[chang1]

Generally speaking, convenience is king. I find a lot of like-minded people will easily overlook or not even consider what is happening behind the scenes. There is a tradeoff for low prices/convenience and it's not always obvious.

I cancelled Prime about 6 months ago and I thought it would be difficult, but it's actually been fine.

I shopped at Whole Foods for over a decade and there are staples I thought I couldn't find elsewhere. I discovered through a combination of Trader Joe's, my local grocery store, and Aldi, I found replacements for everything, items I like better, and I save way more money!

As for non-grocery items, I'll often try to buy from the manufacturer directly, even if that means paying a little bit more. If I can't find something directly, I'll check Walmart, Target or other established retailers and usually can find something for a comparable price.

I've also made a slow shift to buying used items. For books, on eBay I can often find them used, in like-new condition for a fraction of the cost at Amazon and with free shipping. It's a gamble and sometimes I get books with highlighted pages or cosmetic damage, but it's rare.

And when Amazon is only the cost effective way to purchase something or I can only find it on Amazon, I'll wait until I can hit $25 for free shipping and wade through Amazon's dark patterns in the checkout process. Turns out, "standard shipping" still ships in 2 days because I'm guessing logistically it's better to just keep inventory flowing with all other Prime purchases. My wife managed PTO orders for teachers at our local school through their non-Prime Amazon account... guess what, every order shipped "early" anyway and received within 2 days. Prime is kind of a scam IMO if fast shipping is the draw (although I never utilized other value-add services like Prime Video or Music).

When someone asks me about Amazon and I mention I don't have Prime, I often get shocked responses. I'm not trying to actively dissuade people from Amazon/Prime if they like it, but I'm hoping it will get people thinking.

Convenience is a hell of a drug.

[not_enoch_wise]

If you’re turning to trader joe’s to boycott anti-union behavior, I have bad news for you…

[chang1]

Uh oh, just did a search... well that's too bad.

I guess my point still stands where I'm not buying all my eggs from 1 marketplace.

[developer93]

For non Amazon books, check out bookshop.org if it's in your country yet, they're created to provide an alternative to Amazon for brick & mortar independent retailers. They basically manage inventory & shipping for them and you can direct part of your sale to a specific shop or let be shared among all members.