Main alternative to Amazon that I've found is Ebay. Physical retail is fine for regular household stuff but if you need a weird or specialized item, you can't buy it in person any more. You're stuck with online. Like I needed some clear heat-shrink tubing recently, and it's impossible to find retail as far as I can tell. I guess digi-key has it but I was able to find it way more affordably on ebay when shipping is considered. I need an inner tube for my bike in an apparently unusual size and it's the same thing, have to order it. Bah.
this post was submitted on 05 Nov 2026
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Not sure this is an option in the USA, but I’ve reduced ordering online, instead I support physical stores in the city center, to purchase locally produced products. In addition I simply consume less.
That's my plan: consume less, support physical stores, and use more cash.
I have no idea about their ethics or whether the money is going somewhere shit. But BH photo has a good digital store and comparable pricing for electronics
Depends on what you need. My local Ace hardware has a surprising selection of household stuff and decor.
Grocery store for other stuff. I’m a big fan of Costco.
I didn't realize Ace hardware is a co-op, I'll have to check out the one by me. Thanks!
all the plastic tat on amazon comes from aliexpress anyway, so just go to the source. You might be adding to a surveillance state, but it's not your state.
Heh I'm sure you're right but I'm also hoping to stay away from the cheap plastic stuff. With everything getting more expensive, I'm trying to slow down and only buy things I actually need.
as far as "national" chains go, Costco is pretty good if you have space to buy things in bulk. You can stock up on essentials that last forever, and if you have freezer space you can save a ton on various food products by purchasing bulk and freezing. They also have some pretty killer deals on electronics and other stuff. Yes it's membership based, but it's not too hard to get your value out of that if most of what you buy and use is from Costco.
Costco seems like a good option. I don't need a ton of choices and I'm sure I can find space for the extra bulk. Thanks!
Local is 100% on you unless you want to divulge information, which I would advise against.
Online, just find what you want on Amazon/Walmart, and search for that item in a general search. You can often find way better deals elsewhere, at least if you can manage free shipping.
Anything globally relevant is going to be another Amazon/Walmart wannabe, so asking in the general sense is a bit silly.
I didn't think about using amazon to search for an item to buy on another site, that could work well! Like the other user said, Costco might be my best bet as far as chains go, and for any other physical stores I'll just have to try harder to find local ones.
Oh yea. Amazon is basically the average price these days. The trick is finding the places with free shipping for orders that aren't already crazy expensive. Which ... might be a lot harder these days with the price of diesel vs when I was shopping a lot.
If you search on Amazon, and then buy elsewhere, Amazon still makes money because of that search…
While true, Amazon makes most of their money these days from AWS.
Yeah, plus Amazon uses dark patterns to get you to sign up for prime, and then prime isn't even fast shipping anymore...it bothers me enough I can stand to pay a little more somewhere else.
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