I’ll start - I don’t shop a lot, but if I had to buy stuff like hardware parts, I do use Amazon sometimes, but if I can, then I try to use Flipkart. Realizing how it has turned into a monopoly, I try to look for alternative websites, and check if they’re trustworthy.
If I remember correctly, the last three items I’ve bought online were hardware parts from some local websites. The chi-fi IEMs were bought through headphonezone.in, and they were super-fast in delivery - I had to wait for only four days.
I used to buy almost everything on Amazon - electronics, books, kitchen/office/cleaning supplies, etc. Back then I was a Prime subscriber so I did not pay for the delivery. As for the delivery, it was blazing fast and the item was always in a mint condition. In case of any issues I was able to sort it out within a day or two. And the price was better than the other online or brick and mortar stores.
However, at some point the quality of the products went downhill. Support became unhelpful and the prices got higher than the competition. One time I had some issues with the order. It never got delivered and the process to get my money back was way too long and too complex. Eventually I have contacted my bank and reported the fraud. Eventually I got my money back. Turned out that such issues were not an anomaly and a lot of people reported shady sellers.
Since then I have unsubscribed from Prime and every time I found something I wanted to buy I’ve checked the seller and if there was a website I bought directly from them.
For past few years I didn’t buy a thing on Amazon.
As for the alternatives, I don’t have a single one. I have several websites I usually buy from but in general I always do some research and buy the product from the seller that has the best price and is trusted enough.
Same.
Unsubscribing from Prime has made zero difference in our lives. They kept advertising “there’s more to prime”, none of which we used, which made me realize we’re paying for all this stuff and getting nothing out of it.
Combined with it sort of going the way of eBay with all sorts of junk and not much quality stuff… It’s not really that great anymore.
I used to sort by best reviews, but that can’t be trusted anymore.
Cory Doctorow has been calling out this enshittification for years. The whole read is good, but here is a sample chunk:
Amazon’s monopoly (control over buyers) gives it a monopsony (control over sellers), which lets it raise prices everywhere, at Amazon and at every other retailer, even as it drives the companies that supply it into bankruptcy.
Amazon is no longer a place where a scrappy independent seller can find an audience for its products. In order to navigate the minefield Amazon lays for its sellers (who have no choice but to sell there), these indie companies are forced to sell out to gators (aggregators), which are now multi-billion-dollar businesses in their own right:
See also his piece Amazon is a ripoff.
A combination of self-preferencing (upranking Amazon’s own knock-offs), pay-for-placement (Amazon ads), other forms of payola (whether a merchant is paying for Prime), and “junk ads” (that don’t match your search) turn Amazon’s search-ordering into a rigged casino game.
Really? I hear people say stuff like this all the time, but I have not experienced it at all. Every time I go to a brick and mortar store, I find that the price is still way cheaper when I look up the product on Amazon. Plus many other online stores still have ridiculously long shipping times whereas with Amazon it will sometimes even arrive in less than 24 hours.
I also have always had great experiences with Amazon support for faulty items or in the ease of returning my items.
I bought an item from a different online retailer recently. Took forever, they sent me the wrong item, and they refused to refund my money until it took snail mail to ship it back to them and for it to be restocked in their warehouse (not even an expensive item…$40). I was absolutely pissed about how difficult they made the situation over their own mistake when Amazon has always made it so easy for me.
Another company I purchased from recently required a signature for an item and customer service flat out refused to allow me to hold it for pickup like I normally do for items like that (I didn’t realize signed delivery at home address only was a thing…never had a product like that before). They made it a headache and a half to actually get my item because I work during the day and wouldn’t allow me to have it held to be signed for at a delivery center. If I order something like that from Amazon, they allow delivery to a secure locker so I don’t have to be home during the day to pick up my purchase like I’m some 1950s housewife.
There are other retailers still that are cheaper than Amazon, but you end up waiting a month or more for your items.
I get that Amazon is a morally shitty company, but I just have not found another company with anywhere remotely near the price point, shipping experience, and customer service as them. If someone is able to step up to the plate and do that, I’ll certainly switch to someone more moral.
I will say that I do not use Amazon for used products because you have absolutely zero idea of the condition for them. eBay has always been a far superior experience for that specific type of item because you can actually see what you’re buying.
I avoid Amazon. Deleted my account years ago. They treat their workers like shit, don’t pay their taxes, extract wealth and send it overseas, pollute like there’s no tomorrow, but most importantly, Jeff Bezos is not a nice man.
My shopping happens mostly online, at farmers markets and local stores.
I’m avoiding Amazon for many years now. To be fair I usually just… Don’t buy things?
But when I have to, I try to go local shop first, second hand websites/markets, other websites and eventually Amazon, I guess? It never came to this.
I have spent 10/20% more than the price on Amazon though.
Last but not least, for niece stuff I have used Amazon as a sort of catalogue to find out what exists and then look for things further by other means.
I use it out of laziness. Despite all the shit they still have great customer service. About a year ago I ordered a £150 multi-tool and they accidentally sent me a £200 reciprocating saw. Due to a complicated living situation at the time it would have taken me about 6 months to send the wrong tool back so they just said I could keep it and refunded me so I could buy the other tool again.
The other thing I like is that I’ll just see a price and buy it easily. I’ve often shopped around and found something cheaper but then the whole purchasing process is terrible. They add on a bunch of extra costs, then make me create an account, then add on more costs. By the end I could’ve paid less and got it quicker from Amazon. Not always the case but it happens often enough that I will just go to Amazon half the time.
But I guess the main reason is that I hate being forced to create accounts and so many shops require that for no good reason.
I use it a lot because it’s stupidly convenient - most things arrive in 1-2 days at the same or less cost than a store and i can get jelly beans, a screwdriver, and socks in one order. I guess that’s how they get you. I have started trying to do more ‘buy online; pickup in store’ to support some local businesses.
Amazon is always the first place I check whenever I want to buy anything. I order frequently enough that Prime more than pays for itself every year, and I hate making new accounts on new websites to order anything elsewhere unless it’s just not available on Amazon.
I don’t like that it’s this way, but it’s the most cost-effective way of shopping for me.
