Does anyone have any good alternatives to Walmart, Amazon, or Target? I’m looking for a general store that sells household products and preferably isn’t owned by a billionaire or a company that adds to our surveillance state… So does anyone have any online, or physical, alternatives?
as far as “national” chains go, Costco is pretty good if you have space to buy things in bulk. You can stock up on essentials that last forever, and if you have freezer space you can save a ton on various food products by purchasing bulk and freezing. They also have some pretty killer deals on electronics and other stuff. Yes it’s membership based, but it’s not too hard to get your value out of that if most of what you buy and use is from Costco.
Costco seems like a good option. I don’t need a ton of choices and I’m sure I can find space for the extra bulk. Thanks!
I’ve begun to think that the concept of the large general store is part of the problem. In the before times, we would shop around for individual items and discover new small businesses.
Now when I need something, I make my first search off of Amazon. I usually find a specialty shop that is more than happy to help. Sometimes a large retail store is the only place to find something. Sometimes I don’t find what I’m looking for and decide it was an impulse buy anyway. Sometimes I find a better option than what I was looking for.
I’ve found that individual items typically cost slightly more but overall I’m spending less; I’m skipping more frivolous purchases and averaging better quality choices that require fewer replacements.
Yep I think so too. Once companies get so big they have more money than they know what to do with, so why not expand into tracking customers and selling their data for a few extra cents?
We buy most of our grocery at ALDI. It’s stupid cheap, everything tastes like the name brand version did when you were a kid, and even their shitty holiday chocolate is richer and more flavorful than US luxury brands.
If you don’t have one near by, take a little time to research your area for a closed building near an active population and you can email them the suggestion.
I’m lucky to have an Aldi within driving distance, but their cheapest stuff I used to buy has gone up over 150% since covid while other grocery stores around here went up 70-90% for similar food. Aldi is still cheaper, but not by as much.
Oh dang, I didn’t learn about aldi until well after covid so I can only imagine how cheap everything used to be!
Depends on what you need. My local Ace hardware has a surprising selection of household stuff and decor.
Grocery store for other stuff. I’m a big fan of Costco.
I didn’t realize Ace hardware is a co-op, I’ll have to check out the one by me. Thanks!
The only downside is Ace, at least the ones near me, are ridiculously expensive…almost prohibitively
go outside and shop local
Yes but you can’t help with that part. My goal with this post is to find lesser-known websites or chains that treat its customers like people.
Look up “hardware store” I looked some up near me and there are a few locally owned small businesses that are pretty helpful.
Aldi has some good stuff for food. Not sure specifically what you need.
For Amazon, I use eBay a ton and find most electronics and other random items from there.
Just gotta be careful on eBay. I have had two instances where I bought something new on eBay, and it shows up in an amazon box, with an amazon packing slip and shipping label in it.
all the plastic tat on amazon comes from aliexpress anyway, so just go to the source. You might be adding to a surveillance state, but it’s not your state.
Heh I’m sure you’re right but I’m also hoping to stay away from the cheap plastic stuff. With everything getting more expensive, I’m trying to slow down and only buy things I actually need.
Not sure this is an option in the USA, but I’ve reduced ordering online, instead I support physical stores in the city center, to purchase locally produced products. In addition I simply consume less.
That’s my plan: consume less, support physical stores, and use more cash.
I have to admit to using Amazon pretty heavily so I rarely need to shop anywhere beyond my local grocery.
But I more focus on buying less, buying choices that last, rather than where it comes from.
One general online retailer I’ve found useful for good deals is Mercari. It’s more like eBay than Amazon I think.
I’ll be honest I heard of mercari but it just seemed like an eBay clone and I didn’t want to make another account just so it coulf leaked in a data breach, but I never bothered to look into them. Thanks for the recommendation, I think it’s finally time I check them out.
Depending on where you live, there may be second hand/thrift stores you can check out. Especially places like a Goodwill or arc Thrift stores in Colorado.
People constantly donate stuff they don’t want to throw away. If you’re in a bigger city, they’ll have just about anything you can get at a Walmart or Target, minus the consumable products: furniture, kitchen supplies, clothes, books, lamps, small appliances. The price is better than bougie thrift stores, bonus if the store/donation station is near a wealthy area.
Luckily there are some thrift stores around here, and one nice thing is they’re always small enough they have real people working instead of some AI robot. Although you never know for sure what they have so shopping takes longer. I’ll just need to plan for a day when I’m less busy.
Main alternative to Amazon that I’ve found is Ebay. Physical retail is fine for regular household stuff but if you need a weird or specialized item, you can’t buy it in person any more. You’re stuck with online. Like I needed some clear heat-shrink tubing recently, and it’s impossible to find retail as far as I can tell. I guess digi-key has it but I was able to find it way more affordably on ebay when shipping is considered. I need an inner tube for my bike in an apparently unusual size and it’s the same thing, have to order it. Bah.
EBay is not ideal, but like you said sometimes they can’t be avoided. Bah indeed.
