livedarklions

I think those are good tips, and I think it's perfectly sound advice to look at other options before buying from Amazon. I was really reacting to the soapbox "don't buy from Amazon" statement.

Iride01 

I buy a lot of stuff from the sellers on Amazon, but I seldom have found anything for bicycles on Amazon or eBay that I can't find for a better price elsewhere.

rumrunn6

interesting combo! enjoy!

prj71

I just recently rebuilt a bike all with parts from Amazon... SRAM X01 shifter, Centerline X rotors, Bike Yoke Revive Dropper and lever and WTB silverado seat.

Everything was cheaper than anywhere else...Plus I had Amazon points making it even cheaper yet. Plus free shipping!!! In addition...Amazon was pretty much the only place that had these parts I needed last fall. Everyone else was out of stock.

Never understood the Amazon hate.

mr_bill

I had a problem with a tire order at Amazon ONCE, ten years ago. The tires arrived in large plastic bags but the bead was damaged in shipping.
(Wow, amazing how poor cameras on smart phones were a decade ago. The bead cut through the carcass.):



After they failed my inspection, the replacements arrived undamaged the following day.

Since then, I've happened to order folding (Kevlar bead) tires, and other than the snap when they seat startles me every single time, no issues. They always ship in small OEM boxes.
(Oddest, they are almost always about the same price as the non-folding equivalent, sometimes even cheaper.)

p.s. A set of special order automobile tires are shipped naked in pairs that are zip tied together, sometimes with a round cardboard separator between. Pretty much no matter which warehouse ships them wherever.
p.p.s. When you go on an business trip, before you leave let your spouse know that there might be a set of automobile tires arriving at your house soon. Don't ask how I know.

-mr. bill

frogman

I don't understand the Amazon hate either and will not participate in the silly Amazon bashing.
But I am interested in other suppliers that were posted. I have found that many times the items I am looking for are out of stock at vendors and I need to shop around. The pandemic has made it difficult for the vendors to maintain their stock.

Kapusta

My distaste for Amazon is not due to the customer experience, it is what they are doing to small and innovative businesses. Come out with a good product, and in no time Amazon will be flooded with a bunch of copies from brands with unpronounceable all caps names, it not outright counterfeits. In some cases if they find a product is selling well, they license their own copy of it and push it to the top of the search results. Amazon does very little to protect intellectual property rights.

prj71

It's not Amazon that is doing it to small and innovative businesses. It's the third-party sellers that are. Given how many there are it's nearly impossible to verify/audit all sellers.

With that said, having been an avid customer of Amazon since 2000 I have yet to receive a counterfeit product. Probably because I shop carefully. These days in order to save money and not have to make another run to the store and put more wear and tear on the car...I just order on Amazon. Amazon boxes show up at my house 3 - 4 days a week.

Amazon is working on it...

https://brandservices.amazon.com/projectzero

Kapusta

Amazon is giving them the platform to do it and taking a cut when they do. Amazon is totally party to it.

And again, the issue is not just counterfeits, it is the way they take the marketing data they get from their growing monopoly to license nearly identical products and then push them (or other brands that will "sponsor" a listing) to the top of the search results.

Amazon has become a monopoly. While is may seem fine in the short term (Yay, fast delivery and one stop shopping!) the long term implications are bad for everyone, including consumers. Well, everyone except for Amazon.

frogman

I agree 100%. You nailed it.
We need to put on our asbestos suits now to prepare for the Amazon hate flames

rumrunn6

love shopping on Amazon & looking at some info about their taxes it's hard to understand where they fall in relation to other businesses & myself. I really like my LBS & I try to shop locally, when they have what I need

prj71

Yeah. None of that bothers me. At the end of the day being able to keep more money in my pocket is what matters the most. I have never received any counterfeit product from Amazon and rarely are their prices more than anywhere else. I can think of a few instances of where Jenson or Universal cycle were cheaper but those instances have been far and few between.

I think the horror stories about counterfeit product that you may have heard about, like many other things, have probably been greatly exaggerated. Not that it doesn't exist, but probably a very small percentage of everything they sell.

I also have the Amazon Card which stacks up points. Since I have product arriving at the house weekly (saves me from having to makes runs to the grocery store or Walmart every few days) those points add up fast. Not uncommon for me to buy something and subtract $30-$50 from my total with my Amazon points. I thoroughly enjoy fast delivery and one stop shopping. Same reason I hit Walmart once every two weeks...can get my groceries and other household items all in one stop.

livedarklions

I remember the good old days when Walmart was the retail monopoly everybody was talking about.

phughes

You are missing the fact that many small businesses, bike parts suppliers included, use Amazon as a platform for online sales. You also neglect to understand the many people who support their families working at Amazon. I have many friends who work for Amazon, and support their families. They like working for them.

Your response had nothing to do with answering the OP's question.

If the tire came back to shape, and installed fine. Don't worry about it. I have bought tires directly through small bike shops that were packed like that. I have also bought tires through Amazon that were packed in their original round shape, in a large box.

Koyote

Amazon does have substantial market power, but it is decidedly NOT a monopoly in any particular market.

prj71

Some of the online bike shops also sell on Amazon. For instance, these brake rotors I purchased the seller is Planet Cyclery. Kinda funny is the fact the this particular brake rotor is $8 cheaper on Amazon than it is on their own online store.

https://www.amazon.com/SRAM-Centerli...s%2C135&sr=8-2

https://planetcyclery.com/sram-rotor...-black-rounded

Koyote

Those are two different rotors.

Dave Mayer

Amazon... so far I haven't set up an account with them, but one comment has me spooked: regarding counterfeit products.

I have read a rumor about fake Conti bike tires being sold - specifically 5000s. Any actual evidence that this has occurred? I have credible sources regarding counterfeit auto tires, but so far, not bike tires.

soyabean

This is less of an issue if you pay attention to where items are coming from: amazon sold, or amazon fullfilled items.

Shipped and sold by amazon means Bezos himself is the seller. They've cut thru the middle man by banhammering all the third part resellers that discovered the product first. All of these items are eligible for a refund.

Sold by middleman and shipped by amazon means all the crap is being warehouses in an amazon fullfillment center now playing near you. Yes, these items can be fakes, but you get your monies back if you think so.

I never purchase anything on the amazon website if the product isn't either of the above. Mostly because I get everything prime, and if there are ever any problems, I know I will get a refund. I'm sure there are many legit sellers/shippers on amazon, but I just don't have the patience, in which case I've got good sources for just about anything I need, making amazon only a small portion of my bike stuff purchases.

prj71

You are correct. Good catch!!!

prj71

I have 5 Conti 5000 tires all purchased from Amazon. Not counterfeit.

scott967

Buy a lot of stuff from Amazon because living in Hawaii, many small online sellers won't ship to Hawaii (ebay is the worst for this) or if they do, it's on next-day air that's a min $50 shipping fee. They could easily send it USPS for a few bucks. It's actually cheaper to get stuff from the bike24 or the brits shipped than many mainland places. But you do need to check the "sold by" "fulfilled by" sections from the marketplace sellers.

The worst are the online sites with the big "free shipping" plastered all over, and they make you get all the way to the last step in "checkout" to find out what they are going to charge you to ship to Hawaii.

I used to be prime, but don't care about the video streaming; just interested in shipping cost so I dropped it. If I could get the full, not crippled music instead of video I might consider it but at current price, not interested.

scott s.
.

rumrunn6

mine straighten out when mounted but always surprising when I take them off every year, they still go back to this (photo from when they were new)


the seller said if they don't ride OK, that they would replace them, but they ride just fine, so I kept them

don't recall where I bought them. just double checked, it wasn't Amazon & wasn't biketiresdirect

GhostRider62

Buying tires or anything on Amazon isn't about low prices, it is about speed and convenience. I do not buy tires on Amazon. Either Maine Cycles on eBay or a couple others but lately, I have had to buy from Germany. It took me about 5 months to score some Conti tubeless tires, they should arrive next week.

prj71

Ummm...Yeah it is. For the things I buy it's rare that anywhere else is cheaper. And if another places is cheaper then it becomes more expensive after shipping. Or it's a case of I could probably drive to the store and buy this item for the same price or less than...but then to do that I'm burning up gas and wear and tear on my car plus I have to wait in line...so it becomes a wash and less convenient.

Due to Amazon I make very few trips to any stores anymore. There was a time that I would go to the grocery store or Walmart 3 times a week for things I needed. Nowadays I go once every two weeks to grocery shop and that's it. It's easier and much more economical to have products delivered to my house. Saves me gas money, saves wear and tear on the car, saves time out of my day so I can do other things and I never have to stand in line and listen to someone's 3 year old screaming and crying because mommy said no to a candy bar. There really is no downside.