How (and why) to quit Amazon

Amazon orders 2018

Amazon orders 2019

At the start of the year, Annabel and I stopped buying things on Amazon. Here are a few reasons why.

• Amazon is full of crooked reviews

• Amazon scams its sellers

• Amazon’s warehouse workers can’t take toilet breaks (and some are dying)

• Amazon’s next day delivery kills people

• Amazon’s drivers get a raw deal

• Amazon dodges taxes

• Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world

Apart from (obviously) the cheap prices and convenience, I only see two benefits: a dog-friendly office and the fact that it’s a lifeline for some people.

For me, that’s not enough.

How to find Amazon alternatives

Although we don’t buy from Amazon anymore, I sometimes use it to research items before I buy them. But with the dodgy reviews all over the site, it’s also a smart idea to get recommendations elsewhere.

Here’s how to do it.

1. Work out what you want to buy
   Google something like ‘Best wireless headphones 2019’ and scan a few lists to see what people recommend. There. Are. Loads.

2. Find a good price elsewhere
   Head to PriceRunner and search for the item you want to buy. It’ll show you the cheapest places to pick it up right now.

3. Remember it for next time
   When you need to buy the same thing in the future, head back to that site rather than Amazon.

Where we shop

When I looked at what we bought on Amazon in 2018, most of it was books and dog stuff. Finding alternatives for those two categories was pretty easy.

• For new books, I go to Hive
  It’s usually about £1 more expensive than Amazon, but still super cheap. And a portion of the cover price goes to a local book shop.

• For second-hand books, I go to World of Books
  It has cheap prices (like Amazon used & new) and gives money to charity.

• For dog stuff, I go to Pets at Home
  The prices are often better than Amazon, delivery is free, and it gives money to charity.

Here are some other things we bought this year, which we usually would have picked up from Amazon.

• TV from Richer Sounds
  The price was better than Amazon, there’s a wild product guarantee, and the company is amazing.

• Headphones from OnBuy
  The price was the same as Amazon and it’s a UK-based company that pays its taxes.

• Cart from UK Tool Centre
  I’d never have found this site without PriceRunner but the prices and service are bang on.

• Pruning shears from Sam Turner & Sons
  Another PriceRunner find. Slightly more expensive than Amazon but it was worth it.

• Chemex filter papers from Hasbean
  All your coffee gear in one place. And it’s cheap.

• Headphones from John Lewis
  In this case, it was cheaper than Amazon and way easier to return if there’s an issue.

• Muzzle from eBay
  A few pounds more than Amazon, admittedly. But hardly bank-breaking.

Stick to your guns

Amazon is so convenient that it can be hard to kick the habit. But by following those little tips above, we’ve managed not to buckle all year. And we definitely won’t be going back.

The trick is to be resolute. It might be cheap and convenient to use Amazon, but is it really worth it?