diy solar

diy solar

Amazon scam

The internet is more than Amazon. There are lots of vendors out there that aren't on Amazon, or sell separately through their site without Amazon fees. I've recently made a couple of major purchases, a Midnite Classic 150 and saved 10 percent by going through Northern Arizona Wind & Sun instead of the best Amazon price, and a Samlex 4024 that was $300 cheaper from DonRowe.com versus the lowest Amazon price.

Even if there aren't "brick & mortar" vendors, and there certainly aren't where I live, remember to check the independent web vendors too, for your benefit as well as theirs.
 
Good point, I meant Amazon Analog Online Source as a generality but that came across wrong. Fixed it. :)

I still wish I could shop brick & mortar though. :(
 
Panels from EBAY arrived. Was able to get a 4 pack and it was cheaper than Amazon.… and from the same vendor. Now have to figure out the mounting.
 
Just don't do that too often or they'll blacklist you. LOL
How often is too often? Any examples? I use Amazon a lot and also return or cancel a lot of orders and often wonder if I was pushing some unknown limit. If I had to guess, I would say I have cancelled or returned 10 to 15 percent of my orders.
 
How often is too often? Any examples? I use Amazon a lot and also return or cancel a lot of orders and often wonder if I was pushing some unknown limit. If I had to guess, I would say I have cancelled or returned 10 to 15 percent of my orders.
It hasn’t happened to me personally, but I have heard of abusers being suspended. Don’t know if they were warned either, nor if there has been changes in policies.

Here’s an article on this from 2018:
 
I still wish I could shop brick & mortar though.

I bought all my recent solar stuff brick & mortar. In Mallorca (70 nm, two hours' ferry, from here).
Bricomart, they have better prices than most online vendors.
They have Victron stuff galore. I bought two Pylontech batteries there. 450W panels. The AIO I also got brick & mortar. They have a Solar shop in Campos - same island - that has just about everything. And it's just a small island in the Mediterranean.

True, we get lots of sun, and the grid is really expensive, but... I wonder why they don't sell the stuff locally wherever you are.
BTW, most wrecker's yards here have stacks of used solar panels piled up. Mostly poly. They're called "recycling yards" now :·)
 
In the end I cancelled the order and went to EBay.
That’s not necessarily a good choice.

Amazon in the end delivers or makes things right.
eBay? I’ve lost money w/ eBay a couple of times; after runarounds I’ve learned eBay doesn’t take responsibility for sub-vendor issues. eBay doesn’t stock anything.
 
I have heard of abusers being suspended. Don’t know if they were warned either, nor if there has been changes in policies.
Most people don’t know this but Walmartha, HD, Target etc use broad databases of driver’s licenses and other ID data points to reject frequent flyer returners and such. That’s why at retailers ID is required with a receipt for cash returns.

There’s a lot of control for returning things or complaining customers looking for freebies that people don’t know about. There is no privacy, there is no anonymity.
 
Ebay used to be a service where people sold their used stuff. Now it's turned into a chinese-made product retail sales outlet. There are still a few private sellers, but nothing like it was years ago.

And PayPal turned into such a money-maker they sold it off. As an ebay seller we don't even get paid by paypal anymore. I have a product I make and sell on ebay - at least it gets some exposure traction with buyers. They take ten percent which I think is a lot.

Many retailers on amazon also sell their same product on ebay. If they have something I want I will usually try to find their direct website and buy there, bypassing the resellers if possible. Much as I love the convenience of amazon, I loathe the way they squeeze sellers and competitors to death. My primary business occupation is in the office products sector, and our main competition has changed from Office Depot and Staples to Amazon. Like Walmart, they decimate small retailers, taking over and dominating entire product sectors.

I would rather buy from ebay than amazon where possible. I've never had a problem getting product or satisfaction. And if you pay with paypal they do have some buyer protections. And if you pay with a credit card you do have that recourse as well.

I've had pretty good luck with Aliexpress as well, but hate the slow delivery, and you never really know if you have a valid or reliable seller. There are a lot of these sellers that also sell on Amazon - more and more direct from china sellers. Ebay too. I always try to buy from a US based outlet - at least you don't have to wait a month or two. I like that ebay tells you where the product is shipping from.

I don't really return stuff. I keep a running cart going on all online sellers, and pull the trigger when something in the cart gets a raised priority.
If a retailer runs an abandoned cart reminder program I'll completely unsubscribe from them. I run an online store for my employer, about a half-million a month in orders, and loathe that kind of marketing. If an online seller sends to many advertising emails I unsubscribe from those as well.
Just don't bug me, emkay???? :ROFLMAO:
 
I've had a Prime account for at least 12 yrs -- I buy lots of stuff from Amazon -- especially now with their card and 5% back -- But lately I've been getting more and more crap sent to me --either broken or you can see it's some one else's return -- I know I've sent back at least 15-20 things this year ---- I probably buy 20 + orders a month though
 
I've had a Prime account for at least 12 yrs
I subscribed around then because they offered ‘two day free shipping’ which meant I got stuff in two days’ time.
When I didn’t I called; excellent customer service and often they credited me for inconvenience and I didn’t even ask for anything.
The year or so before covid they started stumbling. A day or two late, a week here and there. Now, a week or two isn’t uncommon. In fact it’s normal. AND it is what I was getting for free before I started paying for prime. I’m starting to wonder why I’m paying for prime.

Amazon has started acting like walmort and sears. It’s like they forgot their customer.
 
I refuse to PAY to buy anything from anyone, anywhere, ever. Screw them. Costco, sam's, amazon prime...uh no. They can pound sand.
 
That’s not necessarily a good choice.

Amazon in the end delivers or makes things right.
eBay? I’ve lost money w/ eBay a couple of times; after runarounds I’ve learned eBay doesn’t take responsibility for sub-vendor issues. eBay doesn’t stock anything.
Same vendor on both.. HQST. They said they just deliver to Amazon and it’s up to Amazon to do the rest. They offer a slightly less price on EBay because the fee is less.
 
For my first build, I used all Renogy products.
The experience was great, but I attribute that to the fact that I ordered everything from Home Depot online.
I did the "deliver to store" option and just picked it up when it arrived.

This was my way of having a line of defense if anything every went wrong.
It worked flawlessly. Delivery was a lot quicker than I thought it would be. Most items arrived within a week.

That included Renogy panels and Rover Elite, and MightMax batteries.

Just a heads up out there for those of you that don't need a ton of components.
Just go to the Home Depot website, in the electrical dept is the renewable energy option.
They carry Renogy, Grape Solar, ACOPower, UPG Batteries and Might Max Batteries.

Again, now that I have "graduated" to creating a bigger system and know where to get a bigger volume of components, I will be using SanTan for panels and go direct for other products, but Home Depot allowed me to get started with much lower risk.
 
HD also now sells NATURE POWER panels - and they occasionally put them on sale. I got 215W black-framed mono panels for $154 each! They're beautiful. I did have to install proper PV cable with mc4 plugs on them though - they came with 12g standard hook-up wire leads and a sae connector. :rolleyes:

 
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HD also now sells NATURE POWER panels - and they occasionally put them on sale. I got 215W black-framed mono panels for $154 each! They're beautiful. I did have to install proper PV cable with mc4 plugs on them though - they came with 12g standar hook-up wire leads and a sae connector. :rolleyes:

Nice. I have a HD only a mile away, so it's convenient.
While it may cost a little more than going bulk, I like having HD in the middle.
I can call or walk into the store and have someone to talk to. That's worth something.
 
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Well put. I still use Amazon for a few things here and there.
Now, I use it for shopping purposes, then seek out the seller directly.
It's almost like using Priceline or Kayak.
I'm using it as a price comparison tool or to find other options for the original item I searched for.
 
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