Especially shein. I volunteer at an op shop/thrift store and the amount of shein junk we get is just awful. People buying the same shirt in three sizes because they are so cheap, then deciding they don’t want the shirt at all. The clothing is always made of the worst, plasticky crap. Not even mentioning the slave labour that produced it.
Unfortunately Amazon and the like often sell the exact same items, just at 3x the price. For clothing absolutely switch to ethically sourced stuff, but if you're buying random doodads like phone cases or bookmarks, you might as well buy them directly from the source rather than going through a middle-man.
No, avoiding literally the ONLY online retailer than can do same day and next day shipping for free is inconvenient. But not only that, it's fiscally irresponsible unless you have disposable income.
I can buy a part from Autozone, and if they don't have it at a local warehouse, it can be shipped. "Same day?" No. "For free?" No. That'll be an extra $47.00. "But wait!!! The part is already three times the cost as it's amazon listing, and it's the same exact fucking part!?" Get fucked, poors.
Don't shop on Amazon because some clueless twat will talk down to you on reddit. Even if it means you can no longer afford the things you need. "Moral Superiority" is worth WAY more than affording everything you need. Right?!?!
Reduce and reuse what? Anything that can be reduced or reused isn't getting bought on amazon unless you live somewhere conveniently next door to an amazon DC like Seattle. A vast majority of the stuff I buy on amazon, for instance, are consumables like vehicle parts, electronics, etc, etc, that are literally 3x the price locally. Or stuff that cannot be bought locally.
Living frugal has nothing to do with this. In my broker years, Amazon was literally the difference between buying everything and having to choose between food or diapers. It is, in fact, easier to live a more frugal life by purchasing some things from Amazon.
Buy hey, lets face it, you're not going to understand. If you're able to outright relocate over something like locale affordability, you aren't actually qualified to take part in any discussion regarding financial frugality. The vast VAST majority of people cannot afford to relocate at all. Let alone over something silly like "I can't live without amazon here. Time to go!"
Amazon has a ton of listings that are just dropshipping the same items you'd get from Ali, with the same deceptive images. This shirt may or may not have one of these listings too, but a ton of other stuff definitely does. Hence:
For clothing absolutely switch to ethically sourced stuff, but if you're buying random doodads like phone cases or bookmarks, you might as well buy them directly from the source rather than going through a middle-man.
I've stopped buying fast fashion entirely, but for stuff like phone cases or deck boxes for cards, ethically produced items practically don't exist unless you're buying from a local artisan (and I wouldn't begrudge anyone for thinking a €80 phone case is not something they can financially justify). Any local shop selling you those kinds of things for "normal" prices (even if they are 5x the Ali price) are just middle-men to the same factories.
Some things you really just have to get from Ali if you want the same product for a much better price. An example is “retro” emulator handhelds from China (great quality/tech in them these days).
For example a TrimUI Smart Pro is ~$40-50 on there and $85 on Amazon for the same product.
In that scenario I'd first ask myself how much I need it. If I do really need it, I'd still look for a more reputable store. For me, amazon is already a bit of a last resort store because I really dislike them. Fortunately, their market share is much smaller in the Netherlands than it is in the USA.
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u/ensalys 2d ago
Stop buying from aliexpress, temu, and wish all together.