How to avoid buying stuff online from Amazon - a list of alternative retailers

[MickiQ]

There's fiddles within fiddles, there is agency work where you effectively work for the agency that then supplies you to their customer but you are effectively an employer of the agency and thus get the rights of an employee of that agency. Manpower and Office Angels are examples of this, my eldest daughter used to temp for the last of those (mostly as a receptionist) and she (most of the time) was happy with them.
When you're self employed you work for yourself and you contract to a client. I do that but I contract directly to the end customer and bill them directly.
Marty1 is the same except he sells his services to the driving agency who then sells it to Evil Overlord Bezos and his minions taking a cut but he isn't an employee of either.
The range of people covered by this runs from people consulting on £1000's a day to minimum wage cleaners, If you're one of the first it is probably a pretty good gig but at the bottom end it has EXPLOITATION stamped on it in huge letters.

 

[editor]

I bought my washing machine off AO.com (which is not only not Amazon it is not even American), they not only delivered it, they installed it (including moving the unit door from the old one to the new one), taking away the old one and the packaging with them.
The downside is that at the moment they only do deliveries and not installations, when they start doing that again I will get a dishwasher off them.
If you do go to Amazon, check out whether it is off them or a third party supplier and google the supplier, many of go through Amazon Marketplace for the convenience but you can contact a lot direct.

I need a new cooker so thanks for this recommendation!

 

[cyril_smear]

I think I must be the only person in the world that doesn't use Amazon. The last time I used it it sold books.

 

[Spymaster]

I basically moved most of my purchasing habits to eBay, which I'm not sure is much better, to be honest!

Well quite!

Switching from Amazon to eBay is just swapping one multi billion US corp for another. The board level management of eBay includes former CEOs/CFOs etc., of Apple, Microsoft, JP Morgan, and just about every other US 'evildoing corporate' you could shake a knobbly stick at. They own Skype, Paypal, Craigslist, and others, all of whom have been taking the piss out of corporate taxation ex the US, overseas call centres/cheap labour, etc to the same degree as Amazon. They're no different at all. Choosing eBay over Amazon is just choosing to get run over by a Toyota instead of a Mazda.

 

[Looby]

I do use amazon but usually look for alternatives first.
I wanted some cross stitch stuff when all this first started. I wasn’t able to order what I needed elsewhere because lots was out of stock, way more expensive or was going to take a month to arrive.

But last week I wanted some baking stuff, didn’t need anything urgently and found an independent supplier where I ordered stuff for half the price on amazon and got free delivery.
It is worth looking around and I need to remind myself of that more.

 

[Looby]

I only use eBay for second hand stuff like clothes now. I’ve been ripped off on furniture and been sold fake make up. It was a pain to get the money back and took ages. I used to always check eBay for stuff but just don’t bother much anymore.

 

[Throbbing Angel]

I need a new cooker so thanks for this recommendation!

Also - if people want to support local - try Euronics. A network of independent electrical/electronics retailers - tell it where you you live - Bob's your whassname.

Stores near brixton | Euronics Site

Euronics Site store Locations near to brixton

www.euronics.co.uk

 

[Throbbing Angel]

Also - if people want to support local - try Euronics. A network of independent electrical/electronics retailers - tell it where you you live - Bob's your whassname.

Stores near brixton | Euronics Site

Euronics Site store Locations near to brixton

www.euronics.co.uk

More about Euronics if you want to research first:

Euronics - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Big Bertha]

That's your conclusion, because one company is rumoured to have dodgy practices? There are a number of ethical companies in the article.
Even if they're not all saints, it's good to try to reduce Amazon's market dominance.

We need an urban75 list of approved companies maybe?

 

[Throbbing Angel]

As mentioned elsewhere, I basically moved most of my purchasing habits to eBay, which I'm not sure is much better, to be honest! Marginally so, I guess.

Do also try to use companies like Hive, though.

Aye. Summat I've started doing via Amazon is finding the sellers details and Google their name/address to find if they have a website and go through them.

Generally it is cheaper but the delivery times are a bit longer. Saved £7 on a book recently and I assume they avoid Amazon fees.

Same with eBay and local sellers - laptop was £289 on the site - offered £250 and mentioned I was local and could collect - phone number provided - bought from them face to face and paid £225 and they had no eBay fees. WinWin and I got the device quicker, formed a relationship with the seller, could ask questions more easily etc. They've sold 5 laptops now as a result of our meeting and friends following my recommendation of them.

Depends on your needs innit.

 

[Lord Camomile]

I think I must be the only person in the world that doesn't use Amazon. The last time I used it it sold books.

You are not.

Well quite!

Switching from Amazon to eBay is just swapping one multi billion US corp for another. The board level management of eBay includes former CEOs/CFOs etc., of Apple, Microsoft, JP Morgan, and just about every other US 'evildoing corporate' you could shake a knobbly stick at. They own Skype, Paypal, Craigslist, and others, all of whom have been taking the piss out of corporate taxation ex the US, overseas call centres/cheap labour, etc to the same degree as Amazon. They're no different at all. Choosing eBay over Amazon is just choosing to get run over by a Toyota instead of a Mazda.

Aye, but I figure they probably haven't quite got the same poor record in workers' rights that Amazon do. I try to buy from UK-based accounts and individuals flogging off second-hand stuff, although do tend to buy a fair bit from second-hand book merchants too.

It's all about gradients, innit?

 

[Spymaster]

We need an urban75 list of approved companies maybe?

No point really. Unless you're going to forego the provided services entirely, boycots rarely make much sense. See above the examples of switching from Amazon to eBay. There's another poster here who has switched his book-buying from Amazon to Waterstones, who are jointly owned by a Russian billionaire and a US hedge fund specialising in distressed debt. But they have a shop just down the road so that's ok! On another thread we had people who wouldn't touch Apple products with a bargepole but are perfectly happy to buy Chinese tech from Huawei!

Boycots are a purely personal thing that make individuals feel better about themselves through their own justifications. Nothing wrong with that so long as we remember that in the case of corporate actions like these, we're really doing nothing else useful while probably inconveniencing ourselves and not even delaying the inevitable.

 

[existentialist]

No point really. Unless you're going to forego the provided services entirely, boycots rarely make much sense. See above the examples of switching from Amazon to eBay. There's another poster here who has switched his book-buying from Amazon to Waterstones, who are jointly owned by a Russian billionaire and a US hedge fund specialising in distressed debt. But they have a shop just down the road so that's ok! On another thread we had people who wouldn't touch Apple products with a bargepole but are perfectly happy to buy Chinese tech from Huawei!

Boycots are a purely personal thing that make individuals feel better about themselves through their own justifications. Nothing wrong with that so long as we remember that in the case of corporate actions like these, we're really doing nothing else useful while probably inconveniencing ourselves and not even delaying the inevitable.

Fair point. But I'm still enjoying the challenge of boycotting Amazon

 

[cyril_smear]

Fair point. But I'm still enjoying the challenge of boycotting Amazon

what about all the small businessdess who use Amazon though to sell their wares though?

 

[Big Bertha]

what about all the small businessdess who use Amazon though to sell their wares though?

That’s a good point actually.

 

[Big Bertha]

No point really. Unless you're going to forego the provided services entirely, boycots rarely make much sense. See above the examples of switching from Amazon to eBay. There's another poster here who has switched his book-buying from Amazon to Waterstones, who are jointly owned by a Russian billionaire and a US hedge fund specialising in distressed debt. But they have a shop just down the road so that's ok! On another thread we had people who wouldn't touch Apple products with a bargepole but are perfectly happy to buy Chinese tech from Huawei!

Boycots are a purely personal thing that make individuals feel better about themselves through their own justifications. Nothing wrong with that so long as we remember that in the case of corporate actions like these, we're really doing nothing else useful while probably inconveniencing ourselves and not even delaying the inevitable.

But boycotting the ritzy worked didn’t it?

 

[existentialist]

what about all the small businessdess who use Amazon though to sell their wares though?

If it looks like Amazon's involved, then I'm looking for alternatives.

 

[Big Bertha]

If it looks like Amazon's involved, then I'm looking for alternatives.

What about if company’s are using amazons cloud infrastructure?

Would you look for alternatives?

 

[existentialist]

What about if company’s are using amazons cloud infrastructure?

Would you look for alternatives?

I might.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

We need an urban75 list of approved companies maybe?

While I approve of this in theory, it would probably just be a big fight who goes on the list and who stays off.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

It's worth noting Amazon is far from the only business Jeff Bezos owns. Whole Foods a notable one that a lot of people earnestly boycotting Amazon probably have no problem with.

He's also heavily into selling information and information services to the US Government (probably others as well). Some of this is freakishly Orwellian.

 

[kalidarkone]

No point really. Unless you're going to forego the provided services entirely, boycots rarely make much sense. See above the examples of switching from Amazon to eBay. There's another poster here who has switched his book-buying from Amazon to Waterstones, who are jointly owned by a Russian billionaire and a US hedge fund specialising in distressed debt. But they have a shop just down the road so that's ok! On another thread we had people who wouldn't touch Apple products with a bargepole but are perfectly happy to buy Chinese tech from Huawei!

Boycots are a purely personal thing that make individuals feel better about themselves through their own justifications. Nothing wrong with that so long as we remember that in the case of corporate actions like these, we're really doing nothing else useful while probably inconveniencing ourselves and not even delaying the inevitable.

One of the choices I'm able to make sometimes is who gets my money. So I dont see not buying from Amazon as a boycott, more that I'm choosing to give my pittance to someone else because I can. I dont actually think it's going to change much. However specially now if I can try to help keep a smaller and more local company ticking over then I will. It's probably the only power I have which is minuscule. But still.

 

[Spymaster]

Fair point. But I'm still enjoying the challenge of boycotting Amazon

Well yeah. If you're doing it as a hobby, fair enough, but let's not kid ourselves that we're striking some kind of blow against the man. I would never knowingly purchase Chinese technology on the basis that it's usually the product of stolen IP and supports the most murderous regime on the planet. There's almost certainly a bunch of Chinese hardware sitting right here in this laptop though, and in a couple of years the majority of the UKs 5G network will be running across Huawei kit, so it'll be impossible to avoid. I'm not about to throw out my laptop or change my Telecoms provider though.

 

[Big Bertha]

I might.

Some to avoid then,

Aon, Adobe, Airbnb, Alcatel-Lucent, AOL, Acquia, AdRoll, AEG, Alert Logic, Autodesk, Bitdefender, BMW, British Gas, Baidu, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Canon, Capital One, Channel 4, Chef, Citrix, Coinbase, Comcast, Coursera, Disney, Docker, Dow Jones, European Space Agency, ESPN, Expedia, Financial Times, FINRA, General Electric, GoSquared, Guardian News & Media, Harvard Medical School, Hearst Corporation, Hitachi, HTC, IMDb, International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, International Civil Aviation Organization, ITV, iZettle, Johnson & Johnson, JustGiving, JWT, Kaplan, Kellogg’s, Lamborghini, Lonely Planet, Lyft, Made.com, McDonalds, NASA, NASDAQ OMX, National Rail Enquiries, National Trust, Netflix, News International, News UK, Nokia, Nordstrom, Novartis, Pfizer, Philips, Pinterest, Quantas, Reddit, Sage, Samsung, SAP, Schneider Electric, Scribd, Securitas Direct, Siemens, Slack, Sony, SoundCloud, Spotify, Square Enix, Tata Motors, The Weather Company, Twitch, Turner Broadcasting,Ticketmaster, Time Inc., Trainline, Ubisoft, UCAS, Unilever, US Department of State, USDA Food and Nutrition Service, UK Ministry of Justice, Vodafone Italy, WeTransfer, WIX, Xiaomi, Yelp, Zynga and Zillow.

 

[Saul Goodman]

I've never used Amazon - as much because I find it pretty clunky compared to eBay as because they are a bunch of cunts - can someone show me what service amazon provide that I can't get from eBay or doing a quick Google search and going straight to a retailer or manufacturer? coz I'm puzzled by this assumption that Amazon is somehow indespensible to modern life....

My local bookshop - Wyre Forest Books if you're interested interested.... Is doing both delivery from stock and from the suppliers, and very quick they too.

Some of the outdoor clothing and equipment manufacturers are doing a scheme where you order direct from them, put in a code and your local outdoor shop (Outdoor Depot in Church Stretton, fantastic service..) gets a slice.

So how is it I can order books, electronics, food, white goods, and all the other stuff without using Amazon?

I buy a lot on Amazon. I have Prime membership, so delivery is free and next day (or so), and Prime membership gets me free TV.
If anything is wrong with the goods, Amazon pay for the return, no questions asked. Good luck with that on ebay. Sometimes they'll just tell you not to bother returning it, and replace or refund it anyway. I got a free set of Circulon frying pans because one had a tiny dent on the rim. My mother got those for Christmas
EBay is shit. I can't think of a single good thing about it.

 

[8ball]

EBay is shit. I can't think of a single good thing about it.

I have little to complain about re: Ebay purchases. You need to do the 'smell test' on listed entries, but the same goes for Amazon.

 

[existentialist]

Well yeah. If you're doing it as a hobby, fair enough, but let's not kid ourselves that we're striking some kind of blow against the man. I would never knowingly purchase Chinese technology on the basis that it's usually the product of stolen IP and supports the most murderous regime on the planet. There's almost certainly a bunch of Chinese hardware sitting right here in this laptop though, and in a couple of years the majority of the UKs 5G network will be running across Huawei kit, so it'll be impossible to avoid. I'm not about to throw out my laptop or change my Telecoms provider though.

Yeah, that's probably a fair description: I'm doing it as a hobby.

 

[Spymaster]

One of the choices I'm able to make sometimes is who gets my money. So I dont see not buying from Amazon as a boycott, more that I'm choosing to give my pittance to someone else because I can. I dont actually think it's going to change much. However specially now if I can try to help keep a smaller and more local company ticking over then I will. It's probably the only power I have which is minuscule. But still.

That makes perfect sense though. Supporting small businesses is different to avoiding big ones and something I do too. Our local shops have three small independent supermarkets who all sell pretty much the same things. I'll often by my aubergines from one chap, spuds from another, and rice from the last one to try to support them all a bit. That doesn't mean that I won't occasionally do the whole shop in Sainsbury's when it's more convenient.

The irrationality that I'm referring to is the boycotting of Amazon because of shit work practices but then using eBay or Waterstones instead. Or fucking off Amazon and Apple because they don't do enough for charity but happily buying Huawei phones from a company with some of the worst employment practices on the planet, supporting a regime that tortures and executes more people than the rest of the world's nations combined.

 

[Saul Goodman]

I have little to complain about re: Ebay purchases. You need to do the 'smell test' on listed entries, but the same goes for Amazon.

I've bought literally thousands of things through ebay, and sold a fair bit of stuff too. It's all good until something goes wrong, then, buyer or seller, you're screwed. If something goes wrong as a buyer, you have to pay return postage, which is actually illegal, so I dunno how they're getting away with that, so if you buy something from China, and it's fucked when it arrives, you've just thrown your money away, because it would cost more to return it than it's worth.
If you're a seller, you're already screwed. EBay take 10% of not only the selling price but also the postage cost, then when the buyer turns out to be a scammer, and says you sent them a brick, eBay always sides with them, so not only do you lose your goods, eBay keep the selling fee, so you've actually had to pay to have your goods stolen. It's happened to me three times, so I no longer sell on ebay.

 

[ddraig]

And there is the problem with boycotting. Most of the companies are utter shites.

Yes but as others have said, if they less utter shites then better to use them no?
I boycott/avoid/don't give money to asda as they are owned by wallmart and shit on workers rights and union busters
Also Wilko due to their prison labour
People often say well tesco are just as bad when I say boycott asda, but are they? are they union busters? do their parent company sell guns? If someone can show they are as bad i'll boycott tesco too.
Boycotts can and have worked.

Also about giving the money to someone else, a smaller local independent business where possible
I needed a lead this week and would have got it now if ordered from amazon but haven't and hope it might be here by end of the week.
Think the only time I have ordered from amazon was for a wedding wishlist thing a long long time ago