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.

  • SteleTrovilo ( SteleTrovilo@beehaw.org ) 
    15·
    1 year 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.

    • irotsoma ( irotsoma@lemmy.blahaj.zone ) 
      6·
      1 year ago

      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.

        • irotsoma ( irotsoma@lemmy.blahaj.zone ) 
          4·
          1 year ago

          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 ( rhythmisaprancer@piefed.social ) English
            3·
            1 year 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!

        • irotsoma ( irotsoma@lemmy.blahaj.zone ) 
          1·
          1 year ago

          I hate Amazon as much as anyone. But you can’t live in a post capitalist wasteland without those kinds of things. There is no ethical consumption in such a world and avoiding using one toxic company just required using another.

          I use tracking sites for things I can wait for and I shop around, but they almost inevitably have the best prices especially after considering shipping costs, exchange policies for defective or damaged goods, and especially for clothes and shoes, return policies.

  • Spykee ( spykee@lemmings.world ) 
    4·
    1 year 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.

  • Ardens ( Core_of_Arden@lemmy.ml ) 
    3·
    1 year ago

    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 ( Hansae@lemmy.dbzer0.com ) English
      2·
      1 year ago

      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 : (.

  • cram ( cram@piefed.world ) English
    2·
    1 year 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.

  • Matt ( DieserTypMatthias@lemmy.ml ) 
    1·
    1 year ago

    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.