How to stop shopping on Amazon

Whether you want to make a political statement or just reduce your consumption, here’s how to stop shopping on Amazon.

We all know what a problem someone like Elon Musk is. He’s someone who has trafficked in this false mythology that he’s a genius even though he’s really just a hype man.

People think he founded Tesla, but he just bought in. And did he really make Twitter into something better than it was? And did you know that he was fired from PayPal less than a year after he was brought in?

And yet, we are all somewhat responsible for Elon Musk and his wealth. When you support a billionaire’s products, you support a billionaire.

But I’m actually not here to talk about Elon. I think we’ve all had enough of his toddler-like antics.

There are plenty other problem people and problem companies. And I think we can all agree that Amazon is one of those companies.

There are lots of companies that may be worth not giving as much (or any) money to, but Amazon definitely ranks at the top of the list. After all, Amazon is one of the largest companies in the world with a $2 trillion market cap at the time of writing.

Amazon has infiltrated itself into many aspects of our lives with its ultra-convenient shopping and services.

But it is still possible to reduce your consumption, and even eliminate it.

Here’s how.

Where does Amazon make its money?

According to Investopedia, Amazon has three revenue divisions: North America, International, and AWS (Amazon Web Services).

Put simply, the North America division is the Amazon that we all know (shopping etc.) the International division is the same thing but just not in North America, and AWS is their cloud provider.

Putting numbers to the totals, we’re talking about $143 billion in total net sales and $10.4 billion in net income.

The first two divisions provided 82% of the company’s revenue as of Q1 2024, but AWS gave them 62% of their operating income.

So basically, Amazon gets more sales from North America / International, but more profits from AWS.

That is a bummer, but AWS runs about one-third of the entire internet. And there’s really no way to use the internet without using AWS-hosted sites.

But that doesn’t mean that you can’t wean yourself off the retail division of Amazon.

Cancel Amazon Prime

First and foremost, if you want to reduce or eliminate your dependence on Amazon, cancel your subscription to Amazon Prime.

I’ve written about this many times. It’s easy, and will save you money even if you keep on shopping at Amazon like before.

But you don’t want to pay Amazon for the privilege of shopping with Amazon.

Add some friction

A lot of why we buy on Amazon by default is because Amazon has made it very easy for us to do so. Amazon, after all, patented one-click ordering.

So it’s time to add some friction to the process. Here are some ways to do that:

• Delete the Amazon app from your phone
• Remove saved credit/debit cards from your account
• Log out of your account unless you’re purchasing something
• Unplug Dots/Echoes/etc.

None of the above prevents you from shopping at Amazon if you still want to. It just makes you have to be intentional about it.

What are the alternatives?

You can’t tell people not to do something unless you give them viable (preferably better) alternatives.

So if you want to still do your shopping, but not at Amazon, here are some other sites you can explore

• eBay. It’s not just auctions anymore! There is plenty for sale that’s listed as Buy It Now. Many of those items have fast/free shipping, and there’s never a minimum purchase.
• AliExpress. It’s a China-based retailer that sells a huge variety of stuff. Not all sellers are reputable, but you can say that about Amazon as well. You can find plenty on your shopping list there.
• Individual retailers. If you want to buy something from Sony, why not go to Sony’s website? If you like a particular brand, chances are they have their own e-commerce site. And a pro tip: Signing up for the company’s mailing list will sometimes get you a coupon.
• Bookstores other than Amazon. Try Powell’s, Half-Price Books, Biblio, or Alibris.
• Your library. Get access to audiobooks and a lot more resources through your local library, even if you never set foot in the door.

Here’s a longer list of alternatives. You’ve definitely got options.

Will this cost more?

While Amazon became known for being the cheapest price on everything, that is not always the case.

Many items have fixed prices that are the same across different retailers. For example, I purchased a new hard drive recently. Reflexively, I went to Amazon, but I also looked at other retailers. And I found that other stores were selling it for the exact same price.

I ended up going with B&H, a New York City-based retailer. Same price, free shipping, and it took just as long to arrive as it would have with Amazon.

That’s just one example, but also many items are cheaper. Since Amazon has become a marketplace for third-party sellers, a lot of what you see for sale is just rebadged products for sale on AliExpress. So just buy from AliExpress. One fewer step in the process often means less cost.

Point being, weaning yourself off of Amazon doesn’t mean you have to spend more.

Change your habits

Changing habits takes time. If you’re old enough to remember it, for a long time many people weren’t even comfortable with buying anything online.

But once you change a habit, it’s easier to keep. So once you find alternatives to shopping on Amazon, you’ll find that you don’t necessarily miss much about it.

And again, whether you stop shopping at Amazon or just reduce your reliance on it, you’re making a difference. Your actions won’t singlehandedly change a company’s fortunes, but you are doing your part to reclaim your purchasing power. You have options, so use them.