Many people feel conflicted about buying from big companies like Amazon, as they'd prefer to support small businesses. But since Amazon is very convenient and cheap, it's often too tempting to turn down.

You don't need to feel bad about using Amazon. There are plenty of ways you can carry on browsing and shopping on the online giant while also supporting smaller businesses.

1. Leave Positive Feedback

Yes, Amazon is a massive company that's seemingly got an online shopping monopoly. But it's for that very reason that other businesses use them: to get leverage and a huge audience for their products. You can typically sell more through Amazon, even while paying its fees, than through an independent shop.

Nonetheless, it can be frustrating. So how can you pay those smaller stores back? A simple thing you can do is leave good reviews. Love a particular item? Leave positive feedback. Think a specific seller offers great service? Let people know!

You'll also be helping out other shoppers by recommending trustworthy third-parties and great products.

2. Use Third-Parties

Amazon offers a good price on something you're interested in. It's on Prime, so if you're a member, you get fast delivery at no extra cost.

But wait. Before you click Add to Cart, check what other options are offered through Amazon.

Third-party sellers offer competitive prices and, if you're not worried about condition, sometimes huge discounts.

Underneath Amazon's pricing labels, you should see Used from, New from, and often Collectible from, so you can choose exactly what you're looking for. Click on any of those to see your options ranked by price. Keep an eye on which stores offer free shipping too.

The added bonus of shopping through third-parties (aside from helping out smaller businesses) is that you might bag yourself a rarer edition than the latest stock that Amazon sells.

3. Look for "Fulfilled by Amazon"

If you pay for Prime, you might feel that you don't want to use third-parties, as they don't give you such speedy delivery. Plus, other stores trading via Amazon might charge extra for shipping. That's not always the case.

Check for items listed as "Fulfilled by Amazon" (FBA)—these are supplied by another seller but piggyback on Amazon's infrastructure. They benefit from using Amazon's factory space, returns processing, and shipping to a wider audience.

And you benefit because most of these items are included in Prime.

When searching on Amazon, use the bar to the left of your screen to select Free Shipping by Amazon. Of course, Prime members get plenty of other benefits, like Prime Video and Amazon Music, so membership isn't wasted even if you do use other sellers more frequently.

4. Use Support Small

You can filter your results using Support Small, a section on Amazon which highlights products sold by small and/or local businesses.

It offers companies a platform to create, sell, and distribute what they do, so you can even find handmade work here.

It's a neat service, but you'll need to sign in for personalized recommendations. From there, you can find which nearby stores sell through Amazon.

Or you can just filter your results by searching via the Support Small node.

Sellers pay a monthly fee plus small referral costs per unit. It's not perfect, but it does at least raise awareness of what's local.

5. Research on Amazon; Buy Elsewhere

Just because you use Amazon, doesn't mean you have to buy from Amazon.

Physical shops seem perpetually under threat because the internet offers such incredible competition. While stores have to pay rent for properties in malls or high streets, online businesses cut out that extra cost, and often offer bigger discounts on items. That's because so many people look at products in-store, and then buy online to get them cheaper.

So why don't we take that same attitude online? You can use Amazon to find what you're looking for; it's got the biggest library of for-sale items in the world. But if you find a third party offering the same stock at a decent price, why not check the seller's own site?

That's why Amazon is a fantastic way of sourcing other retailers!

Once you've found a store you like, cut out the middleman, i.e. Amazon, and purchase directly from them instead. You can come across more merchandise on its own site, as it might not list its entire catalog on Amazon; its own repository is easier to regularly update and maintain.

6. Use Amazon Fresh (Sparingly)

buy groceries local produce online pantry

You don't need to solely use Amazon for books, games, Blu-ray, and the like. You can buy your groceries too!

But doesn't that mean you're plowing money into an online giant instead of a conglomeration of supermarkets? Actually, Amazon Fresh sources many items from nearby shops, so your food deliveries get to you quickly. Hence Amazon "Fresh."

It's got a huge selection, from food and drink, to healthcare and electronic goods.

Note that Amazon Fresh isn't available everywhere and there are regional variants. Amazon UK uses the supermarket chain Morrisons for its Fresh pantry. To make sure you're getting local produce, navigate to Local & Seasonal > Local Market.

7. Use Amazon Smile

Charities are businesses too. You can help a charity out by registering for Amazon Smile, selecting your chosen charity, and then continuing to shop as normal.

When browsing, look on smile.amazon.com, not amazon.com—you'll see the exact same products, but you'll need to sign in first. This means that, when you buy something, Amazon will donate 0.5 percent of eligible purchases to your charity. It doesn't sound like much, but you'd be surprised at how it all adds up.

And this doesn't cost you a thing. No further fees are added. Just buy whatever you want, and if it's part of the Smile program (which most things are, largely excluding third-party sellers), your charity gets money to do wonderful things with.

Related: Amazon Will Now Donate Unwanted Items to Charity

You get regular reports on how much you've raised, and how much the charity has collectively received. You can swap charities too if you wish.

Finding Ways to Support Small Businesses Online

There are loads of other stores, both physical and online, where you can find products you won't find on Amazon. Nonetheless, you don't need to feel guilty when you do turn to Amazon because there are always ways to help out the little guy too.