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Go European: Discover European products and services

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Re: Go European: Discover European products and services

#221

Post by bigfudge »

briandear wrote: post #104
bigfudge wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's important that we _do_ also include China in this. It's not just that Trump has demonstrated that the US is unreliable. We have also seen (again) that sociopaths in charge of authoritarian regimes can do things that are perfectly capable of acting against their own economic interests for political, cultural, religious reasons. Depending on global interconnectedness of markets has not and will not save us…

So Romania should be kicked out as well? They’re denying ballot access to a candidate that has broad popular support. Is that democracy when the people can’t vote for a candidate of their choice?

Possibly. I'm ignorant of Romanian politics. But the idea that EU should strengthen policing of democratic norms and sanction members who don't conform to them is important.

Re: Go European: Discover European products and services

#222

Post by neuronic »

batrat wrote: post #95

(Rant sorry) While i'm from EU and I support the movement, after I looked over some numbers it is hard to ditch something like Amazon. 1st thing for me are the prices and monthly I can save at least 100 Euros just from shopping on deals. Second Amazon employs 150k people across EU and this is not a low number (how about them?). Yes we need alternatives but the rich EU guys also have to invest some. Sometimes I feel t…

I have stopped using Amazon all together >1 year ago. Prime Video is as shitty as it gets and most stuff ordered on Amazon is Chinese shovelware in the same rankings as Temu. I give exactly zero shit about same day delivery in 99,99% of the cases.

Amazon shines in customer support though.

Search & categorization is entirely broken, the webshop experience is absolutely abysmal. Just order from better online stores. In Germany, I found these (surprisingly ok):

- Kaufland --> https://www.kaufland.de

- Galaxus Deutschland --> https://www.galaxus.de

- Lidl --> https://www.lidl.de (Schwarz IT is building a European Cloud btw!)

- ShopApotheke --> https://www.shop-apotheke.com/

- Home24 --> https://www.home24.de/

Then, buying specialized stuff on the actual website is often a decent experience. Just price hunt on sites like Idealo (attention though, Axel Springer!) and proceed to the specific stores from there.

https://www.idealo.de/ --> https://www.shop-apotheke.com/

I explicitly avoided mentioning Otto as alternative to Amazon although it is technically the closest. While their shop is ok, prices and customer experience are horrifyingly bad (especially returns and delivery). For an unbiased view:

https://www.otto.de/

Re: Go European: Discover European products and services

#223

Post by actionfromafar »

pnut wrote: post #185
kergonath wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Let's make our market as large and attractive as possible! That would be the rational and sensible solution. This may be why it’s unlikely to happen. I would be happy to be wrong.

Labour party manifesto explained in this fresh (5 days old), official document. It also includes context about ongoing emergency EU security meetings and the Trump administration. No single market, no freedom of movement, unfortunately. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-...

You should look to Norway https://www.norway.no/en/missions/eu/areas-of-cooperation/th...

Re: Go European: Discover European products and services

#224

Post by Trasmatta »

rafaelmn wrote: post #131
batrat wrote: post #95

(Rant sorry) While i'm from EU and I support the movement, after I looked over some numbers it is hard to ditch something like Amazon. 1st thing for me are the prices and monthly I can save at least 100 Euros just from shopping on deals. Second Amazon employs 150k people across EU and this is not a low number (how about them?). Yes we need alternatives but the rich EU guys also have to invest some. Sometimes I feel t…

Thats what every "support local" campaign boils down to - accept suboptimal deals because they are somehow more connected to you. I am glad to sell my services to the US and will buy their services, likewise for EU stuff if it is competitive. Besides this outrage at the US from EU perspective is mind-boggling, for the first time since I can remember US is moving away from imperialist global polices, and Europe is in…

> Besides this outrage at the US from EU perspective is mind-boggling, for the first time since I can remember US is moving away from imperialist global polices

What's mind boggling is saying that the US is becoming LESS imperialist, when Trump has threatened to annex both Canada and Greenland, and come out in favor of the most imperialist country in Europe.

Re: Go European: Discover European products and services

#225

Post by DaveMcMartin »

It’s genuinely sad to see the world splintering into waves of nationalistic protectionism.

Not long ago, we had something promising, a slow but steady crawl toward a united global community. Progress was gradual, sure, but it was real. Countries could specialize and trade freely: I’d buy your chips, you’d buy my steel, and we’d both come out ahead. It worked.

Now, though, it’s all about "national sovereignty" and "independence" as if going it alone could ever match the strength of interdependence.

The trust we built feels shattered and TBH it’s hard to imagine it being rebuilt anytime soon, if ever.

Re: Go European: Discover European products and services

#226

Post by jessekv »

bad_user wrote: post #79
palata wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right now directories like this are getting popular mostly because they offer alternative to US products. Pretty sure Europeans would be happy to use a Canadian alternative to a US service.

As a European citizen, I'd say, indeed, I gladly consume Canadian products. Furthermore, Canada should apply for EU or EEA membership.

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/documents/treaties-agreem...

Close, but not quite the same. (e.g. free movement of labor would be cool)

Re: Go European: Discover European products and services

#227

Post by lifty »

jgilias wrote: post #133
tdrz wrote: post #107

I'm looking for a European alternative to Visa/Mastercard that works across countries, not just in one country. I know there's this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Payments_Initiative but I believe it's not operational atm.

Technology-wise this is a solved problem. Uses open-source software too. All the EU needs to do is say 'self-custody is fine, please use a EUR-based stable coin for payments EU-wide'. The market will do the rest (the stable-coin, payment terminals, integrations with cash registers, DeFi forex for places where EUR is not used, etc.).

I hope there will be more adoption of EU stable coins like https://monerium.com, and a payments ecosystem will form around it. The rails are there, we need the apps and the integrations next.

Re: Go European: Discover European products and services

#228

Post by FirmwareBurner »

BlackFly wrote: post #215
FirmwareBurner wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The chips and software in a lot of those products are coming from the US, even if the final products are manufactured in the East. The US makes the biggest margins from valuable IP and software services, not from mass produced widgets coming in shipping containers.

Chips made with Dutch chip fabrication technology to English chip designs... The software situation is grim but maybe open source somewhat ameliorates that...

>Chips made with Dutch chip fabrication technology

Using american EUV light sources....this train of who makes what in the supply chain can go on forever, the point is who's making the highest margins from the end product and it's not ASML nor ARM but Nvidia, AMD, Qualcomm, Microsoft, Apple, Google, etc.

Hence my point that while EU has some IP, its value is dwarfed by the IP the US makes. Just look at market cap of US vs European tech sector. It's not even a competition. ASML can't offset that. I think Apple has enough cash in the bank to buy ASML if they wanted to.

Re: Go European: Discover European products and services

#229

Post by Hikikomori »

ChainHacker wrote: post #206
Hikikomori wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have several options within walking distance that sells HDMI cables for same price as Amazon, and I can trust that they sell a cable that works according to spec. Amazon uses a 3rd party to deliver here, and their short delivery times is really only available in larger cities if the item is in that particular warehouse. Since they use 3rd party to deliver I can buy from other stores and also have next day delivery,…

> I have several options within walking distance that sells HDMI cables for same price as Amazon, and I can trust that they sell a cable that works according to spec. 1) I used to example of the HDMI cable to show how much of a ripoff that shop was. I use Amazon to buy all manner of PC equipment. Alternatives in the UK have poor delivery times, stock or payment is a faff. 2) I don't have any options in walking distan…

Can get next day delivery to locker even outside the bigger metros here.

Guess you'll be surprised when Amazon starts gouging you.

Re: Go European: Discover European products and services

#230

Post by mogall »

Yeah this isn't what people make it out to be.

I already pointed it out in another thread about this exact website: Go and search for "keyboard", what's the first search result? Logitech, a company that makes their products almost exclusively in china. There's nothing european about this.

"Yeah but it's a european company so!" yeah i don't care. It's not an european product. It's a chinese product. I don't care if the CEO lives in europe or it has a German flag on the cover or whatever - if the product is made in china, it's not an european product.

Also this is like the 5th time i see this here, which makes me wonder if this is some sort of organic-looking promotional campaign.

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