We had a good run..

If you still use Amazon, you might want to change your default payment method to SEPA instead of Visa/MasterCard. SEPA is common in all the EU. In Spain we also have the option for Bizum, which is extremely popular payment method.

And just a reminder, Bizum is joining Bancomat and MBWay to release EuroPA in Italy, Portugal and Spain: https://www.reddit.com/r/BuyFromEU/comments/1jof8hq/european_payment_system_ptesit/

And Bizum seems to be looking into opening to other countries soon: https://www.reddit.com/r/BuyFromEU/comments/1j855ra/bizum_a_spanish_payment_method_arrivinf_in_europe/

Wero is another Bizum alternatives in a few EU countries, not sure if Amazon also offers a Wero payment method.

When in shopping in other shops, look up for these payment methods, or Klarna as well. Many European shops offer Klarna.

As for alternatives to Amazon, there are quite a few posts talking about this, eg: https://www.reddit.com/r/BuyFromEU/comments/1j0vc4i/european_alternative_to_amazon/

If you can't remove Amazon completely for specific parts, try switching to other shops for specific products like pccomponentes, mediamarkt, elcorteingles, allegro, bol, coolblue, fnac, emag, etc.

Or second hand stores like Vinted or Wallapop (ES, IT, PO):

• https://www.reddit.com/r/BuyFromEU/comments/1j1s5hp/vinted_alternative_for_amazon_etsy_ebay/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/BuyFromEU/comments/1it7v3j/wallapop_a_secondhand_marketplace_very_popular_in/

Recently I made a decision to completely switch to barefoot shoes. I checked the market and I am impressed about the amount of barefoot shoes makers we have in Europe. One thing that kept me from buying barefoot shoes before, was the esthetics, but that really improved recently. You can find some really good looking barefoot shoes now. I personally like German brand Blusun, their production is in Germany and Portugal.

Not trying to sound dramatic, but isn’t it weird how all the major social media platforms we use are American? Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), Reddit, TikTok (ok, that one’s Chinese)… but nothing really big that’s actually European.

We talk a lot about digital privacy, tech sovereignty, and how Europe wants to be more independent—but somehow we’re still stuck using platforms that are built, owned, and controlled by companies outside the EU. We’re basically renting our digital lives.

And it’s not just about data privacy or politics. It’s also about missed opportunities. We’ve got talent, we’ve got infrastructure, we’ve got smart people building amazing tech here… so why haven’t we managed to create even one major social network that people actually use?

Even if someone builds one, it ends up either super niche or gets bought up before it grows.

Honestly, I think we really need a social platform that’s: Made in the EU Respects privacy (actually) Doesn’t shove weird algorithmic content down your throat Isn’t just a clone of something that already exists

It’s not even about competing with the US—it’s about having options and not being totally dependent. It feels like we gave up before we even tried.

So I’m curious: What do you guys think it would take for a European platform to succeed? Are there any cool smaller ones out there that just need support? Or is the idea dead in the water already?

Really want to hear what others think about this. Let’s talk. We’ve got so many smart people here in Europe. What are they doing?

Tired of American waterpik? Buy polish Seysso. Better parameters, better look and cheaper. Choose wisely.

I was replying to someone about where to find European muesli but I couldn't find this info on the Carrefour France site. Hold and behold, this site, open source and with an app, also has this information.

They list the ingredients and the countries where goods are produced.

It's also helpful for neighbouring countries where the French do their groceries (for example Germany - there are some Edeka references from the little I've seen) as well as other Francophone countries (I've seen a few Moroccan products). They also list all the countries in which a specific product is sold.

The website is, obviously, only in French.

I'm not affiliated to the website creators, I just found it out by myself and wanted to share this with you.

It's disgraceful that we're in this situation! It's disgraceful and we should be ashamed of the European Union that we are in the year 2025 and we currently:

1. don't have an European operating system for computers
   
2. don't have an European mobile operating system for smartphones and tablets
   
3. don't have an European CPU manufacturer
   
4. don't have a big European-based social network
   
5. don't have a European semiconductor industry capable of producing cutting-edge chips
   
6. don't have a European e-commerce giant to counterbalance Amazon, Shein, Temu, Alibaba etc.
   
7. don't have a European company that produces flagship smartphones at Apple/Samsung scale (Nokia no longer produces flagship smartphones)
   
8. don't have any European-developed mainstream gaming consoles
   
9. don't have any European equivalent to Hollywood. Why could India create Bollywood? We invest so little in European cinema! Our movies are mostly dramas or comedies with very little special effects. There is no European superhero movie. None.
   
10. don't have a mainstream European PC and laptop manufacturer

It’s frustrating, considering the EU has the talent, resources, and market size to make these things happen. What do you think is holding Europe back? Bureaucracy? Lack of investment? Overregulation?

Europe certainly has the capability to close these gaps, but bureaucracy, fragmented markets, and lack of aggressive investment might be slowing progress.

Do any of these stand out to you as the most urgent? Or do you see some hopeful developments in any of these sectors?

Google doesn't have a privacy problem. Google IS the problem.

Are you a happy Google user? Think about it: By default, Google has access to:

1. Your web activity
2. Your location and address
3. Your emails
4. Everything you type on your phone's keyboard
5. Your Wi-Fi credentials
6. Your age and gender
7. Your WhatsApp history
8. Your photos and voice samples
9. Your payment history
10. Your passwords

The list goes on: just go to Google Takeaway and download the archive. Enjoy.

"But they're just using it to show me their ads!"

Maybe, but according to the Patriot Act, the US government and intelligence agencies have automatic access to your data. This process is fully automated and your data is scanned on a daily basis.

Don't think you're too small and obedient and nobody cares about you. This data can be used to influence your political views or against your friends, colleagues or employer.

Next problem: You cannot just move your data to another provider. There are no open standards for network cloud services. Moving your data is difficult and painful. You are locked in.

You can choose from many European services, but remember: the political landscape can change. Do you have a guarantee that Switzerland, Germany, or France won't become the next U.S., Russia, or China?

How will you move your data from Proton or Tuta? What can stop developers from building backdoors into their services? Basically, only their promises. Not much.

You should be able to switch providers if you care about your privacy.

So far I have only found one portable solution: Nextcloud. It's an open source workspace of German origin used by several European providers (e.g. murena.io from e.foundation). You can switch between providers or even host it yourself.

Moving your data is not enough. You shouldn't use plain android or ios if you don't want your phone to deliver your secrets to Donald's minions. But it can be a good first step.

Just a reminder that when buying colouring books or books for younger children I have often seen 'printed in China'. Across the big brand supermarket chains, bookstores, stationery shops, etc.

So I now double check each time where they were printed.

Also : don't forget supporting the local libraries. They are the best!

You know the saying - when you ask the question Google (or which browser we switch to 🫠) it will offer you 1000 answers. And a librarian will bring you only one, the correct one.

One of the most comfy shoes i ever had. Usually my shoes last 1 max 2 years before their sole falls off, rips, or gets really really ugly. i was dumb to choose a white one, so the color ofc darkened because of everyday use, but otherwise the shoe is in its second year and show no damage. (The posted pics are from the day of purchase) (Im not a shoe nerd i dont clean them daily, i do all kind of stuff in them, and i usually own 1 max 2 pairs of shoes at any given time, so they shoes have rough time with me)

I had vans before, the quality of tisza is leagues ahead.

https://www.tiszacipo.com/

They also have bags, t shirts, panties even, i havent tried those but feel free check them out.

Some delicious French Brie and an Opinel knife to slice it

I have only been using this company a couple of weeks ( 2 orders). I ordered Salomon walking shoes for my partner. They were 55 euros cheaper than on Amazon (or anywhere). The delivery to our local shop with the tracking was fantastic. I did a quick search on the subreddit and no one else has listed them so I hope this is useful.

When will we get a fully Google independent Linux phone for cheap?!

I previously posted this in r/guitarpedals when it seemed highly likely tariffs where coming - might be relevant here too :-)

https://www.reddit.com/r/guitarpedals/comments/1j5jkpe/2025_european_pedal_manufacturers_list/

Thought it was a good time to post an up to date list of European pedal manufacturers. The British list is pretty big so will be a separate post. If there are ones I have missed please comment and I will add them.

EU

AC noises (Italy) - https://acnoises.com/

Aclam (Spain) - https://www.aclamguitars.com/store/pedal-effects

A.I.B. Custom FX (France) - https://www.aibcustomfx.com/

ALH Effects (France) - https://www.alh-effects.fr

Amp-FX (Germany) - https://reverb.com/shop/ffxpedals

Analogwise (Poland) - https://www.analogwisepedals.com

Ananashead FX (Spain) - https://www.ananashead.com/

Anasounds (France) - https://anasounds.com

Atmosfera 6 (Spain) - https://www.atmosfera6.com

Behringer (Germany) - https://www.behringer.com/

BJF (Sweden) - https://tgt11.com/brand.html/bjf

Blue Colander (Poland) - https://www.bluecolander.com/

Bluetone (Finland) - https://www.bluetone.fi

Brunetti (Italy) - http://www.brunetti.it/en/

Carl Martin (Denmark) - https://www.carlmartin.com

Chaos Custom Shop (Poland) - https://chaos-fx.pl/

Collision Devices (France) - https://collisiondevices.com

Cornerstone (Italy)- https://www.cornerstonemusicgear.com/

Couch Electronics (Slovenia) - https://www.couchelectronics.com

Crazy Tube Circuits (Greece) - https://crazytubecircuits.com

Darkglass Electronics (Finland) - https://www.darkglass.com

Dawner Prince Electronics (Croatia) - https://dawnerprince.com

Decibelics (Spain) - https://decibelics.com/

Demon Pedals (Germany) - http://demonpedals.com/

Diezel (Germany) - http://www.diezelamplification.com/products/

Diffractor Soundings (France) - https://diffractorsoundings.com/

Dolmen Effects (France) - https://www.dolmen-effects.fr

Dreadbox (Greece) - https://www.dreadbox-fx.com/effects/

Drolo (Belgium) - https://drolofx.com/

Dronechov Noise Machines (Netherlands) - https://www.dronechovnm.com/

Dr. No Effects (Netherlands) - https://drno-effects.com/

Drunk Beaver Pedals (Poland) - https://drunk-beaver.rocks

EBS (Sweden) - https://ebssweden.com/content2/effects

Effettidiclara (Italy) - https://www.effettidiclara.com

Emma Electronics (Denmark) - https://www.emmaelectronic.com

Empty Head Effects (Germany) - https://www.emptyheadeffects.com/shop

Erica Synths (Latvia) - https://www.ericasynths.lv/

FFX Pedals (Germany) - https://www.ffxpedals.com/

Field Effect Tones (Portugal) - https://reverb.com/en-be/shop/ericeira-fuzz

Foxgear (Italy) - https://www.foxgeardistribution.com

G-Lab (Poland) - https://glab.com.pl/

Gamechanger Audio (Latvia) - https://gamechangeraudio.com/products/

George Dennis (Czech Republic) - http://www.georgedennis.eu/

Glou-Glou (France) - https://glou-glou.org/?v=f003c44deab6

GranCasino (Italy) - https://grancasinofactory.com/

Grobert Effects (Poland) - https://groberteffects.com/

Häh-Audio (Finland) - https://hahaudio.com/

Hällelec (Sweden) - https://tgt11.eu/brand.html/hallelec

Hexefx (Germany) - https://www.hexefx.com/pedals

Himmelstrutz (Sweden) - https://www.himmelstrutz.com

Iceberg Effects (The Netherlands) - https://www.icebergeffects.nl/

Inverted Cross Audio (Spain) - https://invertedcrossaudio.com/

Jam Pedals (Greece) - https://www.jampedals.com

Janis Effect Pedals (Latvia) - https://www.janisaltmanis.lv

JDM (Germany) -https://www.joedocmusic.com/pedals/

JPTR FX (Germany) - https://www.jptrfx.com/

Kasleder FX (Hungary) - https://www.kaslederfx.com/

Kernom (France) - https://kernom.com

KMA (Germany) - http://kma-machines.com/

Kuro Custom Audio (Italy) - https://www.kurocustomaudio.com/

Lehle (Germany) - https://www.lehle.com/products

Lichtlaerm Audio (Germany) - https://lichtlaermaudio.com

Lokaj Audio (Czech Repunblic) - https://lokajaudio.bigcartel.com/

Lunastone (Denmark) - https://www.lunastonepedals.com

Mad Professor (Finland) - https://mpamp.com

Monotone Effects (Netherlands) - monotoneeffects.com

Moose Electronics (Ireland) - https://www.moosetwentythree.com/

MP Custom FX (Serbia) - https://reverb.com/shop/mp-custom-fx

Nobels (Germany) - https://nobels.de/?lang=en

Nordland Electronics (Germany) - https://nordland-electronics.de/en/

Occvlt Pedals (Poland) - https://occvltpedals.bigcartel.com/

Ohmfects (Portugal) - https://ohmfects.com/

Ohmless Pedals (Germany) - https://ohmlesspedals.com/

Okko (Germany) - http://www.stompbox.de/

OPFXS (Italy) - https://opfxs.com/

Orion (Germany) - http://www.orion-fx.com/?language=en

Overkill Effects (Croatia) - https://reverb.com/shop/overkill-effects

Palmer (Germany) - https://www.palmer-germany.com/en/Products

Parasit Studio (Sweden) - https://www.parasitstudio.se

PFX Circuits (France) - https://pfxcircuits.com

Polarbear Effects (Croatia) - https://www.polarbeareffects.com/

Polyend (Poland) - https://polyend.com/

Quill Effects (Ireland) - https://www.quilleffects.com/

Red Ant Stompboxes (Czech Republic) - https://www.redantstompboxes.com/en

Reuss Musical Instruments (Denmark) - https://www.reusseffects.com/

Rockfabrik (Germany) - http://www.rockfabrik-effects.com/ (German-Turkish)

Rodenberg (Germany) - https://www.rodenberg-amplification.com/pedals

Sabelya (France) - https://sabelya.fr

Signal Cheyne (France) - https://www.signalcheyne.com/

Sitek Guitar Electronics (Poland) - https://www.sitek.rocks/

Sonic Fields (Belgium) - https://sonicfields.be/

Solar Guitars (Sweden) - https://www.solar-guitars.com/categorie-produit/pedals/

Square Wave BD (Sweden) - https://www.squarewavebd.com/

Støy (Denmark) - https://www.stoysound.com/

Surfy Industries (Italy) - https://www.surfyindustries.com

SviSound (Bulgaria) - https://www.svisound.com/

Tampco (France) - https://tampco.fr/en

Tasty Chips (Netherlands) - https://www.tastychips.nl/

TC Electronic (Denmark) - https://www.tcelectronic.com

Tefi Vintage Lab (Italy) - https://tefivintagelab.it/

Thermion (Spain) - https://www.thermion.eu/

Tone Charm Audio (Poland) - https://tonecharmaudio.bigcartel.com/

Triungulo Lab (Italy) - http://www.triungulolab.com/

T-Rex Effects (Denmark) - https://www.t-rex-effects.com/

Tsakalis Audioworks (Greece) - https://tsakalisaudioworks.com

Uraltone (Finland) Parts and kits - https://en.uraltone.com/kits/effect-pedal-kits.html

Vahlbruch (Germany) - http://www.vahlbruch-fx.com/en/

VS Audio (Greece) - https://www.vsaudio.com

Weehbo (Germany) - http://www.weehbo.de/

Whalestone (Sweden) - https://whalestone.se

Xander Electronics (Italy) - https://www.xanderelectronics.com/website/

Zcat Pedals (Latvia) https://zcatpedals.com

Non EU

Analog Music Company (Ukraine) - https://www.analogmusic.company/

Fjord Fuzz (Norway) - https://fjordfuzz.no

Noise Space Audio (Ukraine) - https://reverb.com/shop/noise-space-audio

Pladask Elektrisk (Norway) - https://pladaskelektrisk.com

Sentimental Bob Electronics (Ukraine) - https://reverb.com/en-se/shop/sentimental-bob-electronics

Trondheim Audio Devices (Norway) - https://trondheimaudiodevices.com/

Volume And Power (Switzerland) - www.volumeandpower.com

I’m looking i to alternatives for the next string change on my electric (Ironically, it’s a Gibbons) and realize most of the known brands I can find are American made.

Any good recommendations on European or Canadian made strings that are coated. Only know of Rotosound, but they’re uncoated.(Though still a viable option)