always read the reviews

[cellio]

I needed a new thumb drive, so I figured I'd just get one from Amazon along with some other stuff I needed. I found a reasonable-looking candidate but looked at the reviews, the first few of which were bad. How can a thumb drive be bad? The first review said it was unreliable (not described further); the second said it came with malware. I looked at a couple other options, and -- same sort of complaints.

Hmm, I said. These are all third-party sellers (different ones, in the few product pages I looked at). Amazon isn't vetting them and never gets its own hands on the products. They're just an aggregator. I would buy a thumb drive from Amazon, but their credibility does not extend to other sellers they happen to host -- I shouldn't trust a thumb drive being sold by "Joe's Anonymous Store" any more than I should trust one I find lying around waiting to spread the malware within. Even if Amazon eventually boots sellers with lots of complaints, that doesn't help me, now.

I had an errand to run today anyway and figured I'd pick one up in person at Best Buy. That's how I found out my local Best Buy isn't there any more. Oops.

I've bought electronics online from NewEgg before and that's always been fine, so I headed there next -- where I saw that the products I was looking at were listed as third-party sellers. I didn't know NewEgg did third-party sellers. I wouldn't have thought to look if not for those Amazon reviews.

I finally ordered from Best Buy online; I figure it's probably really them, and if there's a problem I can, if necessary, go to a (less-local) brick-and-mortar store to deal with it.

Comments

[cellio]

Costco delivers? This is important new information -- thank you. (And for the rest, too.)

[sine_nomine]

Yes, sameday.costco.com is the delivery page. You do need a costco account.

Just did a test run for Costco in your city, using Kosher as the keyword and got over 200 items including a wide variety of meats, smoked salmon, salads, and more.

Even living alone, they have things that make my membership worth it.

[loosecanon]

it does cost rather more; there are fees, charges, taxes, and upcharges. But it is a lot less than automotive ownership.

I believe their delivery for same-day is via instacart. (we tip the drivers in cash, because they deliver right to the door)