Why stop at TikTok?

[jon-nyc]

As a reminder, the following apps/services are banned in China:

Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Snapchat
Reddit
WhatsApp
Google Search
Gmail
Google Maps
Google Play Store
Youtube
Netflix
Spotify
Dropbox
Onedrive
Slack

[Axtremus]

1. The great balkanization of mobile apps.
2. The CCP started it.

[xenon]

I think it’s more that the CCP didn’t reciprocate.

[Mik]

I would never buy from any of those. Too many horror stories.

[jon-nyc]

Honestly I’m loath to buy online from anyone but Amazon because they’ve spoiled me with their return policy. Not that I don’t do it, but I always look to Amazon first.

[Mik]

Me too. Bed Bath and Beyond is trying to get into that game now that they've closed down the brick and mortar, but they will fail. their returns are too expensive. You have to build that into your cost up front. Convenience is everything today.

[George K]

@jon-nyc said in Why stop at TikTok?:

Honestly I’m loath to buy online from anyone but Amazon because they’ve spoiled me with their return policy. Not that I don’t do it, but I always look to Amazon first.

Yes. The return policy is spectacular, particularly if there's UPS store nearby. They have a station where you can bag, scan and print a label and walk out.

The clerk told me that at her store, about 50% of their business is Amazon returns.

[jon-nyc]

Whole Foods is even more convenient. You walk in with the item unboxed. They scan your return code, put the item in a bag, put a sticker on the bag which they also scan, and put it in a box themselves.

[George K]

@jon-nyc said in Why stop at TikTok?:

Whole Foods is even more convenient. You walk in with the item unboxed. They scan your return code, put the item in a bag, put a sticker on the bag which they also scan, and put it in a box themselves.

UPS does that as well. But the method I mentioned avoids any lines.

[Mik]

At my UPS you just hand them the item, have them scan the QR code and you're out of there. It's great.

Out of curiosity I just looked - we spent almost $3K at Amazon this past year, including Prime.

[jon-nyc]

Is there an easy way to find that number? Though I’m afraid to look at it. We moved this year so lots and lots of purchases.

[Mik]

I have a Chase Amazon card that I use exclusively for those purchases so it's pretty easy.

[Mik]

You can go to Request Your Data and ask for orders.

[jon-nyc]

Yeah and sum them. That’s the hard way. I was hoping the number was just there for me to see.

[Axtremus]

(Off topic.) Due to some combination of the EU and California's consumer protection and data privacy laws, it's now quite common for big websites to let you ask for the data they have on you. It will take a while, but you can go to Amazon's "Request My Data" page and ask for all the data they have concerning your orders.