Ask Lemmy

Federated Amazon alternative coming soon?

Fun side story. My first job as a developer, I was working in a small porn company in downtown Chicago. We had just hired a few people, so being the only techy in the company it was on me to order a bunch of hardware from NewEgg.

It was supposed to be delivered days later. But no, they had an employee, just like a regular dude, hop in his car and deliver the order on the same day. This was probably 2006, so same day delivery way NOT a normal thing.

I rarely get to tell this story because I don't want people to know I started off my (somewhat long) software engineering career in porn and because who cares about this in today's world.

However, OP mentioned NewEgg, so it fits here.

Honestly I just order from Target. I know the products are legit, and I can usually do same day pickup.

(Lately I've preferred to shop in person. The stereotype is true -- once you become a mom, getting a Starbies and walking around Target becomes your self-care.)

This isn't really an answer to the question, but I just saw a Mastodon post about an online store that's opening this October called Artisans.coop

It seems to be a cooperatively owned Etsy alternative, (and I can only assume it's a response to whatever shenanigans went on between Etsy and Silicon Valley Bank.)

I'm not an Amazon fan either. But you may want to know that Newegg is owned by a Chinese company these days.

B&H Photo Video is a decent place but stock is always iffy. More of a consumer electronics store than newegg in my experience.

I mean, it's still another pretty big company, but the Shopify "Shop" app is actually pretty great as an alternative to Amazon.

Basically, all the businesses using a Shopify online storefront are amalgamated and searchable in one app, and the UI is pretty solid, too. I really like that a business can have their own website with a storefront, but also be there for convenience and still be in the same system.

I go to Amazon to look at what name brands there are. Or Google. Go and order directly from the company. Their customer service is better and they usually have cheaper options. Plus if you need a modification that you didn't know existed, refer back to the the customer service part.

A combination of Micro Center, FS.com, and eBay for computer parts. Anything worth researching I'll try and buy direct from the manufacturer.

Dumb cheap stuff still goes to Amazon because if I need a $2 female USB-B to male USB-C adaptor or something like that I'm not willing to go through more than about 5 mins of searching and I know there's some random blob of letters company on the Amazon marketplace that will give me something that functions. I definitely wait until I have something critical or reach $30+ before actually placing the order though.

Believe it or not I’ve never used Amazon.

I’m old, I never left eBay. I’ve seen things I want a lot cheaper on there though. I just don’t want to give them my money.

For a lot of consumer electronics (and of course camera and video) I go with B&H

I use Amazon to shop often times, and then just buy directly from the vendor. May take a little longer to mail or cost a tiny bit more, but worth it to me

Bookshop.org for books

I know it's not feasible for everyone, or even most people, but I just generally avoid shopping online as much as possible.

In Belgium & Netherlands, we have an alternative called Bol. I use it, but I wonder how much more ethical it is in the end.

https://www.abebooks.com/

For used books.

eBay! Craigslist!

Craigslist is more fun but more limited. eBay for the things I can't find on CL. Both really enable you to shop locally too which is excellent

If it's something I know I want to buy from a specific brand, I'd rather just buy from the vendor directly if that's an option.

I love Chewy! I also like to buy gifts and handmade items on Etsy.

For painters, dickblick.com sells Liquitex and Golden paint cheaper than Amazon.

eBay for general stuff, ABE Books for... well books and HMV/Zavvi for films.