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Getting rid of techofascist services (lemmy.ml)

submitted 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) by trilobite@lemmy.ml to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

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I've been working in the last few years of getting rid of big tech services. PayPal and Amazon are left. I've been questioning the need for PayPal in a world of virtual credit cards. My main reason for using it was security of purchase but I feel this need is no longer there. BTW, equivalent EU service to PayPal that is equally well accepted? Feels like this one may be more difficult to satisfy.

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[+] infjarchninja@lemmy.ml 27 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

[deleted]

[–] irotsoma@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

Amazon is pretty necessary in much of the US. Between big corporate stores like Walmart and Dollar General and online shopping it's really difficult for smaller stores to exist anymore. If there's any market, the big stores will come in, undercut whatever they sell, push the small stores out and then probably just go bankrupt and leave the area without anything. And the fact that much of the US is rural and our infrastructure, especially in rural areas, is old and/or underdeveloped means it could take hours to get to a store and back. And because the big stores only really carry the basics, it's really difficult to get your hands on stuff that's less common. That's where online shopping fills the gap.

I live in a medium sized major city that doesn't allow Walmart to get subsidies their business model relies on to buy up land and buildings on the cheap to help take over markets, and does at least try to keep space for small businesses, and I even have a hard time finding stuff. But doesn't help that even in most of the major cities, transportation is crap because politicians are owned by the fossil fuel companies and so public transit can't get much tax money and traffic is insane not to mention the gas prices are quite high here compared to much of the US even. And the property is super expensive primarily because so much prime real-estate is unoccupied by investors to keep the prices high. So its difficult to set up a specialty shop. I'm sure many other cities have similar issues, but I'm most familiar with this one.

As for Amazon in particular, I used them primarily because their return policy is the best and these days all of the online shops are as likely to send you a used or broken item as a new one and secondarily because at least in my city, the shipping is pretty quick. No other online stores can match it. But that said, they have started to move away from carrying quality brands and primarily sell cheap junk since that's where the profit is especially with their ability to price based on data they've mined from data brokers about you. That's why sites like Keepa and camelcamelcamel are essential to check and track actual prices they offer in addition to doing comparison shopping.

[–] bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 12 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Disagree. I lived in bum fuck nowhere most of my life and rarely ever needed Amazon. People are just lazy idiots that cabt do a simple web search for the same product. Amazon sucks ass now too, its not cheaper and the products are trash. Buy direct.

[–] irotsoma@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

If you have sellers with electronic components and sensitive skin products that sell direct, charge less than amazon, have free exchange and return policies, and don't ship direct from Asia meaning possibly several months to receive as well as fluctuating tariffs, please share. These are just two examples I've not been able to find.

[–] gloktawasright@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

Do you have more specific product examples?

[–] hector@lemmy.today 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Exactly, and the post office is further hobbled so amazon is often cheaper and quicker on shipping. 7 days for a package in the post now, from 1200 miles away inside country, from an independant seller for me last two times.

Vendor said that is for all of their clients. It was 2-3 days anywhere in country for lifetimes and since 2020 gone up and up and I seem to be the only one furious about it. 7 fucking days. Amazon sent something in 4 with free shipping on order.

[–] Jason2357@lemmy.ca 1 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Amazon charged that vender 40-50% in fees for using their marketplace. You didn’t get “free shipping”.

[–] hector@lemmy.today 1 points 3 weeks ago

From my end I cannot always use private vendors without paying more and it taking longer.

That said I bet I have bought less from them in my lifetime than you have.

Help fix the post office then tell me to totally drop them.

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[–] rhythmisaprancer@piefed.social 11 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Amazon is pretty necessary in much of the US

I couldn't disagree more. Amazon is a choice. You have to choose other options and move away from the mindset of immediacy.

[–] irotsoma@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

Tell me the other choice and I'll happily change. I could do without the fast shipping. That's just a bonus. But how do I get products for sensitive skin that the drug stores and Walmart don't carry, or electronics parts, or reasonably priced clothes in my styles. And local specialty shops are going to require an entire day of travel and shopping for a single product or two.

To get everything I use out of necessity or projects, I'd end up using up all of my weekends to find and travel to places that carry them and likely have to spend a lot more money on them. A few I could order direct from the manufacturer or from specialty shops online, but the manufacturer sites are likely to cost more, plus shipping costs for one off items. The specialty shops online are often just owned by another corporate blob and if I end up with a defective product I often have to pay to ship it back assuming they accept returns at all, which with cosmetic products they often don't, even if it's defective or opened. And if it's damaged in shipping or stolen, the recipient can't file a claim with the shipping company and getting many online shops to do it for you often requires hours on the phone to get through layers of escalations.

So, yes, it's a choice. But the alternatives require a significant investment of time and money. Given my job requires around 10 hrs per day and being neurodivergent, I often don't have time or energy, and then wouldn't be able to do anything fun. Not to mention, I definitely don't get paid enough. So, no not technically 100% necessary, but unfeasible not to, at least for many of us.

[–] rhythmisaprancer@piefed.social 5 points 3 weeks ago

I'm in a pretty similar boat to you. Not great financials, not a lot of spare time, I live in a remote location with limited purchasing options. But I made the decision a long time ago to not use Amazon. That does mean purchasing from multiple sources, seeking vendors who will sell products, and maybe pay a little more.

The thing about Amazon is that their pricing is artificial. The whole package, from item price to shipping is meant to capture you, the consumer, into their ecosystem. I am willing to spend a small amount extra to not support hegemonic practices. It isn't even that much money, and the time investment to find sources is just that (an investment). For most of my mail order stuff, I already know the vendors to use.

I don't like to castigate folks for using amazon, and I apologize if I was too confrontational, but I do want to encourage people to engage in their options before amazon is all we have.

Best wishes finding quality sources!

[–] Nefara@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

I've posted this a few times but here it is again for you:

I have managed to nearly eliminate Amazon entirely from our lives for the past two years. I usually find things by searching what I want to buy on DuckDuckGo and then adding "-amazon", "-etsy", "-walmart", "-temu" and "-pinterest" as search modifiers.

A lot of little shops are perfectly legit, but watch out for:

Things being ridiculous bargains. Small shops will almost always be more expensive due to higher overheads and less bulk

Too much variety in product (unless they're a marketplace with 3rd party vendors). A legit shop will have inventory that makes sense together in its theme. If they sell everything from bubblebath to uranium they're either probably not actually selling it or drop shipping it.

Pictures that look like they come from lots of different sources, or no consistency in images. If they don't have their own pictures of products or standards of presentation that's suspicious

Some general recs that apply if you're in the US:

For anything electronic or computer related: B&H Photo or Microcenter

For music stuff: Sweetwater, but there's a lot of great small music stores, or you can use a marketplace like Reverb

For clothes: if you have any clothes you already enjoy, go directly to their brand website. If you don't, go to local secondhand shops and touch, handle and try on some clothes to see them in person. I've discovered some brands I like by finding something in a thrift store that was well made but not my size or preferred color.

For house repair and DIY stuff: we order from a local building supply store, but there's also hardwareandtools.com, 1stoplighting, Waysource, Lightbulbs.com, Timothy's Toolbox etc.

For food items, local grocery stores often offer online shopping and delivery. If it's a specialty item or imported the import companies sometimes have their own websites.

For cosmetics, skin care and some home cleaning things, there's Hive or Grove Collaborative which try to prioritize sustainability

For tea, coffee and spices, Adagio and its sister websites

For that "everything store" experience, Costco will ship a good percentage of its offerings for free with a membership in the continental US.

For something hard to find you can't find another site for, try Ebay.

I do business with all sorts of independent retailers and have only had good experiences with them. These are sites that I've personally bought from but there are a lot of smaller sites just trying to make a place for themselves on the internet

[–] Jason2357@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 weeks ago

Great list and you are right. The other thing I would mention is the option to sometimes “go without”. Take a look at the popular items on Amazon and a good chunk of that list are not strictly necessary for a good life.

[–] ronigami@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

Just use eBay

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[–] Gooey0210@sh.itjust.works 21 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

alternative in Europe: revolut is pretty popular, also it's a good cheap way to buy xmr dexes

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[–] favoredponcho@lemmy.zip 18 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

PayPal is the easiest to get rid of in my view. I rarely use it for anything unless some website requires it.

[–] hector@lemmy.today 1 points 3 weeks ago

I need it and or venmo, owned by the same parasitical company, for work for client payments.

[–] trilobite@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Well then you still haven't got rid of it 🙂

[–] favoredponcho@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 weeks ago

My goal hasn’t been to get rid of it. But, it’s a service I rarely use. I could survive without it.

[–] SteleTrovilo@beehaw.org 15 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I've been happy not using Amazon since 2010!

For paper books, find a good local bookstore first. Then for online ordering, bookshop is good. B&N is iffy ethically - they helped crush a lot of smaller stores in the 90's, but they aren't part of the current tech giant oligarchy either. Target will usually have a section of best-sellers. If you have to buy from a big store, maybe offset it ethically by donating to a library.

For ebooks, Bookshop is good! They point out which of their ebooks have DRM and which don't. For some cases, you can also buy books directly from the publisher - these basically never have DRM in my experience. I mainly experience this with technical books and tabletop RPG books.

[–] 9point6@lemmy.world 14 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

I think you're possibly looking for Wero and its predecessors (iDEAL, Giropay, etc)

It's relatively new in its current form, but I think it's being adopted across the EU at an alright rate

[–] Novocirab@feddit.org 4 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

+1 for Wero! We have to get it adopted. If anyone's bank doesn't support it yet, and you need to switch banks for other reasons, best include Wero support among your criteria. ING is among those banks whose support for it is the best.

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[–] Ulrich@feddit.org 7 points 3 weeks ago

My main reason for using it was security of purchase

You can get the same with credit cards.

[–] irmadlad@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

I find the discussion interesting. It's kind of like telling me you've eradicated Google from your life. I guarantee you that at some point in your daily traversal of the internet, you'll encounter some Google service or skunk works project. It's inevitable. At some point or another you're going to have to hold your nose and get a little dirty.....or go build a cabin on some hilltop and disconnect from all of society. I live in a tiny house on a 22 acre farm. As self sufficient as I endeavor to be, yes, I still have to use Amazon, or WalMart on occasion.

[–] hector@lemmy.today 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I am in a little place on land in nowhere and need to use amazon for some stuff. Big box stores are 40 plus miles away and they may be overpriced if they even have it.

I try to order direct but for some stuff I need amazon still. As to google I hope to change phone to open source but idk how yet.

[–] irmadlad@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

We do the necessary with what we have. In the many decades on this planet, I've seen few instances where the 'all or nothing' mindset worked. It's unfortunate, but that's reality 101. So, you have to choose your battles.

[–] trilobite@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 weeks ago

Well, this is the point. Eradication may ne unachievable but that doesn't mean we have to stop breaking the chains. Its like saying Israel wants to wipe out Palestine and the rest of the world just watches (which is exactly what is happening unfortunately). We are surrounding our lives to those with power and money. As humanity, we need to find some lost dignity. We need to defend human dignity, and that comprises the right to privacy.

[–] autonomoususer@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

PayPal has always been a scam when credit cards exist.

[–] HakFoo@lemmy.sdf.org 16 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

IMO, the real use case for PayPal was really on the seller side.

When it was 2002 and you weren't a major business but just wanted to sell three old CDs on eBay or offer dog haberdashery online, it was by far the simplest way to accept a credit-card funded transaction.

We're still not a lot better there in 2025. Even with more modern platforms, you can't really get from zero to accepting cards directly in 15 minutes.

[–] autonomoususer@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Yes, it a scam for us the buyers. They want PayPal, not us.

[–] birdwing@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

For Amazon the best replacement would be Bol.com if you're in the Benelux. If not, shop locally (except for malls).

[–] haqi@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 weeks ago

There is also Coolblue

[–] spykee@lemmings.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

Everybody here arguing over how useful/useless Amazon is for them.
Poor New Zealanders out there in the corner, still living their lives without ever seeing a single Amazon box thrown at their porch.
But none of you thought about them Kiwis, did you? No. You only think about yourself. Good job, keep it up.

[–] Core_of_Arden@lemmy.ml 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Keep up the good work. I don't know what you need. Mostly I get by cash, Dankort (Danish "credit" card) or Visa in some rare situations. Don't buy anything from Amazon anymore.

[–] Hansae@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

God I love dankort, amazing system. Really wished more people in DK made use of it. Britain selling their own card system out to MasterCard was a actual crime against the population. Apparently cash usage in DK has crashed since I was last there 5 years ago though : (.

[–] Core_of_Arden@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Yeah - companies are, sadly, breaking the law here, and some refuses to take cash... But we are quite a few who stubbornly cling to cash.

[–] Hansae@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Really annoying when companies do that, unfortunately here they're allowed to as legal tender is basically meaningless.

Also just reminded me I have a few 1000kr notes I really need to pay into a bank next time im over there.

[–] Core_of_Arden@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Well, then I have bad news for you - because they just fased out the 1000 kroner bills... :-( The highest bill now is 500,- kroner. Last day to use the or exchange the 1000,- kroner bill was may 31... :-(

[–] Hansae@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Yeah Ik, its why I need to go and pay in the 5 of them I have lying around lol, the exchanges wont take them here. If nothing else I can probs sell them to collectors.

[–] Core_of_Arden@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 weeks ago

I hope you can!

[–] DieserTypMatthias@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

EU service to PayPal

Maybe SEPA Instant, but that's a protocol for bank transfer. Or just use a normal payment gateway provided by the website. Or use Apple/Google Pay on sites where it's supported.

[–] trilobite@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 weeks ago

Sureley google pay/Apple pay IS eventi worse

[–] cram@piefed.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

I only use PayPal for reoccurring donations to my local library, but I see your dilemma. Using credit cards is also great for exploiting the various rewards systems as well, as long as you pay your balance every month.

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