this post was submitted on 23 Sep 2023
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Can you provide an alternative that isn't a PITA? Amazon is successful because it makes shopping easy, often more secure than shopping elsewhere, and is more ecological than shopping in person. Where else can I get a dozen completely different category of items without checking out 12 times? Should I drive to 12 different places, and burn all that gas, just to spite Amazon? Where can I shop where I can comparison shop between a hundred different brands and options, to get the item I want and not just what the shop owner carries?
I'm not being facetious; I want an alternative, but there's only so much inconvenience I'll accept.
I window shop on Amazon, then order direct from the manufacturer.
Half the time I do that I get fucked by their completely non-existent support or return policies
Me too, sometimes. Not if I'm buying a bunch of stuff, though.
I just assume you are in the US and i can’t speak for the situation there. Here in the EU there are plenty of options. Sure it’s a bit more expensive sometimes, but often times it’s not.
And the convenience, I get it. Amazon customer support is unbeatable. From what I hear it is getting worse, though.
For me in the EU it is possible, but sometimes a struggle. The ideological thing makes it worth it for me, and if there are more and more people that don’t use Amazon (as often), there may be a time when it dies.
The only items I bought on Amazon since coronavirus hit are a phone charger, some shirts that aren’t available anywhere else and a pedal for a sewing machine.
So I can’t tell you ~~an alternative~~ the alternative you are looking for, but for me it is a lot of small to large online stores and some offline stores as well. There isn’t quite something as convenient that has virtually everything out there, afaik.
Ok, the EU is different. You have - generally speaking - walkable cities and good public transport infrastructure. Most people live in cities, not suburbs, and even your suburbs have decent walkable shopping and good public transport. I'd do less online shopping if I lived in Munich, or London, or Paris, or even the smaller cities.
Still, there's a lot of stuff you still need to go online for, or settle for whatever your local small shop has. Sometimes the local is acceptable for not having to shop Amazon.
You're right, things are different in the states. We're trapped in our Suburbia.