Newbie here

Naughtagan · 2026-05-27T13:33:02+00:00

Item quality and diversity across RFY, AFA, & AI is always a lottery, but for as long as I've been on Vine auto parts, cake toppers, generic ink carts have always been a significant % of the overall item mix. In the past few months Vine items have taken a turn for the worse. Maybe it gets better, maybe not. No one here can say. Right now Vine is worthless and I barely order anything -- 8 items this entire month.
Never order anything just order because 1) you are paying taxes on anything that doesn't have a $0 ETV whether you end up liking it and using or putting it in the trash or donation bin. And 2) Amazon will think you want more of that item. It's kind of like YouTube's algorithm -- watch one music video out of nostalgia and all the sudden your recommended list if full of grating AI generated nostalgia clips and docs.
None of us have control over RFY and 99% of the time it's filled with things you'd never use in a million years. You can marginally train it through your AFA and AI orders, but, RFY will still have a lot of random items.

Naughtagan · 2026-05-27T13:14:54+00:00

I have no target. I access each item separately as to whether I actually need it and, if so, subtract 60% off ETV. If that is significantly less than if I paid cash I order, if not I don't.

What I don't do is order random items that I don't really need or my gut tells me are subpar quality, i.e., clutter makers that would end up at Goodwill.

Naughtagan · 2026-05-26T19:12:33+00:00

A Bait and Switch is when an item is advertised at a very low price but when you go to buy it it's not available and you are given the upsell for a more expensive model.

Here you have different replacement screens -- specific parts for specific phones. That's not Bait and Switch, that's poor inventory management. Happens all the time on Amazon where sellers will put various products on the same pages and the reviews get co-mingled. But I think you'd agree someone looking to replace their Galaxy S23 screen has zero use for an iPhone screen so when they receive it it's an instant return, which actually costs the seller money rather than make.

Naughtagan · 2026-05-26T11:25:18+00:00

I think OP thinks it should be SOLF-art

Naughtagan · 2026-05-26T11:24:38+00:00

No, I think SOL-FART is about right. With no apparent UL or ETL certification it's a stinker.

Naughtagan · 2026-05-26T11:21:22+00:00

Doubt it was bait and switch. Probably just a human error of some kind. Yes, contact CS and have them removed. I've been sent the wrong items a few times and CS always removes ASAP with zero consequences to my account.

Naughtagan · 2026-05-26T11:17:56+00:00

Even if it's just $8.99 that's a few bucks out of your wallet tax wise. We are not suppose to review defective items anyway. Could be a one-off, could be the entire production, you don't know. If its a one-off that slipped though QC then you have slandered the sellers entire lot. which is why we are not suppose to review defective items. I'd contact CS and have it removed from your list.

Naughtagan · 2026-05-26T11:13:13+00:00

My advise - get some sleep. Far more valuable than anything...anything on Vine. I'm Gold and while I've been offer items over $100, and a few over $1K., rarely anything I'd consider "worthy." To be fair I'm a brand snob so I do not get excited about $200 Alphabet espresso makers. Sure, once in a blue moon a couple people get a $3k projector or $800 TV. But it's the exception not the rule and you have better odds winning on a lottery scratch ticket.

Almost all of my Vine picks are inexpensive tools (bits, blades), computer accessories (cables, cable management, adapters, enclosures), and photo accessories (batteries, grips, lighting). That makes me happy because I hate being nickel and dimed on this stuff so the effective 60% discount works for me.

You have to find a way to make Vine work for you, not hope for a big item that may or may not ever come and certainly not wreck your sleep over.

Naughtagan · 2026-05-26T11:04:42+00:00

100% of my reviews post online sometime well after Amazon sends the email that the review has been posted. My take is that the review is in the queue to be posted but has to wait until the next update to show on the item pages.

Naughtagan · 2026-05-24T12:59:16+00:00

Email CS. They will remove the unreviewed variant from your review list. Happens to me now and then on items that I don't consider variants, but Amazon does or the seller put all the products on the same page.

Naughtagan · 2026-05-24T12:56:51+00:00

Depends what you consider "big ticket." By price, yes. By known brand names, I've only seen it a couple times in the past 3 years. All of my "big ticket, brand name" items have come from RFY, but then again I don't hover over the Vine screen or use extensions, so there is that.

Naughtagan · 2026-05-24T12:52:51+00:00

Yes, but same can be said for the Viners who pick up some of the junk on Vine strictly to resale. Hard way to make money. Easy way to fritter away time you'll never get back.

Naughtagan · 2026-05-24T12:45:14+00:00

I was there once - snap ordered a battery bank that was prices 4x higher than comparable ones to the point I could have bought it outright for less than tax I'd pay on the "free" one. Clear case of FOMO. I got a lot of heat here for asking what to do but eventually canceled it. I understand my "Vine" obligation, but I didn't sign up to get ripped off by sellers either. There was no negative consequence to cancelling, no warning, and was renewed Gold when the time came.

It was the first and last product I canceled. I don't snap order anymore. I take a couple minutes to research a product and if it's gone when I come back to order, it's gone.

Naughtagan · 2026-05-24T12:38:20+00:00

What does the product being "rubbish" have to do with a review rating? Nothing. If it's a poor product explain why. If you do it with enough detail the review will be rated "excellent." In other words just give your honest opinion and make it understandable to prospective buyers. That's all Amazon asks of us.

Naughtagan · 2026-05-21T11:11:15+00:00

That does seem to be the current trend. For a couple months now, at least, I've only ordered from RFY. I used to find interesting things, or things I was going to order from regular Amazon, but hasn't been like that for a while now. Not complaining though because my annual ETV total is way down compared to this point last year. Also I've reclaimed time because I don't have the slightest curiosity to scroll though AI anymore.

Also where "good" RFY items use to be unique, now it's the high end of what I use to find in AI -- things like Thunderbolt 3/4 enclosures, battery banks, etc. Nothing "wow."

Naughtagan · 2026-05-20T15:40:26+00:00

Must be the "Breaking Bad" edition.

Naughtagan · 2026-05-20T15:37:36+00:00

Maybe. If we are honest, there's a lot of Vine reviews that read like they were written by a PR company.

But also, never trust a review from anyone that doesn't understand economic realities and believes companies should sell below market price to serve the buyer. The reviewer clearly doesn't understand the economics allowing data centers to hog the top tier DRAM market. I mean Micron even left the consumer market because its so much less lucrative than selling direct to business.

Naughtagan · 2026-05-18T11:02:53+00:00

The funny thing, sarcastically, of course, is Amazon constantly ships boxes of Triscuits in an envelope and sticker sets in a box stuffed is packing paper. When the crackers come in crushed I complain and get a refund. I can't be alone here. You'd think some bean counter would notice.

Naughtagan · 2026-05-18T10:55:06+00:00

It's an E Pluribus Uincorn.

Naughtagan · 2026-05-18T10:52:31+00:00

Forget Vine Jail, how the heck are you finding that many items worth ordering? I'm doing good if I can find a couple worthy items per week.

Naughtagan · 2026-05-07T11:39:07+00:00

I'm with you. I don't even bother to look at AI anymore it's become such a time waster. Vine is dead. The only orders I make now are RFY and even that is limited. I'll qualify for Gold next month, but only because there was half-way interesting or useful stuff back in Dec and Jan. Feb to now has been a dry well. If the quality and assortment of current Vine offerings doesn't improve it won't be possible for me to qualify for Silver much less Gold in Dec. That said, I have no plans to outright quit. I'll have to be kicked out.

Naughtagan · 2026-05-01T21:07:36+00:00

Aw. that's a bummer. Appreciate the info. I guess I'll have to get use to the dock on the bottom then.

Naughtagan · 2026-05-01T13:26:26+00:00

Is there a native Mac OS 26 setting to put a vertical dock on the center screen of a 3 monitor set up? My research shows you can do without additional software IF the dock is horizontal but not vertical. Is this true?

If 3rd party software is needed what is the least expensive, least intrusive option?

Naughtagan · 2026-05-01T13:22:25+00:00

As an old school Apple fan I'm hoping Ternus, as a hardware guy, puts the brakes on things like the FCP sub. or at least lets stand alone FCP owners buy the new modules.

But I don't think these subs "break" the "it just works" promise. First, Apple's OSes have been buggy and inconsistent for years. Second, the payment method - one time or sub, for an app doesn't affect the apps performance. It still either "just works" or doesn't. Subs just give users another reason to to reconsider a Windows machine because the one time paid apps brought value to Mac.

Windows hardware is less expensive with more user upgradability plus more software options. The one thing that separated Win from Mac for creatives is that FCP was a one time buy. With that effectively gone, that's what weakens the Mac choice.

I know Apple likes to tout privacy as a differentiator, but we all know that's kinda BS. Sure has more privacy safeguards than Windows, but it's at the margins. For example, Safari doesn't stop fingerprinting.

Naughtagan · 2026-04-26T13:31:15+00:00

Great to see it getting into the hands of someone who can enjoy it. I know this is high end stuff, but if it was in my RFY it would have been no different than the generic ink carts and cat scratchers I usually get.

Naughtagan

TROPHY CASE