With all of the sketchy products Amazon has and their bad practices, I’m really considering getting rid of Amazon. The only thing I will really miss is the fast shipping.
My reasoning is that I don’t use Prime benefits outside of shipping because I don’t play live service games anymore, and lots of local stores price match.
For those of you who have ditched Amazon(or not), what’s your reasoning and advice?
Any input is appreciated, thank you.
Cancel Prime
Add 'Personal Blocklist' to your browser, block Amazon from search results (although 'Google Hit Hider' for Greasemonkey works better)
Amazon hasn't managed to get any of my orders to me in fewer than 3 days for over a year. I just put together some computer parts using PCPartsPicker, and Amazon wasn't the cheapest option on anything. There's no advantage to using them anymore. They treat their employees like shit, they treat their suppliers like shit, and they force anyone selling through Amazon Marketplace to agree to some seriously fucked up shit.
I've worked in shipping for a couple months and I can only say this: People should order way less stuff online or make sure they are using an ethical shipping company (if they even exist).
the industry prays on young people (often minorities) who have trouble getting other jobs. they almost exclusively hire people with short term contracts (because your body can't take the work for more than a few months). I've been part of a union for a long time and I know a lot about work safety. These companies teach people nothing and they can only meet their deadlines if people actively break their backs twisting around, doing unsafe lifts and generally working to fast.
I get that shipping is sometimes necessary, but it can only be as fast and cheap as it is, because poor people pay with their bodies.
I unsubscribed from Prime over a year ago. Just like you, the only reason I subscribed was for the fast and free shipping. Without Prime, if you place an order over $35, it’s free shipping. It’s not as fast as it was but honestly the fast shipping wasn’t as fast as it used to be either.
The instant gratification technology has afforded us is something I think we should ponder. Are we not being manipulated to pay increasingly higher fees just to get something in our hands a day or two sooner? I know local businesses often don’t carry what we can get online, if they exist at all (RIP RadioShack), but some places like Target can have things available for pickup in a day or two. I’m all for getting off ours asses and contributing a few pennies to our local economies. Nothing against Amazon workers, but I rather keep even big box stores that are operating locally open and employing people in my community.
Also, now without Prime, I’m finding better deals from other sources across the web - especially eBay for things like used books.
Just shop AliExpress. It's the same garbage that is sold on Amazon, but without Amazon's large markup.
I never had prime. The rare times where Amazon is the only reasonable source for something, I either don't need fast shipping or just pay for it.
