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This is one of those times where the shared article isn't very insightful but the topic and discussion that ensues are interesting. I've had Prime every now an

This is one of those times where the shared article isn't very insightful but the topic and discussion that ensues are interesting. I've had Prime every now and then to watch some shows. I've now stopped using it entirely because I don't want to support the company. Unsubscribing within the Prime Video app was a horrendous experience where I got stuck in a loop. I've also been re-subscribed without my knowledge and the only reason I can find to explain this is that opening the app on my TV and clicking "ok" once re-subscribes me. I have since removed my payment methods from the site. As an e-commerce platform, it's been going downhill for a long time. Now it just feel like a more expensive Temu/Wish.com. Full of dark patterns, low quality items, and cheating 3rd party resellers.

chneu 2y ago
My roommate got a counterfeit Amazon Basics HDMI cable from Amazon. That pretty much says it all.
- aembleton 2y ago
  How did they know it was counterfeit?
  - chneu 2y ago
    Once you took a hard look at it you could tell that the injection molding was pretty low quality. I also tested it. The cable was faulty and wasn't the HDMI standard we ordered. Both are pretty good indicators that it's a counterfeit product. Amazon co-mingles all their goods. So the likelihood of counterfeits, even in amazon basics products, is high.
- rsanek 2y ago
  Seems unlikely -- Amazon Basics already have razor-thin margins, I struggle to see the motivation of someone counterfeiting such a budget brand.
  - consteval 2y ago
    Counterfeit meaning not the product they actually paid for. For example, an RTX 3050 probably had thing margins when it came out (or some equivalent GPU with low margins). But! You can still counterfeit it and put in a GT 430 and have the same shroud - and people do just that. Amazon HDMI cables are cheap, I’m sure, but an older spec HDMI cable with no HDCP is probably even cheaper. And you can’t really tell the difference… until everything is streaming at 480p.
- m463 2y ago
  Amazon basics is so hit or miss anyway. I bought a bunch of their rechargable batteries, but it's hard to discern the quality of invisible specifications. I kind of wonder if they suck, because some physical amazonbasics things I've bought were actually not great.
aembleton 2y ago
It's got more dark patterns than Temu. So many sneaky patterns to try and trick you in to signing up for Prime. I've never had an issue with Temu - not somewhere to get name brand products, but if I want something cheap and don't mind waiting a couple of weeks then it works better than Amazon.

chneu 2y ago

My roommate got a counterfeit Amazon Basics HDMI cable from Amazon. That pretty much says it all.

aembleton 2y ago
How did they know it was counterfeit?
- chneu 2y ago
  Once you took a hard look at it you could tell that the injection molding was pretty low quality. I also tested it. The cable was faulty and wasn't the HDMI standard we ordered. Both are pretty good indicators that it's a counterfeit product. Amazon co-mingles all their goods. So the likelihood of counterfeits, even in amazon basics products, is high.
rsanek 2y ago
Seems unlikely -- Amazon Basics already have razor-thin margins, I struggle to see the motivation of someone counterfeiting such a budget brand.
- consteval 2y ago
  Counterfeit meaning not the product they actually paid for. For example, an RTX 3050 probably had thing margins when it came out (or some equivalent GPU with low margins). But! You can still counterfeit it and put in a GT 430 and have the same shroud - and people do just that. Amazon HDMI cables are cheap, I’m sure, but an older spec HDMI cable with no HDCP is probably even cheaper. And you can’t really tell the difference… until everything is streaming at 480p.
m463 2y ago
Amazon basics is so hit or miss anyway. I bought a bunch of their rechargable batteries, but it's hard to discern the quality of invisible specifications. I kind of wonder if they suck, because some physical amazonbasics things I've bought were actually not great.

aembleton 2y ago

It's got more dark patterns than Temu. So many sneaky patterns to try and trick you in to signing up for Prime. I've never had an issue with Temu - not somewhere to get name brand products, but if I want something cheap and don't mind waiting a couple of weeks then it works better than Amazon.