eBay, OfferUp, Craigslist, and local stores have all offered great experiences since I stopped giving Amazon money. I haven’t had the feeling of “going without”

eBay, OfferUp, Craigslist, and local stores have all offered great experiences since I stopped giving Amazon money. I haven’t had the feeling of “going without” - to the contrary, I’ve picked up a bunch of materials for our family recently and we are staying relatively sane even with a 2nd-grader in the house. I find myself waiting slightly longer for some items, but in many cases also able to get significant discounts by shopping used. Convenience is the same; I even still pick up ecommerce purchases from our apartment complex’s Amazon Hub locker (haha). Amazon is far from essential; they can be beaten handily on price, quality, and sustainability by hand-picked suppliers, and frankly in many cases I prefer the experience of buying things from humans. I went to a local hardware store the other day (I live in Los Angeles) and when shopping I asked about some pallets outside and was invited to take them, saving me easily $40 in lumber and making me feel more valued as a customer than Amazon “guaranteed [except not really and with no consequences for failure] 2-day shipping” has ever made me feel. For people who value the feeling of connection to their community and their supply chains, Amazon doesn’t make sense. For those who would prefer to disconnect from the environment and humans that supply them with what they need and want, Amazon is competitive but not unbeatable.