Moving Away From Amazon

Oopsadaisy1
Amazon free next day delivery needs Prime. We get free delivery on many things without that, but it’s not guaranteed next day.

If you opt out of Amazon Prime. Then yes they are a go between, but often for small businesses, you don’t have to buy the cheapest (often Chinese) goods.

The aboe is a non-sequitor. Lots of goods sold by Amazon are made in China and plenty of goods NOT sold by Amazon are made elsewhere.

If you want to shop ethically, and I do, you are best not being limited to what Amazon offers.

M0nica

It is just as easy to buy the same stuff from other sites as it is to buy from Amazon and delivery is as good.

I cannot understand why people want to pay extra to a pointless intermediary. Any one selling through amazon has an off amazon shop as well, usually cheaper.

That's not always the case. I do check other sites and find that it is often cheaper to get it through Amazon, and as I have Prime, I usually get free next day delivery, which many other sites either don't offer, or charge extra for. Cost and convenience is what matters to me, so I do shop around and I will use other sites if they come out top in those respects, but I have no qualms whatsoever about using Amazon if it suits me.

We seem to have drifted from the message of the OP that she is cutting ties with Amazon because of the association of its billionaire founder with the corrupt president of the US. 🤔

In this globally connected world ethical shopping is virtually impossible.

Ideally we would all trot down to our local high street and buy from small retailers. But that is no longer how the world works. Even the small retailers offer goods that have been imparted from countries with poor worker protection. And the local high street has so few small retailers, but is awash with chain outlets. There is no way it is possible to investigate the provenance of items bought on the high street, unless you look at every label or quiz the shop assistants. Many well known high street chains import their garments etc.

And this all assumes that there IS a local high street to start with - so many have become dominated by food outlets and charity shops.

And a further assumption is that we can all get to that high street and find somewhere to park. I live rurally and have limitations to my mobility so it is all problematical.

I do mainly shop online, not always amazon, because it makes perfect sense. I do my Tesco shop online - I could not lift stuff into the car - and buy bulk toilet paper/tissues/kitchen towel etc. online from recycled sources. Online you can usually find the provenance of items you are buying and make a choice with that in mind.

I am guessing that I would probably not approve of the actions, morals and tax avoidance ploys of most big companies from whom we have to buy - the local chain of production is now broken and there is nothing we can do about it.

Some meat and milk (neither of which I consume) can be bought from local farms, and I use a farm shop for some items - but they are very expensive indeed.

We are living a different world now - I don't necessarily like it but I have to go with the flow to some extent.

I realise that we are not aware of the ethics of many of the things we purchase. But in the case of Amazon we are fully aware of the support of its owner for a corrupt regime.

I just mentioned it because the thread has morphed into something more appropriate to Chat than to News and Politics.

Not being thread police, just noting it. Do chat away...

Time to change from Google, owned by Sergey Brin, another friend of Trump.
Google Maps immediately changed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America on one man's say-so.

I’m sad to see that Google have decided to no longer include Black History month, Women’s History month, Holocaust Remembrance Day etc on its online calendar in another nod to the new dictator.

The name Gulf of Mexico first appeared on a map in 1550. Trump’s ordered change does not apply in an international context. So far, MapQuest have not joined in this madness.

My mobility has worsened so much that I can no longer hop on a bus like I used to and anyway the shops and items I want and need have depleted. I have Amazon Prime and what I need usually comes through or to the door next day. Well done if you wish to make a principled stand but I have no intention of joining you.

In the UK, approximately, five billion parcels are delivered every year. 96 million every week, 14 million every day, 600,000 every hour, 10,000 every minute and 160 every second.

Over on another thread. people are lamenting the demise of the High Street. I’m not sure you can have it both ways.

Amazon provide a cheap service. Prime £95 a year for next day delivery (and some TV shows and films). It nowhere near covers the cost if you use it a lot. One small parcel with Royal Mail costs £3.25 to send and the sender is paying for the packaging.

Yes, of course, it provides a service especially to those with impaired mobility or without reasonable access to traditional shopping facilities but the question I have is this. Why the emphasis on next day delivery? Is anything that vital that consumers cannot wait a day or two for delivery were they to buy from an independent retailer?

We have been sucked into Amazon as we have been sucked into Zuckerberg and Musk apps by the adrenaline rush of immediacy.

Over the last couple of years, I have been enjoying “slow stitching” aka hand stitching. It’s very calming and meditative. Perhaps we need a slow shopping movement.

Well, if you go into a shop and buy something you have it in your hands right away, so next day delivery is only second best really.

JackyB

Well, if you go into a shop and buy something you have it in your hands right away, so next day delivery is only second best really.

I'd rather not have to go to a shop to purchase 5kg of mealworms and 5 of peanuts! Which is what I get via Amazon, from a supplier. The supplier is named on Amazon. It's a win win for everyone.

JackyB

Well, if you go into a shop and buy something you have it in your hands right away, so next day delivery is only second best really.

I can order during the evening (when shops are shut) and have it delivered by lunchtime next day (even on a Sunday). Saves me the hassle, the parking fee, the petrol.

Luckygirl3

In this globally connected world ethical shopping is virtually impossible.

Ideally we would all trot down to our local high street and buy from small retailers. But that is no longer how the world works. Even the small retailers offer goods that have been imparted from countries with poor worker protection. And the local high street has so few small retailers, but is awash with chain outlets. There is no way it is possible to investigate the provenance of items bought on the high street, unless you look at every label or quiz the shop assistants. Many well known high street chains import their garments etc.

And this all assumes that there IS a local high street to start with - so many have become dominated by food outlets and charity shops.

And a further assumption is that we can all get to that high street and find somewhere to park. I live rurally and have limitations to my mobility so it is all problematical.

I do mainly shop online, not always amazon, because it makes perfect sense. I do my Tesco shop online - I could not lift stuff into the car - and buy bulk toilet paper/tissues/kitchen towel etc. online from recycled sources. Online you can usually find the provenance of items you are buying and make a choice with that in mind.

I am guessing that I would probably not approve of the actions, morals and tax avoidance ploys of most big companies from whom we have to buy - the local chain of production is now broken and there is nothing we can do about it.

Some meat and milk (neither of which I consume) can be bought from local farms, and I use a farm shop for some items - but they are very expensive indeed.

We are living a different world now - I don't necessarily like it but I have to go with the flow to some extent.

Good post Luckygirl13

Over on another thread. people are lamenting the demise of the High Street. I’m not sure you can have it both ways.

The big out-of-town shopping centres and malls sounded the death knell for High Street shops and small branches of chains.

Amazon didn't arrive here until the late 1990s/early 2000s and filled the gap left by these closures as an alternative to shopping locally.

Now High Streets are full of coffee shops, eating establishments and charity shops. Occasionally small independent shops will open but don't last long because the rents and business rates are so high it's difficult to make a profit.

When I was doing a web design course, in the 1990’s one of the questions on the course was,
“Do you think on-line shopping will catch on?”
At the time, we agreed probably not for clothes or food, and people would still like to be hands-on for furniture and shoes.

I still don’t buy furniture, perfume or new make up or decorating material without seeing it first but there are so few shops to choose from.

Signal app is an alternative to whatsapp and supposedly more secure

I have noticed that Amazon do seem to promote small businesses, often see this:

Small Business
This product is from a small business brand. Support small. Learn moreThis product is from a small business brand. Support small

But the small business will have its own website and a google search will bring them up as will ebay, or etsy.

No need to use Amazon.

M0nica

But the small business will have its own website and a google search will bring them up as will ebay, or etsy.

No need to use Amazon.

So the question there would be, Why do they use Amazon?

M0nica

But the small business will have its own website and a google search will bring them up as will ebay, or etsy.

No need to use Amazon.

But I only become aware of some of these small businesses because I've browsed Amazon........

M0nica

But the small business will have its own website and a google search will bring them up as will ebay, or etsy.

No need to use Amazon.

Which may well end up being more expensive than buying from Amazon (it does happen, I've checked before buying various things).

If the small businesses do have websites, which isn’t a given, they may not be able to afford to pay to feature prominently on an internet search so may never be found were it not for their presence on the Amazon platform.

Rosie51

M0nica

But the small business will have its own website and a google search will bring them up as will ebay, or etsy.

No need to use Amazon.

But I only become aware of some of these small businesses because I've browsed Amazon........

Which ir precisely why they sign up with Amazon.

Of course, Amazon won't be doing this out of the kindness of its heart. The businesses will be paying a charge. Whether the increased business they get from being associated with Amazon is worth the cost I don't know.

But, from an ethical point of view, people who order from the small business via Amazon are still handing money to a Trump supporting billionaire via the charge.

Which is entirely up to them, of course..

Do what I do with books. Look them up on Amazon and then find their site off Amazon.