I use Facebook. I hate that I have to use Facebook, but I feel like using it to buy second hand items (which is most of what I buy anyway) is slightly more ethical.
this post was submitted on 15 Apr 2025
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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.
Even though mom and pop stores are mostly dead, Amazon's market share is thankfully still relatively contained where I live. So it's still simply a matter of just picking a different "big box store" to order your things from.
Piracy.
As in, plunder the ships, get the booty (treasure).
yaRrr 🏴☠️
I'm something of a Captain Jack Sparrow myself.
Edit: Serious Answer:
Boston Harbor. Dump the entire warehouse into it.
Aliexpress. It's the same shit.
I have a few specialty storefronts I'll go to for specific items.
I wouldn't trust any networking equipment, anything that can send data off your network back home unfortunately.
But yes, I'd say 90+% you can easily get off there. I got a Benchmade bugout knockoff recently, $150 for this tiny knife, $12 on AE. after honing and a drop of oil, beautiful useful knife. The mini griptilian is another great knockoff. Packaging came near identical to the real knife. I open boxes, not fight hand to hand, even though I'm sure it'd cut flesh just as well.
Honest question, not trying to be adversarial. Do you have any sources behind not trusting networking equipment (I've seen the claim from others apply to electronics more broadly) from AliExpress? I don't buy much from Amazon or AliExpress so I'm not directly impacted but I've seen that caveat a lot and haven't seen reasons why.
Edit: none of the responses to me are specific to AliExpress which pretty much confirms my thoughts that the caution exercised should be equally applied to any retailer.
If I get time to find it I'll post it but there was a famous study where researchers in the UK looked at a smart thermostat and figured out how many privacy disclaimers you would need to agree to to use it lawfully. It was in the hundreds. There was also those photos of kids on the toilet that were taken by an Amazon robotic vacuum cleaner that got leaked. And police getting called out to a murder in the US that was recorded by Alexa.
I don't specifically, just that everything is phoning home nowadays and stealing data, not interested in entertaining it. Even some US products have backdoors open by default, which sucks. I dont really skimp on network gear, I upgraded to ubiquiti a few years ago and am very happy and trust it.
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eBay
Several times I have purchased an item on email only to have it arrive from Amazon. The sellers were using both sites and there was no way to tell from the eBay listings. Big sad.
i feel like it's important to note that this is against the ebay seller agreement, and though ebay does nothing about it if you report it after the fact, leaving feedback with a statement like "this seller drop shipped the item via amazon" helps other shoppers.
generally, though, it's getting easier to tell: higher volume (we're talking 1k or higher, usually) of feedback with less than ~97% positive feedback, is a good first indication of some kind of reseller/dropshipper.
personally, i started shopping on ebay to avoid amazon, so it's a supreme annoyance to have something drop-shipped or gift-shipped through them. I get why some sellers do it, but that doesn't make it right.
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A lot of searching. Then I add good alternatives to a "buy Canadian" list I keep at Github. That makes it a lot easier the next time around.
If it's a public list, feel free to share it on !buycanadian@lemmy.ca :)
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Care to share that list? I may not be Canadian, but want to support people dealing with America's bullshit if I can.
Hey, yeah, definitely.
It's https://github.com/Visiblink/CanadianRetailers
I just started it when all the tariffy-goodness began, so it's bound to see additions whenever I (or anyone who wants to add to it) shop for things.
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.
Slickdeals!
It isn't easy, but it's worth it. I find I'm calling a lot of local stores lately, because I hate shopping in person, and selections are limited. I find I am spending about 10% more per item on average, but I'm also buying fewer things in general. I'm still shopping at chains, like Microcenter, Staples, Dick's, and Lowes, but I'm trying to be intentional about going to local or thrift stores first.
I also shop on AliExpress more now, when I need some cheap garbage, but I'm trying to stop that, too.
Same for me. Im just trying to buy less.
I order directly from the companies or buy used off eBay, Craigslist, etc.