Plan to Start Cutting Out Giving Money to Big Tech Companies

submitted by cottoneyejoe from self.TechCompanies

I canceled my Netflix account recently because we don't use it much, and you know Obamas, Cuties, political activism. Well we decided we're going to cut out Amazon this Christmas season. It will take some planning, but we going to do it. I moved away from Google and my only Google use is on my Android phone, but I'm moving towards LineageOS https://lineageos.org/. I don't use FB or Twitter but Parler and WeMe look like good alternatives. Now I'm looking at my linkedin account (owned by M$). I just want to quit giving money to these pricks that hate me.

EDIT: What are your favorite alternatives to Amazon?

all 2 comments
sorted by:
top
newinsightfulfun

[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

I often find better deals on eBay. There's a lot of Chinese junk and a bit of fraud, so you gotta be careful, but it's generally the same Chinese junk you buy at a markup from Amazon.

AliExpress is good if you really want to cut out the middleman for Chinese garbage.

Etsy is fantastic if you want custom stuff. I have a 14 carat ruby keychain and a custom forged kiridashi (think scapel looking letter opener) from Etsy vendors and a handmade leather collar my kitten. Lots of neat niche stuff there. It's not the cheapest option generally, except for jewelry because jewelry has a stupid fake markup.

I've never used it but I like the idea of freecycle.org, why buy new shit when someone is giving away it for free. Just makes sense.

These are all big companies though (well not the last one). You can find artisan vendors online for a lot of stuff just searching about or frequenting forums on the subject. Or look for local options, support your community.

[–]PeakingPeachEater 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

EDIT: What are your favorite alternatives to Amazon?

Sadly, I am still using Amazon but am planning on breaking away soon. There are some who suggest Veo as an alternative ethical & eco-friendly Amazon.

There is an article called Amazon Alternatives Guide: How (and Why) to Avoid Amazon that gives a list of reasons why you should avoid along with a list of alternatives. I also stumbled upon Amazon Alternatives by Ethical Revolution that list out a few alternatives too.

It's rather difficult to find an exact Amazon knock-off, so another suggestion is taking a specific category (ex. Clothes, jewelry, electronics, baby supplies, household, furniture, etc) and researching stores that are ethical and privacy-minded.