# Any Alternate to Amazon **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 26, 2019, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-alternate-to-amazon/831586 "2019-03-26T23:56:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zuer-coli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ba9def/32.png) [@zuer-coli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuer-coli)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2019, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-alternate-to-amazon/831586/1 "2019-03-26T23:56:27Z")
Greetings all, I’m fed up with Amazon and would like a recommendation for a similar site. With thanks to all. Respectfully, Zuer-coli ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-alternate-to-amazon/831586/2 "2019-03-27T00:00:07Z")
Walmart? They do have an online store, though I don’t really know how good its selection is. Their selection of abuses is probably comparable. ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-alternate-to-amazon/831586/3 "2019-03-27T00:00:13Z")
For books? I can find some options for you. Or do you want more general shopping sites with lots of stuff? (I know thinking of Amazon as an online bookstore is out of date, just clarifying what you are looking for.) ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-alternate-to-amazon/831586/4 "2019-03-27T00:11:13Z")
For books, I use [The Book Depository](https://www.bookdepository.com/), mainly because it offers free shipping to Australia. The last time I bought stuff from Amazon, it was from [https://www.amazon.co.jp/](https://www.amazon.co.jp/), because I was buying some Japanese DVDs (about rail travel in Japan). ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-alternate-to-amazon/831586/5 "2019-03-27T00:13:17Z")
ebay has any number of “stores” - you don’t have to bid on them, it’s more like a central repository of many online sellers. I’ve used them quite a bit in the past, and haven’t had any trouble yet. ---
**Author:** ![Wilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@Wilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wilson)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-alternate-to-amazon/831586/6 "2019-03-27T00:40:55Z")
Get in your car and go to actual stores 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-alternate-to-amazon/831586/7 "2019-03-27T01:18:05Z")
> **[Earn Cash Back at stores you 💖](https://www.rakuten.com/)** > > Join Rakuten for free and get a $10 Welcome Bonus. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-alternate-to-amazon/831586/8 "2019-03-27T02:16:17Z")
A one stop shop that has everything and free shipping? [Walmart.com](http://Walmart.com) is about the only alternative. Even if they don’t have free shipping on an item many times they’ll ship to store for free. Personally I’m getting tired of all the fake items on amazon. But don’t know if [walmart.com](http://walmart.com) is better. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-alternate-to-amazon/831586/9 "2019-03-27T04:35:40Z")
If the OP told us what his beef with Amazon is and what sorts of things he’s hoping to buy, we could offer more salient advice. > [@Giles](#): > > For books, I use [The Book Depository](https://www.bookdepository.com/), mainly because it offers free shipping to Australia. Although their shipping policies differ, Book Depository has actually been owned by Amazon since 2011. AbeBooks and Bookfinder have been owned by Amazon since 2008. It’s getting hard to buy books online without going through Amazon. I buy some used books from [Biblio.com](http://Biblio.com) and eBay, which for now are still outside the Bezos-sphere. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-alternate-to-amazon/831586/10 "2019-03-27T12:38:44Z")
For books and DVD/BluRays and some other stuff there is [Hive.co.uk](https://www.hive.co.uk/) in the UK. They can also send abroad (although I don’t know what their rates are for that) They’re part of a large independent book distributor in the UK and I believe are relatively competitive with Amazon. A good thing about them is that to avoid all their wholesale customers being annoyed at their direct customer sales, you can nominate a bookshop from their list as your favourite and they will receive a small percentage of the sale value! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-alternate-to-amazon/831586/11 "2019-03-27T12:46:18Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > [https://www.rakuten.com/](https://www.rakuten.com/) If the name is unfamiliar, in 2010 they bought [buy.com](http://buy.com), which was another e-commerce site much like [amazon.com](http://amazon.com). And a couple of years ago, Walmart bought [jet.com](http://jet.com), which was another such site. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-alternate-to-amazon/831586/12 "2019-03-27T12:52:24Z")
By the way, another option is to buy stuff in person, from an actual person in a physical store, preferably a local, independent one. I know it’s hard to believe but such things were commonly used at one point and some still do. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-alternate-to-amazon/831586/13 "2019-03-27T18:13:59Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > ebay has any number of “stores” - you don’t have to bid on them, it’s more like a central repository of many online sellers. I’ve used them quite a bit in the past, and haven’t had any trouble yet. These days I use eBay more and more, and I find that the storefronts often sell stuff cheaper on eBay than Amazon. My most recent purchase was a small metal treatment furnace/kiln, which was something like $550 on Amazon and maybe $500 on eBay, free shipping from both. That pattern seems to hold true for many other items. ---
**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 27, 2019, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-alternate-to-amazon/831586/14 "2019-03-27T18:16:23Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > A one stop shop that has everything and free shipping? [Walmart.com](http://Walmart.com) is about the only alternative. > > Even if they don’t have free shipping on an item many times they’ll ship to store for free. > > Personally I’m getting tired of all the fake items on amazon. But don’t know if [walmart.com](http://walmart.com) is better. Walmart now also has third-party sellers like Amazon, and they comprise a LOT of the site’s inventory. Almost any time I’m searching for a product using Google, I get a hit for WalMart, and I end up on a [Walmart.com](http://Walmart.com) page with an item for sale by a third party seller. That being said, Walmart might be more discerning when it comes to third party sellers, I have no idea. I am still addicted to Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-alternate-to-amazon/831586/15 "2019-03-27T18:26:55Z")
[Jet.com](http://Jet.com) works for some things. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-alternate-to-amazon/831586/16 "2019-03-27T18:45:42Z")
> [@Scribble](#): > > [Jet.com](http://Jet.com) works for some things. [Jet.com](http://Jet.com) is owned by Walmart. I went to compare prices between Walmart and [Jet.com](http://Jet.com). On the items I chose, the price was exactly the same, to the penny. And my scriptblocker was blocking the same scripts from both places. That got me curious, so I looked it up on [wiki.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet.com) Sure enough. > [@](#): > > In Fall 2016, it became a subsidiary of Walmart > . . . > It was announced on August 8, 2016, that Walmart would acquire [Jet.com](http://Jet.com) for $3.3 billion ($3 billion in cash and up to $300 million in stock paid out over time to the founders and other selected individuals at the company). ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-alternate-to-amazon/831586/17 "2019-03-27T18:50:19Z")
> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#): > > [Jet.com](http://Jet.com) is owned by Walmart. I went to compare prices between Walmart and [Jet.com](http://Jet.com). On the items I chose, the price was exactly the same, to the penny. And my scriptblocker was blocking the same scripts from both places. That got me curious, so I looked it up on [wiki.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet.com) Sure enough. I didn’t know that. A bit of my ignorance has just been fought! Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-alternate-to-amazon/831586/18 "2019-03-27T19:33:51Z")
I feel compelled to point out that [http://express.google.com](http://express.google.com) is a thing. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-alternate-to-amazon/831586/19 "2019-03-27T19:58:47Z")
For anything electronic, I use NewEgg to shop around and compare. It’s much easier to find what I want there. But I’ll always double-check the price plus shipping on Amazon before buying. If it’s within a percent or two, I buy through NewEgg. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-alternate-to-amazon/831586/20 "2019-03-27T20:13:47Z")
I’d be curious to find out why you don’t like Amazon. I’ve never had any problems. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-alternate-to-amazon/831586.md?page=2)