Moving Away From Amazon

Well done Jane. I have used Amazon extensively and the morality of the owner sticks in my throat. I try now to buy from elsewhere. Buying over the internet has become so much easier than previously when it was Amazon or nothing. I do still have Prime mainly for films but I think I'll stop that when my annual subscription runs out. I liked Twitter and made some good friends there. Since Musk took over, it has become nasty and I've moved to Blue Sky. I hadn't heard about Google. I'll have to Google it!

I think all of us have lines in the sand where we feel we should make a stand, even though we know that in the big scene of things it will barely show - except the more people who do so, the more chance there is we will make a dent.

Look at X. people and companies are deserting it in droves. Musk paid $44 billion for Twitter in 2022, rechristened X it is now worth just over $9 billion. The company has lost over 40% of its value every year since he bought it. It is now worth 20% of what he paid for it - couldn't happen to a nicer man!

The same with Amazon. I stopped using Amazon when I found it was paying almost no tax in the UK bcause sales were directed through Luxembourg.

I have other lines in the sand over environmental and food quality issues, as I am sure do others.

I have never used Twitter/ X and I avoid Amazon for the same reasons as MONica.
I appreciate some people are housebound or find shopping difficult. Bot I often wonder do we really need all that we buy? DH had deliveries of something or other several times a week and often bought things he had already got. He also bought in bulk and I am still using up huge quantities of non-perishables. All excessive consumption.

No excessive consumption in my house. Like many others I’m more than capable of sticking to a budget.

I’m also well aware that Lockdown is over.

Well done Jane! I have never got into using this web site really, I think I have only used it two or three times because others have chosen their gifts on there for me to order. It’s killed all the high streets shops because they don’t pay their taxes like the locals.

rockgran

I try to avoid Amazon and use Ebay if possible. I prefer to use PayPal and Amazon doesn't accept (as it is a competitor).

Me too.
I refuse to sign up to Prime, but on the odd occasion that I need something in a hurry, Amazon is the best option, paying the extra charge if an option.

No excessive consumption in my house either. I buy only what I need.

merlotgran

^Let's get our power back people!^

Sorry but empowerment to me means making life as easy and uncomplicated as possible given my age and the fact that I live on my own.

I don’t know what I’d have done without Amazon during four very difficult years including Lockdown.

Absolutely! I'm going with whatever makes life easier - and cheaper - for me, and I make no apologies for doing so.

I’m sorry, I’m not going to stop using Amazon. It’s an easy way of shopping - and quite frankly, moral policing is not for me. But good luck with your project !

Btw, Jane, if you had your way, all those Amazon workers, drivers etc, will be without a job, just saying …..

Well done Jane. I occasionally use Amazon, but always feel guilty afterwards, for the reasons you state. No it will not make a blind bit of difference to Bezos, however I see it as a moral issue and that is what matters.

I don’t use Amazon, other than to search for the item I want. I then check out the companies, and order direct from them if they are British companies - I try to support businesses in this country if I can.

Never used Twitter or X, which I’m glad about now I’ve seen Musk’s complete lack of respect for other peoples personal data.

I don't feel good at using Amazon, but we live in an area devoid of shops and even towns further afield have few alternatives.

I've never heard of most of the other sites mentioned here - is there something I could buy that would enlighten me?

I get everything that I can locally but I do like and use amazon eg I am equipping my new allotment and today have bought lashing straps, a very good lock, weed fabric, covered stakes. All of these will arrive tomorrow and I can install them on monday. Armchair shopping is fantastic, anything else apart from local, is several miles away and choice is limited and often not good enough

I am also thinking of Duckduckgo too!

I was suspicious of that search engine because of the name, but all the names are rather silly anyway. Time to investigate.

Never been on Twitter but I do use Amazon (reluctantly) as I can't trek round shops now, do have a Kindle but only buy 99p or cheap books. I use a local bookshop too.
So many small retailers in the UK sell through Amazon that I'm not going to cancel but, as usual, will try to choose the British firms. If we stopped using Amazon some of these small outlets might suffer as their high street presence is not really enough to sustain a small business these days.

I do what I need to do to make my life easier.

If it wasn't for online shopping, I dread to think what a mess I'd be in.

I did think about the drivers but yesterday Bezos said he wanted all Amazon workers to be afraid because they work better than way and that was the final straw. If I order from other outlets and others do the same they will need more drivers and maybe they will actually care about their workers.

I use ebay, have never used Amazon, and cannot see what it offers that ebay doesn't, other than higher prices.

I dislike Ebay but am very happy with Amazon. Can't imagine life without it.

Amazon also deliver for other companies, such as The White Company. So despite your best intentions you may find your parcel dropped off by an Amazon driver.

It's a bit difficult for me to boycott Amazon as my lovely brother who lives abroad always send me a generous amount of Amazon vouchers for birthday and Christmas every year.
I love them, and have just bought a new shower and a robot vacuum cleaner with my Christmas vouchers from him.
So it's a dilemma.
I'm not on any social media, apart from this one.

I agree with you and all the others who enjoy or need to shop online, I've been conflicted about this for a long time because Amazon is so easy but Bezos has been given power to interfere in politics, power he able to buy from Trump because he became a billionaire by exploiting his workers. It isn't a choice between Amazon and going to the shops, I now use Amazon to find the items I want then search for them from the manufacturers or other retailers. I used Amazon subscribe and save as I need a range of supplements that would be hard to find in my local town but I discovered EBay has most of what I previously bought from Amazon. Trump's tech boys are a real danger to the world in so many ways as their power is immense, like others I want to cut off Facebook & WhatsApp but I need them to communicate with family and friends and although I'm using DuckDuckGo as my search engine I'm still tied to Google because of email and photos but at least they can't see my searches anymore. It's hard to break free but every bit we can take back is a little bit of personal resistance at a time when it's hard not to feel overwhelmed by helplessness in the face of what's happening in the US.

I have absolutely nothing against Amazon drivers, they are the best of people who work under immense pressure,nif Bezos had any humanity he'd respect and reward them for the work they do.

It might make you feel better Jane, but it won’t make a haporth of difference to Amazon.

I have had DuckDuckGo for many years now but confess I still regularly go back to Google.