It’s been ages since I’ve really done some deal hunting online with how ubiquitious Amazon is I’ve realized I’m not up to date with the current ecosystem for finding trustworthy online storefronts. Do you have any sources/tips for finding good quality products (especially with all the AI slop that exists nowadays)?
Not perfect but if you can’t get it from the company’s website or at a local shop, try Target and Walmart they both offer free ship options too. Lastly, something like Google shopping sometimes works.
Is Walmart really any better than Amazon?
There’s no walmart in my country so I wouldn’t know, but probably yes, it is hard for me to imagine anything worse than amazon.
They are notorious for going into small towns and undercutting local businesses until they go out of business then raise prices, they also severely underpay employees. And the owners are the wealthiest family in the world who use their money to lobby for right wing policies
Walmart is, unfortunately, not better.
I go rob container ship
I’ve always considered Amazon a store that mostly Americans use. Personally I’ve always just used eBay and Aliexpress myself.
I used to use eBay as well, before I was scammed, and eBay did absolutely nothing. On top of that it was impossible to reach a human. Ever since I never felt comfortable buying from there, knowing that if the automated service page can’t help me then I’m just fucked.
I once had a problem with amazon, a 100$ item was missing from a package, and after talking to a representative for 10 minutes they completely refunded me.
Amazon is monopolistic, and evil, but in my experience have excellent customer service.
Not a single comment with an ideal alternative, despite best efforts. We need a fediverse Amazon alternative. 😞
Before searching I am asking myself 10 times “do I really need this” and I compare caracteristics ans prices on various websites (this process can take months), I check references about sellers and items, then I prepare myself to buy it but at this step I forgot I wanted/needed this, or it does not answer my need, in 80% cases.
eBay
This! I use eBay very often
Several times I have purchased an item on eBay only to have it arrive from Amazon. The sellers were using both sites and there was no way to tell from the eBay listings. Big sad.
i feel like it’s important to note that this is against the ebay seller agreement, and though ebay does nothing about it if you report it after the fact, leaving feedback with a statement like “this seller drop shipped the item via amazon” helps other shoppers.
generally, though, it’s getting easier to tell: higher volume (we’re talking 1k or higher, usually) of feedback with less than ~97% positive feedback, is a good first indication of some kind of reseller/dropshipper.
personally, i started shopping on ebay to avoid amazon, so it’s a supreme annoyance to have something drop-shipped or gift-shipped through them. I get why some sellers do it, but that doesn’t make it right.
Is it delivered via Amazon or just in Amazonian packaging? I guess I don’t mind either as much, since I can’t expect a small seller to keep two separate streamlined processes…
I have actually gotten shipping notifications from Amazon when I placed the order on eBay.
You could use Amazon as kind of a browser or search and then go directly to the brand’s web site. Any particular thing you’re looking for?
This is what I do. I sleep better at night knowing I costing them a few cents by only using them as a search engine.
You don’t cost them. You benefit them by giving them all the knowlege about what you want, how you search for it, what details are the most interesting for you etc.
Yep, this. Net positive for Amazon and you don’t even need to give them any of your money. Still better than giving them your money on top of it though, I imagine
While also being bombarded by ads by Amazon on their own website, so they even profit off of you. Or did you think those “Promoted” items in the search listings didn’t bring money into Bezos’ coffers?
I have a friend who’s high up at Amazon. He said they don’t actually do anything with the data since the algorithm already just puts ads based on what you’re searching. They don’t sell the data or process it in any way
puts ads based on what you’re searching.
they don’t actually […] process it in any way
Well, this is processing the data, isn’t it?
Back in the days, some decades ago when Amazon “invented” the tracking and processing of every single mouse click in their online shop, it was big news in the IT world. First from a technical point of view, because it needed some serious computing power on their end, and it used up some bandwidth on the user’s end, which was much more limited at that time than today. And from a data privacy point of view, because it was a huge step towards this world of total surveillance, constantly ongoing manipulation, behaviour based advertisement, George Orwell etc.
Today we have gotten used to all that, even so much that such extreme statements have become possible, somewhat…
they don’t actually do anything with the data
Your previous comment said you’re still doing them a favor by searching even if you don’t buy. If all they do is put ads on their site for your searches, then no, you’re not doing them any favors by just searching. If they were selling your data or processing it to use in other ways like market research or investments, then sure. Amazon only needs like four percent of their staff to run the site and push suggested purchases, there’s not a lot to it. Processing data is a very different beast when it comes to research and investments.
If all they do is put ads on their site for your searches
I think we should not believe it in a literal way. I guess this was simply the only kind of processing that this guy and/or his source knows and found worth mentioning.
This has also saved me on more than one occasion as I’ve tried to find the same “brand” of something I was going to buy on another site, only to find it was actually an Amazon product they were trying to push. Dodged that bullet for sure
Showrooming Amazon. How Ironic. I love it!
In a few cases I saved over 10% by going straight to the manufacturer. Shipping was slower but rarely do I need stuff next day.
Search for real businesses that sell items near you or online. Also, eBay. It has a sort by distance option so you can see if there’s something near you for faster shipping. eBay is full of Amazon dropshippers so if there’s free expedited shipping and free returns and they have thousands of feedback, they may be a dropshipper.
I will use suck duck go shopping and Google shopping to see other retailers I might not know about.
Google shopping has a function where you can look for items in stock in retail stores near you. That’s helpful.
Be careful how you suck the duck!
Denmark has Pricerunner. When buying electronics I can find many different types of local dealers and suppliers.
Second hand can be gotten through Den Blå Avis (dba.dk. Essentially translates to “The Blue Pages”).
Clothing has various online solutions as well, but it’s also easy to just hop onto a bike and cycle to the nearest shopping centre. I live in Copenhagen, so there’s also train and metro, but I prefer biking.
When it comes to food, I only ever order food online through Too Good To Go. Recently got a large breakfast cereal box through TGTG.
A lot of searching. Then I add good alternatives to a “buy Canadian” list I keep at Github. That makes it a lot easier the next time around.
If it’s a public list, feel free to share it on [email protected] :)
Just did!
Care to share that list? I may not be Canadian, but want to support people dealing with America’s bullshit if I can.
Hey, yeah, definitely.
It’s https://github.com/Visiblink/CanadianRetailers
I just started it when all the tariffy-goodness began, so it’s bound to see additions whenever I (or anyone who wants to add to it) shop for things.
It isn’t easy, but it’s worth it. I find I’m calling a lot of local stores lately, because I hate shopping in person, and selections are limited. I find I am spending about 10% more per item on average, but I’m also buying fewer things in general. I’m still shopping at chains, like Microcenter, Staples, Dick’s, and Lowes, but I’m trying to be intentional about going to local or thrift stores first.
I also shop on AliExpress more now, when I need some cheap garbage, but I’m trying to stop that, too.
Same for me. Im just trying to buy less.
Benelux has Bol, so that’s what I use.
I personally look to see if the company has their own storefront. And sometimes it pays off in unexpected ways.
For example I was in the market for a soldering iron. I found a solid Hakko one on Amazon, but I decided to check their site first and, lo and behold, they had the exact same one for sale for the exact same price. BUT I could choose what color I wanted; Amazon only had the standard blue/yellow, whereas they had two other color choices.
On top of that they included an extra goodie of my choosing, which I chose their coffee mug (I forget the other options).So because I took the extra time to look around, I was able to get one in a color I preferred, got an extra item out of it, and cut out the unnecessary middle man. Win-win-win as they say.
Sometimes, though, it’s just not possible. I was in the market for a triple monitor stand as I use a unique configuration (ultrawide as my main, with two regular widescreens side-by-side above it). The only viable stand I found was available either through Amazon or Walmart. They did not sell directly from their site. So I had to choose which devil I wanted to support.
From what I heard it is the same price because amazon doesn’t allow them to sell cheaper anywhere else.
It especially kills me when the vendor DOES have their own website, and it looks like they have their own store. You go to buy it and it redirects you to their Amazon page.
I’m guessing that some manufacturers just don’t want to bother with the setup of their own PoS system, or they find Amazon lands them so many more sales that the alternative upkeep isn’t really worth it.
Reminds me of a thread I saw here a while ago on “What if advertising were illegal?”
I’ve found the best method for reducing my need on Amazon is to just buy less crap. Online shopping is simple because you can get stuff immediately, but I don’t think anybody “needs” 3-4 new products per week.
Aside from that, I try and support local: find local shops that sell items similar to my style, or trust word of mouth for online retailers that are good. At the end of the day, as long as you’re buying good-quality stuff (which oddly seems to spend less on advertisements) it doesn’t really matter where exactly you buy from, as it’s all pretty similar in price / quality.
