a seller with "Top Rated" status you can be sure you will get a good product shipped quickly.
If Amazon can clean up bad sellers / fake reviews and fix the search they can get back to being the best.
Personally I find better prices and quicker delivery or pickup for most common goods at Walmart and for the Chinese stuff that Amazon is filled with there's Ali, Temu, etc.
When I need something more niche I prefer eBay but still search Amazon, but again, their search sucks.
Because Amazon does not let you sell your product cheaper elsewhere.
It’s all gamed to have you click on a sponsored result. If you buy from third party better check the condition, terms, and return policy. Oh and it might be fake or previously used.
That said, I still find it useful but only because like someone else said, every other “a to z “ company is worse. That said, Amazon is competitive at price point still but it isn’t where I go to find products organically. I find recommendations elsewhere then comparison shop. Walmart at least you can sort sold by Walmart, BB/Home Depot work fine as well. Amazon has its place but it’s not a good or enlightening experience.
If it stopped there it would be almost okay, but then the page for the brand might get you items comingled with counterfeits.
Items delivered work as advertised. Reasonable delivery times (I live in Singapore). I buy from both Amazon SG and US stores.
Are there some sort of filter where US based Amazon customers get targetted with shoddy products and foreign customers less so? Genuinely curious.
Amazon in Germany has two problems in my eyes:
It's not possible to filter out the marketplace. The marketplace is full of dropshippers with highly inconsistent delivery times. There are some things I just want to buy from Amazon directly.
Chinese fire-and-forget brands crowd out real brands. Fine if you e.g. just want cheap gloves, but a terrible experience if you want more than that.