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Comment by pmiller2 | Hacker News Reader

The more shocking (yet totally obvious in retrospect to me) thing is that, of the 5, only Amazon doesn't have any way for me to escape their collective sphere of (direct) influence at all. I can switch to Linux on commodity hardware, use an alternative browser, use free alternatives to any MS product or service, and switch search engines, but there's no way to replace the Amazon shopping experience. I'm also not sure what I'd do about maps or phone platforms.

Even if I replaced them all directly, I'd still have to deal with compatibility issues for browsers and software, and it's hard to beat AWS. Switching to a more traditional hosting setup is s nightmare by comparison.

Can anyone here easily escape all of the "gang of 5"?

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Meh. I get by just fine without Amazon. Probably order about twice a year from them, and feel kinda bad for doing so... I instead support different businesses for different needs. (Novel, I know...) Newegg for hardware bits, element 14 and adaFruit for more interesting computer bits, Sweetwater for synthesizer bits, local shops and AK Press for books.

Just wait until you have to return something on NewEgg. It's a dice-roll. It's so bad, that you have to "purchase" the "premium" return policy. Compared to Amazon's customer experience, it doesn't even come close. I "feel bad" for buying as much from Amazon as I do, as I wish I could support these local shops and businesses, but at the end of the day, Amazon is winning for a reason: superior customer service and typically the lowest price and convenience. With local shops or other online retailer, convenience is out the window -- you are paying exorbitant shipping and handling, and customer service and returns is the wild west of varying experiences. Maybe you will get the nice rep, maybe you will get the automated "no" with no chance of following up. In any case, I am not willing to make the risk anymore. Stuff just costs too much damn money these days for me to take risks. I know what I am getting with Amazon.

I have never in five years of using NewEgg had a single issue that couldn't be solved by their customer support issue. I also have never paid a single restocking fee in all of the banged up kicked boxes I've gotten through Fedex.

Don't have to go through that hassle with Amazon.

They really nailed it: a big roadblock to people shopping online was returns. It's easier to return something to amazon than it is to a local department store now. A few clicks, print label, take to UPS store.

There may be no single alternative to the "Amazon shopping experience" but it's easily replaceable in aggregate. Every store is online these days - Newegg, Costco/Sams/Walmart, clothing retailers, grocery & food delivery, etc. It may take marginally longer to find and get what you're looking for, but Amazon's only real moat for retail stuff is our laziness.

For pro services AWS is great, really nails the secret sauce. But for individual citizen consumers who want to vote with their wallet, odds are they can divest themselves of much of Amazon if they really want.

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