A recent thread[0] about Amazon reviews got me to thinking: I'm not so married to Amazon services as a whole (Alexa, Prime Shipping, Whole Foods, etc) that I would be unwilling to drop them. What I _am_ (seemingly) married to is the crazy level of selection.
For example, I need a tool to clean out the dryer vent in my home. Local stores (Home Depot, Lowes, Ace, Mom'n'Pop, etc) all have tools for just such an occasion and often at a comparable price. But Amazon has 20+ in varying lengths, materials, designs, tiers (Git-R-Done <---> Artisanal) and approaches. The same can be said for almost any other category.
Have any of you found alternatives that solve this particular issue? Or are we simply doomed to choosing between either a) supporting Amazon's dominance or b) going back to the world of ACME Dryer Cleaner? Is there a middle ground?
[0] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25038734
For example, I need a tool to clean out the dryer vent in my home. Local stores (Home Depot, Lowes, Ace, Mom'n'Pop, etc) all have tools for just such an occasion and often at a comparable price. But Amazon has 20+ in varying lengths, materials, designs, tiers (Git-R-Done <---> Artisanal) and approaches. The same can be said for almost any other category.
Have any of you found alternatives that solve this particular issue? Or are we simply doomed to choosing between either a) supporting Amazon's dominance or b) going back to the world of ACME Dryer Cleaner? Is there a middle ground?
[0] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25038734