A few years ago, I chose to support online alternatives to Amazon for book-related activities, like reading, discussing, and tracking books I read.
When I read a recent post on Mastodon asking for suggestions for places to shop online, places that weren’t Amazon or Walmart, I was intrigued.
And wondered what folks would recommend.
What a great response as people shared their favorite online retail sites!
I discovered many new retailers I had never heard of. And a few I’ve ordered from in the past.
In the interest of capturing recommendations for myself (and others who might be interested), I’m publishing this blog post with the online sites that caught my attention.
Online Alternatives to Amazon and Walmart
I haven’t checked out all the sites in this list, only a few that are gardening-related.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll spend more time visiting the sites.
I wasn’t sure how to organize the list, since many of the retailers have a broad range of items. For now, the list is alphabetical.
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American Science & Surplus in Niles, Illinois, USA: all kinds of science-related stuff and more. From their About page:
American Science & Surplus continues to offer a unique mix of industrial, military and educational items, with an emphasis on science and education.
We supply a wide range of unusual and hard to find items (some say bizarre stuff) to the hobbiest, tinkerer, artist, experimenter, home educator, do-it-yourselfer, and bargain hunter. -
Artistic Artifacts in Alexandria, Virginia, USA: offers fabric, fiber, mixed media art products, and sells Bernina products.
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Chocosphere in Tualatin, Oregon, USA: offers fine chocolates from around the world, phone order or online only.
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Fedco Seeds in Clinton, Maine, USA: a consumer-owned cooperative offers gardening, farming, and orchard supplies for folks in Canada and the USA.
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Freestyle Photo and Imaging Supplies in Santa Fe Springs, California, USA: whether you’re a professional photographer or a new camera enthusiast, you’ll find photographic products, advice, and helpful expert resources.
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Gardener’s Supply Company in Burlington, Vermont, USA: the employee-owned business where I turn to when I’m looking for gardening supplies: plant supports, tomato cages, floating row covers, bird netting and more.
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Lee Valley in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (has 18 stores in Canada): offers a wide range of woodworking, garden, hardware, gifts, and more to people all over the world.
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Lehman’s in Kidron, Ohio, USA: located in Amish country, Lehman’s offers all kinds of things for the simpler life, including practical goods for planting, preserving, cooking, games, off-grid living, etc.
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MIGardener in St. Clair, Michigan, USA: where I bought most of my heirloom flower and vegetable seeds this year. Great germination on all seeds, except one packet.
I was impressed with how quickly my order was filled as well as the colorful seed packets and plant information. We harvested our first bounty of lettuce and spinach earlier this month, yum!
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Stonemountain & Daughter in Berkeley, California, USA: sewers, crafters, and makers will find a diverse selection of fabrics, patterns, and notions. And a place to ask questions about upholstery, tailoring, costuming, glove making, quilting, or anything fabric-related.
Wrapping Up
In my opinion, there are no better places for shopping than local independent stores in your community.
But with the expansion of Amazon and Walmart, many of our local stores have closed down. Or don’t have the wide variety of goods they carried in the past.
If you can’t buy locally and you have the option, I hope you discover some online non-Amazon, non-Walmart retailers from my list.
