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I would like an alternative to Amazon, but have not yet found anything directly comparable. Despite promises to the contrary, eBay sellers are almost always ch

I would like an alternative to Amazon, but have not yet found anything directly comparable. Despite promises to the contrary, eBay sellers are almost always charging a higher price. Shipping is slow, even from big reputable companies. Amazon has a lock on fast, inexpensive shipping, and it seems to be a very effective moat. If you buy only products 'shipped from and sold by Amazon' then the rate of fraud is low enough that the easy shopping & fast delivery keep you in the fold. Is Amazon immune to disruption?

somacore 5y ago
The closest analog we have here is Instacart. You pay a yearly fee for express delivery, and you get to pick from several local stores to get your stuff. Groceries, Target, you can even get Costco without a membership of your own. The drawbacks are selection and price. On top of express (prime-like pricing) there's also tipping which adds at least 15%. We do it mainly for groceries and some odds and ends, but for sure it's not even coming close to Amazon-level disruption. And then of course none of these places have Amazon's computing services, lol. That's a whole other sport.