I'm not a conspiracy theorist but....

[oZZma]

I freaking love Amazon.

That reminds me-- I have some strings and a tuner in my cart I've been holding off on until payday.. which is Friday!

I think Amazon is like pizza of online shopping - everyone’s sort of fine with it, so it’s a pretty safe bet.

Not me.
I understand that it's handy to find everything in a single place for a good price, and I used to buy stuff on Amazon too... But thinking about
- The fact that they don't pay taxes, while small companies that struggle to survive do
- The fact that they treat workers like s#!t, low wages and inhumane work conditions (small prices had to come from somewhere...)
- The fact that they use A TON of unnecessary packaging so that if you buy 4 things "sold by amazon" from 4 different departmemts, they'll send you 4 different, usually oversized, packages. Because you have to get it in 24 hours. This doesn't come without a price either.
- The fact that it has become a monopoly like a few other companies (FB Google etc) and it has TOO MUCH power
I decided I will not buy anything on amazon ever again.
Maybe you don't care about these things, but if you do...

 

[DJ Bebop]

What's the best search engine for metal?

 

[DJ Bebop]

Not me.
I understand that it's handy to find everything in a single place for a good price, and I used to buy stuff on Amazon too... But thinking about
- The fact that they don't pay taxes, while small companies that struggle to survive do
- The fact that they treat workers like s#!t, low wages and inhumane work conditions (small prices had to come from somewhere...)
- The fact that they use A TON of unnecessary packaging so that if you buy 4 things "sold by amazon" from 4 different departmemts, they'll send you 4 different, usually oversized, packages. Because you have to get it in 24 hours. This doesn't come without a price either.
- The fact that it has become a monopoly like a few other companies (FB Google etc) and it has TOO MUCH power
I decided I will not buy anything on amazon ever again.
Maybe you don't care about these things, but if you do...

If you really wanna pull back and take a look at the big picture.

All of what we do as a species is detrimental to ourselves. Amazon, as you described it, is just microcosm of the way we roll on the planet as a whole

 

[DJ Bebop]

Welcome to the future.

Nothing fishy at all. This is actually happening and it’s public knowledge- if you care to know about it.

We all have live microphones and cameras on our phones, in our TVs, on our work computers, on our home computers, tablets, etc...

Click agree on a 30 page terms of agreement and some company gets to record and see everything. Every single thing you type into the internet, every link you visit, every single click, how long it took you to make that click. If the camera is working they are recording your facial reactions to colors and fonts and pictures and analyzing your facial reactions.

Then they sell that information, audio, and video to a company who runs it through a bunch of algorithms and artificial intelligence and makes money by advertising to YOU. Specific adds and internet search results specifically made by AI just for you.

Just the way it is.

We forget that this is being done by fellow humans because we as a species, are allowing it to happen.
We have domesticated ourselves as we have done to other species on the planet
...as he climbs off his soapbox

 

[LowRick]

Top-10 sites are ad-bombs. Pure click-bait material.

Anyway, everyone knows the only place to get reliable info is wikipedia

 

[JimmyM]

Not me.
I understand that it's handy to find everything in a single place for a good price, and I used to buy stuff on Amazon too... But thinking about
- The fact that they don't pay taxes, while small companies that struggle to survive do
- The fact that they treat workers like s#!t, low wages and inhumane work conditions (small prices had to come from somewhere...)
- The fact that they use A TON of unnecessary packaging so that if you buy 4 things "sold by amazon" from 4 different departmemts, they'll send you 4 different, usually oversized, packages. Because you have to get it in 24 hours. This doesn't come without a price either.
- The fact that it has become a monopoly like a few other companies (FB Google etc) and it has TOO MUCH power
I decided I will not buy anything on amazon ever again.
Maybe you don't care about these things, but if you do...

Plenty of companies treat their employees like crap and don't pay taxes and you still use them. And since Amazon is made up mostly of small businesses that couldn't exist otherwise, I think it does good for small business . And I don't get the Monopoly criticism. You're free to buy elsewhere ... Amazon sells the same stuff everybody else does and nobody holds a gun to your head to use them.

 

[MF-Winzlow]

Have Boolean operators been mentioned? You can customize your search. Here is a short description (sorry if mentioned already - no time to scroll through):
What Is a Boolean Search and What Are Boolean Operators?

 

[Nev375]

 

[howlin]

There's a really easy way to buy less from Amazon.

Absolutely! I haven't bought anything from them in over 10 years. I refuse to support a business model that exploits people the way they do. FWIW - I've never used Spotify or any other streaming service for that matter. Technology was supposed to free humanity from the drudgery of life. So far that hasn't happened . . .

 

[210superair]

Your dealing with algorithms, the people behind them and the big corporate that oversees them. Being as it may you will be guided along the path set out by them.

This guys. It's called adwords, and if you pay Google enough money, your stuff appears first whenever someone searches anything about it, that's putting it simply. My wife used to work for Google and did adword sales. There's no conspiracy, it's actually right in your face, but that's how search results return on any engine.

 

[charlie monroe]

Technology was supposed to free humanity from the drudgery of life. So far that hasn't happened . . .

Yeah! You tell them. We were supposed to have jet packs already!

 

[ElectroVibe]

When I first got online (AOL) in the early 90's I used to hear horror stories about the early days of internet. Compuserve. Prodigy. Supposedly it was just like a bunch of ads everywhere.

 

[Nephilymbass]

you may do this when looking for something to buy that you have little knowledge about. you jump on google and type, "what are the best _______?" it could be hammers, golf balls, bike helmets, you name it. the first results that show up are from websites that claim to be a group or association of experts and they recommend their "top 10 products" at the end of every "choice" is a link to amazon. seems fishy to me.

the reason i question this is because we here are somewhat knowledgeable about basses and musical gear. so if you type in what is the best bass amp or best bass strings, you will get a website of bass experts recommending options only available on amazon. you and i know full well there are better options out there. just seems a little deceptive to me.

so i have been now searching for items by searching for "online ______ store" first. usually the distributors of the products have higher quality products than amazon.

i have been doing this recently with better luck. i just bought a hairdryer for my wife and it had way more options than any product similar on amazon. i've been doing it with tools and other products that i want to last.

has anyone else noticed this?

Google/YouTube is all based on algorithms and advertisement. Here’s a perfect example. Search for Star Wars episode 9 leaks and you’ll find Mike Zeroh comes up as a majority of the video content. He posts like 5 videos a day on YouTube, internet magazines site him as a source and he’s a complete fraud. It’s all just click bait stuff. He makes a pretty good living making YouTube videos but that doesn’t mean any of it is legit. Lot of time with bass gear a guitar focused site will occasionally do a top 5 bass pedals article or video and because that guitar site/channel gets more views they end up higher on the search lists.

 

[LowRick]

Yeah! You tell them. We were supposed to have jet packs already!

Yes, and TELEPORTS!

Everybody: We want teleports, we want teleports!

 

[two fingers]

you may do this when looking for something to buy that you have little knowledge about. you jump on google and type, "what are the best _______?" it could be hammers, golf balls, bike helmets, you name it. the first results that show up are from websites that claim to be a group or association of experts and they recommend their "top 10 products" at the end of every "choice" is a link to amazon. seems fishy to me.

the reason i question this is because we here are somewhat knowledgeable about basses and musical gear. so if you type in what is the best bass amp or best bass strings, you will get a website of bass experts recommending options only available on amazon. you and i know full well there are better options out there. just seems a little deceptive to me.

so i have been now searching for items by searching for "online ______ store" first. usually the distributors of the products have higher quality products than amazon.

i have been doing this recently with better luck. i just bought a hairdryer for my wife and it had way more options than any product similar on amazon. i've been doing it with tools and other products that i want to last.

has anyone else noticed this?

You have to back up one step. Your premise is flawed right out of the gate. There is no such thing as a "best" bass or "best" amp. I could afford pretty much any amp and most basses I could ever desire. I have played a zillion of them. I have played vintage, new custom, and off-the-rack mass-produced. I have chosen the basses I own for my own reasons. Many talented and knowledgeable players would literally HATE my basses. I hated Victor Wooten's basses. But I love what he does with them. I would never dream of saying that my basses are "better" than his. But you know what? He wouldn't dream of saying his are better than mine. Know why? It's a ridiculous notion anyway.

The same goes for amps.

So, quite simply, you're asking the wrong questions of the internet.

Wanna find the perfect amp for you?

Come to the amps section here at TB and post the following parameters.

Your location - Answers for people in Prais Texas and Paris France will be different.

Your budget - A discussion of $2,000 amps is useless if you have a $500 budget.

The kind of sound you are looking for - You don't need clarity if wooly is your thing.

Weight - No need to recommend an SVT if you have back problems.

The same goes for basses, effects, strings, etc.

Give is enough information to help us help you. We'll point you in the right direction.

Google is a last resort.

 

[glocke1]

you may do this when looking for something to buy that you have little knowledge about. you jump on google and type, "what are the best _______?" it could be hammers, golf balls, bike helmets, you name it. the first results that show up are from websites that claim to be a group or association of experts and they recommend their "top 10 products" at the end of every "choice" is a link to amazon. seems fishy to me.

the reason i question this is because we here are somewhat knowledgeable about basses and musical gear. so if you type in what is the best bass amp or best bass strings, you will get a website of bass experts recommending options only available on amazon. you and i know full well there are better options out there. just seems a little deceptive to me.

so i have been now searching for items by searching for "online ______ store" first. usually the distributors of the products have higher quality products than amazon.

i have been doing this recently with better luck. i just bought a hairdryer for my wife and it had way more options than any product similar on amazon. i've been doing it with tools and other products that i want to last.

has anyone else noticed this?

I've grown to distrust most online reviews and generally am highly skeptical now of amazon reviews.

I've bought things not only off amazon but elsewhere that had glowing reviews, only to get the item and Im like "WTH is this crap?"

 

[DirtDog]

It’s not a conspiracy. It’s a passive income business model.

And a result of advertisers paying for top ad placements with google, etc. Also see @lizardking837’s post above.

 

[charlie monroe]

I've grown to distrust most online reviews and generally am highly skeptical now of amazon reviews.

I've bought things not only off amazon but elsewhere that had glowing reviews, only to get the item and Im like "WTH is this crap?"

Yep. Shills or “incentivized reviews” are a thing.

 

[glocke1]

Yep. Shills or “incentivized reviews” are a thing.

Honestly, I've even been directed to buy things from folks on this site and other sites and I've been like
after I got the item.

Most recently was recommended to get Yinyoo KZS6 or 7's in lieu of more expensive custom fitted IEM's.

While they aren't truly awful, I dont consider them something I'd want to gig with. None of the supplied earpieces work well, I feel like i have to keep adjusting them in my ear, and as a result the cable keeps popping out of the earbud itself when I do that. None of that is stuff I want to deal with on a gig. It leaves me wondering how many paid schills have infiltrated the various forums.

 

[brianrost]

People post links,whether to Amazon or other retailers, to make money. Often it's just to help cover expenses of the website. It's called "click through" and this forum uses it, too.

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