If we really want better we gotta communicate about it to see how it can be done
Wanted to open this conversation because we could really use an Open Source app that partners with websites and stores so they can display any of their products on the app for people to buy
Suggestion: Would be a 10,000 IQ move if say KDE and KDE Community make one since it can be a passive income in a way from making/hosting the app for people to use. The money gained can be used to fund the devs, their KDE/other projects, and other open source projects. Edit: That way it adds onto the already existing sources of funding, and can lead to growth all over
Maybe one app from KDE. One from GNU/Linux. Etc
Technically that's what Amazon is in a way no?
Then for USA partner up with FedEx/USPS (Whichever is better). Spitballing here with all this
IMO there are sufficient search engines to find products in online shops, to check availability, compare prices etc.
I see the main selling point of Amazon in the huge assortment (you can get everything in one place without shipping fees), the user ratings (although the quality massively declined during the last years) and the fast delivery. I'm boycotting them for around one year now and everytime I need to order a strange combination of things I'm getting reminded how convenient it used to be. I don't intend to order there again, but I definitely need much longer to buy stuff now.
I think the biggest pull (for me at least) is a uniform shopping experience. I go directly to the manufacturer when possible and bypass Amazon but I do notice the rigmarole of how products are laid out differently on each site, some with or without a search feature, most without reviews (ratings are crap but sometimes reviewers can clear up ambiguity), each having their own checkout system (PayPal makes things a bit easier), and each has it's own return policy which is rarely as good as Amazon.
I think setting up a standard API for finding products, getting their specs, reading their policies at a high level, and ordering with a single login would go a long way towards taking down Amazon. I see the solution more as a federated one where vendors either host their own instance or pay some percentage of sales or flat rate to list products on someone else's instance.
That's a clever suggestion. That would need multiple people and companies to partner up but very viable. Can also make a foundation to help setup that standard too
They don't let you leave reviews anymore unless you've bought something within the last 6 months, or let you read all reviews without being logged into an account. Way less useful to me personally than it used to be.
I fully agree and do the same it is a way better way to buy needed things. Won't ever go back to Amazon but the news of AWS reminded me how alternatives are needed for Amazon and Amazon Web Services
This post is more so for apps to be made that most people will use and will actually be a boon to the open source community as another way of funding. Can also lead the way to hardware being funded to be made as well from that additional income stream