Need a new years resolution? How about #boycott #Amazon.

@resist1984 I'd like to add: you don't need to be perfect with the boycott, reducing the amount of support for amazon (i.e. buying something) by 90%-99% will help enabling alternatives. Un-Default Amazon! Look for alternatives!

@andre @resist1984 So I've been trying to do this for awhile. So far I have been most successful with electronics and computer parts thanks to http://bhphotovideo.com . I often face two hurdles: selection and return policy. Buying stuff online is taking a gamble sometimes and few other sellers are going to be as accommodating with returns or pay return shipping. I've been burned by this a number of times: something turns out to be low quality and can't return

@andre @resist1984 So maybe everyone can share favored sellers with good return policies?

Also since I mentioned B&H, they do free 3-day shipping for most items, are usually price competitive with Amazon (a few times when not, they have been selling hard drives with full warranty while Amazon sells gray market ones), and have an excellent return policy.

@jgoerzen @andre some US cards offer return protection: https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-card-benefits/credit-card-return-protection-guide/ It's complicated for me b/c I also boycott #AmEx (due to #ALEC) & boycott #visa & #mastercard (#WarOnCash). Discover doesn't have return protection.

@andre @jgoerzen So I'd say look at the shop's return policy. If it's good, pay with discovercard. If it's bad, pay with mastercard.

@resist1984 @andre I guess what I would find valuable is a list of shops with good return policies, privacy, and ethics. I don't really want to deal with 500 random places, some of which will sell my info or are otherwise scammy. It takes a ton of time to vet a place and that convenience factor is the toughest to leave behind with Amazon.

@jgoerzen @andre w.r.t #privacy, #Amazon is certain to exploit your personal info to the full extent possible. https://www.npr.org/2019/07/31/746878763/how-tech-companies-track-your-every-move-and-put-your-data-up-for-sale?t=1609611133799 And with Amazon Marketplace your are also still gambling with hundreds of arbitrary vendors, many of which operate out of some random person's livingroom.

@andre @jgoerzen Both Amazon & the vendor gets your data in that case. Avoiding tech giants gives you a much better chance that your data isn't exploited b/c small shops can't afford the data analytics that tech giants have.