It’s been ages since I’ve really done some deal hunting online with how ubiquitious Amazon is I’ve realized I’m not up to date with the current ecosystem for finding trustworthy online storefronts. Do you have any sources/tips for finding good quality products (especially with all the AI slop that exists nowadays)?
Electronics: We have a local (DACH region) to compare nost electronics both in specs and price
Anything else: Search on the web and decide from there.
For example: I bought tea from a local japanese tea farm I got introduced by a youtuber visiting said farm.
Example for other stuff: I will research it and then market research where it’s available.
Is it a pain to get (example: No other payment then SEPA), then I’ll choose a shop that is more expensive but less pain to deal with.But everything is a trial and error. For drinks I am very cautious if I can’t test it while shopping and thus refrain from shopping it online.
Might as well provide the URL for the comparison site: www.geizhals.de
It’s been around forever and is still as good as ever.
As Lemmy is usually US centric (Germany is usually only 2nd or 3rd place) I didnt deem it necessary. And most on Reddit are so tech focused, they are more or less already aware anyway.
If I need something bad enough, I start within my range of locality and then work outwards. Like for instance, I’m currently looking for a full set of seat covers for my car. If I were to use Amazon, wham bam I’d get the cutest ones by tomorrow. But instead Ive been looking up the availability of the auto goods stores nearby for delivery or pickup. That way i can go see the quality with my own eyes.
If there aren’t any cute or affordable seats covers nearby, Ill end up going straight to the websites of the manufacturer qhile cross referencing whatever reviews i can find online. A lot of times the manufacturer or distributor website will have coupon codes at checkout. And yes, the websites can be seedy, but I have in the past gotten some really high quality products from sus websites that like never sent me a confirmation email.
Sometimes there are really specific or niche things that seemingly almost only are on amazon, (like my damn vaccuum filters that dont exist anymore,) about 99% of the time youll find them on ebay too.
Just go to covercraft.com
Looking for anything via Amazon is always a terrible idea. You figure out what you want exactly, then buy from oem, eBay, second hand etc.
Blows my mind when people browse Amazon for something before knowing what’s a quality product or what they want.
What a great site thanks!
Go directly to the manufacturer isn’t the bargain hunt, but it’s the best option. Amazon won’t even send you the right product occasionally. Even if you buy it from Amazon ultimately because the manufacturer uses them, they’ll be alerted to the sale.
You could use Amazon as kind of a browser or search and then go directly to the brand’s web site. Any particular thing you’re looking for?
This has also saved me on more than one occasion as I’ve tried to find the same “brand” of something I was going to buy on another site, only to find it was actually an Amazon product they were trying to push. Dodged that bullet for sure
In a few cases I saved over 10% by going straight to the manufacturer. Shipping was slower but rarely do I need stuff next day.
This is what I do. I sleep better at night knowing I costing them a few cents by only using them as a search engine.
Showrooming Amazon. How Ironic. I love it!
I like iherb.com for supplements, tea, olive oil, and castile soap. And whatever else you may find there amongst the strange assortment of things they carry. Other than that, I’ve been going right to manufacturers websites, except for mechanical keyboard stuff, where I search a whole bunch of different specialty vendor sites.
I just go directly to the company’s website and go from there. Usually it’s the same price, on rare occasions it’s a few dollars more but to me it’s worth it not to do business with Amazon. I’ve passed up on buying things entirely because they were only available on Amazon.
In fact, over the last couple years I’ve been transitioning from buying online to buying from small-business brick and mortar stores. Sure it’s less convenient but it’s also less wasteful, it keeps resources within my local economy and I’m buying a lot less junk that I don’t really need.
I try small brick and mortar as much as possible but the up charges for the identical product can really hurt, like why is the same brand of pet food twice the cost if I drive 10 miles for it vs if I order it online
Because retailers are middle-men by definition. Large online resellers just have much less overhead, so the cut they take for being a middleman is much smaller. They often also have the bargaining power to reduce their cost price with the supplier. You should look for things that are produced in large quantities locally, and find ways to purchase direct from supplier, if you want to save money buying locally rather than spending more to support local business. Buying from independent local retailers is for indirect social and economic benefit. We should all endeavour to do it as much as we can but it’s also very hard to justify when cost differences are large.
Because retailers are middle-men by definition.
Hell, a large amount of local businesses’ stock is probably bought on Amazon Business.
Usually it’s the same price
Notable exception to this would be the Spigen phone case I recently bought. It’s 20.99 on Amazon, but 39.99 on Spigen’s website.
It’s true for a lot of other things, though, Amazon especially here in Canada hasn’t been the cheapest place to buy stuff in quite some time.
My problem is that so many small businesses in my region are run by shitheads with terrible customer service, or they don’t treat their employees well, or they insult younger people, or they’re straight up broadcasting their politics in their business.
Unlike Amazon and all the other giant tech corporations?
When both sides are dickheads, you go for the one that’s best for you personally which for shopping usually means going for the cheapest depending on your morality stance and how strong it’s compulsion is.
It’s very easy in Sweden - there are plenty of e-commerce alternatives present, and you can use a comparison website to find the best price for any given item.
For various cycling gadgets and other cheap stuff, I’ve started ordering on AliExpress, with a pretty decent success rate so far.
I barely buy from Amazon nowadays, quit the subscription 3 years ago. Except for very specific items anywhere else is cheaper, better quality or both. Besides trying to search for something on Amazon has become a nightmare.
I’ve learned to live with less. I don’t need a new gadget or the latest shiny plastic distraction. I buy food, gas, beer. If I just have to have something, Costco or eBay. Closed my amazon, walmart, target accounts. Don’t miss them.
Easy … we don’t really have Amazon.
I shop at the bin stores where they have a ton of Amazon and WalMart products. Some are returns but I always test them at the store and have found a ton of stuff for $4 or $10. I just bought a wet suit, 7 head electric shaver, fog machine, 4 smart bulbs, 3 USB plugs, hand warmers, queen sized inflatable mattress, ice bath tub (to wash my dog) and a Dirt Devil all for $72.
i look on amazon, and look on local chains, sometimes it cheaper in the stores, but sometimes it more expensive than on amazon.
If your search engine allows you to configure your results, you can set it to block any results from amazon.com. I use Kagi and have been pretty happy with that feature.
While I don’t put enough effort into it to really make a difference, I’ve had decent luck using Amazon to narrow down a search, then purchase from a company’s store.
Of course that’s quite possibly Amazon also
Yeah lol a couple of times I’ve tried to do this only to get to the cokpany’s site and see “pay through amazon” in the checkout
Posted most of this in another thread but I’m glad to help share my tricks. 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:
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. There’s also Hive or GroveCo for some granola type B Corp goodness
For tea, coffee and spices, Adagio and its sister websites
For super fast, need it now shipping, Target has a lot of the same things Amazon does and even does same day delivery for an extra fee for certain items.
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
This was really helpful. Thank you.
