Surely there has to be a breaking point right? I wonder if there could be some kind of workaround through Tor, maybe we’ll have to make a new internet with black jack and hookers, or maybe the populace will get complacent and we’ll be forced back into shopping malls to get our social interactions.

I’m lucky to have an Aldi within driving distance, but their cheapest stuff I used to buy has gone up over 150% since covid while other grocery stores around here went up 70-90% for similar food. Aldi is still cheaper, but not by as much.

Yes but you can’t help with that part. My goal with this post is to find lesser-known websites or chains that treat its customers like people.

Luckily there are some thrift stores around here, and one nice thing is they’re always small enough they have real people working instead of some AI robot. Although you never know for sure what they have so shopping takes longer. I’ll just need to plan for a day when I’m less busy.

I’ll be honest I heard of mercari but it just seemed like an eBay clone and I didn’t want to make another account just so it coulf leaked in a data breach, but I never bothered to look into them. Thanks for the recommendation, I think it’s finally time I check them out.

Yep I think so too. Once companies get so big they have more money than they know what to do with, so why not expand into tracking customers and selling their data for a few extra cents?

Target partners with Flock Safety and famously has one of the most sophisticated security systems to where they’ve partnered with the FBI to help them solve crimes. https://thehorizonsun.com/features/2024/04/11/the-target-forensics-lab/

Amazon is one of the biggest companies in the world and they build profiles on users and track people across other websites, plus they own tons of smaller companies to help in this regard. They also own Blink and Ring which have partnered with Flock and ICE to identify and track people in the real world as well as report them to the police if they are believed to be here illegally or potentially involved in a major crime. I will add Ring cut its partnership with Flock and ICE because they ran a dumb Superbowl ad telling people about it, but they will do the same type of thing again, just more secretly next time. https://hrnews1.substack.com/p/ring-cameras-join-flock-and-amazon

Amazon is also starting to make delivery drivers record everything with smart glasses. https://www.tomsguide.com/ai/amazons-delivery-drivers-are-getting-ai-glasses-and-thats-the-least-unsettling-ai-in-the-job

Amazon is also rolling out drone deliveries at the same time, which will be more cameras in the sky. https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/transportation/amazon-prime-air-drone-delivery-expansion

Walmart partners with Flock, and therefore ICE as well, but I don’t know as much about them. I’m sure they also do some data tracking online like everyone else. I know I don’t want to give them money so I don’t bother looking up new stories on them. https://www.gadgetreview.com/fact-checking-the-whistleblower-what-walmarts-official-alpr-notice-actually-says

I assume they get paid for serving me ads, and is that the case even when I don’t click on any ads?

EBay is not ideal, but like you said sometimes they can’t be avoided. Bah indeed.

Thanks for reminding me about them! I remember shuffling through their catalogs a long time back.

Plus it would open the door for even more tracking.

That’s my plan: consume less, support physical stores, and use more cash.

I didn’t realize Ace hardware is a co-op, I’ll have to check out the one by me. Thanks!

Yeah, plus Amazon uses dark patterns to get you to sign up for prime, and then prime isn’t even fast shipping anymore…it bothers me enough I can stand to pay a little more somewhere else.

True. If there’s no law against it I’m sure it will happen sadly.

Heh I’m sure you’re right but I’m also hoping to stay away from the cheap plastic stuff. With everything getting more expensive, I’m trying to slow down and only buy things I actually need.

I didn’t think about using amazon to search for an item to buy on another site, that could work well! Like the other user said, Costco might be my best bet as far as chains go, and for any other physical stores I’ll just have to try harder to find local ones.

Costco seems like a good option. I don’t need a ton of choices and I’m sure I can find space for the extra bulk. Thanks!

That would be neat! Text adventures are hard to find these days

Maybe it’s meant as a disincentive to keep people from using services like klarna because too many people aren’t financially responsible enough to handle it.

Sorry you got some benefit out of it, but I would just stop using it after this. It doesn’t help much and if you delete the account it’s one less account you have to worry about getting sold or exposed in a data breach. The EU is better than the US for a lot of consumer protections, potentially including this law, but not necessarily privacy.