Post AtzevRizbPV31oIvUe by starluna@mastodon.social
(DIR) More posts by starluna@mastodon.social
(DIR) Post #AtzKO8v6UyRy4DoNYe by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-05-11T15:14:07Z
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A few months back I closed my amazon account, logged out and blocked the website from my searches. Shocking how well this has worked. Right up until I needed to order some more Advil. Which I always bought on amazon and very few other online sources sell. When I did the search: just two results on the first page. All the rest were amazon. They have a very bad monopoly on certain home-goods. I'm delighted to pay a little more to avoid them. You don't really see it until you leave.
(DIR) Post #AtzKUGbOqiThd9W0bQ by photovotary@beige.party
2025-05-11T15:15:10Z
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@futurebird I’ve had the same experience.
(DIR) Post #AtzKWA0yJRS7mLNaCm by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-05-11T15:15:34Z
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Basically, anything very standardized, mass produced, branded that people might buy online for the convince is ALL amazon. I suppose they have some brick and mortar competition but it's scary how much they dominate certain products.
(DIR) Post #AtzKne1TznxHlpxIUy by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-05-11T15:18:43Z
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I can't be certain that alternate sources aren't somehow using amazon. And using walmart doesn't make me feel much better than amazon... but for the moment I'll take it. Or better yet be less lazy and go to the chemist.
(DIR) Post #AtzKqAaHu8ULKxRIPI by dvandal@infosec.exchange
2025-05-11T15:19:10Z
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@futurebird I did the same too, and I am in luck that where I live I can walk to a pharmacy or a grocery store, even a hardware store(😈), for those goods that are more difficult to source online.It honestly has made me a lot more conscientious about my shopping as a whole, and for that reason alone I don’t regret it.(That said there a stack of reasons a mile high why I don’t regret dropping Amazon, but yanno)
(DIR) Post #AtzL4TOalFAljXmyp6 by dx@social.ridetrans.it
2025-05-11T15:21:41Z
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@futurebird Genuine question: do you not have grocery stores that stock Advil in NYC? It would never even occur to me to buy something like that online.
(DIR) Post #AtzLCDBOvJpRldJDu4 by bucknam@mastodon.social
2025-05-11T15:23:06Z
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@futurebird Same here…I ended up using CVS and their delivery service for such things here (because I’m boycotting Target, too). Makes me a bit nostalgic for the corner drugstore, where I could at least get a cherry coke at the fountain (even in the 1980s!) while I waited for my order.
(DIR) Post #AtzLJXikxiGjUYPGvQ by Nonya_Bidniss@infosec.exchange
2025-05-11T15:24:27Z
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@futurebird You could search for ibuprofen rather than brand name?
(DIR) Post #AtzLXSzFMNEsrbl7wW by PizzaDemon@mastodon.online
2025-05-11T15:26:57Z
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@futurebird we're switching to everything Costco or the farmer's markethttps://www.costco.com/advil-ibuprofen-200-mg.%2C-pain-relieverfever-reducer%2C-360-tablets.product.11543755.html
(DIR) Post #AtzOLbNectYbHeD3qa by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-05-11T15:58:28Z
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I highly recommend blocking amazon from your searches. Even if you can't go full "zero amazon" for some annoying practical reason. It's really eyeopening how much of the commercial web they can seem to dominate. I also block pinterest. (pinterest makes it so hard to find the source of images, it's like a virus.) I consider excluding both essential.
(DIR) Post #AtzP8hbkGJWImqDIQK by dmarti@federate.social
2025-05-11T16:07:17Z
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@futurebird that's a really good point. I recently installed a new browser for work and Google on there was 2025 growth hacking Google, not the useful retro-ish Google I had set up on my regular browser, with blocks for big retailers and other over-SEOed sites. A huge difference (my setup: https://blog.zgp.org/fix-google-search/ )
(DIR) Post #AtzPKHxtQXrKjS67d2 by fencepost@infosec.exchange
2025-05-11T16:09:24Z
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@futurebird i believe you can order from Costco.com without a membership though you'll get dinged for an extra 5% charge. Multiple packagings of Advil are on the site.
(DIR) Post #AtzRI9MwcDwlOwvJ4a by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-05-11T16:31:22Z
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@Myotis_cuniculus You will love having it blocked. It's annoying to see their ads cluttering up your search results and then to exert the mental energy to not click on them. This just makes them not exist for you.
(DIR) Post #AtzRRmElTT8AYSghhw by RnDanger@infosec.exchange
2025-05-11T16:33:10Z
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@futurebird Loosely related:Search results are just worse now, there's no variety in them. They assume you want to spend money in the same place most people do that, and they won't look outside of that.It makes sense if the biggest companies pay for their search results, which I'm sure they do whether it's directly to the search companies or doing work that will game their algorithms. The little companies can pay for ads in the search results if they want to be seen, which I'm guessing is all good for the search business
(DIR) Post #AtzSm8uoxyfSdVdO9Q by Just_Tired@mastodon.world
2025-05-11T16:48:02Z
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@futurebird I quit them years ago. Won't go back. I honestly don't miss them.
(DIR) Post #AtzT9oNwwsdLufXriy by bbamok@c.im
2025-05-11T16:52:19Z
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@futurebird Long time non amazon user. I'm trying to figure out how to get started on a NAS/RAID system without using amazon. I go to the brand sites and they don't sell directly. First challenge I've had.
(DIR) Post #AtzYCXScpVyi3tqsNc by australopithecus@mastodon.social
2025-05-11T17:48:52Z
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@futurebird I realize I'm like the 5th(?) person to suggest Costco just that I can see, but seriously, get all your basic OTC pharmaceuticals at Costco, and moreover get the store-brand generics wherever possible.For Advil, that's ibuprofen.
(DIR) Post #AtzcHUtUCT1pMk2H5s by shaungriffith@mastodon.social
2025-05-11T18:34:33Z
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@futurebird Where are you? (I don't really want to know.) There are many online pharmacies here that will ship almost anything short of controlled substances.
(DIR) Post #AtzevRizbPV31oIvUe by starluna@mastodon.social
2025-05-11T19:04:10Z
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@futurebird It probably wasn't your intention, but this single post-alone might be boosting references to Costco all across the fediverse. 😁
(DIR) Post #AtzlcpnOa9b7rOR5uK by MisuseCase@twit.social
2025-05-11T20:19:12Z
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@futurebird @bmacDonald94 I stopped buying from Amazon and Target a few months ago. It raises the difficulty level of finding a bunch of stuff. Including my favorite soap which I bought through Amazon.
(DIR) Post #AtzqB1rwbF3My37m3E by passthejoe@ruby.social
2025-05-11T21:10:14Z
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@futurebird how do you block sites from search?
(DIR) Post #AtzsP2lmFRXXit3Awq by sabrinaweb71@sociale.network
2025-05-11T21:35:10Z
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@futurebird I ragequitted Amazon months ago, when their customer support asked for an ID or a bill in order to reset my password (that I forgot because I didn't use it much often anyway). I'm used to avoiding the search sggestions that bring me to their site, but this doesn't mean I can avoid them. I shop elsewhere and still some vendors ship with them. And Amazon is the only carrier that lost one of my packages for now. They've become too big to care
(DIR) Post #Atzsm7UCsUlD0mpqjY by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-05-11T21:39:24Z
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@passthejoe I use a browser extension. I need one for each browser I use, but they are lightweight and work well.
(DIR) Post #AtzsrtsMOUnYXMtC5I by davep@infosec.exchange
2025-05-11T21:40:23Z
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@futurebird @passthejoe you can possibly also use -site:amazon.com etc, but it could become a bit tiresome after a while.
(DIR) Post #AtztHCNmitc5AteQl6 by davep@infosec.exchange
2025-05-11T21:42:07Z
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@futurebird @passthejoe Ooh, -site:amazon.* works too.
(DIR) Post #AtztHDQIr1DoOzpxK4 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-05-11T21:45:01Z
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@davep @passthejoe It's fine, but I like the extension that just blots out all the results a bit better since having that extra string in every search can be disruptive at times.
(DIR) Post #Atzu1yEV9JJgttbxuS by davep@infosec.exchange
2025-05-11T21:53:27Z
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@futurebird Oh, totally. It's just an alternative option for occasional use. @passthejoe
(DIR) Post #Au0FXVU9fJFk2toPWy by lauerhahn@sfba.social
2025-05-12T01:54:26Z
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@futurebird If you live somewhere with Safeway supermarkets, they have delivery - you can order Advil along with your groceries. And Safeway workers have a union!
(DIR) Post #Au0WhUnWm6Bc1vDqk4 by iveyline@mastodon.world
2025-05-12T05:06:45Z
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@futurebird We don't miss Amazon at all since we resigned.
(DIR) Post #Au1jEv1NgtBvWbMkOO by FatherEnoch@mastodon.online
2025-05-12T19:01:57Z
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@futurebird How do we block websites like Amazon from our searches?
(DIR) Post #Au3uLMBN6gKRJTEOn2 by passthejoe@ruby.social
2025-05-13T20:15:46Z
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@futurebird @davep Thanks for the tips, everybody!!