One of the many ways Amazon has become disappointing (besides long shipping times even for Prime stuff, and most egregiously, the insertion of ads into Prime Video) is the removal of browse access to the Questions and Answers. (For those new to Amazon, you used to be able to see the entire collection of questions and answers.) You can still ask a question, and you can search the Q&A for specific words; but you can no longer browse through all of them. I found this activity to be very valuable, as I’d often find facts, or problems, that I never would have thought to search for. Yes, there were lots of repeated questions, and an irritating amount of lousy answers, like “I don’t know I bought it for someone as a gift”, or my least favorite: “Ask the seller/manufacturer”. But I could wade through those easily and learn a lot about a product.
As of this writing it’s still possible to see all the questions by editing a URL:
- Find the ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number) of the item from the URL
Example, with ASIN highlighted: https://www.amazon.com/Enhancer-Dispenser-Packets-Calorie-Flavoring/dp/B003YP3MUS/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3JB81XUN26IFV&keywords=true%2Blemon%2Bpackets%2B100%2Bcount&qid=1703958856&s=grocery&sprefix=true%2Blemon%2Cgrocery%2C125&sr=1-4&th=1 - And just add the ASIN after https://www.amazon.com/ask/questions/asin/
In this example, the finished URL is: https://www.amazon.com/ask/questions/asin/B003YP3MUS
If someone could write a browser extension to do this, it would be most appreciated.
Another disappointment: some years ago I chatted with Amazon support, and suggested that the emails they send out to product purchasers with the submitted questions have an “I don’t know the answer” link that leads to some gentle message thanking them but not leading to a published answer. It must have been misinterpreted, because somehow after that I no longer received emails asking me to answer questions for things I’ve purchased or reviewed. That’s too bad, because I believe the Q&A and reviews are the most useful things offered by Amazon, and I liked to help answer questions.
