B&H and Home Depot have been my two replacements for things they sell. Former is computer parts and photography. Even been getting boxes from them faster than from Amazon pretty regularly.
Comment on New Kindle e-readers no longer appear on computers
garretble@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
Reminder: don’t buy things from Amazon.
Like, anything.
“But fast shipping!” No. Stop. Most places now have pretty good shipping, often for free if you happen to buy a certain amount. It’s OK if the thing comes in 3-5 days and not tomorrow. You will survive.*
*I know there’s a couple of niche cases where some people do need things quick and Amazon serves that purpose. But 99.999% of things are not that.
BombOmOm@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
Shout out to B&H. I bought my drone from them, and they offered the same model bundle at a slightly lower price than Amazon and also offered next-day shipping for no charge.
They also have a physical retail store and real live people you can call if you have a question, unlike either winding up talking to a chatbot or being redirected to Mumbai after a 45 minute hold.
mipadaitu@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
Agreed, and there’s also the bonus of much less likely to get a counterfeit item.
mp3@lemmy.ca 4 weeks ago
Kobo and Boox are better at making eReaders anyway.
dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
My kobo Libra 2 is way, way, WAY better than Amy of the Kindles or nooks I’ve owned. So good.
IllNess@infosec.pub 4 weeks ago
I never heard of Boox.
I might get the Palma to replace my nearly dead Sony Reader.
Thank you for bringing that brand to my attention.
Dragonfruit@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 weeks ago
One thing amazon does that’s really useful is shipping to whole foods where you can pick up your item instead of it coming to your door which is really useful if you know someone will try to look through your mail
dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Counter argument: no.
For sure Amazon is predatory. For sure the services are overpriced. For sure they are killing Mom and Pop stores.
But you know what? I shop there for the same reason I shop at a Meijer or a Target or a Payless. Everything I want, one place, unified customer service, and it just shows up at my door. Probably 80% of my purchases are grocery delivery from Meijer and Amazon for basically everything else. Returns are no questions asked, service is fast, and selection is great, I just try not to buy amazon basics if I can help it.
Shipt, Uber whatever, GrubHub, etc etc delivery services that are supposed to solve the same problem are all fucking garbage. For sure I’m a corporate sellout, but I have a shitload of time to spend with my kids and my wife instead of fucking around with other services or driving around town and I’m not sorry about it 🤷
jol@discuss.tchncs.de 3 weeks ago
“I am unwilling to do even the least of changes to my lifestyle to improve life on earth” is not the flex you think it is. It’s honestly sad.
dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
I’m not flexing. It’s a fact. Everybody makes choices and I am making mine. Do you own a car? And if you do, do you put gas in it, earth-raping heathen? Do you water your lawn? Have a gas lawnmower? How about solar panels?
I’m sure if we dig enough you’re shitty in some way too, yo.
garretble@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Bezos is also using his ownership of the Washington Post to silence the journalists there. So that’s fun.
jol@discuss.tchncs.de 3 weeks ago
There’s easy choices, hard choices and impossible choices. I don’t own a car, because I live in a place with good public transit and safe bike infra, so I wouldn’t stick it to someone who owns a car because they need it. I don’t keep a lawn, that’s stupid. Can’t remember last time I took a bath at home, no. It’s literally impossible to know the origin of most electronics you buy, but I rarely buy them and usually buy second hand. My electricity provider produces only renewable. I try to make better small choices along the way.
These are things that fit my lifestyle. Some are things you probably can’t do, and that’s fine. But not buying from the worst online shop in the world is one of the lowest hanging fruits. But sure, continue lying to yourself that personal change isn’t necessary. We’re not in a hurry.
iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 4 weeks ago
Cut Amazon shopping and subscriptions out of my life years ago and haven’t regretted it.
barsoap@lemm.ee 4 weeks ago
Amazon is slower than pretty much everyone else in Germany, and it’s been like that for literal decades. To get almost universal next-day delivery nation-wide a shop needs to do exactly two things: Have the parcels ready by evening, and not be located in the absolute boondonks (which would mean two-day delivery).
Amazon, unless when ordering via premium shipping (included in prime but not worth it for that), takes days to even pack the parcel. Then they can spend a day or two sending it from one of their logistics centres to the other until handing it over to the actual parcel service.
What they do have going for them is the mindbogglingly huge selection. Pretty much the only upside, if you need five small things from what would be five different stores each having their order minimums for free shipping amazon is the sane choice.
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 4 weeks ago
Yeah, I try to avoid Amazon as well, and just cancelling Prime went a long way toward motivating me to shop elsewhere. But we still order from Amazon a fair amount, it just takes a bit longer.
Scolding7300@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
helenslunch@feddit.nl 4 weeks ago
Sometimes there’s an obscure item I need that I can’t find anywhere else. That’s what I usually buy on Amazon. Other times it’s cheap Chineseum stuff that I want to be able to return without hassle or get refunded if I never receive the item.
But yeah, generally I try to buy directly from the seller, and especially try to buy locally if I can.
garretble@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
I totally get that. And I have had that same experience once or twice. I break my own rule on those rare occasions where somehow the thing is only there.
The last time I bought from Amazon that I remember was in 2021 when I was putting together a new keyboard. Somehow they were the only ones that had the key caps I wanted. The only other place I could find them was Alibaba, and the shipping there was going to be literally 2 months according to the site.
But for normal items, I go to the seller as much as possible.*
(*And I know for some sellers it’s actually cheaper for them to use Amazon for shipping. I get it. But also, still, I don’t want to give Bezos money so I avoid it if possible.)