There are many small non-profits that need amazon wishlists and meta accounts to survive. That's just a hard reality that a lot of casual private users don't seem to understand. They don't have the option to simply boycott and lose all of the donations that flow through those channels.
Nonsense. Small non-profits survived before Amazon and they'll survive after we slay the beast.
Meta has like a 95% lock on geographically-specific social media, there isn’t really Sault Ste Marie twitter, or Buffalo bluesky
Absolutely indispensable for organizing
Just asking people not be dicks to small non-profits that are barely getting by even with these services and would have to shut down without them. If you can boycott - great. It's simply not that easy for everyone.
I really only use X for work and to follow cat and cat rescue accounts because they can’t always afford to start over just because some people in high places like to ruin things.
It should come as a surprise to no-one that I will be happily blocking anyone coming here to be solipsistically sanctimonious or pretend that this is in any way a defense of amazon/meta. I'm very happy that you get to live in a fantasy land of black and white but the rest of us are stuck in reality.
In 2019 a Gizmodo journalist tried boycotting the big 5 tech companies & found it was basically impossible. People who “boycott” Amazon are probably still engaging with it through web hosting services. The problem is not that people who need to are using it. It’s that their monopoly is absolute.
It really doesn’t really take a huge stretch of the imagination to realize that many non-profits exist in places where they don’t have local access to everything they need, and yet a surprising number of people made this smug reply! The privilege on display in some of the comments has been dazzling.
Fine art treatment of the comment there
People act like local stores are just waiting for us to notice them, like we drive miles past little shops to hit big box stores, when in fact the big box stores choked out the mom and pop shops ages ago, and we drive past miles of vacant buildings.
Also, to whatever extent they do still exist, local stores can be explicitly MAGA rather than just Monster Mammoth Megacorporation With No Soul.
Which can be worse! Don't look like the ideal nuclear family? No service. Look a little too 'different'? No service!
The other day when I went into the UPS store I noticed there was a new little boutique and gift shop next door to it. I thought, great, yet another knick-knack shop in a bad location destined for failure. A sign on the door said *by appointment only*. Hope they don't have a very long lease.
It's okay, it'll do fine, it's actually a front for a money laundering operation.
Right next to the UPS Store too
Pfp appropriate The time to shop in local stores was 1998. There are very few local stores!
I live in Iowa, and for the majority of the small towns here the "local store" is Dollar General. Does this person think it is still 1965?
Wasn't the whole point of enshittification that they used venture capital funding to anticompetitively drive the small & local shops out of business to begin with? For an awful lot, "Don't use Amazon" is about 20 years too late.
These trolls are very similar to South Park's Underpants Gnomes. Step 1: Everything everyone else is doing is just wrong. Step 2: ??? Step 3: Achieve perfection. Unnecessarily-Contrarian or Chronic Solution-less Complainers get immediate blocks from me.
Yeah, and you know they each have a list of their own mundane "transgressions". Use a car when they could take public transportation. Eat beef. Use generative AI for fun. Buy clothes made in sweatshops. Etc., etc. But it's nuanced for them, no nuance for anyone else.
It seems the only things that matter are the things that matter to them and nobody else's things that matter matters. I wonder what would happen if we could round up a dozen and lock them in a room together to agree on a single best solution. My guess would be a dozen go in and nobody comes out.
Tell me you've never lived in a deeply rural place where the nearest "local store" is 40+ mins away without saying it. Some people just have NO IDEA, and they are totally clowns.
My "local store" is 12 miles away - Petsmart. The Petco around the corner from it barely even carries anything cat related. And Petsmart really only has so much, and sometimes I can't get there for days due to work, weather or schedule constraints.
infants
The bio saying that "the government doesn't want them to live" because they "have a brain and use it", meanwhile they post this kind of toxic ignorant nonsensical garbage.
"What do you mean you live in the middle of nowhere where all of those mom and pop stores were driven out of business by Walmart eons ago, surely there's other options?" - Random internet person who does not know the reality of rural life in the 21st century
Or even of the existence of food deserts in plenty of cities and suburbs.
Small towns can be food deserts as well. I live in a town of about 4500 people with no grocery store.
Hmmm, Bluesky uses Amazon Web Services. Maybe they should leave Bluesky for one of those local social media platforms.
I love you.
ha ha ha yes Wherever you post, your smugness is hosted on a amazon-owned server, dude
Ah yes, local stores, famously able to stay in business by carrying specialty items that like 3 people in the area need once a month
Aren't clown emojis/pfps a secret code for... shall we say the sort of people on the Epstein files? Or did they change it?
I have no idea. We’ve been using clowns to make fun of people on the internet for 30 years.
No no, I mean they use clowns. As a signal to one another.
Applicable to clowns of all varieties.
Also, if I order from Amazon and it doesn’t get there I chat with someone who says they are so sorry and refunds me. That doesn’t happen with other companies - they don’t have the logistics or support. I buy from small businesses when I can but I still use Amazon too
Realistically if I don't buy stuff from Amazon I'm just going to get stuff from Walmart or Target. It's not like there's a Main St. full of small businesses in my town that I can get anything from. If I'm going to support an evil corporation either way I'm going to maximize my convenience.
I live in one of those places. Thank you.
League of Gentlemen: "Don't touch the things, this is a local shop for local people, there's nothing for you here."
Even those that are in areas with local access to supplies have amazon wishlists because they’re operating on a shoe string. I volunteer with a rescue in the DC area, we are always looking for ways to save money for supplies so we can save more cats and dogs.
Yeah, the local store is Walmart.
Which is particularly funny because WalMart is exactly the store chain that tried to push into smaller suburban/almost-rural areas in Europe like a decade ago and relatively quickly went bankrupt too. It took ages until those empty buildings were even filled by other stores/chains that wanted them!
and a website wish list means people who have money but not time can buy you stuff without having to go to the store and then go to where you are with the thing they bought especially when you get donations from people who don't live nearby
Sometimes the upper middle class drives me crazy the way they act like things costing $50 and $100 is somehow "cheap". "Oh, this food delivery service is so affordable, it only costs twice as much as groceries at Ralph's!"
This is my favorite, shows someone who always had access to a car who never left a suburbia with a shopping center that has a Petco.
I also don't thick people understand that some of us do work past the times most local stores are open. Some local stores have online presence wish is cool. Like my local Shaws has an app I can buy from them
That’s completely unhelpful indeed. If they’re gonna make a point against Amazon/Meta, they could recommend some actual rival websites with similar features. I’ll give it a try: -I use ThingsToGetMe and Bluesky. -Some friends also have Mastodon. A local store has nothing to do with any of these…
user whom has missed the point entirely of your post. good lordt
Amazon erased my entire service business when the pandemic hit, because it wasn't "mine" it was "theirs". If a group wants to have a presence on one of those platforms they need to make sure it isn't their ONLY platform or space that the org is in. The moment they don't make tech bros money=erased.
Non-profits are exempt from our household boycott for all the reasons you state.
Spot on statements. It would be nice if the needs of smaller charitable organizations could be coordinated to get them a larger reach or to have an umbrella organization like Donors Choose for rescues, fosters, TNR groups etc. Sadly, "No good deed goes unpunished" is common form for internet jerks.
I had a loud argument about this on Friday with a friend who was scolding me for using Amazon. Told him I've saved THOUSANDS of $$s and miles put on my 24 yr old Jeep, and I can barely walk from a parking lot into a store to look for one item I need tomorrow. And we live 30 minutes from everything.
Totally. I don't own a car or order anything from Amazon, but that doesn't mean families shouldn't own a car or order from Amazon to save the already precious time that is taken from us. Time is more precious than money nowadays.
In addendum: we're forced into the position we have to manage from. Make do with what you got, but remember why it's happening. 💚
Augh. It sucks SO HARD. I'm an artist, and unfortunately NEED to use the fucking social media products to find my audience. I *want* to remove myself from them, but at this stage, I just can't.
Quitting Instagram was easy for me with my Etsy shops because, even after YEARS on there and a good number of followers, my feed appeared to be seldom seen. Reels and photos-just never took off. My Bluesky shop account here has the same near-zero engagement, so I feel I didn't lose anything.
anyone who uses 'solipsistically sanctimonious' in the middle of a sentence gets my damn vote for whatever you're saying (i also agree)
It is almost like giant monopolies being the only game in town makes it hard for smaller groups who have no access to dedicated funding avenues have to do what they can and weigh using something harmful against the good they can do for their cause.
And maybe keep up the boycott for one’s personal use, if one is able to do so, but support the small non-profits and teachers setting up classrooms by fulfilling wish lists. I realize that a bit “situational ethics” of me, but pragmatic use is probably the better path if one seeks to help others.
All ethics are situational, or else they're just amoral and self-serving.
And it’s just going to get worse as the ripple effect of tariffs kicks in on things like cat food.
Amazon is killing the planet. Wake up. You are addicted.
During the height of the pandemic we lived in the very rural midwest, isolated, and without places nearby to shop for groceries. We were able to have cases of goods delivered to our front door safely from Amazon. We survived.
that's exactly what people can't grasp: sometimes this is the only option some people have.
It’s the same with artists and spotify
I would love to be able to be privileged enough to boycott every single bad/evil company or organization but its never that simple. I honestly find the people that attack others for not doing that nasty, good for them if they can do it but not everyone can afford, or have the ability to do so.
I'd like it if Haley and her kitties came here But also she gets 200k likes on posts and clears her wishlist for janky kittens in like 15 minutes so I get it
For. Real.
Yeah, she’s the account I miss the most, and the only one I’ll log in to go check.
I check her (and Teddy) and also Beefaroni/Marvin and Shrimp and Grits
I love them so much. I love seeing the cats get their own accounts in their new homes, with their friends, and doing so well. I swear every photo on those accounts has that golden Kodachrome glow, just from the joy and love those cats have since she saved them.
I still can't get over little Shrimp William and his wonky eyes
He’s so freaking cute. The universe sends her the jankiest cats, and they thrive.
Have you seen LENTIL OMG
She’s got a couple Siamese mixes at the moment and I’m so lucky I’m many states away. Lentil is so cute, but I’d have to restrain myself even if I was close because the universe sends me cats (and bunnies) that seem ok, but will eventually cause a vet to say “we’ve never seen this before.”
one of my vets said when I brought a cat in for not eating very much for a few days and running blood tests "I don't know how this cat is alive" While she's like, walking around on the table
Oh I understand. Been giving my kids teachers money for 12 years. Now my daughter does the same. And I continue also.
Not all can avoid buying from Amazon or Walmart. I don’t think either are good corporate citizens with upper management pay scale vs worker pay out of whack. The best most can do is to be strategic in purchases.Try to find a local alternative you can afford but still support non profit wish lists.
AND-be vocal about one's opposition to these practices! If a person can't boycott, opinions can still be shared with the corporate offices!
These are good points for sure and I absolutely agree! This does bring to mind media companies like Wired and NYTimes that constantly warn us about Amazon, but also post product reviews with links to Amazon. And even promote "Prime Day" deals. THAT is inexcusable.
I think the people who are complaining about this should make their own donations to local shelters of food or money! (I know Chewy has a wish list, but it's not as popular. Is it not as good a program as the Amazon program?)
(1/3) I love Chewy & the rescues I work with mostly have dual wishlists, but they restrict lists to certified non-profits (good policy overall but hard for a rescue that's getting started / too small to qualify), don't carry the general-purpose items on many wishlists, don't have as much (cont'd)
(2/3) “get-it-tomorrow” capability, & Chewy doesn’t give the rescue the name of the donor so the rescue can’t send out a thank-you. That last may seem a small point, but donors don’t know it & may think the rescue is just ignoring their generosity – loss of good-will is important. (cont'd)
(3/3) Rescues often post “we got this great (x) from Chewy – please let us know who to thank!” but the donor may not see it & that’s time the rescue coordinator could spend doing other essential things. Again, I really love Chewy, but those are some key differences.
I did not know that! Thank you for that explanation! There are two societies in my area-the one in the city that gets all the glory and is on all the lists and the smaller one nearby where Annie used to live. I donate to that one when I can, but they are not on Chewy. So, now I get it!
My stupid city only communicates through Facebook. It's terrible but if I need to know if there is street sweeping tomorrow I have to check facebook. (Failing to note street sweeping is a $50 fine.)
SOMETIMES I think that's just sort of lazy. A wordpress site is pretty affordable and you can send out hundreds of emails a day of the posts made for the site. We use it for my local Indivisible chapter and it's been working very well as we move away from FB.
Yeah this is a problem. They have reinvented sharecropping.
It's so absurd: I'm in Brooklyn and just tried to buy the pens I like. These are not special pens, just a gel pen in a multipack. My local options are 99c stores and walgreens on a sunday and they didn't have anything remotely close. The stationer nearby closed 12 years ago.
It's quite literally a case of "don't hate the player, hate the game."
(Love your name. Made me laugh. Thanks for that!)
I've thought about this and have come to the conclusion that I'll keep my own purchases to a minimum. It's much more important to keep my favorite rescue in supplies.
Switch "casual private users" to "self righteous twats" and you're 100%.
I host websites The hosting landscape has deteriorated to the point Amazon AWS is the only viable choice because it has by far the best technology and is the best managed I do not want to go there yet it's getting to be that or give up the hosting
Yeah, a huge thing people don't understand about "boycotting" amazon is that it's nearly impossible to actually do that. I mean, bluesky uses AWS. People really aren't boycotting as much as they think they are but still like to look down on others over it.
So seems to me the best way to address it is to think of revenue reduction My current approach is to only buy there what I can't get locally or elsewhere and divert that money into my community Lon term they'll feel that more than a flash in the pan boycott
I've been able to successfully avoid all purchases since 2021. Sometimes I can find the item direct from the manufacturer, sometimes I find it on ebay. Sometimes there is no option and I forgo it. BUT-not everyone can do this. I do know some people CAN do it and talk about it but just don't, though.
That's the ideal for sure
💯 this!
people really overlook that amazon is not just a retailer anymore
there is no ethical consumption under capitalism and individual boycotts do fuck-all to change anything but how you feel about yourself so if it makes you feel better do it but you didn’t create the system and unfortunately you live within it stop beating yourself up over shit you can’t change
Better yet, let’s fight for a fairer system. Essential social services should not rely on “philanthropy” and its related vibes. People with enough wealth to be philanthropists simply haven’t paid what the system needs to function.
I like the radical acceptance
Ugh. You asked for people not to reply with their sanctimonious opinions, and yet... Quitting Amazon isn't possible for everyone. Guilt trips are unwelcome and useless.
As a society we love to preach individual responsibility even for what are actually systemic issues. Some of us have started to recognize that "too big to fail" is something that should never exist, but I think we need to work on eliminating "too big to effectively boycott" too.
What I always think of: my friend's mom started boycotting Nestlé in the '80s. I took some cues from her along the way, and many products are easy to swap out, but the fact remains: it's 2025 and they're still doing all the same shady shit even if I've spent 40 years not making Toll House cookies.
Many companies really, really are too big to dent at a consumer level, and you'd get more mileage out of making a stink about it with your congressional rep than you would patting yourself on the back for your grocery list.
I've tried to skip Nestlé for decades as well where I can, but like Amazon they're hard to avoid, especially with pet supplies.
Yep. It's so far-reaching!
I get it
thanks for saying that. i got attacked for saying that and was called immoral. 🤷🏻♀️
Perfectly understandable and completely acceptable in my book. Do the best you can and keep looking for other opportunities and ways to resist
This is the way
Wow can’t believe small non-profits are using the wishlist feature on the world’s largest online retailer for donors to purchase necessary items and use the world’s largest social media platform to communicate.
Agree - and for another use, I drive 🐾rescue relay-transports, and FB groups are key to hooking up transport coordinators with drivers and the multi-state routes where we are needed. That's just not reproducible at scale elsewhere at present. Reilly says "Please don't boycott me!"
Oh, I could never boycott Reilly!!! So cunnin'!!!
Bezos is (mostly) bad so anything we can do to not support him is good. It's not an all or nothing situation. Don't buy there. That is relatively easy for most of us. Promote elsewhere as well, diminishing Amazon dominance.
Does Amazon still offer free shipping if the total purchase is over a certain amount? People can end forking over cash for a Prime account and just order when the total is that certain amount. That was how I weaned myself off Amz. You save money in many ways and that's one fewer person using Prime.
Why not eBay? Often free shipping.
That's true. However, you have to do your homework with eBay. I have found some sellers selling an item with "free shipping" and then another seller with that same item plus shipping with a total less than the first one. (Which is why I do't offer free shipping in my shops-I like transparency!)
Agreed, we should always do our homework, every time we contemplate a purchase.
Check out a wish list and see if you could find a reasonable alternative source for all of it.
Agree. When my dad was dying from brain cancer, my mom relied heavily on Amazon. They live in a somewhat rural area and Mom could only leave the house when I was available to stay with my dad. Amazon shipments were a necessity for my father and her.
Understood 💯
I returned to insta after having abandoned both it and Facebook because the cat rescue I foster with depends on mainstream social media to survive. I wish it were otherwise, but sometimes you have to meet mainstream society where it is, & sadly that is, by & large, on platforms like Facebook.
The choice is to be a retailer who depends on Amazon. THAT IS THE CHOICE. #getReal
That kind of misplaced vitriol is an outgrowth of the belief that material decisions are actually emotional decisions, which makes the most sense to folks that refuse to see their own privilege. That being said I love that lots of ppl boycott Amazon and meta if they can, for all the obvious reasons
There's also the fact that the poor, rural, disabled, or otherwise disenfranchised folk who rely on things like that are considered 'safe targets' by people who are frustrated by Amazon, etc. After all, there will always be more of them, so they feel it safe to use a few as emotional punching bags.
Exactly - there are also lots of animal rescues with a hard earned support base on facebook. That’s why I stay there.
I use Chewy. Wonderful customer service, too.
Chewy is great but not a viable total substitute for Amazon for most rescues. bsky.app/profile/caro...
#Chewy sent me a bouquet of roses when my cat Ezgi died. And then they sent me a small painting of Annie for adopt a pet month. They rock! (When I notified Instacart that my mother had just died and to please close her account, all I got was an, "okay.")
That is so sweet. 🥺🌹
I don't disagree with this, particularly with respect to Amazon wishlists, which are just too effective for organizations to not use them. On the other hand, as a donor, I've left all the meta platforms. I think that's all I can do to shape the landscape.
In addition to the above, there is no where else I can overnight a miracle nipple or quality kitten formula if we need supplies in an emergency at midnight. We are in a relatively rural area with no pet stores open 24-hours. I hate to say it but using Amazon has absolutely saved tiny lives before.
there's no ethical consumption under capitalism, use whatever makes the most sense given the circumstances and ignore the haters imo
I use Amazon. A lot. I know, they're evil. But so is everyone, and it's made it possible for me to help my children set up their kitchens in their new homes and send birthday gifts to my neices & nephews. I'm choosing convenience & value, because I don't have a lot of money or time.
yup. this stage of capitalism makes ethical consumption difficult for everyone.
I'm not wealthy enough to vote with my wallet.
i can’t drive and there is so much i just deadass wouldn’t be able to get without amazon. 10$ off amazon is cheaper than a ~30$ uber to like, walmart
and public transpo doesnt exist here + im below poverty level (texas)
Texas says it all. When I lived there I got a jury duty summons and had no idea how I was going to attend. No car, no public transport, and the courthouse was in the nearest city about 20 miles away.
it sucks sooooooooo bad. forch my neuro said i’m cleared to learn how to drive but that’s still learning at 34 years old + saving up for a car when i make 11/hr
Have you ever used the Kimberly kitten formula recipe? Is good stuff. And the last time I used it, I had to order stuff from zon because I wasn't where I could get to a store. Yeah, zon sux, but it's a boon for disabled and rural peeps
We do our best to have a Chewy alternative wish list for those who want to boycott Amazon, but we also don’t look gift horses in the mouth.
Yeah I'm with you! I've tried to really cut back on Amazon where ever I can, but there are some things that other companies don't have or can't reach me quickly enough or at the same price.
Have u tried reaching out to those companies directly? They may b willing to work with u vs going thru Amazon.
The problem being, even if Chewy *wants* to send something right away...they don't have the infrastructure in place to do so, like Amazon does.
Tbh as someone who used to work at a chewy warehouse, they're not much better. No ethical consumption and all. We're all just doing our best in a severely corrupt system.
So, supporting it. That’s how they get away with it. It’s always “well, where r they going to go?” And people have proven they prefer to have their lives b easier than doing what’s needed to get them to fix their issues. That’s EXACTLY what u r all saying by supporting these companies. PERIOD.
Bro I work full time and I'm still poor I dont have the time or $ to either make anything I need or buy from the overpriced ethical companies, which are overpriced because capitalism rewards unethical business practices. Almost like the worst thing is that it's mandatory to participate in.
Well, then I’d say people need to learn to plan ahead better. Supporting Amazon jsut because it’s easier for U, is exactly why these corporations get to do what they do. U, as their customer, supports their bad acts and is willing to help aid them in continuing
....So, to be clear, they need to plan their *emergencies* better? Make sure to know in advance when an animal will be injured?
I would say have stock of what’s needed, on hand, yes. I get it may not b able to b 100% of the time, but using that as a justification for buying EVERYTHING from Amazon is bullshit
So you missed the part where they *AREN'T DOING THAT*, as well as the utter impossibility of having everything on hand for emergencies? The nature of emergencies, doubly so at a *NON-PROFIT*, are they aren't expected...
Look, jsut say that u r happier supporting he corrupt companies that r tearing down our society, because its just easier for some people. I mean, how on EARTH did people deal with this stuff BEFORE Amazon? 🙄🙄
Be sure to remind people they can buy from Revival, for at least the milk and miracle nipples. They have a wishlist function now, too!
That’s great for the wishlist function! I do shop with Revival directly for our bottle baby supplies in general (and microchips & vaccines!) but my point was just to illustrate that, as a small rescue, sometimes you just need something critical by 4am the next morning and your options are limited.
The 20 bucks you spend makes no difference in Jeff Bezos's life. It could mean life or death to the animal.
I wonder if the user's complaining about that were on bluesky when it still ran on Amazon's software, or use any site that uses AWS, or use anything that relates to AWS in any way shape or form
When I found out that Godaddy uses AWS, I started moving my domains to Wordpress. I verified that WP doesn't use AWS first, though, and they said they do not.
Amazon—and other similar monopolies like Meta—need to be nationalized.
Sounds like we have no choice but to break Amazon up into little pieces or nationalize it.
I always say, "Boycott if you can." If you can't, it's cool. Those who can will boycott for you.
The one-person cat rescue operation from whom we adopted our two girls is in this bind. I feel this urge to work towards a world where only non-profits populated Meta and Amazon and benefited from them.
Yeah most of the grueling work of networking shelter dogs is on FB. But i do wish other retailers like Target would come up with a teacher/non-profit sort of wishlist thing which would benefit the local tax base.
Yes. And volunteer and mutual aid orgs as well! A *lot* of harm reduction and survival supplies in Northern RI make it into hands that need them by way of people who hate Amazon but have to rely on it anyway
That's why the next Democratic president, with all the new powers of POTUS given by our corrupt rep's & scotus, should immediately nationalize Amazon. The profits can give us all free nationalized healthcare If they want to Fuck around, let them find out already F*** those cheating billionaire c***s