> There are great small businesses that still ship very fast, and at competitive prices and since I'm one now

The problem is that there are also a lot of scumbags doing the same thing, and it's impossible to tell the great small businesses from the scammers. I've been burned by that a few times, and it's why I don't buy anything from Amazon unless Amazon is fulfilling the order (where I have at least some recourse).

If I'm buying directly from small sellers, I'm either using their website directly or I'm doing it on eBay.