I don't even buy from Amazon anymore. The fact that everything I want to buy has 4.5 stars or higher is already suspicious. I've seen reviews for stuff that aren't even related to the product along with garbled reviews that were obviously generated by AI. I'd rather just go to the store than trust anything on Amazon. And none of this even scratches the surface when you realize Amazon sells things that are straight up dangerous. From faulty fuses that could burn your house down to auto cleaning litter boxes that will kill your cat. All from drop shipping companies you can barely pronounce.

Edit: Oh yeah and don't forget Amazon bribes people with gift cards to make positive reviews and they delete negative reviews. You literally can't trust anything on the entire site anymore.

[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 29 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

I stopped using Amazon when it became impossible to know, without a shadow of a doubt, that what I am buying is coming from a legit business because of drop shipping, review scamming, and other shit they do.

If I wanted cheap, Chinese-made garbage I'd use Temu or Wish and get the thing for three cents instead of thirty dollars.

[–] hannesh93@feddit.org 21 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I only look at 1 star reviews for that reason and decide if the problem those people have if relevant for me or in general

[–] Anticorp@lemmy.world 15 points 2 months ago (3 children)

So many 1 star reviews are obviously a result of those people either not understanding the product, or not using it as intended. Then there are the weird reviews that give praise, but have 1 star. The stars on their own aren't worth much. You've gotta read what was written.

[–] zurohki@aussie.zone 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I bought this iron, mounted it hot side up in a vise and made a toasted cheese sandwich on it and the cheese melted and got inside the iron. The cheese caught fire and set off my fire alarms. One star.

[–] Anticorp@lemmy.world 10 points 2 months ago

Precisely! I once saw someone leave a 1 star review on a cast iron pan because they refused to use any oil on it and were upset that things were sticking and the pan was rusting. They went on and on about their amazing fat free diet and why they refuse to use any sort of oil, completely oblivious as to how a cast iron pan should be used.

[–] howrar@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 months ago

I've seen someone complain about vacuum sealing bags not being airtight. They posted a picture and the thing was inflated like a balloon. Ma'am, that's airtight. Your food is fermenting in there.

[–] LwL@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Recently bought a thermometer/hygrometer. It said the external sensor is calibrated for -40 to 60°C (values might be a bit off but in that ballpark) while the internal one is calibrated for -20 to 100 (again might be a bit off).

There was a 1 star review of someone using it in his sauna (so around 100°C) and seeing a big discrepancy between data from the two sensors so "it clearly can't be very accurate".

[–] PrimeMinisterKeyes@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

I've not bought anything from Amazon for close to 3 years when I was handed a gift card out of the blue. It took me no less than three hours to shop for 5 pretty standard items because on every page I clicked, my screen was entirely filled with ridiculously trashy products, annoyingly unrelated products, upselling BS and useless AI-generated reviews. And then I had to uncheck the fucking subscriptions they snuck in. How does anyone bear with this, I wonder?