I am a loyal Amazon customer. It's one of the few benefits we deeply rural people enjoy. We have no broad band. Satellite internet terrible and very expensive. The nearest big box is Walmart and it's 25 miles from my house. And Walmart has it's own issues. Amazon has leveled the playing field for rural people to get access to goods that many take for granted. It's cheaper to have it shipped than to drive 50 miles in bad weather. I won't give it up.
102
@ Julie r I live upstate in the super rural countryside. Walmart delivers to me all the time, so does a million other companies.
I have Amazon account, and totally frustrated at the jacked up prices for example Equate cimetidine Amazon over 20 dollars, Walmart under 5.
5
@Julie R It's only cheaper for you because the rest of the US is lazy and loves the convenience. And even worse, it's cheaper for you because the post office, i.e. my federal taxes, pays for the delivery of this stuff.
I know I’m a bad person for moving to the suburbs 35 years ago. Consequentially I have to drive to brick and mortar stores. Needed a new Kohler valve for my kitchen sink. Drove to 3 hardware stores. None had it. Amazon delivered it in 24 hours. Broken rear wiper arm on my 11 year old car. $100 at the dealer and back ordered. $15 and 24 hours from Amazon. Lost my laptop charger. Could have driven to Best Buy, but Amazon would deliver a brand name charger.
Seems to me that one Amazon truck driving around making 100 deliveries is less damaging to the environment than 100 suburban drivers clogging the roads and atmosphere, each on their own individual shopping missions.
I know Amazon is sometimes a willing distributor for counterfeit and sub-standard products. Shopping at Amazon requires some diligence. Look for products with hundreds (or thousands) of reviews. Read the negative reviews. Compare with similar items. Be a discerning shopper. Be willing to return unsuitable items. Buy products that are shipped direct from Amazon.
Yes, sometimes a brick and mortar store is the way to go. Often it’s not. Happy to say Amazon is one of the few places that still carries buggy whips.
203
@Tone - well said. And that one Amazon truck driving around making 100 deliveries is likely running on clean energy, or very soon switching to all electric.
16
@Tone One big reason that one finds things more frequently at Amazon is that it has put a lot of other companies out of business and/or reduced their retailing operations. Case in point was radioshack. They used to be all over the place and one could buy all kinds of small electronic things and cables etc. Where can you find this stuff anymore ? Amazon is now the only place.
8
It's been studied, and the Amazon trips delivering to you are far more wasteful. We don't, as shoppers, tend to make tons of individual trips. We combine errands, we decide we don't need something, we stop by the store when we are out doing something else already, etc.
11
"Consider all the resources Amazon put into my lighting purchase: The company had stocked its store with niche, highly-advanced electronics; it had spent billions on a shopping infrastructure capable of shipping those products to me overnight; and it had spent heavily on marketing, including doling out affiliate marketing fees to bloggers like Mr. Chapman, in order to bring customers like me to its store."
Okay. Now consider all the resources that Amazon DOESN'T put into your lighting purchase. Consider all the human and natural resources it abuses. Think about the nonexistent taxes that it pays. Think about the toll that Amazon takes on our roads and the pollution it excretes on a daily basis. Who pays for that tab? Amazon is a great company that knows exactly what it needs to do for consumers to turn a blind eye to everything else. It is the snake telling you to bite into the forbidden apple. It depends on a public who can't be bothered to think about its actions because... convenience!
252
@Andrew
By using Amazon (usually 2 or even 3 times a week) I save enormous amounts of my precious time by shopping on-line instead of driving several miles to stores only to find they don't have what I need, or that they are charging more than the prices I could find at Amazon or other on-line sources.
I also reduce air pollution and wear on the roads by letting Amazon deliver numerous packages--including mine--during the day, a great efficiency and savings over having individuals drive to and from malls and stores to pick out and bring home their goods.
If I encounter a glitch in the form of a damaged or otherwise unacceptable product I can arrange on-line for a return, replacement or refund in a minute or two without hassle or bother or cost. I can't remember the last time I had a hassle-free exchange at a physical store (must add in time driving to and from said store, polluting the air and wearing down roads with my car, wasting my time explaining my problem to an uncaring store clerk, etc.).
50
@Andrew I save even more from the environment I think: I am a senior citizen who has finally given up my 12 year old car (probably emitting stuff it should not) saving on car insurance and other amounts to have Amazon Fresh deliver groceries to me while also having the option of ordering from Whole Foods. If I need just one onion, three carrots and a half pound of cheese I can order that and have no food wastes (food waste adds to green house gases too). I started my Prime membership a few years ago when a broken foot meant I could not get out to do any Christmas shopping and have never regretted it. I am very fortunate to live in one of the Amazon market areas where the grocery shopping and other shopping alternatives are available to me via PRIME and I love it. It pleases me to know that people working in the Amazon warehouses in this area are making at least $18/hr and getting some healthcare from our state. I HATE WalMart for paying its people so little they MUST go on Medicaid for health care and all of their merchandise coming almost exclusively from China. I can choose a USA or elsewhere made product on the Amazon site.
7
@Mon Ray
I agree with you 100%!
People who don't get it are just sore losers.
My time is worth a lot to me.
My lack of aggravation because of the convenience that Amazon affords is inestimable.
And the customer service is unbeatable.
7
Not while Trump is president. As much as he might hate Jeff Bezos, he won’t touch it with a ten foot long pole.
This op-ed reflects the zeitgeist of Menlo Park millionaires and Palo Alto techies: insulated, clinical, chimeric fascination with the inventions they created and how detached their lives are from the rest of America.
There probably is an ACE Hardware store a mile from where you live Farhad. Go there, talk to the nice man at the counter, ask him about these bulbs and perhaps this conversation will make you write more meaningful on this powerful platform.
1
I have been in the “retail - wholesale - manufacturing” arena my whole life. The biggest players have always had their critics & detractors. You don’t get big by not having lots of happy customers. If you want punish someone, I suggest starting with the cable companies.
2
Amazon is a monopoly owned and operated by a multibillionaire! At that level, capitalism fails this country — the 300+ people, forsaken for investment! How was it allowed to get that way? Politicians! Red and Blue! CitizensUnited sealed our fate! Regardless of the outcome in November 2020, I don’t see one candidate addressing a major issue plaguing this country!
If the government breaks up Amazon, better breakup Wal-Mart too.
1
It's simple to break up Amazon. What are its business lines? Each one can be a separate corporation.
1. e-commerce site
2. logistics
3. cloud
4. social media (twitch)
5. IOT
6. Movie/TV studio
7. Streaming channel
Done and dusted.
1
Farhad
I think your approach to SAD may need a little fine tuning. It's not so much light getting into your eyes but rather exposing your skin to direct solar UV radiation. This will certainly be minimized in the winter. The skin is a neuroendocrine organ and some daily direct (no glass, nothing between you and the sun) exposure to UVB is stimulating to the nervous system. Try a sunlamp in the winter. Do just enough to raise your energy and minimize cancer risk.
https://academic.oup.com/endo/article/159/5/1992/4931051
Elephant in the room: CARBON FOOTPRINT.
Mathematical intuition has always told me that the carbon footprint of the Amazon marketing model was big. Obviously, an everyday item boxed, padded and brought to my house by a truck getting 8mi/gal demands more power consumption than the same item picked up with less packaging at a store as I go about the rest of my shopping.
But I didn't know the half of it. Not only is all that packing and per item shipping extremely wasteful, there's REPACKAGING and RESHIPPING! I read this in the Jan. 31 issue of The Week: “Some hair conditioner might get sent from a Walmart warehouse in Grantsville, Utah, to Roundup, Montana, then from Roundup to an Amazon fulfillment center in Joliet, Ill. Finally, Amazon sends it out to a customer.” This is insane!
Why do we do it? ADDICTION. Acquiring stuff next day by way of half a minute's thumbwork on our smart phones is almost as addictive as the smart phones themselves.
Our greed, shortsightedness, and obliviousness have enabled Walmart and its competitors to destroy every small town in America. Future historians, if there are any, will assess the social and environmental damage wrought by Amazon as greater than Walmart's.
4
Amazon online store has become a jungle. You really have to be careful in there.
(Now if earth's original Amazon could revert to jungle that's be a good thing!)
2
Do we care about the Environment.NO.Do we want convenience.Yes.Are we selfish.Yes.
3
Dear Farhad,
It’s your type of customer with multiple returns that drives product prices up.
If it was your business would you enjoy having people rip open your products, take a look and send them back on a whim?
I doubt it.
4
Mr. Manjoo
Amazon operates by exploiting warehouse workers and drivers. Their size allows them to exploit the sellers whose products are featured on the Amazon site. Amazon is going to get worse. I though you were smarter than to fall for Amazon's tactics. What happened to you?
1
Amazon's greed may become its downfall. It's turning into a low end train wreck. Gobs of no-name, counterfeit and/or low quality products, jammed in your face because they're "sponsored" or "featured" in order for Amazon to be paid for product placement. Coupled with ever-growing swarms of bogus reviews. It's now a terrible, soul-sucking experience, especially if you come to the site not already knowing exactly what you want to buy.
I've significantly shifted away from Amazon; I'm not a fan of their hegemony, and particularly the way they ultimately take advantage of many of the better businesses that have tried selling through their site. Whenever possible, I buy direct from manufacturers/retailers, rather than on Amazon's site, even if I've first come across the product I'd like to buy on Amazon's site.
And, I'm looking forward to the day when someone launches a competitor storefront site where the sellers and their products are actually screened and curated, where we as buyers can filter based on where things are manufactured or shipped from (e.g., not in China), and where reviewers' identities are verififed, along with their purchases.
5
This is a mighty disappointing piece by Manjoo. Did he order Amazon fairy dust by accident?
Amazon is a behemoth that contributes significantly to our planet destroying materialism.
Amazon is the number one reason why stores, chain or not, go out of business.
Amazon has built a huge carbon emitting infrastructure of warehouses and delivery chains.
Amazon has made workers slaves of automatism.
Amazon rips our social fabric by confining us to our homes and computers.
We live in a dystopian world of dying social interactions.
The NYT published a well researched article not too long ago.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/30/business/amazon-baltimore.html?referringSource=articleShare
I wonder if Mr. Manjoo bothered to read it.
2
The author writes:
"What consumers may come to see in Amazon, instead, is what I’ve started to notice — it’s an inescapable, all-consuming retail paradise."
Consulting WireCutter (a New York Times company) we might be persuaded to choose a different volume of Dante's "Divine Comedy", perhaps the Purgatorio, if not the Inferno:
Welcome to the Era of Fake Products
PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 11, 2020
Ganda Suthivarakom
https://thewirecutter.com/blog/amazon-counterfeit-fake-products/
I realise that many people live in rural areas so must shop on line, but as far as books go, I can't stress enough the importance of supporting your local independent, if you still have one, or any bricks and mortar store. On a personal note, I think Bezos is right up there with the top 10 most humourless and arrogant men in America.
Who buys and uses products for a few weeks, decides they don't like them, returns them and then writes about it as if it's perfectly normal behavior? Then turns around and blames Amazon for his lack of ethics in abusing the system. The only way you're supposed to get a "free" return on Amazon is if it's defective, not as advertised, not the product you ordered, etc., aka 'legitimate reasons'.
3
It’s time we stop using it and realize it will destroy our country. Yes we are not using them anymore. Google Apple Amazon will ruin the country. No one will compete. These are beyond monopolies. Anti union anti workers an elite powerful class of white extremely rich powerful corporations will rule the world.
Global warming could be stopped if Amy Klobochar created a new movement of stopping their power and used their money to require them to solve solar power fusion wind power and employ millions be ahead of China and Europe.
It will provide a new middle class
1
Let's say I need a specific art supply for a class I am taking. There is a chance that Target or Fred Meyer or Dick Blick's will have it. But there is also a greater than average chance that one, or two, or all three will not have it. Why drive all over town, and spend time and energy and gasoline, and take that chance when Amazon Prime will get it delivered within two days?
5
Oh I wish you had not told us of your using of Amazon as a personal "lending library", Mr. Manjoo. Actually I am quite surprised at your cavalier attitude of doing this...it just seems....wrong. I can understand returning a product if there is something faulty with it, or if it's not quite right, but having a premeditated scheme to do this on a regular basis just seems...wrong. So what happens to these products you return? Do they just get written off and dumped? Do they get donated? Do they get resold to the unsuspecting next customer, after your sticky fingerprints have been wiped clean off of them? It's impossible to know.
I try not to be so product oriented in my life---Amazon encourages people to be just that, even more than let's say, a department store. I believe a part of it is the element of excitement and surprise of getting a package.
I like some of Amazon's shows, but I live too simply to need much else from them. And here's a tidbit about what may have happened if Amazon came to Montgomery County Maryland: Employee's state taxes that would be taken from their paychecks could have gone back into Amazon's pocket as one of the seductive "perks". Yikes.
I don't know about breaking Amazon up, but there needs to have more oversight and accountability.
14
So because affluent and not so affluent Americans can fulfill their obsessive consumerism (driven by relentless marketing hype) more and more easily, and get more and more and more stuff, and more stuff, and more cool stuff -- this is something good? Are you out of your mind? Does it not occur to you that this is exactly what is fueling climate change and the crumbling of our democracy? We'll sell our souls to have more cool junk as cheap as possible. Cheap because it's made half way around the world with resources stolen from countries that are being crushed by IMF debt, where workers earn pennies to turn out the slick and glossy garbage that desperate American stuff-junkies crave. Yes, garbage. It's killing the planet, crushing the bodies and souls of workers, and all for your hipper than thou purchase this week that will be dumped in a landfill next week.
The more important question is, do we need all this...stuff?
3
You don’t have to breakup the online store to breakup amazon.
Retail paradise ? Lazy shopper paradise maybe. I just cancelled my prime membership. Workers have fought for last centuries for better rights and Amazon is canceling all that just by bringing things to our doors.
1
Consumer capitalism (and using Amazon Prime one day shipping like they are trips from the mirror to the fitting room) will be the certain death of the planet. Climate change is the symptom, consumer culture is the diseaae.
6
Mr. Manjoo, Amazon must be broken up because it controls both the delivery platform and the marketplace of items. It has been widely reported that it offers up its own products to underprice best-selling items by other sellers, then uses its bogus, widely disputed “ratings” to recommend its own products over those of rivals. It is quite obvious this is monopolistic behavior and must be stopped.
10
Amazon built a better mousetrap.
Get over it.
5
The Ma Bell of retailing.
So is cocaine but you wouldn’t want it’s running the world! The addiction to Amazon has made its owner our master much to our detriment and we can’t stop. We need tough love! Break it up. It’s a “trust” that needs busting!
If you don’t find the new AWS (Amazon Web Services) commercials alarming—where everything flows through Amazon—from A (Ancestry) to Z (Zillow), then I don’t think you are paying attention! And this is just how Amazon likes its customers... Just.keep.clicking.
Oh, my.
Commenters hating on Walmart for poor treatment of employees...and giving all the love to...Amazon???
Ow. Ow. The cognitive dissonance is giving me a headache.
2
When a large portion of its "consumers" are out of work replaced by high tech robots and AI they wont be buying much merchandise. I am old enough to remember when AT & T was considered infallible. Stuff happens, the mighty eventfully fall. Amazon will get replaced by something we have as yet to imagine. So Mr. Manjoo keep filling your cart, Bezos is counting on you.
1
Amazon is an excellent case study in the lure of rampant and unregulated capitalism. We have met the enemy and it is us: the selfish consumer. Depressed wages are a result of our desire for more stuff, cheaper and cheaper, labor be damned. The only practical solution to this is more and higher tariffs. Yes, this gets passed on to consumers. But we consumers drive the market. Don’t fool yourself into believing that capital does anything but act to serve the market. Consumers make the decisions. Consumers are the market.
2
They are enormously convenient. I order from them several times a week. In the winter, at age 77, I appreciate not having to go out to shop when the sidewalks are icy. But I want them to pay their fair share of taxes, not mistreat employees, and find a way to recycle all those damn cardboard boxes.
By the way, I would be a bit careful about abusing the return policy. You might find that your account has been canceled.
ps. I am definitely not part of the global elite.
5
I resisted this supposedly irresistible monster. After seeing the horror of the holiday shopping laid on the streets of Manhattan and dozens of delivery workers struggling to sort and deliver it, I stopped buying from amazon. It has liberated me! Not supporting excessive packaging, impulse purchasing and poor treatment of workers and vendors is what makes my life easier.
8
You got it wrong. It was Gordon Gecko in the movie Wall Street that said "Greed is Good". Good for Gordon Gecko, but not the rest of the country.
Amazon does need to be broken up if we still believe in competition and free markets.
1
I used to love Amazon, too, but now I’m getting sick of sifting through all of the cheap, knock-off garbage flooding it. I’ve been burned too many times when purchases arrive that aren’t what they were supposed to be. And I’m sick of wasting time figuring out whether the reviews are real or fake. I miss the Amazon from five to ten years ago.
37
You might want to consider the human cost of fulfilling your every consumer desire before singing the praises of Bezos' genius. Amazon workers are totally exploited, and the Amazon octopus has destroyed the livelihoods of countless small merchants who once populated America's main streets. Like Wal-mart, they're leeching the community out of the community. And for what? Next-day delivery?
There are more important things in the world than customer convenience, although I suspect it's pointless to argue with Americans and their wretched lust for self-fulfillment.
19
The issue of Amazon is the problem of heavy social costs that are individually invisible to consumers, but collectively visible to all: the decimation of store front retail, long a bastion of very small businesses. In small towns, already reeling from the Walmart effect, Amazon's "magic" for you is a death blow from which they could never recover. If you elite don't care that your habits and shopping addictions are creating an oligarchic economic environment where small business start-ups in retail are a thing of the past, well, it's on you. In cities, Amazon also kills small retail, creating a dead urban space where once there was life. I guess you upper middle class elite types are going to get fat like the people of Wall-E, and will no longer know how to walk, as you spend your days shopping on line with Amazon, ordering take out from Amazon's version of Uber eats, and streaming content from Amazon produced content. So much for your claim to eliteness.
14
One can live quite the fulfilling life without ever using Amazon and all their waste. It is easy in NYC. Try it. Your supposed conveniences have a price on all.
2
Amazon gives you what you want at the cost of harvesting and selling your personal information and buying habits to itself and others. At the cost of abusing its workforce, at the cost of running roughshod over its authors and suppliers. The response of Mr. Manjoo and millions of others is "Yes I know, but I like what it does for me, so I will support it."
Trump gives people what they want at the cost of lies, personal enrichment while in office, ignoring the rule of law, treasonous relations with our enemies and selling the countries interest to further his own. The response of millions of people is "Yes I know, but I like what he does for me, so I will support him."
How does a nation lose liberty? One compromise at a time.
3
Funny, but I see Amazon as having peaked a little while ago. Maybe it will take a little while to show up in the numbers. But, I personally am tired of scrolling through dozens of non-brand items, past “Amazon choices” that often are neither the best deal nor the most reliable. If time-starved people are their #1 clientele then the litter that now fills the search works against that. I find myself now preferring to go to a store for a pre-vetted selection.
I also had a very dissatisfying experience with their customer service recently. I bought a “deal” around the holidays. Days later they cancelled it saying they were actually out of stock even though they had sold it to me. When I asked for an equivalent item at the same price they said they could not honor a past deal. This over a $7 difference.
Which is to say nothing of the continual bad news related to its practices.
I say it’s past it’s “prime”!
2
What I never understood about Warren’s assault on Amazon was the punishment of a guy who had a good idea and marketed the heck out of it (and, yes, became a billionaire several times over). Broken up how? Pieces sent where? I’m now trying to do what I can to spread my retail dollars around. I live in Houston with a number of retail options. If I get the idea I need something, I drive around to several easy to find outlets (WalMart and Target among them) to see if I can get them there. If I can’t I put them in my Amazon cart, but have tried to limit “onesey-twosey” purchases (I feel bad about a warehouse worker having to package up one thing because I decided I needed it while laying on my couch) and do a “big order” once a month. It may still come in a few boxes, but it also gives me a chance to think about “do I need this RIGHT now?”
I also appreciate that a behemoth like Amazon can influence policies at other retailers. While I’m not happy that Barnes and Noble is on the brink, they had pretty much run out suddenly beloved local bookstores, so I’m not laying that at Amazon’s feet.
Liz wants to do something, how about addressing why there used to be a number of full service airlines in this country, and now there are like four. And they don’t fly everywhere. That’s a much meatier target than Amazon. Or the Sprint/TMobile merger? Or Disney/FOX? Or Comcast/NBC?
1
Amazon is extraordinary for those living rurally, and/or whom are sick or disabled or pregnant or elderly. And good god their customer service! It is astonishing (though sometimes you do need to be a bit pushy). All companies, tiny and huge, can learn a great deal from them, there are some very good non-evil reasons for their crazy success. And I say all that while simultaneously loving our little old-time general store with all my might. One must, obviously, not buy everything from Amazon, no community news and wonderful feelings of a social web bubble up from pushing buttons on a screen at home and...good lord the cardboard boxes!
3
As a person trying to kick the Amazon habit and shop locally and more importantly to reduce purchases of new items, I understand how hard it is. I too love the convenience and low cost offered by Amazon’s Prime service.
I am disappointed, however, that Mr. Manjoo did not mention the environmental impact of our expanding online shopping culture. Just think of the resources wasted in his LED light experiment.
1
Not exactly on the topic, but I do not think it is merely the brigtness of the light that is significant. I think it is the wavelength.
Stop buying and shipping all this pointless stuff. It's literally destroying our planet and its not making you any happier. Maybe knowing that you are doing the bare minimum to help prevent the destruction of Earth will improve your mood.
3
Gosh. I really don’t like Amazon.
They use our roads, abuse their workers, stress their drivers, and pay ZERO taxes.
(But I also don’t think buying things, using them, and then returning them is honest!)
5
I get it. Everyone is just SO busy. They just gotta have Amazon.
It’s sure lucky our ancestors weren’t such needy wimps. How did my grandmother, who rode the streetcar to work and then came home to fix dinner—without take-out, drive-thru, or even a microwave—survive without Prime delivery??
1
"How much had the company made on me? Not a penny — at least, not that time."
Except for the ~$150 they already charged you for a year of Amazon Prime.
2
They destroyed independent publishers and book sellers. that alone merits the death penalty for the entire corporation. BTW he did it on purpose and he intends to do it to every other marketplace he tries to compete in.
It is a tried and true criminal method to buy the market then exploit it. I have hope though as the Whole Paycheck in my town is absolutely awful.
3
Your argument only works if you close one eye.
For every "retail paradise" feature you fell in love with (as if your shopping convenience should determine policy) there are others who see dissatisfaction, society-warping greed and self-promotion, declines in service, slowly but inexorably appearing limitations on availability of products not paying Amazon some kind of premium or other.
Amazon is the blinkers shrinking our horizons and limiting our opportunities.
That and their nifty delivery trucks employ the worst drivers ever to be licensed in Ohio.
Go on, search for that obscure French philosopher's discredited 1960s tome. A-hah! Thank God for Amazon! There it is on the first hits page.
Wait second? How come some places are selling it for $0.01 and others are selling it for $487? Oh, OK. I get it. Free postage...
The order comes; with nothing else to give your life meaning you rabidly rip the packing and retrieve the cherished volume. You read at a feverish pace. You skip over unfurtonit miostckes in editing...the French, amIright?
But wait...how did we miss that thirty page section? How come the typeface, even the paper changed halfway through? What up with page numbers jumping around, forward and back?
Call Amazon. They can't do anything even though they say they can do everything.
Everybody along the whole chain of merchandise professes perfection. You got a book; nobody feels obliged to make anything right.
1
Went to the mall, looking for a piece of outdoor gear. Drove 40 minutes. No store had what I needed.
Thought, “I’ll go to REI. They surely have it.” Drove another twenty minutes. They didn’t have it.
Drove the hour home. Opened my laptop. In less than a minute, I found what I needed. It came the next day.
Want to support my local stores. I do. I buy things there that I can get on Amazon, but Main Street is important.
Still, can my charity purchases from local stores keep the Main Street alive?
My neighbor has at least four Amazon Prime boxes delivered each day. They get their pet supplies from an online vendor.
Fresh Direct delivers to the back door, for less than our local grocery store charges for the same items I must get in my car, drive there and spend time selecting.
Okay, produce has to be a live purchase. But, other than that?
This is called evolution, people. We have to end the Petroleum Age. This notion of getting in an individual car and driving an hour to find the retailer you want to support can’t compete is getting old.
Main Street, to survive, has to rethink retail into an event that brings people together, in an age when I kind of want to avoid crowds. I don’t want to see your stupid MAGA hat. I don’t want to wait in line, park my car, fill up the tank, hesitate in traffic.
Young kids these days, they have no idea what it’s like to drive an hour, waste precious time to come away empty handed.
And that’s a good thing.
6
Why doesn't Amazon just give people the Kindle? It's like razors or the Keurig, once you buy the hardware, your locked into the product. The big mistake they keep making is charging so much for books on the kindle. At. 15.99 or 16.99 I really think about my purchase but at 9.99 why the heck not? Also, you can't loan your library to anyone; like why not after a year or six months shouldn't I be able to loan my ebook to my friend? I keep getting bestsellers from my library since they have improved their tech, by having online reservations (even an app). I read 40-50 books a year, so now I am getting 3/4 of my books from my library, and 1/4 at best from Amazon.
"So Good"?!! Joking right? It is buyer beware with Amazon. Every thing from shoes to vacuums to cosmetics is often a counterfeit.
4
Sorry but no, it is not good. Most of what they sell is garbage. The good stuff that they carry you can get elsewhere for the same price. And there are many high quality items that you cannot get on Amazon. For a few years I shopped on Amazon on and off, I don't think I ever spent more than a few hundred dollars on any given year. I shut down my account about 2 years ago. I have never missed it.
1
This was spot on.
Until I was at Starbucks and somehow got hacked.
They wisely attacked my Amazon account- which is the key to my.kingdom. PayPal Chase email shipping billing addresses.
My account is locked. I cant open it. No amount of tweeting will open it. So I can show you my photos from my anniversary trip or my dead dog. I cant watch TV. I suddenly do not own the thousands I've spent on books, locked away on kindle. I don't know which dishwasher tabs to buy nor can remember the hundreds of things I saved for later. I can finish renovations I started
Have you ever tried to call Amazon? HA
CAREFUL!
3
I've never been a Prime member. My life is fabulous. I use local stores even for books.
If you want to be clever, change the world
If you want to be wise, change yourself. Rumi
2
The problem with Amazon is soon there won't be anything but Amazon.
4
I try, whenever possible, to order things from other companies online. But you can punch in anything and Amazon will have it. I hate myself every time I use the one click purchase button.
For all Amazon’s efficiencies, there is one thing that they are unable to get right: delivery to holders of P. O. boxes. Sure, we probably are only a small fraction of their business. But it is another example, to me, of the company’s arrogance: we don’t matter enough to their bottom line to correct this problem.
3
I'm kind of stunned that this guy buys lights, uses them, and then returns them. That makes me very uncomfortable. If I buy something and it isn't as advertised, sure, I want a refund. But if I buy something based on a hunch and it works but doesn't "work" in my hare brained scheme? In my mind, you own that. You don't socialize your mistake by sending it back and having others have to pay for their increased overhead.
I'm shocked this was published without apology. Amazing bad form, frankly.
9
This author appears to be extolling the virtues of a company that practices and supports legalized slavery and exploitation so he can enjoy his experience and save money. The "retail paradise" he speaks of is subsidized by a multitude of people who give there health and well being to make products cheaper to purchase.
Rather than hearing the slogan "but I want my sugar' we now hear "but I want my cheap goods".
4
Amazon treats its workers like rubbish and produces unconscionable amounts of packaging waste. Unless you live in the hinterlands and have no reasonable alternatives, don't support their practices with your money.
5
Some of the huge problems, though:
They aren't paying taxes, or anywhere near enough taxes while using the US infrastructure.
Garbage, lack of recycling. All their packaging should be biodegradable.
Must pay all workers Living Wage with Benefits.
8
“I’d decided to use the company essentially as a kind of product lending library.” Stop it. You’ll ruin Amazon for the rest of us.
3
Amazon delivery is an addiction I kicked a couple years ago, thankfully. It’s just too easy to click “buy” for stuff you don’t need, a trail of cardboard boxes and shipping packaging behind you. We buy too much, from the wrong people, at the expense of our financial futures, environment, and brick and mortar communities. Too bad.
3
Did we not enjoy the experience and convenience of buying things from local Brick and Mortar stores and also mail order wne needed? Online ordering is available without the middleman Amazon. Use your favorite serach engine and read reviews. GEt rid of the middleman beit Uber, Amazon or pharmacy benefit managers. No need for Amazon in this digital age.
4
The need to pay taxes.
3
I broke up with Amazon years ago when I realized that
A) Prime is a trap to get you with the sunk-costs fallacy
B) the prices are very often higher
C) it’s hard on the retail neighborhoods whose social interactions I deeply value
D) the environmental costs of frictionless consumerism are enormous (what happens to all those LED light bulbs now, Mr. Manjoo?)
And I absolutely don’t miss it (cf. point A).
5
I think a new law should require parties with control of more than a quarter of the Senate to field two or more candidates in a Presidential election! Bust the Trust a political party is!
Love from Chumphon in the US’s best friend in Asia (Thailand)
We need a public version of Amazon; tax free. Democracy was born in the Athenian market, that they called the "Agora." This is where Socrates and his interlocutors debated the nature of justice, courage, and the ideal state.
We must see that just as the "agora" sometimes giveth,the "agora" sometimes taketh away. Amazon's innovations are impactful and compelling, but not without their downside. Countless merchants were eaten alive by this behemoth. And history teaches that too much power and wealth concentrated in too few hands threatens liberty. Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Bezos makes about $108.5 million per hour. No efficiency is worth this insanity.
When a company can exploit such economies of scale (monopoly or no monopoly) that the company becomes like a perpetual motion money machine, sucking in wealth like an unstoppable black hole, the government must intervene at virtually all costs.
In this case, a kind of surtax on internet industries that reach such a profit level, and a government policy stating that "if any government/public infrastructure/protections are used by your business in any way, and any executive gets more than 5 million per year in salary/stock compensation, executive income beyond $5 million is to be taxed at 50%, increasing 1% for each $10 million beyond the first $5 million.... (TBC)
2
Farhad, lets remember we are all sellers and buyers in this economy.
Amazon might be giving you low priced stuff but since they are also taking away our jobs they are hurting more than helping.
We desperately need regulation.
4
Ummm... you know ... not so much. For all their talk about customer centricity, I find their app difficult to use and returning a gift was anything but seamless. We rarely use Amazon.
2
One of Mr. Manjoo's best columns. He highlights the very concerning nature of the problem?
Any realistic solutions?
7
I’ve never used amazon. Somehow I’m getting by.
16
There are bigger problems with Facebook and Twitter. They should immediately be regulated.
12
Or, we could have social services to care for the elderly and disabled, like civilized countries.
9
I rarely shop on Amazon even though I have prime. I find it exasperating. There are a lot of garbage options (low quality); you need to pay attention to who the seller actually is; you have to remember to choose the correct shipping option (and some of the offers are clearly meant to trick you, like free same day, but only if you actually choose same day at the last step, or if you add a certain amount to your cart, etc.); sometimes 2-day shipping items have shown up like 10 days later (because it’s only 2 days from when it actually ships, they say); they always push subscriptions; pricing is bewildering; the visual aesthetic is cluttered (and tacky). Then there is Prime, Fresh, Prime Unlimited, and so on. I find the whole ecosystem to be a sloppy, deceptive mess.
16
Wow. I thought you were better, Farhad. Warehouse workers, delivery drivers, cheap labor producing the products you try as a lark and then return are the ones paying with low wages and long hours for all this no-cost, convenient fun. As a self-described upper-middle class member of the elite, do you worry about that--at least enough to consume more responsibly?
14
seriously - there's absolutely no reason why you can't spin off the cloud business from the online store. in fact a good portion of Amazon's revenue/growth is coming from AWS. Minimally you can split them there!
1
I began this story with interest because I too am amazed at the variety of products which can be delivered to my front door at incredible speed. But I was literally aghast when I read that products are purchased from Amazon with NO intention of keeping them but intended to be returned, used and unsellable. The waste, the waste - in all the packaging and shipping - just to turn a usable product into trash. In two hundred years, humans have consumed this planet to the brink of the extinction of life itself. I’m ashamed - for the writer, for me, for humans, to have wrought this tragedy - just to be left with piles of junk. Speechless.
21
Here's the problem: I go to Lowes to get a water filter replacement cartridge for a refrigerator I bought in Lowes two years ago. "Oh, we don't carry those, try Amazon," says the salesman.
I go into Office Depot to get a Canon replacement ink cartridge for my Canon printer. "Oh, we're out of that, try Amazon," says the saleswoman.
They were right. And I didn't have to go driving around the neighborhood.
Enough said.
26
Your article just prompted me to place 4 separate orders, two of them to be delivered to separate addresses overnight. That's more than convenient.
I have noticed, recently, that there are affiliated web sites that are not labeled as such. The sites recognized me (and my credit card) immediately and were one click purchases. One purchase came in an Amazon box. I tried to find a similar product locally because I wanted to view it before purchase. No luck.
I do a lot of online shopping but use Amazon infrequently. It's a great supplement when I can't find what I want locally.
1
It’s getting harder to find things locally because Amazon is putting local businesses out of business. In my neighborhood we have lost three of four hardware stores and small pharmacies are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. I have noticed more and more junk products on Amazon as well as searches that produce results that have little or nothing to do with what I’m looking for. 
12
There is a Chinese proverb that says:
"One who knows what is enough, always has enough."
I take this to mean that first we have to decide what is enough. Any thing more than that is excess.
Stop shopping for recreational purposes. If we want to really "re-create ourselves," we are not going to find ourselves in some more things.
We can make a list of everything that can be done to soothe and comfort ourselves that is absolutely free.
Make an appointment with yourself to take a scheduled nap.
Sometimes quiet and rest is all the re-creation you need. It may be just enough.
16
I am a Prime member for the video streaming. Otherwise I buy German language books from Amazon, either used from their .com location or new from .de . Overseas shipping is still unequaled by any company other than Amazon, and most booksellers won’t even bother to try.
2
All the comments about how Bezos has out-innovated his brick-and-mortar competition forget how he started his ascent back in the 90s: by exploiting the sales tax loophole for out-of-state deliveries. He built Amazon as a place where, if you were willing to wait a week or more for delivery, you could buy items without paying your local sales tax (unless you lived in his corporate HQ state of Washington). As his company’s sales grew, state comptrollers raised ever-louder complaints about the tax revenues they were losing. Some took him to court, where he fought and stalled their suits for years. Slowly he began losing those cases, and as the number of states to which he had to collect sales tax mounted, he then switched to his Prime pronto delivery lure to keep his customer base growing. At first it was free; then as his buyer base and product offerings grew, he began charging a fee for it while cutting his own deals with the major delivery companies—deals that are now creating chaos in our delivery systems. So his customers now pay a regularly, and occasionally increasing, fee up front to support an I-gotta-have-it-now addiction for goods they were willing to waits weeks or shop locally for decades ago.
So that’s all his vaunted “innovation” amounts to: Exploiting tax loopholes not available to his competition and playing upon and feeding his customers’ short-sighted cupidity.
5
I tried to buy the Times’ best seller A Very Stable Genius locally. I tried my warehouse club but they carried an appalling selection of right wing books (including three facings of Don Jr.’s book) but no Stable Genius.
I saw the book on Amazon for $18, a $12 discount but I still wanted to get it locally.
I went to Barnes and Noble and saw a big stack of them near the front door, but not priced. I took the book to the register and they told me the price was full retail, $30.
I still haven’t bought the book.
3
I only return stuff when it is the wrong size or is not what was represented in the product description. Returning something just because i got tired of it seems morally wrong and would make me feel guilty.
15
I shop at a small business that sells bedding, linens, etc. A few weeks ago a sign was posted indicating that the store was closing. I asked one of the workers why they were closing and she said "We can't compete with Amazon." This is an example of what Amazon has wrought. And I think it's going to get worse for small businesses.
5
No, the trouble is, we don't need a retail paradise. Almost all of us have way more stuff than we know what to do with, let alone need. A little more friction in the buying process would be a good thing. And the buying process at Amazon isn't all that great anyway compared to, say, ebay. I do occasionally order obscure items from Amazon I can't find anywhere else. I try to order a bunch at once to cut down on packaging, only to find them delivered in 3-4 separate boxes, often containing only one very small item in a flat oversized box. Disposing all that cardboard is depressing and a nuisance.
15
I'm a Prime customer, as you are. And I'm also concerned about the danger Amazon poses when you consider how many business verticals are aggregated within their portfolio and the data they collect. It gives them a kind of power most other companies can't compete with.
Still, I'm baffled by your comments that they are a "charitable operation for well-off consumers" or a "product lending library". This is a case of projecting your own personal habits, which are mildly unethical, over millions of Amazon customers. A company as data-driven as they are certainly tracks and aims for customer satisfaction, but I doubt anything they do is charity for well off consumers.
16
Amazon is wrecking the environment with its excessive deliveries. It's also creating relentless downward cost pressure on manufacturers, suppliers, and workers, who aren't some nefarious price-gougers out there, they're you and me. I haven't shopped from them in at least five years and I'm still here, buying and streaming things.
My favorite way to shop Amazon is to use their site to preview books, then order them from my local bookstore for easy pickup, no shipping charges or Prime membership required.
8
There status is not a result of there great business acumen, its a result of the leaps and bounds of a faster more agile internet. Amazon has taken advantage of that, and have monopolized there advantage. Most business models would do great with this new internet if Amazon would relent!!
1
I too am a frequent Amazon customer, but I'm also a careful shopper. I often do a quick Google search for the thing I'm interested in buying, and if I find it cheaper elsewhere (factoring in shipping costs) I buy it there, even though Amazon is more convenient.
Just yesterday I saved 10 bucks over Amazon on printer ink that I ordered from Wal Mart, with free 2-day shipping.
No doubt the good deal was in part because, as you say, Wal Mart and others are competing furiously at the moment. One wonders how long this kind of competition will last.
Amazon used to be more likely to be the lowest price retailer compared to now. That free shipping I get on orders over $25 (I'm not a Prime member) seems to be paid in part by the somewhat higher prices I'm noticing on things Amazon sells. I'm sure a lot of people don't pay attention to these things.
I've often wondered how much extra people are willing to pay for convenience. I suspect it is a lot. Maybe they understand and like the trade-off; maybe they don't.
I'm having a hard time getting to the point because so many could be made. There are fascinating social and economic experiments going on here. For me, price still matters. It's interesting to watch Amazon try to figure out how much they can get away with charging for all that amazing convenience.
Bottom line, be warned: It takes a little more work, but you can often pay a good bit less by buying elsewhere. If you care.
4
I would think that by now our business men would come up with a good competitor. There is certainly room for one.
2
Yes, a better approach is to keep it out of brick and mortar. It is truly not a monopoly because Wal Mart and Target et al are in fact viable alternatives. As things stand now.
2
This pretty much encapsulates my view of Amazon. I'm a big Kindle customer, a frequent Prime purchaser of mostly minor household stuff and multi-media doo-dads for my work.
For me, it's the time convenience, not the price. But I worry about the company becoming a all-controlling monopoly, it it isn't already.
3
No. Its online store is so broad, but so are the flea-markets it has come to resemble.
There is no curation of comments or reviews whatsoever -- mine have been hijacked to tout hilariously mismatched products and remain posted even after I've changed them. Nobody has not been offered consideration for good reviews, whether discounts or outright cash. Counterfeit products are rife. Theft is ubiquitous - it's a standard bit of fraud to order expensive electronics, repackage a similar weight of brick or wood and return the packaging - and there no responsibility taken anywhere in the distribution chain. But you can get a refund. One can only imagine the shenanigans happening at the fringes of such a murky commercial universe.
What Amazon HAS done is rattle "bricks and mortar" retail out of their complacency, and done in the torpid and the delusional, and it will continue to do so for some time. It remains to be seen if those will fall to Amazon's level, or leverage their physical presence as an asset over a faceless, exploitative warehouse of consumer-goods emesis.
4
Why do you believe there is a valid legal case to break them up? Stating that Amazon is “too powerful” is a bit vague and subjective. They do have competition and lots.
Bezos just created a better business model than the rest. He thought outside the box and has been rewarded for it. I wish he was more like Gates in his giving but that won’t happen.
3
While I like Amazon and continue my Prime membership, I've often found that better pricing can be found on Ebay for the identical commodity items even with "free" Prime shipping.
Over the past two years, I've shifted more than half my online orders from Amazon to other vendors (Ebay.com, Walmart.com, Target.com), not out of philosophy, but out of pure consumer bargain hunting.
6
I use Amazon some - like a search engine - to find products. Then I find out how to get the product directly from the supplier, bypassing Amazon. It is difficult to support a company that treats its workers so poorly, and operates with such hubris and indifference to the well-being of communities; striving to become a classic monopoly. Another alternative: walk downtown and see what's for sale. The air will be good for you.
Amazon? Break it up for our own good.
8
And the fact that they pay no taxes on billions of dollars in profit?
Still feel good about Amazon?
13
I recently ordered a filter for my Hoover vaccum ($12) from Hoover but their warehouse said it was on back order and they would not have it for 30 days.
Instead, Ace Hardware found it for me on Amazon and I had it in two days.
What kind of world is it where Amazon buys out an entire warehouse of parts of a company and forces consumers of that company's products, and even hardware stores, to order from it?
4
@Ellen NicKenzie Lawson
Nobody forced Hoover to sell its parts warehouse to Amazon, if that is indeed what happened. Your blame is misplaced.
1
Amazon builds its customer service on the backs of its suppliers. The cost of those bulbs, the shipping etc are all charged back. And if they want to play with Amazon, those suppliers eat the loss.
3
Amazon's 'store' is heavily stocked with counterfeit goods including books. As for carbon footprint, sure, you don't drive to a store and then back home but how do you think the product gets from Amazon? Not to mention the over-packaging.
5
You say that despite its huge size, Amazon is not behaving like a lumbering monopoly of yore. To which I would respond, Not yet. Big box retailers have moved into small towns offering unsustainable low prices with which local businesses cannot compete, only to raise those prices once the local businesses inevitably fail. Conventional retail is dying, and when it is gone, just how awesome do you imagine Amazon will be?
4
@Robert
What you are describing is "predatory pricing" and it is as much of an economic fallacy as the "broken windows" fallacy.
All big box stores have nationwide pricing, so your scenario cannot arise.
1
". . . the retail world Jeff Bezos built.", has been vitally assisted by legions of employees and a cooperative governed society that fails to demand that Jeff Bezos honors the collaboration.
4
I’ll keep this brief - but the main reason to break up Amazon is to separate it from AWS (Amazon Web Services) profits. These profits are the only way that Amazon’s retail arm (which runs at a loss) is able to create such addictive innovations that are changing customer expectations (unlimited returns, same day delivery, etc) which is killing competitors trying to keep up and our planet with it. None of these innovations are sustainable for the companies that try to match Amazon’s offer. Remove the separate AWS profits from Amazon and you’d have a company that is playing a bit more fair, and not steering the armada of retail giants towards unattainable goals while our environment gets the short stick. Obviously, this is not the only thing to be concerned about with their business practices.
5
You may build up a record of returns that results in Amazon not showing you products that they think you might return. You do know information they collect can also be used to limit what you do, not just recommend things?
5
stores limit how many returns a consumer can make. even enterprises as mammoth as amazon might decide to blacklist you for having exceeded the company's returns restriction.
1
I don't suppose the people who set up and run the Amazon store could be persuaded to design and build the software for the State of Iowa to run elections?
Say what you will about Amazon, their store is just amazing. No compromise about the need to fulfill the consumers wishes for info and swift delivery.
Hugh
6
Amazon is the perfect example of a company that should be broken up. Yes, it does its business very well and services are cheap. But, it can cross subsidize its business lines to price others out of the market, it can abuse its employees who have few alternative jobs, it can threaten suppliers who have no other pipelines, it can inhibit innovation by using its own capital to jump start new businesses in its own portfolio. If it so great at delivering products, make that its business and allow others to compete in product creation, promotion and yes newspapers.
6
Using Amazon as a personal "lending library" sounds very environmentally unfriendly. I see nothing wrong with legitimate returns every once in a while, but having a premeditated scheme to do this is self-indulgent. It's impossible to know what happens to the returned product--it may be donated, raffled off at an employee picnic, cleaned of sticky fingerprints and sold to the next unsuspecting customer--or just plain old dumped. Not to mention all that packing material that may also see a similar fate in the landfill.
I sometimes wonder if our younsters are walking the walk. Not that us oldsters are any better, but it is their future.
5
Amazon is also great to pick up minimally used or simply returned new items for a substantial discount. I’m not talking about a secondary marketplace such as for used books. I’m referring to items that people buy new and then return for whatever reason. In some cases it may be that the box is damaged but the product is brand new. Consider I recently purchased a set of Callaway XJ junior golf clubs for my 8 year old on Amazon. I was very reluctant to pay the $299 price for “new” but then I clicked on other purchase options. It showed me several choices, one said “used” with “like new” condition but I also saw that it would ship from “amazon warehouses”, so I figured it was a return. The golf clubs arrived in a slightly damaged box but were brand new, or at least indistinguishable from new. How much did I pay? $168 rather than $299. I was tickled pink.
6
"Amazon created a retail paradise."
Sure, Amazon may be super convenient when everything is going well. But when things go wrong, they don't become right.
I am currently in the midst of a very long and very frustrating Amazon experience. In early December, I ordered a camera lens which seemed like it was sold by Canon. But when it arrived, I learned that it was actually from a third-party seller, a piece of information that I then realized had been hidden away from the main product page. The lens was both dysfunctional and not even the correct model.
I immediately attempted the return it, but so far, neither the seller nor Amazon are cooperating. The USPS could not access the seller's return address (the seller, by the way, goes by two different names). I then went into correspondence with Amazon about this problem, attempting to get a return. I have spent and many hours on the phone with a customer service representative an on Amazon's customer service chat, but to no avail. They all keep saying that they will refund me in 1-2 business days; Amazon doesn't, so I contact them again, and this has now happened three times. I still don't have me refund.
Amazon works well when it works. But with bogus third-party sellers and the risk that one will, like me, get a broken product and be unable to return to, Amazon is not at all a paradise. It needs to hold sellers more accountable, and to do this, we may need to break it up.
8
All this speed and convenience comes at a high environmental cost. More jet propelled freighters, more trucks, more vans...all spewing carbon. I can wait for my book a couple more days or I can go down to the local bookstore and support a community based economy.
3
@FCH
And how will you "go down to the local bookstore"? In a car or bus spewing carbon.
2
How different are these presentations from the for/against arguments about breaking up Ma Bell?
Or the converse arguments about deregulating the airlines?
Two points: One, in certain categories there are so many cheap, shoddy products flooding the marketplace that it discourages browsing and therefore buying. Unless you know which specific item or brand you want, wading through the tsunami of knockoffs and low quality is not worth the time.
Two, there used to be a certain ethic that if you bought and used something, you didn't take it back unless it was defective. Once the box was opened or the tags were off it was yours, and wearing a dress to an event with the tags still on and returning it the next day was frowned upon. Using a retailer as a de facto "lending library" is wasteful and unethical, even if this retailer (Amazon) would seem to be complicit.
7
Despite what bloviating politicians say, breaking up Amazon would be a purely political move. Walmart, Kroger, Costco, Walgreens, Home Depot are all in the same pool of very large retailers, with similar market dominance as Amazon. I don't hear Elizabeth Warren or anyone else calling for the breakup of these retailing behemoths. It's clear that she is after Amazon purely for political gain.
5
I will probably cancel my member ship this year not because I dislike Amazon for anymore reasons than one should, work conditions, not paying taxes, counterfeit product and IP theft, etc. It's because work is getting tighter and pay is getting less. Other things have jumped in price like cell service and the basic price of internet.
Also it's a bit like shopping at a online Walmart now and that's not appealing. There is no sense of exclusivity with them that makes parting with your money attractive. Also I don't want cheap anymore I want better. 95% of the things we produce on this planet we don't even need and so I'll save my money and invest it now and just have less since there are so many demands on where we spend our money these days. I'd rather save up and go to a nice store while there are still around.
As Oscar Wilde once said "today people know the price of everything and the value of nothing"
4
@Travis ` But how will you see "The Expanse"?
Yeh, Amazon is convenient and all-encompassing. Problem is there is no effective competitor.
Can we trust Amazon to continue benevolent expansion and improvement, or will Amazon cash in on its market dominance?
Walmart, dreary and low-class as it is, could probably compete with Amazon if it would open a technical support campus and staff it with brilliant geeks to create and maintain a first-class online shopping website.
I have a guilty conscience over slavishly patronizing Amazon, but when I search for an alternative I find only a higher price, slower delivery, and a fussier return policy.
Please, Walmart, up your game to give us an alternative to feeding an overgrown monopoly!
1
I typically use B & H Photo for electronics purchases, and they're great, including having a great selection of past years MacBooks (still in new condition).
3
@PghMike4
they are awesome and I always try to give them the business.
Amazon is ruining Whole Foods. Not many decent sales except for Prime members, and, for a single person's food budget, Prime is not cost effective. Some prices on good bargains have jumped. The produce quality is not as well controlled. I'm no longer going there very often and only for a few things I like.
But the author is correct. For buying other goods, Amazon is addictively convenient. I use it almost as much as I do Costco.
3
I am a strong progressive--of course Amazon should have to pay its fair share of taxes. But-break it up-no. It is one of the few things in this country that actually works, and actually saves money for people who are on a fixed or low income. And for people who are shut-in, differently abled, living in remote communities, or who like my self can no longer drive because of a physical condition, it is a necessity for obtaining what we need to live--and even, to thrive.
17
@AMC I am riding through life in the same boat you are and naturally, I have precisely the same opinion you put out here, bravo.
I began using Amazon some years ago to purchase books and DVDs and I regret the closing of so many of the book and record stores I used to love spending so much of my free time in. However, due to the difficulties forced opon me by poor health and old age I now find myself homebound in an assisted living apartment and I depend on Amazon for virtually everything including postage stamps. I miss the pleasures of shopping but without Amazon my life would be, quite frankly, unbearable and I would lose what little independence I still retain. For folks in my condition Amazon is both a necessity and a blessing. A pity this, in many ways, especially when it comes to the lost social interactions between buyers and sellers but in the end necessity will have its way. Ah, Tower Records - I remember you well!
18
Amazon is the ' Anaconda' and ' Titanaboa' ultimate threat to the survival of antitrust law in America in all of it's protection of competition and consumers at the costs and expenses loss of competitors manifestations.
Amazon is a technological distribution and supply chain service innovator. Amazon is not a significant substantive scientific and technological innovator. Nor are the social media titans of Silicon Valley.
Jeff Bezos movement beyond his service business into mass media makes him the ultimate new gilded age robber baron malefactor of great wealth.
4
@Blackmamba Seems you would make a good debate team candidate, and I would like to be on the opposing team
I can see reasons to break up big tech companies.
Can't imagine either political party not making a mess of it.
3
You do not need Amazon! I shop online all of the time and you'd be amazed how easy it is to avoid Amazon. When looking for any item, Amazon always comes up first as a source. I pass by it, scrolling down to other sites. If I find the original vendor/manufacturer site I buy from there. If not, I look for smaller stores-such as ones for vitamins and I buy there. Invariably I receive loyalty points and free shipping. For books I go to used book sites like alibris and buy there. I boycott Amazon because of the way they treat employees and because I want to support smaller vendors, and it's easy.
12
@CJ Do you know Amazon Web Services runs around 70% of the internet right? That why it's nearly impossible to completely boycott Amazon. Here is the list of the major ones:
Aon,
Adobe, Airbnb, Alcatel-Lucent, AOL, Acquia, AdRoll, AEG, Alert Logic, Autodesk, Bitdefender, BMW, British Gas, Baidu, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Canon, Capital One, Channel 4, Chef, Citrix, Coinbase, Comcast, Coursera, Disney, Docker, Dow Jones, European Space Agency, ESPN, Expedia, Financial Times, FINRA, General Electric, GoSquared, Guardian News & Media, Harvard Medical School, Hearst Corporation, Hitachi, HTC, IMDb, International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, International Civil Aviation Organization, ITV, iZettle, Johnson & Johnson, JustGiving, JWT, Kaplan, Kellogg’s, Lamborghini, Lonely Planet, Lyft, Made.com, McDonalds, NASA, NASDAQ OMX, National Rail Enquiries, National Trust, Netflix, News International, News UK, Nokia, Nordstrom, Novartis, Pfizer, Philips, Pinterest, Quantas, Reddit, Sage, Samsung, SAP, Schneider Electric, Scribd, Securitas Direct, Siemens, Slack, Sony, SoundCloud, Spotify, Square Enix, Tata Motors, The Weather Company, Twitch, Turner Broadcasting,Ticketmaster, Time Inc., Trainline, Ubisoft, UCAS, Unilever, US Department of State, USDA Food and Nutrition Service, UK Ministry of Justice, Vodafone Italy, WeTransfer, WIX, Xiaomi, Yelp, Zynga and Zillow.
Hard to avoid all of that.
Over time, Amazon has concentrated on the one thing that has become its superpower: it's ability to get you what you've ordered faster and faster.
Two days? Now you can order something at 9 pm and have it delivered the next morning before you get to work.
It's the kryptonite that prevents Amazon's critics from taking it down.
Agree with you 100%, as a senior who is unable to get around to shop, I find Amazon a God send. From my Kindle and the 50 books a year I read, to my compression gloves and socks.
I just wish Amazon paid taxes!
18
@George, They are not the only ones, see the issue in Business Insider, Nov. 24, 2019 "The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, one of the most significant legislative achievements by Republicans and President Donald Trump since his election, opens new windows for tax rebates for major corporations." Interesting article for all of us "seniors" in 2020's
1
I have noticed that when I try to get some items from my local brick and mortar stores, they do not stock the item I want, so I end up getting the thing from Amazon.
It seems that some stores are just giving up to Amazon.
9
Jeff Bezos is not only the world's wealthiest man, he's the world's biggest tightwad, donating a minuscule fraction of his worth to charity; hopefully, his newly-minted ex-wife will remedy some of this with her portion.
As a recent profile in The Atlantic depicts him, Bezos, a science fiction fan from early on, regards himself as a visionary messiah who sees the Earth rapidly being depleted of its resources. His solution is to populate the solar system with trillions of humans living in enormous canisters, hence, no room for charity on this planet in the here and now. Of course, he's quite good to himself, just having purchased a $165 million estate. Ironically, Amazon is built upon encouraging the very consumerism that is squandering our resources, but as we know, every Bond villain has their flaws.
12
I buy frequently on Amazon but I also try to buy from brick and mortar retailers when I can.
Perhaps Amazon can't be broken up, but it ought to be taxed a LOT more. Isn't it paying, like, zero or close to it? Why are we allowing that? And the same with Bezos.
20
@Thomas And Amazon freaked out when Seattle wanted them to pony up for the city where they are headquartered. They have enough leverage that the city ended up backing off
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/06/how-amazon-helped-kill-a-seattle-tax-on-business/562736/
"I purchased a variety of expensive items I had only marginal interest in keeping for the long-term, I’d opened the boxes and got my sticky hands all over them, and when I grew tired of them, I sent them back like so much used laundry."
This is actually nothing new. My mother owned a dress shop selling dresses for fancy occasions. I can't tell you the number of times someone would buy a dress for a party, then attempt to return the used dress afterwards. As you say, like "used laundry" with makeup stains and perfume.
There are some online clothing companies (like for example Asos) which have returns as part of their business model. You can buy one style in a couple of sizes and return the clothing that doesn't fit. But this is NOT the same as buying something to be used for a limited purpose, USING IT, and then sending the used item back.
What you seem to be saying is that you acknowledge Amazon exploits its workers and vendors, but that's ok because you can exploit them back by taking advantage of the unlimited convenience they offer you.
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Trustpilot customer reviews in Europe rank Amazon operations in the UK, France and Germany as either bad or poor by at least 50% of the reviews. The horror stories of counterfeit goods, deliveries arriving many weeks late, wrong items, wrong prices, over billed, etc. Most of the items on the Amazon sites are from Chinese sellers and they always hide this fact, there is never a phone number or street address of the sellers only a website or email. All the sellers have silly English company names such as Goodbuy or HappyTown.
I rarely buy anything from Amazon, in fact it is my last resort and I never buy anything costing more than $50. Buying from them is always more trouble than it is worth with hours spend filling out forms to reclaim goods lost, wrong items, counterfeit, broken, double charged, customs and tax fees.
Saying all that there must be a reason the service is so bad in Europe. Perhaps the European government are resisting the company's expansion seeing what it has done to local businesses in the US. Avoiding paying taxes as it does in the US makes its presence here hostile to competitors and politicians and a backdoor to cheap and fake Chinese goods and have quietly decided to harass the company. TV news programs do reports on the working conditions at Amazon and they always show the company as a sweat shop for workers.
2
My experience with Amazon is not good. There is a lot of stuff available. But Amazon promises on-time delivery of these many goods, then lies to the customer when the delivery fails. Then lies again. And lies again.
2
@Mark Hermanson
I have over 85 orders per year through Amazon and had 1 instance of not getting my products on time. I will kiss you in a terrible place if you can find a "better" merchant at doing what they do with inventory or logistics. Why can't people judge them for what they do and not for some philosophical reasons? Bezos got rich with a better widget. Is that a crime?
1
Funny... I’ve never used amazon and seem to be surviving just fine. So this is yet again another luxury service with all kinds of negative effects which its users are simply willing to overlook.
6
The Amazon.com selection is ginormous, but the interface definitely has room for improvement. I sometimes search for items in the Amazon store using Google (and find myself wishing that I did so more), because Google searches better. An Amazon employee recommended this to me. But, alas, the Google results are not sorted by price, manufacturer, or other useful sort fields.
Inside Amazon, I would prefer to see an "Add to Cart" button included for each item in a list. As it is, a person has to click on the item to see that button.
It is tiresome to have to click on a button every time one makes a purchase saying something like "No, I don't want to sign up for Amazon Prime and get free 2-day shipping." Been doing it for years now.
The reviews have some very nice features, like verified buyer, user-submitted photos and videos, ability to edit reviews and so forth. There is one big problem, though. Amazon sometimes combines reviews for *different* items by a manufacturer, or for different quantities of a commodity, for instance 4-packs or 8-packs of socks. For example, reviews for a hat with Thinsulate might also include reviews for other hats by the same manufacturer that don't include Thinsulate.
When the buyers of different items try to answer shoppers' questions about the items, it is sometimes unintentionally hilarious.
Amazon provide an on-ramp to marketing products to small-demand niche markets, thereby expanding the reach and viability of thousands of small-scale entrepreneurs. The same is true for their "self" publishing business, allowing any writer to see a finished work, out there "in the market" at little, or no cost. The same can be said of Apple & Google with their near-free distribution of phone apps and podcasts. Instead of layer upon layer of gate-keepers one must work past, these companies say, "sure...let's put it out there and if there's a market, we'll both benefit."
3
Amazon already abuses its power. I have had several unsatisfying experiences with Amazon. It is always my last choice. I will pay more and wait longer to avoid giving Amazon my money.
4
nothing about the human cost of all this convenience? how much reporting has there been on how physically demanding and dehumanizing it is for workers to provide this convenience for us? which of course is expanding to other businesses as they try and keep up with Amazon.
3
Thanks for this article. While I agree that there is a possibility that Amazon may abuse its power and influence in the future, whatever it has done so far doesn't indicate as such. As you mentioned what we have seen it better prices, more convenience and wide selection (the Amazon flywheel). Customer obsession is ingrained in every employee and every action they take (I used to work at Amazon not anymore and I know personally this is something that is expected of every employee). Sure, there are examples of other companies that have abused their power and influence in the past. This would warrant close scrutiny (of which there is plenty) by the government, the media and the public and not breaking up the company.
There are those that complain about Amazon tightening the grips on sellers and putting people out of business, introducing automation and causing unemployment in the retail industry. As history has shown any time there is a paradigm shift it is expected (take for instance the industrial revolution). Amazon is one of the few companies that provides decent wages, healthcare and subsidizes tuition. Moreover, Amazon has made it possible for those living in remote areas access to everything it has to sell. Bezos has pledged the company to become carbon neutral by 2040.
Would Walmart, Target etc. would be investing this much in improving customer experience but for Amazon.
7
It's a pleasure to read a positive story about Amazon for a change. No wonder Elizabeth Warren has been slipping in the polls--she wants to break up something that the average voter likes, uses on a frequent basis, and really needs. Since my days of running around to big shopping malls are at an end I really appreciate the convenience of online shopping on Amazon's website. It's my big online department store. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way.
Let's dispense with the fancy editorial prose--Amazon works.
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The guiding principle in antitrust law is whether the consumer is being properly served with fair prices, not how big the retailer is or how tight its vendors are squeezed in the process. This holds true even if the retailer’s market dominance is such that it’s operating in near monopoly conditions. Amazon provides excellent service at a fair price. Thus there is no reason to break it up. We can thank the late Judge Robert Bork for developing this sensible approach. Not that I think Judge Bork should have been confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice. He was right on antitrust law; wrong on nearly everything else including his outrageous view that it would be constitutional to place HIV-infected people in a lifetime quarantine.
4
@Claire Colinsgrove Bork aside, anti-trust law was focused on restraint of trade practices until the Raygun administration. Since the 1980's anti-trust actions are brought (or more precisely not) based on theoretical "cost savings" (which btw are nearly never realized).
The last monopoly broken-up by the U.S. was AT&T (which Raygun let happen due to its legal momentum, plus promises of not regulating the future industry).
So in summary, anti-trust/anti-monopoly regulation for the past nearly 50 years has be business (vs. consumer/investor) focused... in which businesses concentrate/aggregate unimpeded using (mostly) knowingly fake projections of future consumer benefit.
1
Amazon is wonderful until something goes wrong. I've become wary of ordering physical books from them, or from Abebooks, because of the counterfeits I've encountered.
3
Your vignette about using a product for 2 weeks and then sending it back, or more specifically that you don’t see anything wrong with your own behavior, is an unfortunate illustration of society falling apart. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.
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Farhad, I just can't agree with you on this. The vast majority of things I have ordered on Amazon have been unreliable and not great quality - shipping is fast but often poorly packed (I just had to send back a book last week because it was basically shoved into an envelope with half of its pages bent back) and pretty much everything I have ordered from there recently, no matter what it is, smells like perfume (which I am allergic to). True, it was extremely easy to return the book. True, it was extremely easy to buy the book. True, my local bookstore did not have this book. But also: I didn't actually need it that quickly. I could have special ordered it from the bookstore, or ordered directly from the publisher. Next time I will. Amazon has mostly become a huge disappointment to me - see also the recent articles about knockoff books. And everyone knows the rating system is bogus and increasingly difficult to navigate. Yes, I still use Amazon sometimes, mostly for speed of shipping. But it's overall a terrible store, and the experience of using it is just kind of consumer-depressing.
6
@reader Even though I have Prime and fast local delivery, I almost always opt for regular (more than 2 day delivery. Being near an apparently huge warehouse, I get most things in 2 days anyway There is almost nothing I need that fast but that feature seems to be for people with little time or interest in shopping around.
We do need to read the reviews and look for other clues as to whether an item is genuine or a knock off. Amazon will not tell us directly.
Last year I decided to cancel my Amazon account, then, lo and behold, I realized I 'couldn't' ie it's simply to convenient, especially for hard to find items. Now I minimize my purchases and fully support efforts to rein in this behemoth that has numerous questionable practices. Is convenience the only measure of our social compact? I, for one, don't want to live in a virtual world, especially one that garners more than a healthy share of political power.
4
I love Amazon! Bezos is employing Americans working in the U.S.. The option isn’t brick stores, it’s retailers owned and operated offshore. $15 minimum wage jobs or higher for workers without skills beats traditional retailer wages. They also offer training for advancement. Plus Amazon employs a large number of engineers, programmers and data scientists right here in the U.S.. All of these folks are making six figure wages plus benefits and stock!
15
The situation nobody mentions is that all of Amazon’s money comes from AWS which has far more control over the way people perceive the world.
6
"After using the lights for a couple of weeks, I packed them up and sent them back."
So the next consumer who really wants the lights for the long run are most likely getting your already used lights that you just bought on a whim?
14
@DesertCard — Amazon, like other retailers, sells “open box” items at a discount.
A number of comments suggest that purchasing from Amazon is much improved compared with 20 years ago. That depends on what you are buying and if your only criteria is next day delivery. I prefer product/technical assistance from a local merchant because I am not an expert in everything I buy. This applies across the spectrum of products including fashion. Don't get me started on quality, craftmanship, durability, style, and suitability. I could go on.
10
Read these comments and you’ll see what a proper taxation of the rich and Universal Basically Income might be good for this country.
5
I admire what Jeff Bezos has create much like the way Bill Gates created Microsoft and what the other billionaire entrepreneurs have done.
This is telling, "A number of small companies have complained about Amazon’s efforts to copy their products or otherwise bully them into preferable terms."
The mantra inside Microsoft was "embrace and extend," in other copy the heck out of the competition, bury them or buy them. We managed to survive and thrive, most others did not.
One of the aspects of what you admire, but usually hidden from consumers, where Amazon copies the best selling products from its captive sellers and competes with them is what is troubling. Is the extra few cents in profit worth it for them?
3
I find that many items are more expensive on Amazon. These are usually the lower priced items so it is not a lot of money that one saves by buying local.
3
This op-ed seems to be more about Manjoo delighting in his elitism than anything else - but amazon does help many people who are shopping for true needs, not gadgets- and it isn’t only for the elite urbanites amongst us. My mother became unexpectedly ill in January and homebound and I was her primary caregiver. I had canceled Prime previously because of the impulse purchases and nagging feeling I was contributing to a more unequal world - but at the same time, where else would I have been able to order a gait belt, wheelchair, toilet riser, no rinse shampoo caps and an adjustable table to all delivered within a day, saving me valuable time and from having to leave my mom alone? All those items have markedly improved her life. Also it’s amazing that they can now share a photo of the delivered item on your doorstep. Amazon can do good- let’s be responsible consumers and hold them accountable in ensuring their employees are treated as well as their customers and also how do we impart their logistics savvy and know-how to how the rest of the country is run?
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My father has Parkinson’s. Amazon has been a godsend. I don’t have to go running all over town for his many supplies on an ongoing basis. No company in town will deliver what he continually needs. Dad must have someone with him 24/7, so I can’t leave him alone.
9
NYC is a big city, extremely spread out - and like others have mentioned, most chain drugstores (and major retailers like Target - we don’t have Walmart) are poorly run and stocked and you can’t buy all those things in one place and be back home within an hour. She needed these things quickly to feel more comfortable and in less pain. I also don’t have a car and was the only person available to help her. Why don’t you try being a full time caregiver with someone dependent on you for meals, bathroom and overall monitoring before judging?
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@concerned citizen, you’d be surprised. Chain stores are poorly run and stocked here and I don’t have a car and we don’t live in Manhattan. Hospital surgical supply stores certainly don’t have any online selection. I was the only caregiver and couldn’t afford to leave my mom alone for hours to go to a store in person, make sure they had everything piecemeal and arrange for delivery. Try being a full time caregiver for an elderly person before judging.
4
It’s a monopoly like Walmart . They are closing our small stores and malls . I was glad i got to experience the fun of going to our Globe Store in Scranton pa during the holidays in the 1980’s. They were forced to close because of a Viewmont mall 10 miles away and Amazon. Now downtown Scranton has no department stores like many cities and towns. What is a town with out a department store.
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@D.j.j.k. Ancient Rome had no department stores. What a waste of time that was.
Amazon saves time, more important than money. My 5 year old grandson’s project required simple supplies which I couldn’t even begin to tell you which bricks-and-mortar stores might carry, but we had in time for the school party tomorrow.
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I would be surprised if SAD can be eliminated by bright light bulbs. Being outside in sunshine is a totally different experience
4
My experience is that you should not assume best price w Amazon. Try Walmart or other online retailer where best price is a feature not a random accident.
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“Amazon’s productivity numbers are apparently purposely designed to be unattainable for most workers so that the employees feel that they are falling down on the job and push harder to hit the impracticable [impossible] levels. This strategy [is] known as management by stress…”
— Angelo Young in International Business Times, December 19, 2013
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Amazon pays no taxes so all that money that could go to schools, healthcare and roads is returned to consumers in the form of returnable lightbulbs that end up in the landfill. While making Bezos an oligarch.
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@Karin
Are you sure? Most corporations pay taxes. But some defer them, or have write offs. But either way, corporation tax is not the most important thing. It’s when the profit is passed to individual employees, directors or shareholders that it should be taxed.
2
Amazon does not pay federal taxes but it does pay local taxes. not nearly enough given what they make but it is incorrect to say they pay no taxes
5
I broke up with them last year. If I can't buy it locally in a store then I'm not getting it. It was like my breakup with FB, once I was free my connections had to be real and I'm the better for it.
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@sarah Unfortunately due to many reasons, shopping just at local stores is unrealistic. There are just not that many local stores that carry the items I need or have needed for work. I buy what I can at local stores, but there is just not a good selection of items in them. As for FakeB never had it, never will.
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"But in Amazon’s case, it might be growing increasingly difficult to persuade people that stringent regulation — and especially a breakup — will be a good thing."
Since when did what people do or don't want have any effect upon what the government does or doesn't do?
4
I wonder if the environmental damage of all that shipping and returning is properly priced in? Or the health costs stemming from the repetitive stress injuries suffered by the warehouse workers and the stressed out drivers who are being paid a pittance while both are being timed to the microsecond to make it all happen for you. It must be nice to be wealthy enough to be able to order and return stuff in no time while everyone else pays the various costs of your custom delivered goods.
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I acknowledge the great boon Amazon is to rural folks and those with mobility issues. Aside from that, if Amazon is so great, it could pay its workers who do the actual grunt work a thriving wage (I.e. $20/hr at least). Until then, it’s just another gilded age octopus.
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@RS
That living wage may be now . The NYT’s has had articles saying Amazon is going all out for warehouse robots and will dump the human workers. It is happening daily now. Boycott now.
1
Critics point to the low wages of Amazon workers as evidence of malfeasance and greed on the part of the company, and declare that as justification for breaking it up. But despite its size, Amazon faces stiff competition from other companies, including Target, Walmart, Home Depot, and Costco. Until recently, Amazon has not turned a profit. Their wages are low in part because their sales division operates on razor thin margins. How you infer from this that Amazon is a monopolistic entity is beyond me.
8
You rationalize that wages need to be low because of Amazon’s thin sales margins yet somehow Jeff Bezos is one of the richest people in the world. Thin sales margins never seems to affect executive pay only workers’ wages.
2
The only thing it seems that will take down Amazon is less consumerism by the global elite. In other words practice minimalism.
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YOu've probably heard this a 100 times already, but lighting design is part of my job description so I feel compelled to say something in case it helps.
Brightness is not what mimics sunlight. You want a full spectrum light source because a typical 3500 kelvin colour temp won't give you sunlight no matter how bright it is. Unfortunately daylight mimicing lamps produce bluish light and are not always ideal all the time, but I liked them in winter when I used to have some incandescents.
Hmm... not to put too fine a point on it, but a salesperson in a store would have mentioned that.
Feel free to ignore this if I missed something and you addressed the spectrum thing already.
24
@Jeff which store that sells these kinds of lights has true experts to actually sell their products? Home Depot? Lowes? Walmart? Not very many in my experience. I find the comments section on Amazon to be far superior to many retail employees’ knowledge.
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@John Williams The comment section on most of these online sites is invaluable. The hands on information on products is terrific. Let's face reality, most local retail stores do not pay their employees generously. The owners of these stores are the ones that make out well. Same goes for local restaurants and lodging places. Owners or shareholders, the results are the same.
6
"I purchased a variety of expensive items I had only marginal interest in keeping for the long-term, I’d opened the boxes and got my sticky hands all over them, and when I grew tired of them, I sent them back like so much used laundry."
Apparently the product you purchased was not defective. You returned it because a theory about light that you had read did not work out. What did you show as your reason for returning?
24
Amazon is a major help to the senior and disabled communities who find it difficult to do store shopping. They also allow products for those communities to be more easily be discovered by those who need them.
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@Jul
Right. I cannot walk through brick and mortar stores, so Amazon is a god send for me. They aways have the items my local super market doesn't carry. I'm so grateful to have Amazon in my life.
15
@Jul you make a good point, but don't think they are the only ones on the planet who offer that service. Our local IGA grocery store has been around for over 100 years and delivers for FREE to seniors and businesses and for a small charge to others. Anyone in town can message them or call and get fresh groceries the next day. I find most people don't even bother to ask who can do what Amazon can do and be better citizens while they are doing it.
13
My LED bright-lit house has a luxurious feel to it. A guest who keeps a home that is darkish may remark on the lighting of my house and I suggest Amazon and sort of apologize, but I am pleased to have the light. A room heater that is always cool to the touch, that was delivered to me a day after I was cold on a bitter night a year ago, was another touch of luxury.
What this column teaches me is that Amazon has made my life more convenient, more comfortable, added a luxurious feel that I am grateful for.
5
its increasingly difficult to find quality products on amazon. the number of fakes (sd cards, usb sticks, etc) and companies that masquerade as name brands is out of control. amazon promotes low quality (sometimes dangerous) ripoffs, and attempts to conceal what they are doing. they force private sellers (often small businesses trying to stay alive) to commit to fulfillment by amazon, so they can control them. they use their own delivery services to undercut union work, and their employees kill themselves.
sure you get it quick, but is it worth it?
my partner and i cancelled our prime subscription, and will now buy from the manufacturer when we can, and when we cannot, we will buy from a retailer like costco that actually cares about its customers and employees.
35
I dropped Amazon Prime in December when I realized I was doing far too much impulse shopping, and decided that I did not want all that packaging with my purchases. I haven’t missed it a bit. As it turns out... I didn’t actually need Amazon at all.
31
Yes, Good wins in the free market.
Jeff Bezos' brilliant vision and incredible persistence and hard work paid off. Anyone, theoretically, could have sold books online. Many tried dot com businesses. Many failed.
Capitalism ain't perfect, but it's working.
10
i spend more money at Target. Their prices are competitive, their website is easy to use, you may return items to a physical store, and they definitely treat their employees better than Wal-Mart does.
15
@Blue Jay; try to return something to target online like you can at Amazon. It’s a fiasco and it is the reason why Amazon is a preferred retailer.
1
We love Amazon, it’s amazing how much time we save vs driving around wasting time. Our most recent score, is 40lb cat litter that Amazon happily delivers to my door! They also handily are delivering roses for Valentines Day(guaranteed 1 hour window) to my beautiful wife on Friday! Simply brilliant!
6
Couldn't generate the incentive to get off the couch and make a personal selection before presenting the gift to your spouse?
OMG , everyone! Think about the environmental costs of all of this shipping!
cardboard containers, fuel for quick delivery, .....?
At one time, IBM had both mainframe hardware and mainframe software. They were forced to break them apart. I.e., offer the software on other manufactures machines and run other OS on their mainframe.
I'm surprised this hasn't happened with Kindle.
Amazon also uses sales history of 3rd party products to decide what to next turn into an "AmazonBasics".
Big Tech has gotten a bye on all this. (There is no alternate OS for the Mac machines.) No alternate music library for Itunes. So on
1
Breaking up Amazon? On what basis. They're not a monopoly. There is a lot of competitors in every category in which they do business. AT&T was a good example of a company that needed breaking up but if they didn't break up Microsoft when DOS and Windows had 94% plus market share I'm not sure they are ever going to break up Amazon.
8
@Ted
Well, they have a monopoly on $108.5 million PER HOUR executive pay.
@Ted
Well, they have a monopoly on $8,961,187 per hour executive pay.
1
Left unspoken was the unnecessary car trips to the local mall/shopping center by using services such as Amazon.
And the delight of having daily packages arrive. Less well noticed is Amazon’s very large access to auto parts and supplies. May now well be the nation’s largest auto parts store.
Alas still room for improvement. For example, asking for a particular rechargeable battery can readily pull up nearly a 100 similar items - a nuisance. That “vagueness” is common to all the major web retailers. Wal Mart is often price competitive or more so. And makes it far easier to return web packages at their stores. Returning web purchased items is always a hassle.
So far Amazon hasn’t made it cost effective to purchase the usual list of foods. Local grocery stores and chains may well be the “least stores still standing”. Together with clothing stores. Despite the Amazon phenomena Wal Mart still looks promising. Some stuff is just nice to touch, feel and try on.
2
If there would be a convenience fee to stabilize the price difference between amazon and stores we would all pay for it and Bezos couldn’t complain either. He would get richer. But it would save our jobs. Seriously. It’s scary, neighborhoods and stores go hand in hand and they’re going out the window at record speed.
7
eading about LED lighting in the column by Manjoo, my experience was simple and decidedly satisfying. I decided at some point to switch lighting. After all, a 60 watt bulb that could be replaced with a 6 watt bulb and the LED bulb would last for years... I bought 24 bulbs, and there was a fine white light but no glare and cool, cool to the touch. I had to rewire lamps a number of times because of the wear from heat, before the LED lights came. The 24 bulbs immediately multiplied to become an entire house lit by LED bulbs. I have never replaced a single bulb.
There is a chandelier in my bedroom, that had 12 40 watt lights. Now there are 12 4 watt lights of fine light quality. These lights are important comforts to me, and I think rationally so simply given the energy efficiency.
5
As far as the fast shipping goes, I usually vote against it by choosing No Rush; I often get a credit (redeemable for 'fulfilled by Amazon' books and music primarily) for doing this. Instant shipping is wasteful and potentially dangerous to workers. I recently read somewhere about a movement to get companies to use special green boxes for people who do this. And some companies already spell out the extra environmental costs of instant shipping on their order pages (and buyers are increasingly choosing slower shipping).
When Amazon was primarily about books, you could always see what town your book would come from. I paid more to get them from the West. Now, unless you know the partner company, there is no way to know how far the purchase will travel. Knowing where things come from not only reduces shipping miles, it can improve reliability: at work, some items shipped directly from China have gotten stuck in transit, but we cannot easily avoid this and so must avoid Amazon. This is one reason I like the eBay experience better than Amazon.
6
What's the carbon footprint on this high-priced consumer fancy, yours and that of every other Prime member? How much fossil fuel does it take per item per day, delivered in 24 hours or fewer? I wonder. Saying this is wasteful and not sustainable is an understatement. We need to stop generating boxes and expending the energy required to send all of this stuff to us and, many times, then back to the vendor as a return. (Wah, I used it, but didn't like it! Back it goes! Petulance.) It's ridiculously indulgent and self-centered to do this and decide not think about the millions of others doing the exact same thing and the collective toll on the environment. We all need to ween ourselves from Amazon.
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@RB What's the carbon saving of moving a massive share of the book and other print media market from physical copies to Kindle and other e-media? No paper or other materials in the product, no shipping (whether to the local store or end user or both) and no returns.
I also wonder whether the carbon footprint of direct to consumer shipping is that much greater than shipping from manufacturer to distributor to local store (including the carbon footprint of running those physical facilities). I'd love to see some research before condemning the direct to consumer mode.
9
@Joel Amazon removes transnational costs of buying - no car, no checker, no penny pinching spouse to give a disapproving look, etc. It’s just too easy to mindlessly buy stuff we don’t need now. Throw an analysis of trends in total offline vs online purchases into the queue please! We were excessive consumers pre-Amazon, unfettered shopping access can’t be helpful.
8
I will patronize Amazon, (for the first time), the day they allow the employees to form labor unions.
There's no more to it than that.
20
The majority of Amazon “employees “ don’t work for Amazon but rather for temp companies. This is especially true for the least desirable jobs - those in their network of fulfillment centers. They’re day to day hires who do not accumulate seniority or raises.
7
@From Where I Sit That's not true at all. Although Amazon hires large numbers of temps for seasonal supplementation ("Peak" -- late-October through Christmas) and Prime Week, the vast majority of the 500,000 U.S. fulfillment center workers are full-time employees accorded full benefits from first day of employment. The only exceptions are sortation (package sorting) center workers, who are limited to part-time employment. Temp employees in good standing have the option to opt in ("convert") to permanent employment once their term is up. Most leave but many chose to stay.
4
@Sera Allowing unions should be mandated by law. I'm not going to sacrifice in my own life when the right way to address a problem is to make a law. There can be circumstances where that is not the case, where government is beyond redemption and yet not the main source of a problem. In theory.
I have used Amazon and have friends and family members who gift to me through Amazon.
Outside of one or two purchases, I am almost always unimpressed by the the quality, the price and the differences of picture vs actual product. Maybe I have just had a long string of anomalies. I found Walmart to be just as well stocked for my household needs, it has similar or better pricing and a more precise representation of product. I also get free shipping about 95% of the time without having to pay an extra yearly fee.
Of course, I am not in the market for warp speed delivery, but two days works for me. I prefer to shop with smaller dedicated online stores, where if needed, I can reach my seller as needed. I am probably not the 'usual' Amazon type customer. If not for a mobility problem, I enjoy going to local stores and might only shop online if necessary. I do quite well though google searches for products from smaller online stores and I've found that with almost all companies I rarely pay shipping and when I do, it is marginal. I suspect Amazon has a hand in creating that.
I do also find that the gig style, kamikaze employment model at Amazon to be more than a little troubling. We seem to be, myself included, avoiding the question - "Did I get this cheap and fast at someone else's detriment?"
15
@Kathleen Shannon You imply that most of the products on Amazon are cheap knockoffs. Admittedly, there are lots of Chinese copies of name-brand products. However, I have found over my almost 20 years as an Amazon customer that many of these copies are as high-quality as the name-brands and generally significantly less expensive. Also, one can always find the name-brand, if one wants it, for a good price. Returns are very easy and mostly free of shipping charges. For convenience, price, selection, and their digital services (Amazon Music, Kindle and Prime TV), Amazon can't be beaten.
5
@Art Amazon is the Walmart of online retail! Sure you can find some name brands, but there are a ton of stinkers. Ive had particularly bad luck with off brand clothing.
I dig Kindle because I can check out free library books! Their other media services are hit and miss.
It’s not worth feeding the beast of online monopoly to save a few bucks. There are plenty of great local retailers that can offer more than low wage labor delivering a box to your door.
3
@Petey Actually, you can find most, if not all name brands.I usually try to find the local alternative before I shop on Amazon, but it makes little sense to waste gasoline and time running around to find something locally that you can find and have in your hands right away on Amazon at a low price with great customer service.
4
Amazon is the best. I don't have to leave my house and talk to people. It's put tens of thousands of people out of work and doesn't pay a dime in taxes. All for my absolute selfish convenience because I need my material things really fast.
44
I remember complaining online that Amazon used books retailing was awful and telling Amazon attendants that Abebooks was waaay better! And less than two months later Amazon had bought Abebooks! And now their used-books service is also waaay better...
4
Things will be so much better for workers and shoppers alike once this unwieldly behemoth is cut up in as many pieces as Standard Oil was - and for the exact same reasons.
Actually, Standard Oil made sure it knew what it was selling. Amazon doesn't even pay lip service to the concept od actually inspecting what is coming in from Asia and whether it is legally produced or even dangerous for people to be using.
Remember the tobacco settlement bonanza of the Clinton years? If every slap-dash disaster of a mislabelled or dangerous Amazon product went into court at once, Jeff The Celebrity Society Guy would suddenly become the Ghost of Never Was holding a ''Will Work For Food'' on a traffic island sign ourtside the Watergate complex in D.C. hoping former Senators' chauffeurs bought an extra Egg McMuffin.
7
I'm generally in favor of anti trust action by the govt., where it makes sense, but I have to agree Amazon is an amazing company that is almost 100% reliable, easy to use, with a plethora of purchase options and ways to evaluate those. Please don't muck with it!
11
With Toys R Us gone, I have no other "store" to get decent toys and/or games for my troop.
Amazon's inventory is awesome, I defy anyone, any bricks and mortar store, to have just what I'm looking for, at a reasonable price, and super fast delivery. What's not to like?
Walmart? I will never, ever, set foot inside or buy on-line from them. Not until they treat their workers as human beings deserving a decent wage, and benefits.
14
Target treats its employees better. If they have a store near you, check it out.
Their website is easy to use, and they offer order pickup, too.
2
I love having Amazon Prime and, in fact, used Amazon to completely relight my house with LED lights. I was thrilled by the lighting immediately and still am, and my rather large church also changed to LED lighting with splendid results.
Family, friends and I rely on and trust Amazon completely.
11
@Nancy - - -Yeah, like so many did with ... Woolworth. And no one else locally could come close to the price either, right?
I wish the rest of the online retailers would follow the amazon model. I am constantly frustrated by how unreliable even huge retailers are with online orders. I‘ll pay extra for faster shipping, only to find that the “shipping” time doesn’t start until the “processing” of the order is finished, which can be days. Or the lack of being able to track packages either coming or being returned. I let this pass with sites like eBay and Etsy, since obviously the majority of these sellers are individuals, not companies. But i do not understand why it takes a billion dollar corporation days to determine whether an item is in stock, and longer to get it from point A to point B.
7
I am a devoted Amazon shopper. I got sick of driving from store to store, rarely finding what I want; having to look forever for underpaid, untrained employees; standing in checkout lines (even at self checkouts)....shopping in the “real world” is a horrible experience. I LOVE Amazon - just a few finger clicks, and it’s done and on my doorstep even faster than I need it. And I also love Amazon Prime video - tons of great stuff - you rarely need another video streaming service (OR sometimes you can just subscribe to one via Amazon). Amazon is huge and successful because it is far superior to anything else. Bezos is a genius, and I don’t resent him one bit (unlike many other billionaires I can name). My only complaint is that I want to see them treat their employees better - so the only “regulation” I want for Amazon is employee unions.
61
@Maisie
Not only should Amazon treat their employees better, they should treat their business partners better, including independent contractors, like drivers.
There are so many sacrifices made to coddle consumers like you that you are not even remotely aware of.
2
Amazon Online, A9, AWS, Amazon Logistics, etc...these could be separated. But they all seem to work so well together. After reading this article, it's still not clear what the reason would be to break all of Amazon up. The most compelling reason would be if it was impeding innovation from smaller start-ups, which as yet there's not enough evidence.
2
The convenience that you enjoy does come with several costs. We've all read the stories about the draconian conditions under which warehouse workers function to ship that bulb out to you today. Also the stories about Amazon Prime trucks hitting and sometimes killing pedestrians in their rush to get that same bulb on to your porch. Perhaps you've also read about the growing number of white-collar workers petitioning management to decrease its large carbon footprint from those Prime trucks burning gas to deliver that one small item you absolutely need the next day, and the server farms around the country using massive levels of electricity, and doing so at risk of losing their jobs. Too bad the bulbs didn't work for you... the warehouse workers and Prime delivery drivers put in the same amount of work even if you return them. Enjoy!
16
We don’t need to break up Amazon, we need to improve the rules. For example, at this level of success, a layer of affordable social value can be added. Bernie Sanders could advance his agenda, and Amazon could become more profitable and powerful. Profit in some form or another is the only source of contributions going towards enlightened self-governance and long term economic independence. Alternatively, people can continue listening to their politicians. By the way, how’s that going, America?
4
Amazon grew to its current size because it was extremely good at providing a shopping experience that consumers quickly learned to prefer and because it could be trusted to fix the mistakes that inevitably occurred. More than 20 years ago I purchased some Spiegelau wine glasses through Amazon. One of the red Burgundy glasses arrived with a cracked stem; when I reported the problem through customer service Amazon sent me another set of six of those glasses at no cost via first day air delivery.
I still have the extra five wine glasses and I still remember how easy it was to get Amazon to fix a problem.
11
@Joel
I have two Amazon experiences. The first was when I brought a set of Cuisinart pots and pans for my husband's Christmas present. They were stolen off my porch. Amazon replaced the shipment the next day.
The other story is also a Christmas story. I brought a doll for my young niece from the manufacturer. I brought on December 14, thinking it was time enough to ship to my house. No it wasn't. I was told that it would arrive after Christmas. What's the use of Christmas presents after Christmas especially for an young child? I turned to Amazon. I brought the exact same doll which was a few dollars cheaper and arrived on December 23 the same day I brought it. Amazon has amazing customer service. I guess that why I love Amazon.
13
Nearly everyone I know just loves Amazon -- for good reason: they offer cheap prices and, if you have Prime, next day shipping arrival. As a result, nearly all of my friends, family, neighbors, co-workers all use Amazon via its Prime program. The next day shipping is what beats its competitors, which is why rival sites like eBay and Overstock cannot effectively compete. Just as Google learned years ago that people want fast, faster, and fastest when they search online, Amazon realized early on that people want fast shipping. But fast shipping doesn't discount the mistakes that Amazon makes, such as selling fake merchandise, or the pressure that it places on its suppliers and store owners in its online stores. And it doesn't discount the poor treatment that many Amazon warehouse workers complain about. As a result, I rarely buy from Amazon. And, of course, its Whole Foods Markets is still "whole paycheck" even with lowered prices and offering discounts to Whole Foods shoppers if they are Prime members. As a result, last year I only bought 4 things from Amazon, and one was bought on eBay but shipped from Amazon -- a practice callled arbitrage, with the Amazon/eBay seller pocketing the slim profit. Amazon is taking over the retail world, doing its best to not just corner the market, but be the marketplace where other sellers sell, and give a proprotion of their profit to Amazon.
6
@Wallaby
I can do even better. I've only used Amazon four times since its existence. Twice those items had to be returned.
So, in total I have made two Amazon purchases in my entire life. How did I ever survive all this deprivation?
6
I love Amazon too. After years of going from Macy's to Target to Boutiques in my car, I can go to Amazon, type in "white cotton blouse" and many options will appear. I do think that one day delivery is excessive. Perhaps people should pay extra if they need a forgotten birthday gift fast. Abusing drivers and packers should not happen. They should also have health insurance paid for. by the company as any decent employer would do. Farhad, if you get a chance to talk to Amazon ask them to add a search function to Prime Video.
7
@Suzanne Wheat Suzanne, there is a Search function on Prime Video. I use it all the time.
@suzanne wheat Did you know hold the payout to a certain level for sellers. Who’s making the money Amazon. The Amazon myth of selling on Amazon to support your family is a myth. I am personally disgusted at their lies they tell to hardworking g honest sellers. You have no idea.
Lots of anti-Amazon sentiment in these comments. Ok, let's pretend that tomorrow the company ceases to exist. Would Main Street suddenly be flooded with "coming soon" signs for new independent stores, a great rebirth of small brick and mortar business (or even a more level playing field for online business)?
No.
Just more advertising from the remaining huge online retailers, minus the Amazon perks.
I'd like to see the company become a better Citizen, and I think public pressure has and will continue to nudge them in the right direction. (Hey, there are FAR worse big corps out there: Oil, pharma, insurance,..) Given Amazon's extremely good customer-is-always-right bias, I'd imagine a concerted letter writing campaign re a specific concern might actually help spur them into action. They are a company with the culture and resources to change course quickly when they want to.
13
The last 2 electronic pieces bought from Amazon were not new and one was damaged and didn't work. Thankfully the factory made good on it. More and more I find better prices elsewhere.
So, I no longer buy any electronics from them and other items only as a last resort. Caveat emptor and all that.
7
Unless something changes, I am a Prime member for life. I do shop locally but there are too many items that aren’t available in rural Virginia. The fact that I get fast and free shipping on these items through Amazon is really special. I am not affluent like the author indicates but I do spend a decent percentage of my out of pocket spending with Amazon and I see no reason to change that.
18
@John working conditions?
@John Prime is partially prepaid shipping that you've convinced yourself is free.
Goodness, you don’t get “fast and free shipping “. You pay $15 a month for the “fast” part.
The biggest problem with Amazon is that when I do want to buy something in stories now, especially clothing and shoes, I can't. Everyone is desperately trying to keep up with Amazon and be more efficient by selling everything online. Which isn't so great for me when I want to just drive into the store and see what I am buying first in person. Or I need to get something very last minute. So I go to try to buy something. I can't buy it in the stories, so I have to buy it online. And a certain amount of the time that means I have to go through Amazon.
That said, I have been slow to realize my desire to stay connected via Facebook or my desire for the convenience of Amazon has ultimately made me and the world worse off over all. I'm trying to cut back on Amazon. There are other buyers out there. And I'm trying to buy things in store whenever possible. Though I don't buy much outside of groceries, so it's a slow going thing. This in addition to cutting back on social media and technology in general.
4
@James
Keep avoiding Amazon. You will sleep better at night!!
Our slogan here is "Keep Austin Weird", meaning to promote local businesses. I try really hard to do that, and for years I tried to avoid Amazon. But, I've given up; they're just too good. They have everything I need, cheap prices, and items arrive at my home or work the next day. Even the big chain stores can't compete. I went to Target to buy some plain white socks; they were out of my size, so I went home, ordered them on Amazon and had them a day later
Often when I buy something online, as I struggle through a confusing website, I think "Why can't they be as easy as Amazon (or Apple)?". Yes, their size scares me, but I'd sure hate to have them go away. We need to encourage them to pay their packers more, but I'd rather see new ways to accommodate them than break them up.
17
"... rising numbers of banned, unsafe, counterfeit or otherwise shady products flooding its store. A number of small companies have complained about Amazon’s efforts to copy their products or otherwise bully them into preferable terms. ... contractors, racing to deliver packages as quickly as possible, have brought “chaos, exploitation, and danger to communities across America, ... yet many of these harms tend to be out of sight"
It's not really that they are out of sight, it's just that you need to look at them with brighter lightbulbs.
11
Shop for used books largely on another website. Find anything else on Amazon worth having, buy it from another online vendor. They've got everyone beat in the recorded books market with Audible. Don't wait for regulation — shop elsewhere whenever possible.
7
What used books site do you use?
Amazon owns Abe now.
That’s one of the things I think should absolutely be done—prevent Amazon from buying up its competitors. Totally old school monopolistic behavior.
4
@Sarah I like to buy used books on Amazon whenever possible - most books have used copies available, often from charitable sources. Just check other buying options, and they pop up.
2
@Robert Killheffer Powell's Books (Portland) has their own online Web presence as well as being an Amazon partner.
2
After buying two fake products on Amazon, I only use them as a last resort, if I absolutely can't find something anywhere else (and that's rare). One of these products was supposed to be Samsung Bluetooth headphones, but they ended up being a knockoff in an open package. The only way that happens is if the business (Amazon) has absolutely no quality control. It's a terrible place to look if you're trying to browse – – there are way too many options, and the sorting options aren't good. Their website feels like the Wild West to me – – I've always wondered why the interface isn't better.
8
@Christy 25 years ago their website WAS amazing. Some of my library school classmates in Seattle cataloged for them and all of us in the library world have used them as a ready resource for ISBN numbers, quick look ups for titles, etc. so I've spent A LOT of time on that interface whose strength was its natural language recognition. I've seen that excellence erode year after year as more and more purchased ad space takes over the results screen, records are incomplete and old data is left up forever making the public think everything is still in print and available or in paperback when it's a European book and not meant to be sold in the US, etc.. For used books it's the wild west...buyer beware.
8
A company that's big is usually big because it provides a service that people like and even need. It's good at what it does. Being big in itself is not a reason to break up a company.
A company should only be broken up if is can be shown to have engaged in specific anti-competitive behavior.
11
@Grace
Have a read of the linked article, and then decide if
Amazon is anti-competitive. Amazon is a nightmare
to deal with if you are a small business using their
storefront, this last I know from experience.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/19/technology/amazon-sellers.html
Actually, Amazon's online store is not all that great from an experience perspective. Its actual product descriptions are lack luster and its expertise in any single category is non-existent. It's a jack-of-all-trades and master of none except assortment, convenience, and logistics. Obviously nothing to sneeze at but the actual online shopping experience, not all that special.
8
Did Amazon turn around and sell your used light bulbs to some other unsuspecting customers? If so, they are not as generous as you think.
3
@Larry Figdill Amazon Warehouse sells open-package and used items. I’ve used it — no problems when I did.
5
@Melissa : so, do you then find it acceptable to PAY FOR new merchandise, but receive USED merchandise instead?
Really? do you get a substantial discount to take USED merchandise in OPEN packages?
1
I would never send something back in this situation, unless there was a specific offer to that effect by the seller's page. Just because you can do something doesn't mean that it's the right thing to do and that you should. You are contributing to an ecosystem that squeezes sellers and inhibits competition by choosing to do the wrong thing simply because it is permitted. Without making it sound like you let me down or something, I honestly thought you were someone who would have felt otherwise.
21
Minutes ago I was literally messaging Amazon about a third party book seller who sold a library discard book as new. And then I read this love letter to Amazon. I'm in the book business and could write you chapters about how many fraudulent sellers are on the Amazon platform. They are our LAST choice for book purchases out of a dozen other websites but sometimes they are the only choice and Amazon does nothing to reign in the outright fraud. I have a whole list of booksellers on Amazon I won't do business with and added another name today. Look up "bookjackers" and you'll find most of them don't even own the books they are listing. They use a software program to purchase cheaper books than the one you paid for regardless of description or condition. There are other, better places to mail order books that pay people fairly, describe books properly and pay their taxes. Powells in Portland, for one.
20
I agree totally with this article and I am glad someone came out and said it. Amazon has some problems - paying people, and paying taxes and working conditions. It could be better, but that has to be balanced with what it does exceptionally well, better than anyone else, and world class. I supposed it could be better at a few other small things to such as moderating their reviews where someone rates a product by their experience with the buyer, or because they are not smart enough to use it, but that just means you have to know how to interpret Amazon's rating system.
Business is looking for uniform regulations to put everyone on an even playing field. It is not productive to single out just Amazon. Most of the problem with tech I see today is the invasion of privacy, surveillance and selling off user data of Facebook and Google. These two issues are very different.
2
@Bruce you make "some problems" sound like a pesky fly when people are literally dying on the warehouse floor to pack those boxes for Amazon faster, faster, faster. They are a horrible employer for warehouse employees. There are numerous books and articles you can read about what the work environment is like. Delivery driving jobs aren't much better. Drivers are under tremendous pressure to perform and have had hundreds of accidents and some deaths but since it's third party contractors Amazon washes their hands of those as well.
1
The author does not understand Amazon and today's commerce. Amazon shopping is not what needs to be split up. It's the AWS (web services) portion of Amazon that needs to be separated from Amazon. The web services they provide allow them to crush competition for many aspects of our economy. A friend who sold stuff to the military could not compete simply because Amazon has so much cloud computing capability his multi-national corporation could not compete. Yes, a multi-national could not compete with Amazon. Split AWS from Amazon shopping and you have broken the stranglehold Bezos is building (has?) on commerce in this country.
6
@DuaneD So they have more capacity than anyone else. What's the problem? The recognized a need, built heavily, and now the competition is struggling to keep up. Your friend's employer made a calculation error. Should Amazon be punished for it?
2
I feel like I learned that the author is a well off, upper middle class citizen. Most of the rest about Amazon I already knew. And I am not a Prime member, by choice. Nor do I shop at Whole Foods anymore.
7
After seeing a story on the PBS Newshour about the unsafe working conditions in Amazon warehouses, my family decided to stop buying products from Amazon. (I have since read about how they bully suppliers, which only furthered our conviction.)
It was not easy. In fact it was really really hard. We were a family who had packages coming from Amazon all the time--electronics, toiletries, household goods, sports equipment, clothing, office supplies and many other things. Amazon is also much cheaper than many other stores, and we are just scraping by.
However, we could not live with ourselves knowing that the convenience and savings that we got from shopping on Amazon was coming from the mistreatment of employees and bullying of suppliers. We stopped shopping at Walmart years ago because of these same issues.
10
@Michelle Thank you and your family for having a conscience. Amazon is also the biggest defense contractor in the U.S. and collaborates with ICE in the arrest and deportation of undocumented immigrants. I never buy from Amazon and somehow have survived.
1
I want to hate Amazon for many reasons.
But they make it so darn hard.
For example, I needed several items recently:
1. A bag of large pearl tapioca
2. A credit-card sized multi-tool
3. A book about Viking history
4. A small Fresnel magnifying lens
I went online and reviewed a wide variety of each and placed an order in less than 20 minutes. They all arrived at my door (in a relatively rural setting) within a couple of days.
The alternative would have been probably 50 miles of driving over many hours to find a small/non-existent selection of items.
A separation of the marketplace and production activities? Okay.
Maybe spin off of “cloud” and advertising services? Sure.
Prevent Amazon from entering the services market? Fine.
Cap Bezos’ wealth at a $150 billion? Whatever.
Breakup their online marketplace and delivery? Please no.
78
I'm starting to receive items that are used. I wont last much longer if this continues. It's gross to see fingerprints on small appliances. Books with bent covers. Cosmetics that are not sealed. Suddenly that same day or one day shipping isn't very attractive.
9
@Eileen
I recently received a used lipstick. Fortunately the seller refunded me immediately, and advised I dispose of the product.
1
I was an amazon addict (I had a new child and it was sooo convenient). but a few things have soured me on it: the packaging, the package theft, knowing you are bleeding small local businesses, but most important? The quality of many of their products is not good. The site tends to push off-brand products of dubious quality that are then packaged separately and stolen from your porch.
8
Your gripe should be less with Amazon and more with your porch.
Not so wonderful if you live in Europe and deal with Amazon in Europe. Most of things on offer are from outside vendors who mostly are in China. Your order will arrive from 4 days to 8 weeks and maybe have a 20% VAT tax to pay or maybe a 32% customs duty as well. None of this is ever mentioned when you place your order.
Rule of thumb is the same as at a casino, don't order anything more expensive then you can afford to lose. Worst thing is Chinese orders are sometimes fake goods and you have to pay the shipping back to China if any electronic item breaks downs under warranty and who knows if it will ever come back.
Maybe it is better in the US.
3
@Lawrence
It is easy to see when you are buying knock off junk. Stick to items Amazon stocks in their own warehouse. Problem solved.
Amazon was instrumental in putting Borders out of business. They're making it difficult for Barnes and Nobel to compete. Fed Ex was targeted before Christmas when Amazon sellers were not allowed to ship Fed Ex; they'll be gone soon. Amazon successfully targeted small publishers in a Bezos scheme called the "Gazelle project." (Look it up.) Local products have disappeared at Whole Foods and the stocking is poor. If you can't find that plumbing part or oven light at your hardware store anymore, you can thank Amazon. As local stores close and goods disappear we may still be ordering online and getting home delivery, but at what cost to our communities?
18
I think the site has gone downhill over the last 3-5 years. Now I never know if what I’m buying is real or fake. I just inadvertently bought a pack of knock-off razor blades despite reading through reviews, wait, “reviews” on the product. Until Amazon can figure out quality control it is just a trinket bazaar for items like the referenced light bulbs.
12
@Kurt : I agree. I always had 'issues" with Amazon, but I thought it sold pretty mainstream stuff. Also, this was BEFORE Prime. Prime really changed things, because it lets people buy a $1 trinket and get it shipped free -- that's not how it used to work at all.
Paying costly shipping charges kept people from wastefully ordering a single tube of toothpaste at one time. You didn't order unless you had a large item or a fair amount of items.
4
Amazon could and should be broken up. This doesn't solve the problem by any means, but it will change the marketplace and create other opportunities that no one can foresee. Consider how "Ma Bell" was broken up and what we have now. While there's plenty of waste and arguments against what happened as a result (Lucent anyone? MCI Worldcom?? SBC, renamed AT&T, which used to be Ma Bell and a host of CLECs that went under and so on) remember that the phone in our homes were owned by the phone company. You couldn't MOVE a phone without having a repairman come to the house. We used to wait to call people after 11pm when the long-distance rates went down...or not.
This doesn't mean shopping on Amazon is going to stink. It means there will be change and it won't be driven by the business itself but by the marketplace. It is a monopoly since they patented one-click ordering. Yeah, they did that.
2
I confess that I am an Amazon Prime member and shopper. It's a "confession" because I don't feel altogether proud of the fact. I admit that I like the convenience of quick deliveries and not having to drive all over to find an item. While people tell me to support traditional book stores, if I am looking for a specific unusual book (which usually I am), the answer at the bookstore is "we can order it for you". So they probably buy it from Amazon and I have to come back to pick it up! This is the case with other product lines and brick-and-mortar stores - or, they just don't have it.
In addition to all of the negative things that people say about Amazon's practices, I don't like how it pulls me into wanting so many things I don't need. While I realize that it is up to me to regulate myself, it is so easy to start feeling like I "need" something after Amazon has suggested it to me enough times. The instant or nearly instant gratification can be addicting, as well as the "deals". Of course, the best "deal" is not buy something I don't truly need. Shopping on Amazon can become a hobby - but not one I want to give into.
Although on the surface, Amazon seems to give good customer service with its returns and added credits in exchange for their mistakes, it is all impersonal and I feel manipulated. I find that I have some very nice personal interactions when I contact small online vendors about their products. I must abstain from Amazon now and then to remain true to myself.
5
@drmaryb FYI when a bookstore orders a book for you, they are sourcing it from the publisher directly, or perhaps from a book distributor, but they are *not* ordering it from Amazon. Some bookstores can ship your order to you if the return trip is unmanageable.
2
@drmaryb For the books, I recommend Alibris.
@drmaryb
Hey, maybe Amazon has a pop-up cave that you can install in your back yard to practice monastic ascetics! All joke aside, I ordered an out of print book from them, and sure enough it arrived in Montreal, courtesy of a bouquiniste in Paris! I couldn't get it from Indigo Canada, which is the large book retailer here. I hope that helped the independent book seller in Paris! Ours, unfortunately are closing shop one by one.
You left out one very important side-effect (and cost) of all this wonderful same day/next day shopping, with easy returns: the phenomenal waste it generates. In a real library, your book is processed back into the system, then made available to some other library member. What happens to the products returned to product lending library? How many of these products are simply dumped into landfill? We found out recently how much plastic is NOT being recycled and ends up as yet more landfill, along with returned clothing and (according to the Guardian this AM) mattresses and many, many other products of covenience. Perhaps your lightbulbs met the same fate.
Then think of all the packaging that comes with these products, even if they're not returned. Amazon is not the only culprit of course - mountains more of packaging, plastic, styrofoam what have you. Now that China and many other countries are no longer taking Western waste, it's going to have to somewhere. I'm guessing at some point, possibly not that for off in the future we'll be paying dearly for all that convenience.
13
@Tim
And don't forget the very low wages, draconic working conditions, very few breaks, and numerous work accidents all direct results of " the need for speed". Bottom line increases and soaring stock prices trickle down in the form of increasingly miserable working conditions. But hey, as long as you get your ginormous TV the next morning, it's all good.
5
So good? You have to be kidding. It's a vast warehouse and emporium with products and merchants that widely vary in quality and provide customers little insight into the reality of either the merchant or the product. Its search engine returns questionable results. It often provides woefully inaccurate info about expected delivery timeframes. Its packaging remains wasteful despite improvements in recent years. I could go on and on and on.
6
canceled my Amazon account in 2016, will never ever have another, its quite liberating.
4
It’s Amazon or Walmart where I live and there’s no AR15 pointing at me when I’m buying from Amazon.
28
The idea behind breaking up Amazon isn't to eliminate it's online store, It is to separate the control over that marketplace from the production of goods competing on the marketplace.
9
Yesterday I called Amazon because my Yamaha stereo receiver blew out after less than two months. The Amazon customer representative immediately and proactively said that Amazon would send me another receiver. I just received the new receiver at my front door, less than 24 hours later. No cost for shipping or the replacement item. You think I'm not tempted to keep going back again and again to Amazon?
21
"Irresistible"? Nope, still haven't tried amazon. The day they opened for business I knew it would be a very bad thing for local businesses. I support local because I want my money to go to local families. Think globally, act locally.
7
Yes, I always buy my opera CDs at my local classical music store. WHAT? There is no such thing anymore?
5
Amazon needs to be held accountable for the CO2 emissions it causes. Two years ago I ordered a book only available from 3rd party on-line sellers and chose the one that was a dollar less. Both sellers had US addresses. My book came Fed-Ex from a warehouse in New Delhi, India and was printed by a specialty publishers that printed academic books at a lower cost in India for Indian consumption. Had I known that book was coming from India, I would have paid a dollar more for the one in the mid-West. And, this wasn't a book generally available outside of large state university libraries.
Put up a CO2 widget, Amazon.
6
Just a comparison of two things I bought. I need a cane to walk. I bought one in person at Walmart and I ordered one from amazon. The same price. The one from Walmart (even though it's a discount store) is strong, heavy and holds up well. The one from Amazon is lightweight, flimsy, and feels wobbly when I use it. It's a pain to send back, so I keep it as a spare. Some things from Amazon look good in the photos but aren't too good in person.
19
Amazon has become riddled with counterfeit merchandise—including, ironically, books. I now find myself turning more to brick-and-mortar stores (or other online retailers) because I can no longer be assured of getting authentic products from Amazon. Perhaps this situation is what will finally break Amazon’s stranglehold over the retail sector.
26
@Jen These days, my only purchase from Amazon is Kindle e-books.
I don't see how an e-book via the Kindle store can be a counterfeit.
@A You might be surprised. I took a call last month at my bookstore from a customer who wanted a Nicholas Sparks book she had downloaded on her Kindle. She wanted to buy it for a friend. After a quick search and a lucky clue on a Goodreads posting, I discovered she had downloaded a book by "Nicholas A Sparks" that was meant to fool people looking for Nicholas Sparks new titles. Not only was there no new book but the Amazon listing for it had been taken down and she was the victim of a con.
3
I, too, am very conflicted about my love of Amazon. I have ALWAYS hated shopping (going to the mall would usually immediately initiate a deep sense of existential despair in me, even as a teenager).
I'm in the midst of renovating a place I bought a few months ago. Many of the things that have made it a much prettier, more comfortable place to live have come from Amazon--and I don't have to drive to some store to listen to (usually) awful music as I try to sift through stuff to find just what I need and can afford. And it's really rare that I buy the "wrong" thing on Amazon and need to send it back (and of course it's really easy to do that when necessary). And their customer service is impeccable. AND I can make a small but growing contribution to a charity that I care about (UNRWA) every time I buy something.
I do feel sad about all the empty storefronts on Washington Street in Hoboken these days, but the reality is that it was rare that I ever bought much from any of the local stores in the past. It would have taken years and a great deal of frustration trying to find exactly what I want at a good price if I tried to do it here (or even in the city).
Yes, I do always hope that Amazon will continue to find ways to improve the lives and the working conditions of its employees. With enough pressure, I believe they will get there.
In the meantime, the company has become (as it meant to do) indispensable to me. And I can listen to the music that I love while I'm "shopping."
5
I try repeatedly to purchase products I want or need from a local source, in person, in a bricks-and-mortar store, only to find what I need isn't there. Amazon is quite often a last resort choice, but one that delivers the goods. The product that isn't there two miles away is available on Amazon. It comes down to Amazon-or-out.
7
This is so much nonsense. Firstly, that is how every monopoly comes about – by being better and cheaper than competition and bankrupting or buying up everyone else in the process. Every monopoly is "good" and "efficient" only until it has to be, then it doesn't have to anymore it won't be. Secondly, the society has other and more important interests beside getting the cheapest stuff to online shoppers the fastest. Like keeping people employed at decent living-wage earning jobs and collecting enough taxes for maintaining decent roads, schools and healthcare. Those are the things policymakers should focus on, not a free overnight delivery.
42
Has anyone ever used Barnes & Noble's online store or used the Nook? Try using both for ordering and reading books. Then you'll appreciate Amazon. Maybe Amazon is so successful because they make superior products and provide a superior service. Why punish companies for being successful? Instead, go after companies that have monopolies like Comcast but gouge customers?
33
@Julie I use B&N all the time. I never have trouble.
And the Nook reader is FAR SUPERIOR to the Kindle reader. Plus the Nook reader is not buttoned down as tightly as the Kindle. It's a far superior reading environment.
Don't use Amazon, friends, if you value choice and options in purchasing. Buy it local, use any other online store, but don't use Amazon.
7
@Julie: I absolutely love my Galaxy Tab and OVERDRIVE. This is a FREE online service in Southern California from any public library I want to sign up for to receive downloadable books with a 3-week reading window. After three weeks the books disappear from my Tablet "bookshelf," and are "returned" to the library. No cost at all for this service and I can load up to between 20-30 books at a time from each library.
5
@Julie And just what products does Amazon make?
Not so long ago all the negative press was on Walmart - the low wages, how they killed off the small retailers, and so much more. What changed? It's still there doing the same things, but then Amazon came along and took away all the attention. I'm sure in that way they appreciate the target being taken off.
While some of it's business practices in the retail sector are a cause for concern, what is different about Amazon is that it is trying to dominate in so many different areas. They compete in electronics, entertainment, IT, and of course the retailers on its own site. Start-ups and companies that even use the platform fear it will copy and take their business, but they don't feel they have a choice. It won't be long before they are competing with UPS and FedEx, if they aren't already. This is a different kind of animal. Perhaps only Sears in its heyday had such reach into so many areas.
5
It seems to me that Farhad and all the commentators are ignoring a reason Amazon is so strong a company.
People.
Not those in fulfillment centers, but the educated executives that run all aspects of the firm.
My local Rite-Aid (a pharmacy in LA) is often out of products I buy. I'll stop there on the way home from work to pick up a prescription, and to find that other items have consistently sold out. You'd think the Rite-Aid manager would then know to order more of the item. But, no. Every week it's the same thing, the items sell out in a day or two.
Recently on one trip the shelf was bare again, this time for a product they'd managed to keep in stock.
Of course, Amazon had it for the same price or less and I'll just keep buying it there, rather than cross my fingers that the Rite-Aid management will ever figure out how to maximize sales.
You don't have to worry about that with Amazon. They'll pay the price to hire the best educated employees who'll figure out what to keep in stock at a competitive price.
This dichotomy between well and poorly educated managers exists throughout our society now. Tech pays the most, so it's going to get the best educated people.
I'd love to have a consortium of tech companies try to ease traffic in LA. Don't know if they could solve it, but they'd certainly do a better job than the folks who handle that job now.
18
Same thing happens to me in NYC -- at CVS, Duane Reade and local supermarkets (except maybe Trader Joe's, which seems to do a better job of either keeping it in stock OR telling you when it will be back in stock and offering to save it for you).
5
@DD Your hypothesis about Amazon is incorrect. Their executives aren't that smart, and they don't do anything to earn their salary and stock options. They were simply appointed to their titles by Bezos because he knows them, or he wanted their name in the executive ranks.
Likewise, the lower-level managers aren't the best and brightest, either. Amazon hires people based on a certain demographic: white, male, college-educated, between 23 and 36 years old, and willing to sacrifice ethics to accomplish their goal. The average age of all managers is 31; if you're 40 or over (or they think you are) you will never be promoted to a manger position no matter your experience or skills. In fact, Amazon actively hires and promotes people to manager positions who have none of the qualifications they say they require in their job postings.
Managers do the least amount of work. The people who deserve much higher pay and better working conditions are the rank and file employees who pick the orders, pack them, sort them, and deliver them. Until you've actually seen how this works, you have no idea of the tremendous burden they are under, for little pay and none of the benefits that managers get, who mostly have pointless meetings about meaningless numbers.
Walk a few miles in their shoes and you won't be singing the same tune you are now.
8
@Mulder
Absolutely wrong - Amazon employs some of the best and brightest from the top engineering schools around the world.
They have multiple patents in machine learning - robotics and various shop floor automations.
The virtually created AWS out of nothing.
The positive thing about Amazon is the intersection of software and nuts and bolts engineering - something that a shop floor engineer and business creator like me can appreciate.
10
Yes, Amazon seems most convenient for the goods and services it provides. But, in all fairness, it is becoming a monopoly, with too much power, and destroying any chance of having healthy competition. Too much power economically; and it's intimate relationship with politics, and the distinct chance to buy elections at will. MM.
8
Seriously!? Efficient and effective business practices should not be scorned. Buying what election? Corruption in the scale we’re now witnessing, that’s just fine...
I wonder if I’ll be able to buy a Tesla one day on Amazon :)
An Amazon customer here, from the beginning, in the mid-1990’s when they sold only books. I still have the freebies they packed into every order. Amazon used to be the outlet I searched first for any item not readily available nearby. It is still a last resort for out-of-season and more obscure items. One time Amazon provided an item that was supposed to be in a big box store but that no employee could find on the shelf.
But Amazon has become my last resort for almost everything because it is too tiring to sift through all the oddly-named brands to find the few reliable ones. This follows purchasing several odd-brand electronic accessories that were sub-par. There are better uses of time than sifting through off-brand merchandise or hauling returns back to a shipping outlet.
Their inventory, packaging, and shipping innovations set new standards; but since they opened their platform to anyone with a truck full of stuff to sell, the shopping experience has suffered. I hope they are wiser with their other ventures.
13
I totally agree with this. I’ve been a faithful Amazon client for ages, but their pseudo brands are driving me away. Too much stuff to sort through. I feel the flood of products could be their downfall.
4
How laughably sad. We will give up our economic independence for the convenience of one click shopping. It’s almost as sad as the Democrats and their increasingly panicked embrace of a Republican oligarch like Michael Bloomberg to save them from the consequences of actual democracy.
7
@Walter Bruckner Ummm. You never had economic independence. The old retail store on the corner controlled what they stocked and what you can buy and how much to sell it for. It's not really better, esp. when that was a chain store too.
4
That corner store was owned by Frank. He lived down the block and stocked whatever we asked for. He gave me my first after school job.
Am not an Amazon Prime member. Generally just buy when I have enough for free shipping (also use Walmart that way). Don't usually need things overnight. As an older person I find it really handy for getting things that might be difficult to track down, even in NYC. Recently had a broken bone in one finger and tendinitis in another one and was able to easily and quickly get gear/splint/PT stuff was using for those on Amazon. Am also able to get things like packs of 20 touch screen styluses for very low price. At Staples near me I bought one for $10. At Amazon I could get 20 for $7. Not quite the same quality, but still good enough. Have also found them good on returns. when there is problem or just don't want something, unless it's expensive item they tell me to just keep it and they issue credit or send another one.
4
People who make things should/could have a fair marketplace to sell them. Amazon created a wonderful marketplace but has an unbalanced financial reward system for the designers, makers, the workers, and the mailers.
We say "No risk, no reward". Amazon has no risk anymore,
but they/he reaps the awards. I love Amazon. I love Amazon. But I want the makers and risk-takers to thrive. Not one web-site domain trickle-up conglomerate.
Jeff could choose to be a good socially conscientious human being this year. Could. So could Zuckenberg and a few others. Being rich they could be supportive of others.
6
Three retail experiences:
A few years I ordered an item from a local hardware store. After two weeks it had not arrived. I asked the store owner to cancel my order and refund my money. She said, “I’m not canceling your order. I have already paid for that item.”
A region-wide hardware chain had a practice of selling out sale items fairly quickly, then issuing “rain checks” when customers complained. They counted on a significant number of customers not coming back, to increase their profits.
My son ordered a mattress from Amazon. It was too soft for his taste and he wanted to return it. It would be too hard to box up and return, said the Amazon agent, just keep it and we’ll send you the harder one you prefer, at no extra cost.
Is there any wonder Amazon has become the giant that they are? When you do your work far better than anyone else, you get rewarded. It is counter productive to reward such excellence by breaking them up.
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@Jagadeesan It sounds like the mattress issue was the type of thing used to destroy competitors. Amazon took a loss n it in the expectation that you'll buy other things from it rather than from competitors.
5
@Bob R: So what if they do it to reward and "catch" a customer for life!? That does not diminish that incredible customer service! Wow! I'm excited to tell people when I run into a business that is superior to others-we brag about great service all the time.
14
I appreciate the availability of specialty items that are not available in my small city, where retailers have consistently reduced their instore stock. It has been a joy to buy knitting needles in the round, camera filters that fit, hard to find books and a DVD. Since we are in a rather out of the way place, the speed of delivery is not always what is advertised, but that's just fine. Just being able to get these things is a joy.
11
@albeaumont " retailers have consistently reduced their instore stock." You know why they have reduced their in-store stock? Because of Amazon. However, I certainly understand the attraction of Amazon when you live in a rural area. I, however, try to avoid them whenever possible.
1
@Bob R
The stock in the retail stores declined with the economic downturn of 2008-9 and here the shutting of a major mill with ensuing job losses and workers going to Alberta were the major factor. People earning a decent wage keep local shops investing in stock.
3
@Bob R
The stock in the retail stores declined with the economic downturn of 2008-9 and here the shutting of a major mill with ensuing job losses and workers going to Alberta were the major factor. People earning a decent wage keep local shops investing in stock.
I don’t want to see Amazon broken up. I do want to see all companies pay at least as much income tax as working stiffs like me.
156
Affluent, excessive consumers? Is that what we’re calling home bound folks who consider Amazon and Whole Foods a godsend?
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@Molly Bloom Molly is right. Even tho I live in NYC I don't know how I would manage without Amazon...and Fresh Direct. Now, if I could only get Chase to deliver cash !
I joined Amazon when all they sold was books. All the retail bookstores left Detroit--they said half of us were illiterate--and the city closed the libraries. The Wall Street Journal kept wondering how long Amazon could hold on without making a profit.
Then other things started leaving--my neighborhood was called “food desert;” that meant that fresh produce wasn’t available within a mile radius from my house. Then my neighborhood became a “full-service desert” meaning that there wasn’t even a post office or reliable cell-phone reception. But every time a service would leave, Amazon would add a category to their drop-down menu. They even added a “grocery and gourmet food menu” (before Whole Foods).
I buy almost 100% of everything I use from Amazon. Do I cry because suburban retail stores are closing, and employees are losing their jobs? I don’t think anyone shed any tears when I couldn’t buy clothes, food, hardware goods, maintenance tools and equipment? Sure, I will join the protests for Amazon to treat its employees fairly; but I won’t protest Amazon’s existence.
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Amazon is saving lives. Think of all the car accidents and viruses that are avoided by shopping online versus going to a retail store. Think of the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by people not driving as much, not to mention saving consumers on gas and wear and tear on their autos. And think about what they’re doing for the elderly and disabled who have trouble obtaining the items they need because they can’t go out. They've helped me to extend the life of products I would have had to discard, because they stocked a rare part I needed to repair it. Amazon is incredible. They won’t be broken up soon, because they’re just too good.
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@Mark
This is wishful thinking. There is zilch, zero data to support the idea that Amazon is a net reducer in emissions. All that plastic wrapping in giant boxes shipped multiple times around the world. And the idea that the average consumes keeps products longer because of Amazon is laughable. Cheap products from China are shipped all over the world, they break, are disposed of in landfills and people just replace them with another cheap new item. We have become a throwaway culture and Amazon is prime mover in that trend. Its bad for the earth.
6
This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever read. Saving lives? Really? And those delivery vehicles don’t emit emissions? And what about the boxes and excessive packaging?
@Mark Bingo!
I hear you. I've had the same thoughts. My small consolation is that when I do buy things from Amazon, the company makes a donation to my favorite charity through Smile.
33
@HEK At .5% that is a small consolation. Five cents for every $10 you spend. The average local shop gives 6%. That's 60 cents for every $10, or twelve times as much. Smile may make you feel better but it's not good math.
5
@Land True, but it adds up because of others who support the same group. And while local shops likely do support charities, I've never heard of one who gives money to the one I prefer. I also donate directly. And I don't buy that much from Amazon anyway. I mostly use it for product reviews and price comparison.
3
@Land The math looks pretty good to me. The odd local shop I might visit a few times per year for their narrow range of items I want (and how many of these shops are there that even do contribute a % to charity) vs the online source used regularly throughout the year for nearly all categories of goods. Lets say conservatively 20:1 Amazon vs local. For those power users who order numerous times per week it could be closer to 100:1.
In any case, I'm glad the comment above mentioned Amazon Smile and that Amazon instituted it. If not familiar, look it up. It costs nothing, and automatically allocates a % of any Amazon purchase to an organization you choose.
Considering how consumer-centric they run the business, I think email campaigns by its consumers to encourage Amazon to address a given issue could actually bear fruit.
6
Capitalism operates by one rule, the "Matthew Principle": "To those who have will be given; from those who have not will be taken." Robert Frank summarized this phenomenon in "The Winner Take All Society."
I have a solution, I'll submit in a separate comment forthwith.
1
@anon I don't believe that that was the original intent of that particular saying. Quite the opposite, in fact.
1
Once upon a time there was a company that had the same clout and market power as Amazon. That company was called Sears.
47
@Mark That was exactly what I was thinking. There was JC Penny's (still is somewhat), and Montgomery Ward (down for the count years ago). But most of the time it was the Sears catalog that we browsed and shopped from. They had everything from Cushman motorscooters to drapes for the living room and pajamas for bedtime. My father bought plows and rifles and traps from them and my mother bought a washing machine and cookware. And the catalog got recycled in the outhouse. The only thing that troubles me about Amazon is the company pursuing the Walmart policy of muscling out the little suppliers with their own copycat store brands. I think that qualifies as intellectual property theft. Of course the 20th Century big 3 did that also. I would be more upset with their vertical integration of delivery service, except that FedEx has become so unreliable lately.
10
To paraphrase Henry Ford we can change the way we do business by automation and scale. This high-scale supply chain of Amazon cuts out complexity and while some people shudder at this thought the scale actually democratizes the delivery of goods. People in remote areas can have the same selection as those in the cities and have these items delivered quickly and the cost is amortized across the spectrum of customers.
If you break up the Amazon supply chain, you are very likely to increase inefficiency and costs and reduced options, especially for rural customers.
7
@Samuel I'm in a rural area and Amazon's one day delivery doesn't work for me. But I can discover a need on the weekend, shop online Sunday night and have the item by Wednesday ready to install. That's a lot better than having to drive 120 miles to shop at the nearest store.
5
It seems some of the commenters forget that Amazon is often the only option for people living in large cities who do not have cars and do not have stores nearby (like grocery stores or clothing stores). Cities are big. I haven't had a car in nearly a decade. There's no grocery store that is easily accessible to me (which creates an entirely different problem of food deserts that needs to be addressed) and definitely no pet store near me. Amazon is the best way for me to buy cat litter, which is cumbersome, for my cat and and 30lb bags of dog food for my big dog. I cannot carry those items over a mile and up several very steep hills.
Another thing commenters have ignored: The arguments that workers and delivery drivers are treated terribly implicitly makes the argument for automation, which will hurt workers in financial ways. Yes, there are still the physical and emotional tolls that Amazon's demanding delivery system takes on workers, but they are getting paid (albeit not enough). With automation, the need for man power will be greatly reduced and will cause people to likely lose jobs that would be hired by packing facilities or delivery companies (which, again, is a whole other problem that needs to be discussed at length and addressed by lawmakers).
10
Isn't what Manjoo describes a defining element of our time?
Present the positive side to the consumer and you can extract the costs of the pretty baubles elsewhere. Amazon Prime fees are largely profit since Amazon has driven shipping and streaming costs down in many ways. But Amazon still pays low wages, doesn't commit to employees, and contributes nothing to the country but convenience and resource depletion: the costs of its business are extracted in less visible practices. It has scale (much like Google, Facebook, Apple, etc) to magnify profits to astronomical levels.
Another swap lies in the fishing industry. We are scouring the sea of its life to meet our appetites of the present. Trawling destroys habitats, purse seining entraps by-kill, the urge to benefit from the sham of our markets puts people at risk with boats protractedly traveling into international and prohibited waters with abuse human-trafficking common-place. The price for the fish on your table is kept artificially low by extraction of its costs from the bodies and lives of people with much less opportunity than we enjoy. It is not just capitalism; it is darker and more profound, but it is a case in which a great deal happens out of sight so we exist in our fantasy of abundance and preference even as fish stocks collapse.
Much the same occurs with most tech which leverages your actions for others' profits.
Things seem convenient and even free—but only from our narrow, self-absorbed perspective.
14
@EubieCal : That's fine, don't use their service.
Their retail store is full of counterfeit products made in China and misrepresented on amazon as the real deal
As an Amazon addict, I won’t be sad when they fade away. As all retailers do
12
Please note that a good portion of returned items end up in landfills. It is more expensive to hire manpower to inspect and repackage than to throw it away.
28
@NorCalGeek Amazon sells all returns, including those with minimal damage that doesn't affect usage, through its Warehouse Deals and Amazon Renewed divisions. Items that aren't sellable but still useable get donated to local charities. Only expired perishables, hazardous wastes mistakenly sent to fulfillment centers by vendors and unsellable damaged items get discarded. Amazon has receiving centers with employees whose sole job is to inspect returned items, then refurbish, grade and repackage what's sellable. (Note: I work at a fulfillment center.)
5
Amazon has plenty of competition that will keep the FTC at bay.
What they have done is to simply turn the old retail model of the customer going to the retail location to one of taking the retail location to the customer. And the smart money in retail is following there every move.
Walmart (which buy the way is larger than Amazon) already has both grocery delivery and pickup. For items that don't require personal inspection (paper products, soda, frozen foods, drugs, etc.) you simply go to the web site pick your items and quantity and get a pickup time. Drive to the store and pick-up your purchase. No more pushing a grocery cart through a crowded store, no more exposing yourself to the walking petri dishes that school children represent.
Yes, Amazon and others need to do something about the environmental impact they are having, but what is more harmful? Using one to truck deliver goods to 15 houses or having 15 cars driven to and from the stores.
I don't think Mr. Manjoo has to worry about losing his "retail paradise". As for the SAD situation I'm truly sorry, but you can move to a sunny climate area - I did and I can attest Amazon will still find you.
7
Of course Amazon is so good--for all the reasons cited and others. That's how monopolies are created. As a monopoly in some areas and a budding monopoly in others, Amazon is responsible for smaller competitive businesses (an almost all other businesses are smaller) becoming less competitive and having to close down. We pay the piper (which is Amazon) and it calls the tune. As someone who lives in a small town, I have no other viable choices.
1
Why do people insist on using Amazon, Facebook and other social media commerce platforms? I don’t use them. I find the local stores, grocery and shopping malls fine enough.
These social media platforms are not a necessary utility like water and electricity.
7
@Practical Thoughts I prefer Amazon to local shopping. I detest malls, and much prefer the vast selection available on Amazon. To each his own.
10
@Lee Rentz I too detest malls, but I don't consider that local shopping. But I guess in many parts of the country that's all there is.
1
@Practical Thoughts
You must actually have malls, local stores and groceries where you live. I have Walgreens.
Why does so much of the Times reporting on Amazon both ignore the points made in this column and fail to make comparisons with the conduct of its largest competitors, Walmart (hardly a corporate angel) and Target? Are their delivery vendors not speeding to maximize deliveries? do they treat small businesses any better?
And amazon is far from just a favorite of the affluent--for the elderly, disabled or those living in very rural areas, it vastly reduces the obstacles to getting needed products.
7
@dsm14 I shop othe retail sites. Walmart deliver faster to me than Amazon. Love Target for shopping. Sick of el cheap overseas junk on Amazon. There are true gems authentic if you search there but Amazon only promotes the garbage in the warehouses on Prime.
Even though I loathe Amazon, especially that it treats its workers poorly and doesn’t pay federal taxes, I must admit I’m a frequent customer.
Last year, to prepare for a three-month stay in Paris, I needed a variety of items including: over-the-counter meds and personal care items, suitcase and other luggage accessories, rollator (four-wheeled walker), clothing and shoes, computer, books, and sewing supplies.
I was able to obtain all these items by placing one, and only one, order with Amazon. Who can beat such convenience?
8
@Pam Shira Fleetman
I think we're all agreed that there is nothing comparable to the convenience of shopping on Amazon. That's why it will take government intervention and not we consumers to get them not to do the things you and I loathe.
I don't shop on Amazon. Most of my very concerned liberal friends can't do without it. I get that. It's convenient. But, I've read so much about working conditions at fulfillment centers that I can't convince myself anymore that it's just a few whining complainers.
We need to treat our low wage workers like human beings while they are at work until they are all replaced by robots. Then, we need that UBI Andrew Wang was hot on to kick in.
4
@CF
I have a 60 y/o female neighbor who works at an Amazon fulfillment center. She will go to the mat defending everything about her employer. Besides, I really don't know who else would hire this aging woman. We are elderly and handicapped at my house. When you get to one of these conditions you'll be glad that Amazon is there to flawlessly deliver your goods. They are awesome.
6
Amazon is one of the reasons why consumers are much better off today than they were even 10 years ago. While it doesn't show up in GDP, consumer benefit enormously from tech companies (Google Maps is free, but it saves many millions of miles driven and fewer hours wasted by lost drivers or people taking non-optimal routes).
7
I’m not at all convinced that the old way of shopping was any better. There’s a lot to complain about Amazon, but I’m not sure resource utilization is one of those. Large shopping companies have huge incentives to minimize shipping costs. Economic theory tells us this should lead to improved route-planning, time in traffic and less fuel consumption.
I’d rather have one amazon, USPS or other truck with dozens or hundreds of packages making deliveries on off hours than everyone driving to a big box store to pick up one item in the few business hours she they are off of work and clogging up roads.
Markets can be great at solving these distribution problems, and I would bet large companies are better at solving these optimization and distribution problems than ordinary people due to their incentives. I guess carbon should actually have a price in the US economy to really tackle the climate change portion, so that companies are more sensitive to these negative externalities, but that’s another important debate to have.
It’s not really clear to me that the old way of shopping was any better from a resource utilization and climate change point of view than having a few large players with the resources and incentives to optimize and batch deliveries.
20
@Ryan I'd like to see some research on the environmental impact of the weekly trip to the mall or grocery store, versus the parade of delivery trucks I see on my street every day. To my knowledge, Amazon is not so engaged or committed to this question. I wonder if customers order more frequently and less efficiently because it's all free and returnable?
4
Start your own company and shoulder both the risks and rewards. No one is forcing anyone to order from Amazon. People are (fill in the blank) consumers.
6
@Princess & the Pea
If Amazon puts your local brick & mortar store out of business, in a way you are being forced.
I'm not the creative screenplay-writing type, but if I were, I night take up a tried-&-true genre used in recent years in the films "The Gift" and Robert Redford's "The Clearing" (both available for purchase or rental from Amazon.com btw; or free borrowing in Mr. Manjoo's case): a bullying victim after years of nursing a monster grudge comes out of the woodwork to exact his revenge against the smug big shot who supposedly ruined his life ("Cape Fear", both original and remake, both of course avail. at Amazon, same terms).
In my story, it's the owner or heir of a now defunct mom-&-pop place, ruined by Amazon. In the grand confrontation scene, a kidnapped Bezos explains how he did nothing wrong: it was just a case of efficiency winning out. Whereupon, the revenge seeker shows a film taken in his shop of a "browser" observing & physically handling the items to make his choice, then ordering from Amazon. "Did you compensate me - in any way besides putting me out of business, that is - for showing the products to the customers? Do you expect me to just passively accept the status of collateral damage in the crusade for efficiency, as you collect $150 billion? No sir, I'll take what you paid your discarded ex-wife, or it's your neck." Beads of sweat form on Bezos.
(When this comes out, check it out - purchase, rental, free borrowing etc. - on Amazon.com!)
1
If you want better protections for workers, then pass laws demanding better protections for workers.
If you want small stores to survive, then pass laws subsidizing small stores.
The reason people shop so much on Amazon is because they like shopping on Amazon. If there are things wrong with it, then deal with those things. I don't know why we are so obsessed with trying to get the outcomes we desire by doing some weird roundabout things. Just pass the laws that do what you want! Don't try to break up a company just to hope you get your desired goal, which you probably won't, then there will be years upon years that we talk about why it didn't work. Just do what you actually want!
20
I've been shopping on Amazon since 2004 and I use it more than ever now. I absolutely love their "save for later" feature in their shopping cart. I think I have 26 items in there right now. I can't begin to tell you how much time they save me. I used to have to run all over town to get the things I need. Now, it's all just sent to me. And Amazon has never made a mistake on a single order. They're just killing it.
50
@mark Guess what other etailers deliver the goods as fast as Amazon and cheaper prices for better quality. Do a search and you will be enlightened and your pocketbook lightened!
@Mark
From your lips to God's ears!
@Mark - Maybe you really don't need those 26 saved for later items.
Sorry Farhad, but no one is compelled to buy from Amazon. In fact, they shouldn't. First of all, you probably don't actually NEED most of the crap they're selling. Second, don't give your money to an organization that made 12 BILLION IN PROFIT and didn't pay ONE CENT in taxes last year. That is outrageous and immoral, and I swear I won't spend another cent with them if I can help it.
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@PubliusMaximus
Hello fellow Piscataway resident!
I agree with you 100%. Seven months ago I realized I could no longer in good conscience purchase anything from Amazon or continue to support them in any way. I stopped cold turkey. I have saved money, kept clutter from my house, and decreased the amount of packaging I have to dispose of. I'm free!
4
There isn't a day that goes by that I don't say god bless Amazon. Last week they let me sit at home, an hour away from big stores and order three pairs of hiking shoes - to see which one felt the best. I take the shoes I don't want to UPS the next time I drive out. They are unboxed and I hand them over w my code. UPS throws them in an envelope, prints out a label and sends them off. If a prob occurs w a seller I tell Amazon I need someone to call me and they do it immediately. I'm never put on hold and they are obliging ..always. How can that kind of well thought out service not endear you to a company? I agree with others that often the reviews are bogus. It wasn't always like that and I've learned to work around it but at the same time, for books the reviews can be terrific... well thought out evaluations where discussions ensue. Very helpful.
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Amazon is the Godzilla type monster wreaking havoc on everyone and everything. Killing off almost everything in its wake in a desire to satiate its hunger. A hunger to rake in as much cash as possible for someone who already can't spend/get rid of what he already has.
So sad that the author and his global elite cohorts are so crunched for time they have to act like pampered brats. I, too, am always out of time but I will go out of my way to support small and local businesses. And if needed I'll go visit a larger chain to get what I need. I will never spend another dime with Amazon ever again.
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@Martin B
By using Amazon (usually 2 or even 3 times a week) I save enormous amounts of my precious time by shopping on-line instead of driving several miles to stores only to find they don't have what I need, or that they are charging more than the prices I could find at Amazon or other on-line sources.
I also reduce air pollution and wear on the roads by letting Amazon deliver numerous packages--including mine--during the day, a great efficiency and savings over having individuals drive to and from malls and stores to pick out and bring home their goods.
If I encounter a glitch in the form of a damaged or otherwise unacceptable product I can arrange on-line for a return, replacement or refund in a minute or two without hassle or bother or cost. I can't remember the last time I had a hassle-free exchange at a physical store (must add in time driving to and from said store, polluting the air and wearing down roads with my car, wasting my time explaining my problem to an uncaring store clerk, etc.).
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@Mon Ray Um, so the army of Amazon Prime vans clogging up the roads add less air pollution than individual shoppers? Less congestion? Less noise pollution, turning otherwise quiet neighborhoods into racetracks for frenzied drivers?
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@Marguerite Sirrine Yes, it is more efficient. A single van, bringing multiple items to multiple neighbors on my street from a single warehouse is more efficient than all of us driving to multiple stores to buy the same items.
It's like mass transit vs. individuals cars. The bus is big, and slow, and blocks the lane when it stops, but carries more people in an efficient manner... same as an Amazon / FedEx / UPS delivery van.
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Spot-on commentary. Amazon and google have redefined what the future should look like for retail, groceries, the smart home and much more. I was a big Liz Warren fan until she became set on breaking up these companies. She should focus on reducing the incentives for spreading misinformation by Facebook, Twitter, and to a lesser extent, Google. Now I'm shopping for another candidate. I wish I could find that on Amazon...
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To provide a little empirical backing for your Amazon love, in a 2018 survey Amazon was the single most trusted institution among Democrats. Any talk of breaking up Amazon that brings its store to the fore is doomed.
Leave the everything store aside for a moment; as you noted, Amazon is so much more than that. The strongest argument for breaking up (or --gasp-- nationalizing) parts of Amazon derive from its breadth. Much like Google's control over both its search engine and many of that engine's top results, Amazon favors itself in ways that are hard to grasp from outside. AWS in particular exercises monopoly power in a way that even Amazon's vast storefront cannot. Amazon's strong public reputation is not based on the masses' love for cloud computing. Regulators should have more leeway to cut Amazon down a notch if no one is worried about losing their one-day shipping.
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@Jake
What? Amazon is not an 'institution.' It's a business...what did it do, beat out Walmart? Is that an 'institution' also?
I'd like to meet the Democrats who took that particular survey.
We drove to California for the Christmas holidays. During the 2-day road trip south, all we saw were Amazon Prime trucks on I-5; we saw 2 Walmart trucks towards the end of the journey. Quite a switch.
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I have not shopped at Amazon on line for a few years and do not plan to shop there again. It cut down on my impulse shopping. I would go on line to buy one thing and end up with 5 and really only need 2.
I wish that they did not own Whole Foods, and I have bought a few things there since the take over. It is across the street from my Trader Joe's and if I just need one or two items that I cannot get at Trader Joe's, I will go there rather than driving a few miles to another store. When the WF stores were more independent, they were relatively generous to local non-profits. Now, it is getting blood from a stone even if you have a long term relationship with the store.
Do you want your neighbors to have jobs? Do you want your spending money to stay in your community? Make your choices carefully.
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Consider looking underneath the hood. Visit a fulfillment center and get a sense of how the workers are treated. The fast, convenient service amazon offers is made possible by the exploitation of non-union laborer and postal infrastructure maintained by the US government. Sure it's convenient, but the company does not pay taxes, has ridiculous labor practices and is a huge anti-competitive force in the market. It's hard to think of a less sympathetic example for anti-trust enforcement (maybe Google?).
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@Mac - You don’t need a United Boxmovers Union at a fulfillment center. What you need is strong labor laws in general, so that actuaries can’t take over with their spreadsheets which rationalize why a human has a shelf life of 9 months as part of the modern day box moving chain gang and worse—why it’s not a humanitarian red flag in their minds.
1
Amazon has given us access to a tremendous number of small retailers that almost no one not in their immediate vicinity would ever know anything about. I have actually been sent thank you letters from small companies thanking me for my business. And I have found a number of things that seemed impossible to find by other means (and I looked, believe me!). So...
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@jfmacc Well yes there are small retailers on Amazon if Amazon let’s them be seen. Amazon allows visibility to those who pay up and have goods in warehouses and pay a fee for that, pro fees, and item fees. If you do not utilize Prime, Amazon sticks you at 5e back of bus unless you pay exorbitant ad fees to be seen. BUT guess what Amazon limits the payout every month to companies! So if you advertise to be seen amongst the Prime listings you lose out with their ad scheme. It’s a racket.
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Yes. I have noticed that quite a few things bought from Amazon did not actually come from Anaxon. but from places I'd never heard of before.
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@ellienyc . I recently purchased something that was listed as being sold by Amazon, but it arrived in a box with a label from another company. That was bizarre.
1
Alas the charitable impression of Amazon as a consumerist public library is likely misplaced. Amazon has and does ban people for excessive returns. And it often does this with non-public algorithms that offer little explanation to consumers banned for these excessive returns. At the end of the day, Amazon will be a profit-maximizing corporation whose chief fiduciary duty is to its shareholders.
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I don't do excessive returns but I do do occasional returns and when I do, either because there was a problem or I just didn't like something, Amazon often tells me to just keep it and they do a refund or send me the correct item.This is not for expensive stuff like computers.
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Breaking up Amazon may be a good applause line for political hopefuls but it's never going to happen because of its political clout and because it's a better way to shop for many products. No more driving around hoping that what you need will be in stock, no more clueless employees or maze-like stores. And if there's a problem Amazon usually stands with the customer because it knows that customer confidence is its most important asset when asking people to buy sight unseen.
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If customer did not have a chance to know about a product beforehand in a store, or with prior experience, it would be okay to purchase and then return when it doesn't work out. But, there's a difference between trying out sincerely and trying out on a lark thinking you can return - somebody's paying for this irresponsibility, at the minimum it's the environment.
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Unlike Mr. Manjoo, I am not such a big Amazon fan, though I do have Amazon Prime. Often, they sell products at a higher price than one could obtain elsewhere. And, as I’d mentioned earlier this week, my Prime membership is hobbled—because I protect myself online with a (paid for) VPN and other sophisticated software, I can’t stream movies or music.
Convenient? Yes, they’re very convenient. Let’s ask ourselves how much convenience we really need—is it worth the ultimate cost?
8
Burn it down, it’s killing the world. (Clickbait headline)
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I have neither time nor money...and I do love the convenience of Amazon...and I am ashamed. But...I still like the convenience of Amazon. I get it, Farhad.
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It sure is a boon for people who need lots of silly things/crap in their lives but I bet if it all went away tomorrow I think society would be better off.
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Wow! What a depressing piece! This story, including your experiment with lightbulbs, illustrates the problem perfectly — Amazon hides from consumers *so many* of the real costs in the chain, all in the name of convenience and customer satisfaction. This enables customers to be incredibly irresponsible and wasteful and pay zero penalty for it because Amazon is so huge and powerful that they can shove those costs up the supply chain to manufacturers, delivery drivers, workers in their fulfillment centers, and (of course) the climate. The waste and human toll of every next-day delivery is huge. Remember when we worried about whether we should choose paper or plastic at the grocery store? How about packaging every single item you buy — no matter how small or inconsequential! — in a brand new cardboard box? Then fly it and drive it to my doorstep. Oh, and if I change my mind? I’ll just return it, so I can get my money back and it can be thrown away by someone else and I don’t have to feel bad about it.
The impacts and costs of consumers choices *should* be visible in pricing so that consumers can make better-informed decisions. Amazon is massive and companies can’t avoid doing business with them, so they all have to eat the costs and meet the demands, workers have to perform at a breakneck pace under terrible conditions (for a terrible wage) because that’s what Amazon has to do to deliver “convenience” above all else. Is it worth it? That is a decision for government regulators.
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@Elizabeth Baer I'm sympathetic with your view—I do not condone Amazon's labor practices, nor is it even remotely acceptable that they profit from infrastructure, rule of law, and safety in our society while doing whatever they can to avoid paying the taxes that make it all possible.
But they have developed something new, a comprehensively customer-centric way of doing retail business that Mr. Manjoo is far from the only one to find full of too many compelling advantages to forgo.
Put another way: a new set of expectations has been created, and despite the underlying horrors, to the vast majority of Amazon's customers it feels like progress. Like Mr. Manjoo, that vast majority is also troubled by many of Amazon's practices—yet remain customers. You can't put that toothpaste back in the tube. People don't like giving up progress. And so anyone aiming at a solution must recognize that only schemes that preserve this progress will be viable.
Furthermore, moralizing about encouraging wasteful consumerism misses the mark by a mile.
Take Mr. Manjoo's "wasteful" behavior with his bulbs. Is it more wasteful than traveling around hunting for them, and then returning to the store where he bought them for a refund? More significantly, did the logistics behind bulb choices being scattered among multiple stores—e.g. trucks on our roads— tax public services and add to global warming less than what Mr. Manjoo did, or more? And if they sit in a closet unused, how wasteful is that?
6
My issue is that Amazon’s size and ubiquity has made it possible for them to make things convenient *and inexpensive* for the consumer. But that’s a lie — it can’t be both. We can’t have instant gratification, no hassle returns, etc etc at no extra cost (often cheaper!). The cost of convenience (including trying out a new technology at large scale that may not work for you) is borne somewhere, but Amazon forces that cost on workers, small businesses and the environment and hides it from consumers. And pays no Federal taxes! I think a consumer should have the right to make a wasteful choice, but they should understand the implications of that choice and pay more for it — this makes people think harder before blindly impulse buying at 4am. This new model where you just give someone literally everything they can imagine — instantly — at no additional cost to them is not revolutionary. It’s a lie. We consumers might love that lie, but it isn’t good for anyone in the long run.
6
@RSF The question maybe is whether that new set of expectations is overall a positive development. Sure, we now expect to be able to buy things online fast and cheap. But at what cost elsewhere? To the environment? To producers and workers? At what cost to our own spending and shopping habits and the thoughtfulness put into a purchase? At what cost to community retailers whose dollars went back into the community? At what cost to the ability to enjoy a vibrant "main street" - what used to be the center of a community's social life and sense of connectedness? We are gaining something with Amazon, but we are giving up, I think, a whole lot more. We have to consider more than the driving around Mr. Manjoo would have done for this bulb - we have to consider whether people are perhaps making more purchases than they otherwise would, having them all shipped separately (as opposed to combining errands), and all the packaging involved. In the pre-Amazon days, we weren't all driving around constantly to buy stuff - or we might combine the errand with our trip home from work, for example.
3
This is why Warren's attack on Amazon was such a head scratcher.
Her plan says that companies with annual global revenue above a certain size will not be allowed to own platform utilities and participants on it at the same time.
So Amazon would not be allowed to sell products on Amazon.com. Or else it would presumably have to bar all non-Amazon sellers to cease being a platform.
What kind of policy improvement is that?
Who is complaining that Amazon is allowed to sell products on Amazon.com?
It is one of most ill conceived "solutions" to a non-existent "problem" you could come up with relating to Big Tech.
14
I was an early Amazon adopter. I broke up with them about a year ago. Besides the lousy way they treat employees, the tax avoidance, the ever higher Prime cost vs fewer benefits that I want (e.g., need to rent or buy all the better movie content), I was fed up with the terrible curation. When I search for something g I get thousands of results with ratings falsified so often I cannot trust them, from vendors that are sometimes reselling items found in dumpsters. I don’t care to sort through all the dross. Their bricks and mortar competitors with an online presence have better curation which saves me time and the hassle of having to return poor-quality junk. Often the prices at competitors are the same of better. It was not that hard.
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@J
My expetience is quite different. Amazon supplies me with the ,somewhat, obscure books I read-- their used market is excellent to track , say, Harold Niholson's book on the Versailles Peace talks, or his "On Diplomacy", Curzio Malaporte's movise and books, and others. I can get better used obscure books on Amazon than I can in Foyles of London. I think it's gtreater than sliced bread.
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@J Yes, and unlike Manjoo, I find their web store front horrible to use. It works OK if you know what you want and know what a reasonable price is. Otherwise it is a confusing mess with multiple similar items at various price points and difficult to tell what the difference is.
2
"How much had the company made on me? Not a penny — at least, not that time."
Except that you just advertised for them for free on an incredibly widely read news site. I think Amazon is probably ok with the trade.
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@Jon G. Yes, amazon has predatory pricing unfairly driving out competition including bricks and porter which will be gone and never come back lot even when amazon as a virtual monopoly raises its prices.
2
@Jon G. And tons of web pages post “articles” about amazing products, but they are really just there to direct traffic to Amazon and cash in on an affiliate percentage.
I’ve done just fine without it for 4 years and see no need to go back.
26
I'm proud to say that I just recently picked up my one year AA chip (Amazon Abstainer).
I was hard to fight the urge to hit that Buy button, but whenever the urge arose, I just got in my car to clear my head and went to a store where I could buy the item instead.
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@Lawren
I am 70 years old. My "consumer" life was very satisfactory before Amazon. I frequented stores that I liked and where I got to know some of the employees. Since it required effort, impulse buying was rare. Order from Amazon and you interface with an APP. The delivery person shoves a package at you and out of necessity is out the door so fast you can't even recall what they looked like. The only thing Amazon has done from my perspective is that it has made Jeff Bezos wildly rich beyond comprehension and the rest of us less human.
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@Steve
There are millions of 70 year olds who can't go "shopping" for various reasons and are awfully pleased with Amazon's plethora of online choices and delivery service. Moreover, we appreciate the pick up services for easy unquestioned returns. Are you jealous of Bezos?
1
Amazon is great, what's not to love? Just because TRump can't read or write is no reason to get on Amazon's case. I'd rather meet Bezos than TRump any day of the week.
10
I'm curious about the sustainability of the Amazon model--What would a life cycle assessment of Amazon vs other retailers tell us about their carbon footprint? All those vans and cars and boxes sure *feel* less efficient (especially in the Amazon marketplace), but maybe there are other efficiency gains. And a question for the sociologists: do we consume more because Amazon makes it easier?
15