I’ve been trying to avoid shopping on Amazon for several years. For computer parts, I look at Newegg. For pet stuff, Chewy.
But what about all the miscellaneous stuff? What other websites do you trust when it comes to shopping online?
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.
My small shopify business thanks you!
That’s actually such a smart move for Shopify to incentivise use of their platform over others.
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.
Porn starts a surprising number of careers.
Maybe not that surprising.
It’s not really… Just look at how VHS, DVD and blu-ray became popular…
I despise the porn industry because it’s so exploitative. But sometimes there are positive outcomes…
Just to note that the blu-ray was mainly thanks to PS3.
Thinking about war as I read your comment and how it has had the same effect on driving technology and medicine forward… Obviously not in the nicest way.
you can just tell this story without mentioning you worked for a porn company?? lol
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 might check that out. I have a small Etsy shop that used to generate a bit of side income for me, mainly just enough to buy the occasional tool or some materials for personal projects, but Etsy has changed a lot since 2018. It’s basically just eBay or Amazon with the veneer of “this is totally handmade.” They pushed “free” shipping and decreased lead times, which undermines actual handmade products.
My assumption that this was about SVB sounds totally off the mark now that you’ve put it this way. From your story, it sounds like this is about an entire culture shift that’s been alienating Etsy’s original community of artisans for quite some time.
I’m pretty sure the main issue with etsy these days is that they allow/encourage dropshippers so now it’s just filled with cheap crap from AliExpress etc
Bingo
I’m not an Amazon fan either. But you may want to know that Newegg is owned by a Chinese company these days.
And their customer support is now shitty.
I have heard this and mostly avoid shopping there as a result. Is there a “new” NewEgg that’s like old NewEgg?
Closest thing would be MicroCenter. I believe they will ship, but their store locations are rare and spaced out. Closest one to me is almost an hour and a half away, but since the Fry’s 10 minutes away closed it’s my only other option besides BestBuy (barf).
RIP Fry’s
I know it’s not feasible for everyone, or even most people, but I just generally avoid shopping online as much as possible.
That’s fine if you’re not a geek nor a tinkerer (or a musician), but unfortunately my hobbies aren’t sold in stores anymore.
I miss RadioShack, Fry’s Electronics, and music stores that don’t charge a 30% markup.
I do a lot of tinkering, I just spend months trying to find parts out of random thrift store electronics. It’s much more efficient than spending 30 seconds placing a mouser order.
I’ve come to the conclusion that buying things online is really not better than shopping in person most of the time.
It is if you live in Tasmania
All of Tasmania has about the same population as my city. I’m in the process of moving somewhere a little more rural so we’ll see if I can keep up with shopping in person.
It saves tons of time. Most of the things we buy on Amazon are not even available locally.
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.
Have you tried Monoprice? It’s been a while since I’ve had to order anything from them but they were always my goto for cables, adaptors, etc.
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.)
I’m a 42 y/o dude, not a mom, but I’m right there with you. My friend and I would walk along the aisle by the side of the building to see what kind of junk they have for sale at the endcaps. Then hit up the electronics and nerd stuff, like Funkos and new movie releases. Finally walk down the food section to pick up groceries. All the while with some drinks in hand. We usually avoid the clothing section unless we need something.
I googled it, and that’s unfortunately a local shop only available in one country (and it might help others if you specify which country).
I think to be a truly viable Amazon alternative it’d have to be global, for example when I buy from Amazon, I might be buying from somewhere in Europe, and their shipping service handles getting it to me without me even noticing where it’s coming from, which is super neat! 😁
God, I hate Amazon, but god, I love Amazon.
Available in many countries wdym
I believe they’re referring to Target. Wikipedia, dost thou lie to me?
Also that specifies the Aussie Target and US Target are different companies :p
TIL that aussie target was different but same branding
I’ve been been using Target instead of Amazon Prime. Shipping takes a little longer but 5% off with red card is neat. Where it really lacks is quality control over shipping. With Amazon an item getting damaged during shipping was something like once every few years, if even that. With Target since they don’t control that part of the chain it’s out of their hands, and it feels like 1 out of every 5 orders had something damaged to some degree. The app make it super easy to get a free replacement though.
idk if it still is since I haven’t used Amazons app since, but targets app is so much nicer
Edit: off memory the worst case was some aerosol sunscreen was dented so it was empty on arrival and the the app told me I had to do an exchange in store for it. It’s not that bad, but just stuff that doesn’t really happen with amazon
I’d say just do in store pickup whenever you can. That way, you can refuse to pick up the merchandise if it’s too bad.
I’ve found that Target ships counterfeit items time to time, as well as shoddy returned items. Amazon does the same. I typically buy my electronics from Best Buy because i know they sort those items into Open Box deals instead.
Wayfair occasionally
I love Chewy! I also like to buy gifts and handmade items on Etsy.
eBay for general stuff, ABE Books for… well books and HMV/Zavvi for films.
You know that abebooks is a subsidiary of Amazon, right? As is ZVAB in Europe. They really have the market by the reins.
Could try thriftbooks out.
I did know as it informs my purchasing strategy: if there isn’t a huge difference I buy from eBay (as the big sellers are on both) but if there is then the wallet takes precedence.
I think my oversight comes from my brain’s refusal to believe that, in a world with checks and balances on monopolies, the (I assume) largest seller of secondhand books wouldn’t be able to buy the (I assume) second largest. That could never happen, right? Right? See also most of Metas purchases.
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I can’t judge you for that. I’m just tired of obscenely wealthy people treating everyone else like shit without any repercussions. Bezos has enough money to single-handedly solve so many problems and still be very rich, but instead he blows it on his giant flying dildos while his employees piss in bottles because they can’t afford bathroom breaks.
I’m in a big city (Montreal) and about everything is delivered in less than 24h, I must say it’s pretty convenient…
why? I really like amazon, it’s super convenient - like, I dont have to worry about buying gifts anymore - especially for my relatives, they’re really difficult to shop for - I just do the amazon gift card.
I order a fair amount of tools, utility goods, and snacks via amazon because they just arent sold around here, or it’s just cheaper on amazon when you factor in the fact I dont pay for shipping.
Well if the headlines on human rights violations and fraud weren’t enough to make you think twice, I doubt my experience today watching a senior man wrestle a huge TV out of his non-air-conditioned Amazon truck by himself for my neighbor would change your mind.
honestly? no, not in the least. not sure how he qualified for that job if he struggled with delivering packages. delivering packages is 50% or more of what Amazon is all about.
Bookshop.org for books
Scrolling down to see if anyone else had posted. Good for you.
https://www.abebooks.com/ great for used books.
Abe books is owned by Amazon, unfortunately. Which stinks bc I loved them too.
Someone else just told me. I feel like an idiot.
Just to add one more option to this list:
Great service, great people, doing good.
Abe books was my go-to in college for international editions of engineering textbooks. $40 for a book that cost $450 for the US edition. Only downside was that all the units were in metric and weren’t perfectly converted, so I had to check against a classmate if we had work out of the book. All the info was still the same tho, and it was 10% of the cost, and it let me take open book tests where a digital copy wouldn’t cut it.
For a lot of consumer electronics (and of course camera and video) I go with B&H
Oooh, let’s see if they’ve got Bluetooth earbuds Edit: kickass
They have some kick ass bundles on occasion too. A few months back I snagged a DaVinci Resolve Speed Editor and Studio license key for like $50 more than just the license key itself. I thought that piece of hardware would be a cheap gimmick but it’s a well built piece of kit and an integral part of my workflow now.
One of the reasons I like B&H is because they tend to stock better quality stuff. Or at least not total garbage.
I try to go with b&h when I can. Their store in Manhattan is awesome too
B&H has a long history of racist and misogynistic hiring practices and work environments.The owners are ultra conservative religious nuts known for not hiring women, harassing minority employees, paying differently according to race and enforcing segregated bathrooms.They’ve payed out millions in lawsuits.
It sucks because I used to love wandering around in there browsing.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2016/02/bh-hit-with-discrimination-lawsuit.html
https://nypost.com/2020/10/18/bh-accused-of-discrimination-by-furloughed-workers/
I like b&h, the only downside side is returns are not as easy
Only thing I’ve ever had to return to B&H was a used lens I got from them that wouldn’t zoom or focus. Utterly painless and had the replacement (different model but still used - didn’t want to buy new because I’m still learning) within a couple days. Have arranged some cross-border returns with them as well through work and it’s been about as straightforward as that sort of thing can be.
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
Got any recommendations for websites that aren’t sketchy?
I learned years ago to avoid eBay and Craigslist. They’re more hassle than they’re worth. People suck.
You’ve got it all wrong! They’re the best. IDK where the idea that either are sketchy came from. Maybe that there isn’t a social media profile attached to the ad on like on Facebook Market?
Folks on both sites are just folks trying to sell stuff. There are scammers trying to sell scams too, but that’s everywhere.
Challenge the story society has fed you! Browse the free section of Craigslist today!!
Facebook market, but same issues with people. But dealing face to face helps somewhat. I despise it and don’t use FB personally, but my wife does and unfortunately that is where local sales happen now.
Maybe try eBay again? I gave up Amazon three years ago and have almost exclusively used eBay. Never had any major issues. And if there were any issues, the seller was super responsive. Also can sometimes save a lot over Amazon on certain items. And I always look for refurbished/used to save a good amount.
The only scam now is people basically listing Amazon items and just ordering them for you from Amazon.
