A few good deals for those not looking to give business to Amazon on Prime Day.
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The best Prime Day 2021 tech deals from everywhere besides Amazon
- Thread starter JournalBot
- Start date
What a great idea for an article. Amazon can feel pretty much unavoidable at times, but we can all at least not give them money on Prime day.
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Well, while this is still probably referral link farming.. I can at least feel a little better about this vs the Amazon slop that's been tainting the front page.
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Four new articles this morning, all about Amazon Prime deals.
If I want a shopping channel I wouldn't visit Ars.
Now, where is the news?
If I want a shopping channel I wouldn't visit Ars.
Now, where is the news?
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Planned or not, this article was perfectly timed. Maybe Ars does know their audience LOL
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Interesting strategy by Microsoft, all sorts of PS4/PS5 and Switch games are on sale today, while MS simply discounts their Game Pass subscription.
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"A few good deals for those not wishing to give business to Amazon on Prime Day"
Proceeds to feature links to - checks notes - Walmart.
Proceeds to feature links to - checks notes - Walmart.
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Probably old news to those who frequent here....I saw Amazon has external HDs on sale. I checked my local Best Buy, and sure enough, same models are also on sale there as well. Point being, depending on what you are looking for, even Amazon Prime sales may not be the lowest price and/or most accessible if you want to get it within a few hours. Check around.
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I'm glad they put this article out! I personally appreciate someone else doing the footwork on finding these sorts of deals, and the alternative to Amazon is a great idea.
That being said, perhaps there's a way to break these out into their own section in a way that satisfies the people who are unhappy about the Dealmaster stuff? I get where they're coming from, and while I personally am okay with these, I can see how they'd be annoying to people who aren't into this sort of thing.
I know Ars editors and staff read these comments, so if anyone has any good, constructive feedback, this is a good place for it.
That being said, perhaps there's a way to break these out into their own section in a way that satisfies the people who are unhappy about the Dealmaster stuff? I get where they're coming from, and while I personally am okay with these, I can see how they'd be annoying to people who aren't into this sort of thing.
I know Ars editors and staff read these comments, so if anyone has any good, constructive feedback, this is a good place for it.
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Considering that a standalone 1660 Ti card is now selling north of $800 the Razer Blade 15 Base for $1000 at Best Buy looks like a decent deal. Of course to get top performance out of the GPU you'd have put the laptop into a liquid N2 bath...
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Just like Black Friday it's turned into a marketing gimmick for people who don't price watch. Amazon (and others) are banking on impulse buyers.
That said if my ancient (~8 years old) Synology Nas was a bit more troublesome I'd be tempted to jump on a replacement so I guess I'm part of the problem...
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Choosing to shop at Walmart in order to avoid the "evil that is Amazon" feels... not well thought out...
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Dru Nemeton
Smack-Fu Master, in training
For anyone looking at that M.2 drive the 1TB version directly from Samsung is cheaper than either BB or BH.
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I've seen slim pickings from Amazon Prime Day in previous years, but I guess it's worth a look to see if anything tickles my fancy. This coming from someone who has Amazon Prime anyways.
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Yes, but ... Kohl's? Home Depot? For a Roku soundbar? Odd...
And where I live, there's a Kohl's literally across the street from a Walmart.
Let's see, ranking from the bottom up overall in terms of places worth doing business with (price-independent):
Amazon
Walmart
Target
everybody else
Care to insert/delete/reorganize?? I've found that in terms of both online and in-store shopping experience Target beats Walmart easily, and sometimes Amazon, though I'm not amused by Target limiting curbside pickup to purchases via its app (rather than the website).
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Also, BB will usually price match, even if it's not on sale originally. I've done that a few times to get something quicker...or just to be more sure what I receive isn't a counterfeit.
That being said, standing in line for customer service can be a real pain.
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My recent experience with BB "curbside" pickup (it's actually a few marked spaces in the parking lot not far from the store door) was that somebody was out to check on me before I could get the pickup notice loaded and text them. Quicker than going through the checkout line even if there's only one person in front of you.
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Fellow Canadians: BHPhotoVideo also has the WH-1000XM4 for $248 USD and ships them for free to Canada, which after tax is about $70 CAD cheaper than I've seem them to date.
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If my only choice is Walmart, I simply won't buy the item – it'll be a cold day in hell before they get my money. Back when I did occasionally buy from them, their online ordering/pickup was a nightmare. About half the time I'd show up at the store only to be told that they didn't have the item in stock that I'd ordered. Walmart is a total shitshow from start to finish.
Their questionable practices aside, the fact of the matter is that Amazon is light-years easier to buy from than pretty much any other retailer.
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Came to look for comments about the deals listed above and it's just a bunch of pouting.
I really don't understand the logic here or why people waste time here if you dislike it so much.
"I hate deal master!"
proceeds to click and view article
"Ahh it lists Walmart a few times I hate Ars!"
proceeds to now comment on the article they hate
I mean, I rarely buy the items listed but at least for me it still is NEWS. I don't follow any product reviews or anything else so a list of currently popular or useful items that aren't garbage Amazon Chinese junk is useful. A curated list of products with prices and where to buy them is nice and it's got very little fluff.
I really don't understand the logic here or why people waste time here if you dislike it so much.
"I hate deal master!"
proceeds to click and view article
"Ahh it lists Walmart a few times I hate Ars!"
proceeds to now comment on the article they hate
I mean, I rarely buy the items listed but at least for me it still is NEWS. I don't follow any product reviews or anything else so a list of currently popular or useful items that aren't garbage Amazon Chinese junk is useful. A curated list of products with prices and where to buy them is nice and it's got very little fluff.
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Unavoidable? In what way is Amazon unavoidable when trying to shop online? There is an extremely healthy amount of competition in online retail. It's pretty absurd to pretend Amazon is unavoidable for online shopping and to cheer on listing deals from the likes of Target, Walmart, The Home Depot, and Best Buy as some sort of underdog alternative. All of those are massive online retailers who have extremely solid ground they stand on in their core strengths. Walmart is absolutely seeking to become as broadly impacting as Amazon is, so not calling that out is pretty laughable.
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The idea that your listed ranking is somehow not subjective is ridiculous. I can find a long list of reasons why all of those are better and worse to shop at, even as someone who literally despises the existence of Walmart. Stop pretending there is some 'truth' out there to ranking companies like this. There isn't because it is all hinged on what attributes of these companies are being considered, and they are innumerable.
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LMFAO. Are you seriously praising Arstechnica for linking to deals from Target, Walmart, Best Buy, and The Home Depot as alternatives that people wouldn't automatically consider? These are at least bare minimum considerations of any online shopper in 2021 and have been for probably a decade now anyway. Stop acting like Amazon is inescapable or the ONLY online retail option out there. Comments like these act like people have to walk for miles in a desert to find online shopping alternatives.
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The irony of amazon is that it's convenience is largely predicated on being a one stop shop, but no matter what your order will come in five boxes, each five times larger than need be, shipped from five distinct parts of the country (or if you were not paying attention to your cart, surprise drop shipped from China arriving no sooner than five months late).
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I’m sorry I read my last Jeff Bezos article and that was kind of the last straw. No more Amazon for me. Although I will subscribe to watch the expanse on the next season.
And here’s the link to deny Jeff Bezos reentry to Earth.
https://www.change.org/p/the-proletaria ... n-to-earth
And here’s the link to deny Jeff Bezos reentry to Earth.
https://www.change.org/p/the-proletaria ... n-to-earth
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I bought two very fancy Toto toilets from Amazon years ago. They came very well packaged which I did appreciative.
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Unfortunately, I think that depends on where you live. Some rural communities in Canada pay dramatically more in shipping fees when buying from Amazon's competitors. I'm lucky to live in a big city where I can avoid Amazon myself.
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