Boycotts

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Using your consumer power to refuse to feed the profits of adversaries of humanity. Marketplace baddies who cause disproportionate harm to the planet or people.

Who to boycott, why they are being boycotted (or why you personally boycott them), and how to boycott them (if it’s not obvious).

Also welcome: discussion on how to organize and track your boycotts. E.g. whether it’s a special tool or app, or whether it’s a series of text files to GREP.

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Boycott Amazon (git.disroot.org)

submitted 2 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

I quit Amazon over a decade ago. There were a few years where I used Amazon just for window-shopping as you suggest, to get keywords or vendor names to search for outside of amazon, which involved adding these negations to my search query:

-site:amazon.com -site:amzn.to -site:amazon.co.uk -site:amazon.de -site:amazon.fr -site:ebay.com -site:ebay.co.uk -site:ebay.de -site:ebay.fr -site:walmart.com -site:newegg.com -site:aliexpress.com -site:alibiba.com

Prices were often higher outside of those shithole places above. However, that’s inherent in a boycott. If the prices were better, then taking my business elsewhere would not be a boycott but merely the capitalistic market working as intended. I am willing to pay more in order to not finance the baddies.

Now Amazon is rarely useful even for window shopping because they chronically push CAPTCHAs to Tor (and I don’t do CAPTCHAs). I only even try to visit the website when someone in a conversation is pointing out a listing to me, just to see what they are talking about.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

i have found some delightful vendors on ebay. like specialty tool wholesalers that are actually manufacturing their own tools, novel designs and everything!

i’d highly recommend it for anyone looking to get away from amazon, but do be mindful of sellers using amazon fulfillment. probably you can just check that there aren’t any prominent listings with the exact same product images/description as ebay.

worst case you can always return the item. ebay is pretty darn good about returns and refunds, and i reckon it’d be a bit of a headache for the dropshipper too! hahah

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

I boycott ebay as well because:

Paypal-only, and I boycott Paypal. I heard a rumor that eBay lifted the paypal requirement but I’m not sure that actually had much effect. I don’t get the impression a non-paypal consumer can realistically shop on ebay.
eBay’s required JavaScript sniffs the ports on the LANs of all those who visit the website.

Shitty corporations often have good people working for them. This is not reason not to boycott. If a boycott target were to fall, it would make room in the market for new players who those good vendors can switch to.