Corporette.com

Updated: Apr 16, 2021 60 Comments · by

How to Avoid Amazon

Shopping |

This post may contain affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

While as huge and ubiquitous as ever after celebrating 25 years in business in 2019, Amazon's reputation has taken a big hit in the last few years. Widely-reported poor working conditions, counterfeit items, fake reviews, and several other issues have caused some customers to look for other options. 

While we've devoted posts to Amazon shopping in the past, with posts on 3 Amazon brands for workwear, what to buy on Prime Day, and a review of Amazon Prime Wardrobe, we haven't actually looked at the decision on whether to buy from Amazon at all, or how to adjust your shopping there (though we had a post a few years ago on boycotting companies because of your personal beliefs). For today's open thread, we'd love to know about how readers feel about shopping at Amazon. What do you always buy from the site — and what do you never buy there? Do you avoid Amazon entirely because of ethical or logistical reasons?

Here are some topics we thought would be good to discuss today: 

Where Do You Buy Books? Since Amazon started as a bookstore all those years ago, here's a question for you avid readers: What are your favorite online bookstores? Do you use Amazon exclusively? Do you buy from Barnes & Noble's website or prefer indie retailers like Powell's (or smaller companies such as Bas Bleu)? Alibris is another option — independent bookstores and others can sell through the site, and its offerings include used and rare books. April 2020 update: Bookshop.org has raised more than $600,000 for local bookstores (and here’s how it works).

Other online shopping: If you're avoiding Amazon (or trying to avoid Amazon), what did you previously buy at Amazon that you're now trying to buy elsewhere — clothes? electronics? food? bulk purchases? That Single Item That Might Be Hard to Find In Local Stores but you can order in two seconds on Amazon (such as an extra fine dry erase marker in hot pink)? Where are you shopping now instead? 

Free shipping: If you have a Prime membership, how much does that influence your decision to buy from Amazon? And if you're trying to avoid shopping there, have you done anything to get free shipping from other sites — say, sign up for a Target credit card or other store card? I rarely buy beauty products from Amazon anymore because of its issues with counterfeit items, so Sephora FLASH (affiliate link) is worth it for me — it's $15/year and gives you free 2-day shipping. (On the flip side, do you think Amazon's recent efforts to ameliorate the problem of shipping half-empty boxes, like having one weekly Prime delivery day, are better than what other stores are doing?)

Ease in finding what you want: Do you like to shop at Amazon for its huge selection, or is it the opposite, i.e., when you search for something, do you find the sheer number of results overwhelming? In my experience, even using the filters to limit to Prime shipping and ratings of four stars and up can result in hundreds (or thousands) of products. I sometimes use Fakespot and ReviewMeta to narrow down my choices by weeding out fake reviews, but it can take a lot of time.

Brick-and-mortar alternatives: Are there things that you always buy “in person,” and never online? Something else to think about: There isn't always a straight answer to the question of whether shopping online vs. shopping locally has more of a negative environmental impact — not to mention the habit of looking at particular items in a store (“showrooming”) before buying online. 

Repeat deliveries: Do you use Amazon's Subscribe & Save service, and would you recommend it? Which products do you use it for? Do you prefer other online retailers' repeat-delivery services? As one example, I've had great luck with Chewy.com (affiliate link) — we've used it every month for at least a year for deliveries of cat litter and cat food.

What are your thoughts on buying from Amazon? How often do you use it? Are you boycotting the site — and if so, where are you shopping online instead? 

About Kate Antoniades

Editor of Corporette since 2014, Kate Antoniades lives in her hometown of Rochester, NY. A cat person and Oxford comma loyalist, she loves thrift shopping and has too many craft supplies.

Comments

  1. Anon

    I am one of the people who avoid Amazon. I think it’s distasteful for this site to publish this article and thus attempt to garner clicks from those trying to avoid Amazon, without even disclosing within the article that the site regularly publishes affiliate Amazon links, from which they presumably earn decent money. You can’t have it both ways!

    • Anonymous

      It admits immediately at the top that they’ve devoted posts to shopping at Amazon in the past…

      • Anon

        I think the concern is more about the (undisclosed) affiliated links to Amazon, which are used in more than just posts that are expressly about shopping at Amazon.

    • anony

      They admit immediately that they have devoted articles to shopping at Amazon. I appreciate that various bloggers etc are shifting away from Amazon and opening that choice up to discussion.

    • anon

      The more I think about it, the humorous do I find this cognitive dissonance. They need to make money by creating lots of traffic, so that people click on links. How do they create traffic? By hosting debates to change our shopping behavior…
      In other counter-intuitive news, now that Marie Kondo has helped us to say goodbye to unnecessary clutter that doesn’t spark joy, doesn’t your home look a little empty? Fear no more, for she has an online shop where you can buy pretty pretty dust catchers that are selected by the tidying-up guru herself!

  2. Eileen

    Although I’m a Prime member, for the past 2 to 3 years I’ve made a conscious effort to only buy things on Amazon that I can’t find elsewhere. I made this decision due to working conditions for both their warehouse and delivery employees and because, quite frankly, their service isn’t great. I’ve received molded-cup bras packaged in flat envelopes, incorrect/damaged items, and recently had a terrible experience with their contracted home services. I also believe in the value of market competition and am willing to pay a few dollars more to sustain other businesses. I verify Amazon reviews on Fakespot and am consistently appalled by the amount of deception Amazon hosts and profits from.

    • Ellen

      When you shop there, you are making Jeff Bezos even richer, and he cheated on his wife and then divorced her. That is not my idea of a man I would support financieally. FOOEY on that! And now he is pissed off that the Arab Prince Ben Zalman hacked his Iphone X? Why didn’t he check before opening up that e-mail? He should just get a new Iphone ll PRO! That is a better phone and he can take better night pictures then an Iphone X. Really.

  3. Anon

    My main point about this is don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. It’s really hard to quit Amazon cold turkey; it’s MUCH easier to drastically reduce how much you shop there. I do 95% or more of my online shopping at Target now. I still use Amazon for a handful of items (sleepsacks for my giant toddler, refrigerator filters) I can’t find online anywhere else, but I place Amazon orders very infrequently now.

    • Cat

      +1
      I live downtown in a city. We don’t have a car. We pretty much loathe suburban errand running.
      – Will try to buy in person at a drugstore, grocery store, or mini city Target if available and within reasonable walking distance
      – Will try to ship to store or in-store pickup if eligible (Target is terrible at this, inevitably half my order doesn’t qualify)
      – Batch-order on Amazon to mitigate traffic and environmental impact (Amazon Day is great — makes it easy to get orders in as few packages as possible)
      – As for books, I can’t remember the last time I actually bought one. Library downloads to Kindle FTW!

      • anon8

        I pretty much do all my reading through the Overdrive app with my local library.

        • Anonymous

          Me too!! Bonus – no late fees, no leaving the house. And my library (in my old city no less – which has a much larger circulation than my current city) has this great 7-day “fast track” loans program for ensuring hot new titles get turned around quickly. It really is a setup that works for me.

        • Anon

          A friend works at a major city library as an attorney has confirmed to me that the money the library pays for kindle ebooks goes to the publisher, not amazon, and that the cost is the same whether its a kindle or another format of ebook. So if you own a kindle from before your boycott, there’s nothing to be gained by not using it for library books or books you already own.

        • Anon

          The physical Kindle is Amazon, but they don’t get any money when you read library books from a service like Overdrive. The Kindle app for phones/computers is also free. I read on my phone but frequently say “Kindle” because it is the Kindle app.

    • ALC

      +1, I like Target because it has free 2-day shipping for most items, and because I have more trust that what I order won’t be a knock-off, unlike when I order from Amazon.

    • Senior Attorney

      Same here. I am loving the order-online-pick-up-in-the-store-same-day service at Target. And if I can’t find things anywhere but Amazon, I am doing once-a-week delivery rather than same day or next day.

    • Is it Friday yet?

      The buy now button made it way too easy to order SO MUCH STUFF. I’ve started adding to cart instead (unless it’s something truly urgent that I’m unable to get at a store), and then if in a week I remember wanting something, I’ll think about actually buying. I’ve also pretty much exclusively switched to getting books from the library, rather than buying physical copies – I already have soooo many books.

  4. Anon

    I’ve been trying to cut down on Amazon purchases and all online purchases because of the environmental impact. But what really got me to stop Amazon shopping is all the news articles about their failure to stop counterfeit goods and an article about how a reported had taken an expired food package out of a garbage, sent it to Amazon, and it was listed for sale on the site. I’m willing to pay a few dollars more to know that I’m getting what I think I’m purchasing and that it is safe.

    In terms of how to stop Amazon shopping, my biggest trick has been to just purchase less. I actually can’t figure out what I was using it for since I often don’t have things I need to purchase that much, besides groceries and cleaning and paper goods, which I just get at the grocery store by my house or go out to target in the suburbs for about every 6-8 weeks.

  5. anon

    I used Subscribe & Save for years before realizing that too much stuff was piling up. I canceled all my subscriptions and started buying those same goods (mostly toilet paper, toothpaste, cleaning supplies, etc.) from Boxed dot com on an as-needed basis. Highly recommend doing it this way despite the (tiny) inconvenience of not having it auto-shipped!

    • Ellen

      Ptoooey on them! Support local busness whenever possible. Mr. Bezos has enough money already. DOUBEL PTOOEY!

  7. Laura

    I shop on Amazon a lot — I know they will have what I’m looking for, and with two working parents and many children, it’s a lot easier than going to a store. Indeed, with the 1-day shipping, I often wind up getting the item from Amazon much faster than I would wind up making it to a store. They have solved a real problem and filled a real need. I try to shop at local businesses for unique items (a baby gift, cool ornaments, local foods…) but when we’re talking about staples, I’m not sure that Amazon is more problematic than the big box stores where I would be going. (Also, spamtest123)

    • Anon

      “They have solved a real problem and filled a real need.” – Definitely not for regular grocery items. They may have filled a want or make it convenient for you, but they have certainly not filled a need. People were doing just fine before that.

    • b

      No one is arguing that Amazon isn’t helpful or useful — obviously it is!
      But at what cost? Amazon is dismantling our local economies, promoting the sale of counterfeit products, creating harm to the environment, and treating its workers (both office workers and warehouse workers) like absolute garbage. What about Amazon workers’ convenience and their right to be treated like human beings? Those workers have kids too.
      This “everything is bad so I might as well shop on Amazon because I like it” attitude is so nihilistic and sad.

  8. Anon

    To be very honest, I don’t know what people buy from Amazon so much. I was shocked when people in my team said they have amazon deliveries multiple times a week. Then I came to know they were ordering toothpaste, deodorant etc from Amazon. I shop most of the groceries in costco. As they come packaged in multiples, I don’t have to shop often (so saves time).

    • anon8

      Same here. I only order stuff on Amazon that I can’t find anywhere else.

      I go grocery shopping once a week and get all my food, toiletries, household stuff in one stop. I live in the midwest and usually shop at Meijer. All my pet stuff comes from Chewy or the local pet store.

      For electronics, we’ll get stuff from Best Buy.

      I’ve casually decided to not buy any more clothes this year. I’ve bought one or two clothing items from Amazon, but I have a hard time trying to figure out sizing.

      • PolyD

        I cannot figure out how people buy clothing on Amazon! It seems you have to enter very specific search terms not to get pages and pages of only slightly relevant items.

        Comparing to Macy’s, which, although offering fewer items, also orders a broad range of clothing and it’s very easy to narrow down to, say, navy blue cardigan sweaters in my size.

    • Anon

      Same. Before I had kids there was almost nothing I needed to buy from Amazon (the only thing I can think of is occasional gifts for friends’ kids and that’s not as bad for the environment, since they’re being mailed either way). Even now that I have kids, there isn’t that much that I really need from Amazon.

    • Anon

      I live downtown, far from any big box stores, and I don’t have a car and public transportation to the suburbs is unreliable. I use Amazon for stuff you would normally get at big box stores.

        • Amanda

          Before, I spent an inordinate amount of weekend time taking the bus to the understocked Target in the suburbs. Miserable.

    • Anon

      Why do people not just buy these things at the grocery store? Do they not ever go to grocery stores? What do they eat?

  9. anon

    I don’t find it that difficult to avoid Amazon. It’s nice to have as an option when I can’t find what I need, but I don’t ever see myself ordering routine household things from Amazon. Have tried it occasionally, but nah — it’s really not necessary and so wasteful. If I absolutely don’t have time to shop, I’ll do pick up at Target or my local grocery store.

    BTW, this whole post is super weird and seems completely directed at the criticism of the Amazon post a few weeks ago.

  10. Anonymous

    I just discovered an alternative to Audible (owned by Amazon) for audio books: Libro.fm has the same prices, and it allows you to designate a local independent bookstore to receive a portion of each sale.

    • Anon

      Yes!! I’m an evangelist for this company. I usually use the app from my library, but I also have a Libro.fm subscription for when I want a newer book. It’s the same as Audible plus you’re helping a local store. For books (if you don’t use the library), I promise any local bookstore will be more than happy to help you order books because then they will get your money! When I want something specific, I call my favorite store, and if they don’t have it, they order it either that day or with their next shipment if I’m not in a hurry.

      Count me among those who hasn’t had a problem cutting out Amazon. I shop at local stores, and a big box store every now and then. If I can’t get it in my community, I just don’t buy it. Sure it’s more convenient to use amazon, but this is an important issue to me, so I’ve structured my life in a way that I don’t need it.

  11. rosie

    I have to put in a plug for Bed Bath and Beyond. I’ve gotten a few items from them that were significantly cheaper than on Amazon, even before application of the 20% off coupons I’m always getting. Fast & free shipping (I think $39 is their cutoff for free shipping, but that’s fine). Seems like a great alternative for kid stuff especially.

    I’m trying to cut back on Amazon due to worker conditions, lack of liability for counterfeit goods, environmental issues, and just plain less consumerism (ordering on my phone and have it show up the next day is largely impulse buying for me). I am going to try to switch most of my baby-related phone shopping to Target, though — just signed up for their credit card and hopefully I can shift my middle-of-the-night diaper orders & similar. Not going to let perfect be the enemy of the good.

  12. Jennifer

    My Amazon shopping is limited to Kindle books (probably 6-8 a year) and gifts from other people’s Amazon wish lists. I actually track the books I want to read in an Amazon list and always check the library first (where something like 90% of the books I want to read are available). I stopped shopping there due to concern about counter fitting and the prices are not the best.

    I live in NYC and buy all my toiletry and cleaning supplies at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I paid for the $35 yearly membership that gives me 20% off everything.

    I enjoy shopping so buying from multiple retailers instead one of large one like Amazon is more fun for me.

  13. E

    I wonder if people that choose not to shop at Amazon because of worker conditions research the conditions at their alternate retailer. This is obviously anecdotal, but my stepson has worked at Target and Macy’s, and both the working conditions and pay (for similar work as Amazon) was considerably worse. Everyone is, of course, allowed to shop wherever they want, but I’d caution against assuming other companies are any better.

    • Anon

      I try to shop in store instead of ordering online, largely for environmental reasons. Unless Target’s store employees are treated significantly worse than they were 15 years ago when I worked there, it is not at all comparable to what I’ve read about Amazon. There are a lot of downsides to retail, but they are not forcing employees to wear diapers, timing them, or making them sick.

  14. Christie H

    I rent ebooks on Overdrive through the public library. If I decide I want to buy a hard copy book, I try to order it off of BetterWorldBooks.com. They sell new and used books AND offer free shipping with no minimum. All of the used books I’ve received have been in great condition.

  15. Anonymous

    And you think Walmart, Sam’s, Costco etc have better working conditions? Laughable. I used to work for Wally world and the conditions are crazy! Messing up time cards, not paying employees, healthcare is a joke. But I say to each his own. If it makes financial sense to shop at Amazon, fine. But when are people gonna be this adamant about the less fortunate all year long instead of just around the biggest holiday season?

    • Karen

      Wal-Mart and Sam’s are the same company, and are also known for terrible working conditions. I traded my Sam’s card for Costco even though it’s a 20 minute drive (twice as far as Sam’s) because they treat their employees so much better.

    • Maddy

      Can’t comment on the other stores you mention, but Costco has an impeccable reputation for its working conditions. It’s actually an incredibly tough job to get because employees are treated so well – great pay, benefits, etc. – and love working there so much that there isn’t a lot of turnover!

  16. Karen

    Wal-Mart and Sam’s are the same company, and are also known for terrible working conditions. I traded my Sam’s card for Costco even though it’s a 20 minute drive (twice as far as Sam’s) because they treat their employees so much better.

  17. Emily L

    I avoid Amazon. I admit that I have a Prime membership because there’s a Whole Foods around the corner from my apartment, and I save more money by using my Prime membership there than my Prime membership costs me in a year. Otherwise, I buy most of my household goods at Target, doing the “pick up in store” or drive up options whenever possible. It seems more environmentally responsible for me to pick up stuff I need at Target on a day when I’m already over there doing other errands, than it is for me to get everything mailed to my house (see tons of article about the “last mile” problem, etc). I don’t shop @ Amazon because of working conditions, counterfeits, the way they treat the legitimate businesses trying to sell on their platform, the environmental idiocy of having everything driven to my house one box at a time, and the way it decimates local economies and concentrates even more wealth in the hands of a small few. There’s absolutely no question that all of those issues far outweigh the convenience of Amazon’s webs!te. I buy my books on ABE or Barnes and Noble. I buy everything else in local brick and mortar stores as much as I possibly can.

Back to Top

About

Work with Corporette®

Serious Stuff

work fashion blog press mentions