I feel guilty and dirty for buying from Amazon

[JohnRM]

On the other hand

During covid, I am trying NOT to shop local except groceries, we have an Amazon Prime membership, generally they have the best prices when you factor in free shipping. And it's very easy to return stuff too.



Just because they are big and financially successful doesn't make them "evil". They aren't even close to being a monopoly either.



I don't like everything they do, but it's not like they are using child or slave labor. People can quit and start their own companies if they think they can serve the marketplace better than their competitors.

 

[Walt34]

Just because they are big and financially successful doesn't make them "evil". They aren't even close to being a monopoly either.

There is that too. I just bought a particular size of folding propeller for a sailplane on eBay. Because I couldn't find it on Amazon. Or anywhere else for that matter.

 

[Amethyst]

Amazon is not good for niche hobby items; they are geared more to the common denominator. Take specialty quilting fabric, for fabric arts. They carry a few bolts of fabric, but nothing I'd use. I go right to Etsy, Ebay, or one of the small specialty online stores.

There is that too. I just bought a particular size of folding propeller for a sailplane on eBay. Because I couldn't find it on Amazon. Or anywhere else for that matter.

 

[ERhoosier]

I prefer NOT to shop at Amazon, and their Prime 'service' is of no interest to me. Amazon prices are often not the best anymore either. But I keep getting Amazon gift cards from others (presents, promos, etc.) so I use 'em. If I don't use them, Amazon basically is just keeping that $$.

And FWIW- During the worst of the COVID e-commerce delivery problems, my neighbor was getting much quicker delivery from WalMart, but then that's just another big Empire too.

 

[jldavid47]

That is some weird spin on the first article about 4x10s shifts. My whole career people would beg to get on 4x10s.

Yeah, that's weird. The last 10 years of my career I got my management to let me work 4x10. It was WONDERFUL. 3-day weekends every week, 4-day weekends when there was a holiday. I got used to the longer days pretty quickly.

 

[Chuckanut]

I definitely think that is a huge factor but I've created enough thread drift as it is.

Agreed. If you create anymore thread drift, I’ll have to buy a new sewing machine from Amazon. [emoji2]

 

[HI Bill]

• Now that Amazon has Prime Air, we generally receive packages in Hawaii within two day of shipment. And that's on an outer island.
  
• About half of the purchases I make are from Amazon "Marketplace" sellers. These are small businesses that are able to survive, make money, and thrive, due to Amazon's infrastructure. Many have Amazon hold and ship their inventory.
  
• Disclosure: I am part of the "Evil Empire", as I receive goods from Amazon Vine for review. These are taxed and listed on my 1099-NEC (Non-Employee Compensation) form. I pay Federal and State taxes based on the taxable value of these items.
  
• Many items, including clothes, I used to buy in brick and mortar stores. After CompUSA, Circuit City, Sports Authority, and many other stores went out of business, Amazon makes it easy to buy items at reasonable prices, and in the time of COVID, without having to go to the few stores remaining.
  
• I applaud Jeff Bezos and his team for the democratization of the e-commerce space. I've sold things on Amazon Marketplace, although these are mostly just used items.
  

 

[ERD50]

That is some weird spin on the first article about 4x10s shifts. My whole career people would beg to get on 4x10s. ...

Yes. 4x10's are wonderful, fewer days to commute. longer 'weekends', etc.

DD is a nurse on 3x12's. She was looking into a position in an office that would be 5x8, and though nothing came of it, I reminded her not to discount the many benefits of a 3 on 4 off schedule.

It sounds to me like the authors of that article haven't worked real jobs. This thread could quickly devolve into a "Four Yorkshire-men" sketch, but for some pretty long periods of my career a 4x10 would be absolute "look-joory" (luxury). Beats the heck out of 5x12's with a Saturday appearance thrown in, (drinking tea out of a rolled up newspaper).

...
The tip issue does sound bad.
...

I kinda skimmed the article, partially because as others have pointed out, it sure seems like they have their own agenda, but I didn't really understand the "tip stealing" angle. Of course it sounds bad, but what was it exactly? Sounded more like the policy changed.

Like others have said, you don't like the rules, find another game to play.


Hmmm, did the OP not like the support for Amazon here? No appearance since that post 4 days ago?

-ERD50

 

[Music Lover]

Amazon is successful, and I like companies that are successful. They are also usually targets of many people who don't like the way they succeeded.

I don't like Amazon because of their success...I don't like them because I don't like Bezos. He didn't bought WashPo because he was interested in providing accurate or unbiased news coverage.

 

[harley]

I don't like Amazon because of their success...I don't like them because I don't like Bezos. He didn't bought WashPo because he was interested in providing accurate or unbiased news coverage.

Unless maybe he thought WashPo already did provide accurate news coverage, and he wanted to keep it alive when so many papers were going out of business. I don't care what their bias is, since all media outlets are somewhat biased. But I don't think buying it displays evil intent.

 

[meleana]

I doubt I will ever break the habit. With a few exceptions, I can't find half the things anywhere else that I can on Amazon.

 

[Music Lover]

Unless maybe he thought WashPo already did provide accurate news coverage, and he wanted to keep it alive when so many papers were going out of business. I don't care what their bias is, since all media outlets are somewhat biased. But I don't think buying it displays evil intent.

Evil...maybe not. Deliberately dishonest, very likely. Bezos did not buy a newspaper because he was interested in balanced journalism.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Sometimes you can pay quite a premium for stuff on Amazon. You can buy chocolate bars there that Aldi also carries, but at nearly four times Aldi's price. Also, I use online vendors for European car parts that generally beat Amazon.

I always comparison shop online. It's so easy to check around yirtually ... Amazon is competitive most of the time, but not always.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Evil...maybe not. Deliberately dishonest, very likely. Bezos did not buy a newspaper because he was interested in balanced journalism.

That reminds me to renew my WaPo subscription.

 

[Sanbenito1]

Wean yourself slowly. Start by ditching Amazon Prime. Then, when Amazon crawls back begging you for $99 to sign up again, take advantage of the free-trial period they’ll offer you. Then, strike a blow against the Evil Empire by canceling at the end of the free period. Repeat.

 

[VanWinkle]

I don't like Amazon because of their success...I don't like them because I don't like Bezos. He didn't bought WashPo because he was interested in providing accurate or unbiased news coverage.

You think it was unbiased before he bought it?

VW

 

[ERD50]

Wean yourself slowly. Start by ditching Amazon Prime. Then, when Amazon crawls back begging you for $99 to sign up again, take advantage of the free-trial period they’ll offer you. Then, strike a blow against the Evil Empire by canceling at the end of the free period. Repeat.

Hah! They finally caught me.

I really never saw Prime as a good deal for me, I don't care about the movies, and I rarely need anything faster than normal shipping, and if I did, I could pay for the shipping a couple times a year and be ahead (I understand some benefit from the fast shipping, movies, etc). And it really grates me that not everything falls into the Prime category, so you may still end up paying for shipping.

But around Christmas time, if I got a free offer for Prime, I'd take it, in case we had a last minute need to fill. And I'd cancel (they make it easy, and you can do it anytime and they still keep it active for the full 30 days).

Then the most recent time, DW starts watching some of the videos, and gets hooked on a series or two. I said, we have Netflix, we have Sling - isn't that enough? Nope, she wanted this special show series. OK, I'm not going to deprive her over this small monthly charge, even though it still bugs me a bit.

And what is she watching? Reruns from 1980's sitcoms - Helen Hunt in "Mad About You?", really??!!

Hah, hah, I'm lucky that this is even a "problem" in the overall scheme of things.

-ERD50

 

[Chuckanut]

Sometimes I am compelled to buy from Amazon when my local Kroger affiliate store does not carry what I want. A few months ago I wanted some pistachio pudding. The supermarket near me had many varieties of chocolate, vanilla and butterscotch, but not one box of pistachio pudding. I got it through Amazon at about 2x the price. I suppose I could have wasted 1/2 hour of my time and checked out a few other stores, but is it really a good use of time, money and resources? [quote/]

A few minutes after writing that I headed out on my weekly trip to the local Fred Meyer (Kroger) supermarket. I decided to check out the pudding section which I have not done since their remodel many many months ago. I discovered another reason not to automatically go to Amazon - Fred Meyer now has pistachio pudding - regular and sugar free and still at half the price of Amazon. Maybe Kroger has learned something about keeping customers.

I bought two boxes.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Amazon is no longer among the lowest priced sellers. It's shtick is now convenience. Clark Howard (the consumer guy) has been pointing this out for about a year, maybe more. I have noticed that myself. A recent purchase was about 7% less on Ebay than Amazon. Late last year, I goofed when I bought my Eufy robot vacuum and paid abut $20 more on Amazon than from Walmart.

Yes, I use eBay more often than Amazon.

... Sometimes I am compelled to buy from Amazon when my local Kroger affiliate store does not carry what I want. A few months ago I wanted some pistachio pudding. The supermarket near me had many varieties of chocolate, vanilla and butterscotch, but not one box of pistachio pudding. I got it through Amazon at about 2x the price. I suppose I could have wasted 1/2 hour of my time and checked out a few other stores, but is it really a good use of time, money and resources?

Half an hour?

 

[Music Lover]

You think it was unbiased before he bought it?

VW

Nope, so I never thought it was worth my money. After Bezos came on board we decided to stop buying their stuff.

That, plus the fact that we try as much as we can to support local businesses. Call it "blow that dough" or call it a form of local charity but I think it's better to pay a little extra and keep someone local in business that it is to save a few pennies. The shop down the street needs my business far more than Amazon does.

 

[Chuckanut]

Sometimes I am compelled to buy from Amazon when my local Kroger affiliate store does not carry what I want. A few months ago I wanted some pistachio pudding. The supermarket near me had many varieties of chocolate, vanilla and butterscotch, but not one box of pistachio pudding. I got it through Amazon at about 2x the price. I suppose I could have wasted 1/2 hour of my time and checked out a few other stores, but is it really a good use of time, money and resources?

A few minutes after writing that I headed out on my weekly trip to the local Fred Meyer (Kroger) supermarket. I decided to check out the pudding section which I have not done since their remodel many many months ago. I discovered another reason not to automatically go to Amazon - Fred Meyer now has pistachio pudding - regular and sugar free and still at half the price of Amazon. Maybe Kroger has learned something about keeping customers.

I bought two boxes.

 

[Bamaman]

I just wish Amazon wasn't so easy to order things through. And they have virtually every item I need. But I do minimize my purchases at my age.

 

[ivinsfan]

Nope, so I never thought it was worth my money. After Bezos came on board we decided to stop buying their stuff.

That, plus the fact that we try as much as we can to support local businesses. Call it "blow that dough" or call it a form of local charity but I think it's better to pay a little extra and keep someone local in business that it is to save a few pennies. The shop down the street needs my business far more than Amazon does.

Pay a little extra and just save a few pennies. I wish it was that simple. What happens if you can't get an item within 50 to 100 miles. What if you go to a local business for something you need today and not only do they charge more money but tell they will order it and have it stock next week. My favorite is auto part or implement dealers who tells me I can have here in 3 days if your want to pay for express shipping. And then it come to their shop instead of directly to your home? To simply say buy local and use Mom and Pop doesn't tell the whole story.

 

[Ready]

Who still has Mom and Pop stores in their neighborhood? Buying local for me means Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Best Buy. Local neighborhood stores closed many years ago.

 

[ivinsfan]

Who still has Mom and Pop stores in their neighborhood? Buying local for me means Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Best Buy. Local neighborhood stores closed many years ago.

My point exactly.....buy local can be a myth.