# Alternatives to Amazon **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 26, 2025, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-amazon/1014848 "2025-02-26T22:51:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2025, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-amazon/1014848/101 "2025-03-16T19:07:02Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Uh, wasn’t that what this thread was supposed to be about? Alternatives to Amazon? Yes. However it wasn’t me that brought up the monopoly issue. Talk to ZipperJJ and Elmer J Fudd. In fact, my first posts were about Temu. > [@Spiderman](#): > > Because your own previous post is false I disagree. There are many companies that are tangled up or are accused of us cheap overseas labor, including **Temu**. A very short list includes: North Face L.L. Bean Uniglo Adidas Fila Puma It’s a problem, I get it. But, sorry, I can’t fact check all of the transgressors. Like I mentioned upthread, I donate to a lot of charities, I try to be a good person but there millions of injustices out there. I make choices based on weighing the available evidence. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2025, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-amazon/1014848/102 "2025-03-16T19:23:29Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > Amazon workers have to pee in [bottles](https://www.forbes.com/sites/katherinehamilton/2023/05/24/delivery-drivers-sue-amazon-for-being-forced-to-pee-in-bottles/) & routinely illegally double park, blocking traffic & emergency vehicles as part of their business model. Again- a lawsuit _alleging._ And yes, Amazon delivery drivers do that- so do UPS, Fedex, USPS, DHL and others. > [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > I don’t understand what that has to do with them being a monopoly or not. It doesn’t. > [@madmonk28](#): > > Uh, wasn’t that what this thread was supposed to be about? Not quite- it was about an organized boycott of Amazon because…reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2025, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-amazon/1014848/103 "2025-03-16T21:22:03Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > But, sorry, I can’t fact check all of the transgressors. Like I mentioned upthread, I donate to a lot of charities, I try to be a good person but there millions of injustices out there. I make choices based on weighing the available evidence. Talk about non-sequiturs & strawmen! Your donating to charity doesn’t make Amazon do the right thing, does it? Nope, Amazon being a jerk isn’t offset by your personal donation to some unrelated charity; it’s not even offset by _their_ donating to a charity. You stated > [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Amazon got to where they are by providing a better service and product. > > I see no good reason they would fix what isn’t broken. & I’m stating that their delivery model _is_ broken; their workers are so overtaxed that they both cannot take a bio break nor park _legally_ & do their job. If their drivers could only deliver to 75 stops instead of their current 100 (making up numbers here but I don’t think I’m that far off) by doing it legally then their delivery costs go up 33%. Would they still be as competitive if they weren’t routinely breaking the law by double parking which not only inconveniences other drivers, whether they use Amazon or not but also is a danger to the community when an emergency vehicle can’t get by? > [@DrDeth](#): > > Again- a lawsuit _alleging._ And yes, Amazon delivery drivers do that- so do UPS, Fedex, USPS, DHL and others. Go read the link, they admitted to it & if you follow to the further link in that article they even have internal documentation that shows that management was aware of the problem. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2025, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-amazon/1014848/104 "2025-03-16T23:42:42Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > Your donating to charity doesn’t make Amazon do the right thing I never said or implied it did. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2025, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-amazon/1014848/105 "2025-03-16T23:47:41Z")
I’m the OP and I’m done; my question has long since been answered. Carry on without me. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-amazon/1014848/106 "2025-03-17T00:22:28Z")
Good choice, me too. Horse, water & all that. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-amazon/1014848/107 "2025-03-17T00:26:32Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Not quite- it was about an organized boycott of Amazon because…reasons. Can you show me where it says that in the OP? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-amazon/1014848/108 "2025-03-17T01:26:25Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > Go read the link, they admitted to it & if you follow to the further link in that article they even have internal documentation that shows that management was aware of the problem. Admitted to what- double parking? They all do it. Or do you mean peeing in bottles? _“We know that drivers can and do have trouble finding restrooms because of traffic or sometimes rural routes, and this has been especially the case during Covid when many public restrooms have been closed,” the company wrote. Internal company documents [obtained](https://theintercept.com/2021/03/25/amazon-drivers-pee-bottles-union/) by The Intercept showed Amazon management was aware of a proliferation of bottles containing urine inside trucks and at fulfillment centers._ That means they were _aware_ some drivers did it. The lawsuit alleges- _The lawsuit, filed Monday in a Denver state court, alleges Amazon’s working conditions forced drivers in Colorado to urinate in bottles and defecate in bags inside the delivery trucks and refrain from using the bathroom “at risk of serious health consequences.”_ FORCED and also defecate. “Aware” of the problem is way way different than “Management forced drivers to do that”. So, no, they didnt admit to it. > [@madmonk28](#): > > Can you show me where it says that in the OP? > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Isn’t a boycott supposed to be at least a little bit inconvenient? It has been mentioned several times. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-amazon/1014848/109 "2025-03-17T03:16:11Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Yes. However it wasn’t me that brought up the monopoly issue. Talk to ZipperJJ and Elmer J Fudd. I didn’t say they were a monopoly. I said some people don’t have the luxury of not using Amazon because their budgets are extremely price sensitive. I was lamenting my privilege of being able to choose another avenue through which to purchase goods regardless of pricing. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-amazon/1014848/110 "2025-03-17T14:15:16Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > It has been mentioned several times. In the OP? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-amazon/1014848/111 "2025-03-17T18:44:58Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > In the OP? You arent new here, you know full well that threads drift from the OP all the time. However, read this > [@jsc1953](#): > > But we want to disconnect ourselves (for reasons that aren’t appropriate in IMHO but I’m sure you can guess.) ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2025, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-amazon/1014848/112 "2025-05-04T22:57:38Z")
I’m here to say that I’ve been using [Bookshop.org](http://Bookshop.org) to buy my digital books, which sends the profit to a local bookstore of my choice. This has been a workable alternative to Kindle. Every book I’ve searched for on Bookshop, I’ve found. You can only read the books with the Bookshop app. It’s fine, although for some reason on my Boox Palma it won’t let me adjust font size (I can do that on my cell phone, though. Weird.) The Kindle reader is better, but Bookshop is serviceable. I was worried it wouldn’t work offline, but it does. I read _Abbadon’s Gate_ at 37,000 feet on my Boox Palma and even switched to a different book and had no problems without Internet. I will probably buy certain books on Kindle, especially the ones I want to mark up in my Scribe, but I’m buying way fewer books on Kindle and it feels kinda great to support local. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-amazon/1014848.md?page=5)