Clearly has never used Amazon Canada.
But in all seriousness, a great article. It's interesting to see how the different web markets overlap so easily.
Funny, I came here to say something more serious to this extent. The degree of American-centricity in this thread is astonishing (or perhaps I'm just used to Reddit). Outside of the US – to my understanding, anywhere outside of the US, not just Canada – Amazon is next to useless. The product selection is abysmal and shipping options are terrible. Maybe the article has some points with regards to the American marketplace, but on an international level, Amazon has a long way to go.
(Yes, I realize some Amazon.com retailers do ship to Canada. To those who are about to suggest this to me, I ask: have you ever tried it? In most cases, the shipping costs more than the item in question, and depending on how it ships – something I don't seem to have any control over, although maybe that's just a case of me not knowing how to use Amazon – it either ships UPS and I get dinged with insane “duty” fees, or it ships USPS and I don't see the item for a month.)
No it's not. In France they are fantastic. The product selection is very narrow, yes, but everything else is perfect, namely:
- delivery time and accuracy
- customer service
I once bought a kitchen appliance that my kids broke by letting it fall on the floor. I told Amazon that I would like to buy the part that was broken and they said "we'll just send you a complete product as a replacement, free of charge". The new product came in the very next day.
After a life of having to deal with French retailers this feels like landing on Mars, if Mars had rivers of milk and honey.
I have friends who moved to Canada and feel similar, but buying ~everything~ seems to be more expensive than in the states. What better options are there for you?