Ordering Christmas presents etc.

[Mo]

I don't very often buy things except food (last time was a big spend in October of more than £1 for knicker elastic), but online is so much easier than going 10 miles into town, trudging round, and finding they don't have what I want.
Christmas is coming though.
Now we've all read how Amazon treat their workers, and don't pay taxes. But they seem to be one of the few options - I got the elastic from ebay (new of course wouldn't fancy bidding for used).
So are ebay and the other online sellers any better. If you buy from an Amazon seller rather than Amazon itself are they dispatched from the seller and can you assume that staff are better treated.

[HedgeHugger]

A little late but .....
Some sellers on Amazon will also sell on Ebay. Amazon does charge fees to the sellers, and they can be quite hefty! So even buying from Amazon marketplace earns Amazon money, though less than buying directly.
Also a lot of sellers on the marketplace are just small time sellers, so 'wages' are quite often just what they earn from selling (not always the case of course, you also get high street stores selling via Amazon too, Sports Direct for instance).

I do buy from Amazon, and I don't get guilt ridden by doing so.

[Mo]

I've just had an answer to the question - apparently goods from other sellers DO come from the Amazon warehouse. And Amazon will dispatch them for the wrong price without noticing or compensating the business owners. Software glitch, goods sold for 1p.

Craig Constantinides, chief executive of computer games retailer Go2Games, said his company has lost £10,000 but could have lost more than £300,000 if the firm had more stock in Amazon’s warehouses, from which orders are sent out automatically.

[kitla]

After all the tax evasion & other scandals that came to light about Amazon in the
last couple of years, I've made a point of using their site to find things & for reviews
and ideas, but I usually look up the sellers own website & try & buy direct if possible.
It means the small seller gets the profit rather than Amazon. A drop in the ocean
really, but it makes me feel better.

[HedgeHugger]

Some stuff sold on Amazon is advertised as 'fulfilled by Amazon'.
What this means is some companies store their stuff in Amazons warehouse so that Amazon despatch it for them, the company has the convenience of 'renting' warehouse space and not having to pack it up themselves.

Other people sell from their homes (we have an Amazon store, for instance).


As for the software glitch thing. I think everyone affected there should be trying to get their money back from the software owners/makers. It wasn't Amazon's software, but from a third party.
How are Amazon suppose to know the difference between a glitch and a genuine bargain?