A lot of Amazon sellers are just drop shipping shit from aliexpress/temu they don't even bother changing the pictures or descriptions.

I got a watch band bought from Amazon for $10, as a Christmas gift. It was the wrong size so I ordered one from Aliexpress. The packaging and the sticker with Chinese lettering were exactly the same as the Amazon one and it was only about $1. Sure, the Amazon package came sooner but it was evident that it was the same product.

I use temu too. I see literally the same products on Amazon and temu regularly. Temu is much cheaper but obviously shipping is longer. But yeah there is alot of overlap. I think it's too important to remember a lot of the stuff they get sold on Amazon is from small third party sellers who buy cheap goods from China from places like timu or Alibaba or wherever and then warehouse and resell them on Amazon for a huge markup.

I get where y'all are coming from temu does horrible s*** I guess the reason I use it is the same as the other guy said thr price hike in thr us and I don't think the merchants over here are ethical either. I'm pretty used to being surveilled digitally at this point 🤷

AliExpress also sells high quality niche items if you know how to find them. I agree the site is drowning in crap, but at least coming from Canada, it often has things amazon.ca simply doesn't sell... or anywhere else in the world at a price that isn't prohibitive.

Just like most places on the Internet, using the site is a skill that needs to be developed.

So, exactly what you get from Amazon?

First I don't see an issue with a "store brand" if it does what you need.

Secondly - who is the name brand for say a power strip or a USB hub or USB C charger or cables? Or do you buy monster audio cables? SD card reader? Microfiber cloth? What about regular bath towels?

Somewhat more controversial - what about things that are inherently disposable like latex gloves or laundry detergent?

I went from all free and clear from Sam's club which took up space and got me like 120 packets for 20 dollars to these detergent sheets which are much smaller and got 300 for 7 dollars. You use the same number of sheets as you would packets. The clothes come out the same.

But yes, try searching for something like an electric lighter for candles on both sites and tell me the "quality non knock off" on Amazon. 90 percent are on temu also for less.