as far as "national" chains go, Costco is pretty good if you have space to buy things in bulk. You can stock up on essentials that last forever, and if you have freezer space you can save a ton on various food products by purchasing bulk and freezing. They also have some pretty killer deals on electronics and other stuff. Yes it's membership based, but it's not too hard to get your value out of that if most of what you buy and use is from Costco.

We buy most of our grocery at ALDI. It's stupid cheap, everything tastes like the name brand version did when you were a kid, and even their shitty holiday chocolate is richer and more flavorful than US luxury brands.

If you don't have one near by, take a little time to research your area for a closed building near an active population and you can email them the suggestion.

I've begun to think that the concept of the large general store is part of the problem. In the before times, we would shop around for individual items and discover new small businesses.

Now when I need something, I make my first search off of Amazon. I usually find a specialty shop that is more than happy to help. Sometimes a large retail store is the only place to find something. Sometimes I don't find what I'm looking for and decide it was an impulse buy anyway. Sometimes I find a better option than what I was looking for.

I've found that individual items typically cost slightly more but overall I'm spending less; I'm skipping more frivolous purchases and averaging better quality choices that require fewer replacements.

Depends on what you need. My local Ace hardware has a surprising selection of household stuff and decor.

Grocery store for other stuff. I’m a big fan of Costco.

Hard to do with one singular place, but aldi is great for groceries, pays workers pretty well and doesn't donate to political campaigns. Harbor freight also doesn't contribute to political campaigns.

IKEA is an okay option for furniture and household stuff if you have one nearby

go outside and shop local

all the plastic tat on amazon comes from aliexpress anyway, so just go to the source. You might be adding to a surveillance state, but it's not your state.

I have no idea about their ethics or whether the money is going somewhere shit. But BH photo has a good digital store and comparable pricing for electronics

Not sure this is an option in the USA, but I’ve reduced ordering online, instead I support physical stores in the city center, to purchase locally produced products. In addition I simply consume less.

Look up "hardware store" I looked some up near me and there are a few locally owned small businesses that are pretty helpful.

Aldi has some good stuff for food. Not sure specifically what you need.

For Amazon, I use eBay a ton and find most electronics and other random items from there.

Local is 100% on you unless you want to divulge information, which I would advise against.

Online, just find what you want on Amazon/Walmart, and search for that item in a general search. You can often find way better deals elsewhere, at least if you can manage free shipping.

Anything globally relevant is going to be another Amazon/Walmart wannabe, so asking in the general sense is a bit silly.

Depending on where you live, there may be second hand/thrift stores you can check out. Especially places like a Goodwill or arc Thrift stores in Colorado.

People constantly donate stuff they don’t want to throw away. If you’re in a bigger city, they’ll have just about anything you can get at a Walmart or Target, minus the consumable products: furniture, kitchen supplies, clothes, books, lamps, small appliances. The price is better than bougie thrift stores, bonus if the store/donation station is near a wealthy area.

!askusa@discuss.online

I have to admit to using Amazon pretty heavily so I rarely need to shop anywhere beyond my local grocery.

But I more focus on buying less, buying choices that last, rather than where it comes from.

Main alternative to Amazon that I've found is Ebay. Physical retail is fine for regular household stuff but if you need a weird or specialized item, you can't buy it in person any more. You're stuck with online. Like I needed some clear heat-shrink tubing recently, and it's impossible to find retail as far as I can tell. I guess digi-key has it but I was able to find it way more affordably on ebay when shipping is considered. I need an inner tube for my bike in an apparently unusual size and it's the same thing, have to order it. Bah.

One general online retailer I've found useful for good deals is Mercari. It's more like eBay than Amazon I think.