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18 votes
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Kroger’s panopticon: Making criminals of grocery shoppers
35 votes -
Online shopping - how convenient is it actually?
Not really usre where to put this, so mods feel free to move it if you think that putting it under life.style is inappropriate. My original thought was more related to online cashless payments in...
Not really usre where to put this, so mods feel free to move it if you think that putting it under life.style is inappropriate.
My original thought was more related to online cashless payments in general- if you don't know, there's actually a way to donate directly to Tildes to help pay for server costs if you like this site enough. However, I've discovered that I don't like to often do any monetary transactions online- there's just something that's a pain in the butt about entering 19 digits online (16 for card number, then three more for the SVC).
But in the spirit of wanting an actual discussion... buying things online has been an option since I was a teenager, so we're talking about 20 years ago. You'll usually hear people and companies say "You can go shopping right from the comfort of your own home, there's so much to choose from, and if you choose the right option you can have it in just a day or two... just enter your credit card info and you're all set!". But for me personally, it's the last two that I take issue with.
You have the overall credit card issue- right now, I live in a country where cash is still king, even if it IS trying to catch up to other nations with cashless payments. For credit cards, besides entering the number being annoying, and then your address (billing and shipping, usually but not always the same place), it can be far too easy to spend way too much on credit card. Remember, many countries actively push the consumerist mindset, which is a MAJOR trap. And just to mention it- I do NOT trust any sites or devices to remember my card info. I'm VERY paranoid of being hacked- specifically talking about storing any info in something like Google Wallet/Pay/whatever it's called.
But then you have the other issue, and why even though you might get more selection online, I would still rather visit an actual storefront, even if it's an hour or so away. To put it simply- when the transaction is completed, I want to have the item in my possession. Buying online, you always run into the shipping (and handling) issue- Amazon is one of the fastest, and they still take at least two days. In the US, the issue has been made worse because of the post office situation. or in other words: you paid the money, now how long will it take to have the actual physical item? It's probably just a product of how I grew up, but I hate having to wait longer than a day after I've already given you my money.
So, people of Tildes, what about you- do you find online shopping to be extremely convenient, or do you have your own issues with buying things online?
21 votes -
The story of The Oregon Trail
18 votes -
We need to talk about Trader Joe's
33 votes -
California store sells returned Amazon packages — still in the box
15 votes -
Borders book store | Bankrupt
9 votes -
Indonesia’s e-bike shops are building their own batteries
10 votes -
Refund fraud schemes promoted on TikTok, Telegram are costing Amazon and other retailers billions of dollars
37 votes -
Etsy sellers are turning free fanfiction into printed and bound physical books [against the wishes of the authors], and listing them for sale for more than $100 per book
59 votes -
Walmart buying TV-brand Vizio for its ad-fueling customer data
48 votes -
The plastic chemicals hiding in your food. Test results for bisphenols/phthalates.
14 votes -
US Federal Trade Commission and eight states sue to block supermarket merger between Kroger and Albertsons
37 votes -
The hidden butterfly trade
12 votes -
Fanatics has finally pissed off the wrong people
16 votes -
US grocery stores should cut prices as costs ease, Joe Biden White House says
29 votes -
EBay will pay $59 million settlement over pill presses sold online as US undergoes overdose epidemic
10 votes -
Why Walmart pays its truck drivers six figures
16 votes -
Why a big box store started solving violent crimes
9 votes -
‘No cash accepted’ signs are bad news for millions of unbanked Americans
55 votes -
The Sad Bastard Cookbook - No longer available on Amazon
16 votes -
The future of e-commerce is a product whose name is a boilerplate AI-generated apology
17 votes -
TIL: Don't use your points directly on Amazon
Maybe everyone knows this, but I suspect not. For years, I've been using the points I earn on a Chase Freedom card directly on Amazon. I just found out today that I'm only getting 80% of the...
Maybe everyone knows this, but I suspect not. For years, I've been using the points I earn on a Chase Freedom card directly on Amazon. I just found out today that I'm only getting 80% of the value. Redeeming 26,345 points at Amazon yields $210.76. Redeeming 26,345 points on the Chase website (for an Amazon gift card) yields $263.45.
The Chase Amazon Prime Visa does give 100% of value directly on Amazon's site.
30 votes -
Wool and fabrics - Online retailer recommendations?
Hey everyone! Currently trying to make sewing more of a hobby by creating things rather than just tailoring/repairing clothes I already own. I've dabbled but haven't done much (fanny pack humble...
Hey everyone! Currently trying to make sewing more of a hobby by creating things rather than just tailoring/repairing clothes I already own.
I've dabbled but haven't done much (fanny pack humble brag here). Thinking a good first project to get back into it would be making a winter cloak for my gf, this one in particular. Hoping to make it with wool or another warm, fairly snow or proof fabric, open to suggestions for alternatives too.
I'm aware making clothing tends to be more $$$ than buying premade, but having trouble justifying the price on some of the sites I've seen and hesitant when I can't see or touch the fabric before purchasing.
Curious if anyone here would have a recommendation for an online retailer that ships to the US that they think is a good deal? I was hoping to spend a max of $40-50/yard but would be willing to spend more if I got some friendly assurance of a seller's quality and customer service.
Thanks!
(P.S. chronic lurker and think this is my first post on Tildes so just let me know if there is a better group or tags for this!)23 votes -
Sculptor sues Swedish glassmaker Kosta Boda for €1m in test of EU ‘bestseller clause’ – landmark case may open door to retrospective claims across bloc
6 votes -
‘Winning requires hard work’: Wayfair CEO sends employees a gloomy pre-holiday email following layoff-filled year
27 votes -
IKEA has warned of product delays following rebel attacks on ships using the key Red Sea trade route
14 votes -
Ten years later, new clues in the Target breach
24 votes -
US stores increasingly reverse course on self checkout
62 votes -
A West Virginia judge largely denied Amazon's motion to dismiss lawsuit over selling a spycam disguised as a bathroom hook
22 votes -
US Federal Trade Commission accuses Amazon of illegally protecting monopoly in online retail
42 votes -
Led by labor-backed mayor Brandon Johnson, Chicago could become the first big city in the US to open a publicly owned grocery store
31 votes -
Independent bookstores are thriving in Texas, and not just in big cities—in suburbs and in small towns, new shops are serving up classics, cocktails, and community
18 votes -
Costco clothing is cheap. But is it good value?
23 votes -
It's spooky how fast Spirit Halloween stores pop up. Here's how the US retailer does it
23 votes -
Welcome to Norway, the world's most unlikely wine hotspot – in Oslo, there are weeks-long campouts to secure top burgundies. What's going on?
14 votes -
Best Buy is discontinuing physical media in Q1 2024
36 votes -
Costco capitalism
23 votes -
Olympics vs booksellers
13 votes -
US Justice Department sues eBay over unlawful sales of pesticides, other products
11 votes -
Mobs of masked teens ransacked Philadelphia stores. Police have made over a dozen arrests
17 votes -
Carrefour in France puts ‘shrinkflation’ price warnings on food to shame brands
81 votes -
Prices of goods and what are stores making to misguide consumers
38 votes -
How dollar stores quietly consumed America
14 votes -
A supermarket chain in the Netherlands is helping to combat loneliness with so-called “slow” checkouts where chatting is encouraged
27 votes -
Dangerous AI-generated mushroom foraging books are all over Amazon
36 votes -
Los Angeles is exploring banning cashless businesses, following the example of New York City, Philadelphia, Massachusetts, Colorado, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Washington, DC
59 votes -
Supermarket in Finland is welcoming canine customers with specially-adapted carts which allow dog owners to bring their pooches grocery shopping
16 votes -
“Going shopping” is dead: How stores sucked the fun out of an American pastime
62 votes -
Lego is to begin selling bricks coded with braille to help blind and partially sighted children learn to read the touch-based alphabet
29 votes