I never buy weed from Amazon
To cut down eating out in general I’ve tried limiting myself to local restaurants. My rules are that if I want to eat out that’s fine but I have to want it enough to 1) get my fat ass out of the house to go get it and 2) go to a local place.
If I’m going to eat something bad for me I might as well pay a bit more for something more local that tastes better.
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I buy something from Amazon everyday to accelerate climate change and the deterioration of capitalism. So that my socialist utopia can emerge where we all have small businesses. /s
I don’t really go out of my way. It’s more like an ingrained habit.
Most notably, I’ve never bought a single thing from Amazon. I don’t even have an account with them. That’s not an ethical decision though - it sort of works out that way, but really it’s just a gut-level reaction. The whole idea just repulses me - just looking at a page from their site is somehow gross and creepy.
By the same token, there’s a long list of businesses I’ve either never gone to or at least haven’t in the last twenty or so years - Walmart, McDonalds, Starbucks, Taco Bell, Olive Garden, Kroger, Subway, Jack in the Box, etc., etc. Basically, if they’re big enough to run national level advertising, they are eliminated from my consideration. And again, it’s not really a conscious choice - they just gross me out. It’s like the instant I set foot in a place like that, I can feel it corroding my soul.
So when I’m looking for somewhere to shop or eat or whatever, just like anyone else does, there are specific places I don’t consider at all. And all major corporations are on that list.
So what’s left over - what I choose from - is local or regional, not because I go out of my way to choose them, but just because they’re the only ones I’m willing to choose in the first place
And the sort of surprising thing, even to me sometimes, is that I’m by no means starved for choices. There’s a world of alternatives out there.
That’s really impressive you’ve never bought a thing from Amazon. I also avoid chains, but I do buy from Amazon because I get free gift cards I spend there, but I don’t give them my own money, and just use it to pad my wardrobe or buy birthday gifts. But I haven’t been in a fast food chain or a Walmart in years. I am always amazed when I drive by a chain restaurant and it’s full of people, like why would you want to eat that when there’s a world of great food out there?
I can sort of understand people who can’t bring themselves to avoid Amazon - again, for me it’s really just a gut-level aversion that happens to coincide with an ethical stance. If I didn’t have that gut-level aversion, there’s a good chance I wouldn’t be able to resist either.
But yeah - the chain restaurant/coffee shop thing just makes no sense to me at all, no matter how I look at it. There are regional and local versions of pretty much anything one might want, and they’re pretty much universally both better and cheaper.
If at all possible I pay in cash to small businesses. No cc fees for them. Big stores …screw them. I want my points.
By shopping at them, giving them positive reviews (when they deserve it), and hyping them to others who live nearby.
Difficult. Every time I thought “don’t support Amazon this time, buy from this small webshop” I was disappointed.
The problem is that smaller shops often really suck with customer care. When buying from smaller businesses, I now always want some “big business” (Amazon or eBay) in between. Way easier to get support this way.
That mixture of credibility, customer safety and accessibility is what makes Amazon killer. I hate them as much as the next guy, but sadly they provide a really great service.
I tip higher at small restaurants than at chains
I try to snop at snaller businesses whenn I can
I go to my local bike shop for parts 🚴
And service. Well, expensive things I’m likely to screw up myself. Just had my suspension serviced and all of my pivot bearings replaced.
Also things I don’t feel like dealing with like new bars.
I don’t use my platinum, obsidian super primo credit card at small businesses. I use debit or cash
I’ve effectively stopped shopping on Amazon. Almost everything is available by another, smaller website that has way faster shipping since Prime Shipping is a complete farce now.
Even the weird niche stuff can be found somewhere like Walmart. AliExpress, too. Which, at the rate Amazon is going, will soon have faster ship times too.
Ordering from Walmart has always been a good experience for me. Especially when I can do in store pickup to keep my meth head neighbors from plundering my porch. However, the one item I did try to order from AliExpress never arrived, so that left a bad taste in my mouth.
I mostly eat at local restaurants.
I like to get food from small restaurants and food carts. The only times I’ll ever go to chain restaurants anymore is if family planned dinner there or something.
There’s a corner store around the corner from me where I buy like 99% of my groceries. It’s a local business and it’s less than 60 seconds walking distance from me. Plus it doesn’t price gouge me the way the chain grocery stores do
