I’ve been an Amazon shopper for many years. At first I really didn’t order anything but books, but when my daughter, Sophia, was in college and told me about the benefits of Amazon Prime, I signed up and started using Amazon more often.
It’s so easy. I might be sitting at home in the evening and feeling lazy, not wanting to drive to a bookstore, supermarket or electronics store. With a couple of clicks, I can order almost anything I want. However, over time, I started to notice a few cracks in the armor.
First of all, when I misplaced the charger for my iPhone a few years ago, my friend Michael surprised me by shipping me a new one via Amazon. I noticed it wasn’t made by Apple, but I thought, “What the heck.” I figured it didn’t really make much of a difference. That was until I tried using the charger in a rental car. My phone didn’t charge and I got a message on the dashboard letting me know my charger wasn’t working properly.
Since then, I’ve made certain to purchase official Apple charging cords. I couldn’t find them on Amazon, so I resorted to going to an Apple store.
Most recently, I purchased my favorite brand of shampoo and conditioner on Amazon. It was so easy to place my order at night on my computer and have it simply arrive at my home a day or two later. I thought: No more errands to run. Amazon will save me so much time.
But then I received the shampoo and conditioner, and started using it. I noticed the viscosity of both had changed. They were kind of runny. I really didn’t think much about it until I went to get my hair cut. I mentioned it to my stylist, who is fully trained in all things hair and a great resource for product recommendations. She pointed out that most brands of hair products have a shelf life. The benefit of purchasing products at a hair salon or beauty supply store is that they get rotated frequently, assuring that the product is fresh. Product does not sit on shelves for months. She said she had recently told many of her clients NOT to purchase hair products on Amazon, as there is no guarantee of their freshness.
So, of course, I purchased fresh product at the salon and used it when I got home. What a difference an expert’s opinion makes.
Have you had this experience with Amazon or any other third-party seller? If the product has some sort of perishability, you really can’t be sure it is fresh unless you purchase it directly from the manufacturer or in person. That’s just one of the reasons I started purchasing many products directly on a manufacturer’s website or at a store.
Who knows, maybe Amazon will start listing shelf-life or guaranteed manufactured dates on their website. But until then, I will be spending a little more time running my errands.
Happy New Year!
Karen
