To ask how you can live with yourself if you use Amazon

[paperbeatsrock]

Just kidding! All those political threads asking how people can possibly vote for X or Y must be getting to me.

I use Amazon. (While I’m frequently ordering from a vendor rather than Amazon themselves, Bezos still gets his cut.) Yet, the more I read about them, the more I realise I’m part of the problem. So I guess my question is, do you have stern words with yourself for using them, but keep doing it anyway?

their packaging is rather stupid, either there's none -literally a label plonked on an unwrapped box (great for presents ) or a huge box for small items.

Apart from that, Amazon clearly has its place. There's no slave labour in this country (well, not legally, and Amazon is checked often enough!), so if workers are unhappy they can vote with their feet if it's that bad - which it isn't. The fact that they have waiting lists of people is telling.

Some flexible part-time are really convenient for mothers who only have school hours when they can fit in their job.

Yes, you are on your feet, but frankly, it's obvious why and retail staff, a postman.. are just as much!

I don't use Amazon. I haven't bought anything from them for several years now.

For those saying use other sites like abebooks and book depository...Amazon owns them too!

Not that much (prefer Ebay), but I use it sometimes. However, I do pretty much all my shopping online (various sites) and not because of the spectacular lack of time.

Last week something possessed me to go to the 'real' shops for some Christmas shopping. Tons of people, shitty music, cold outside/too hot in shops, lots and lots of stuff, everybody's coughing/sneezing, just ugh. I needed 10 specific things and a few bits and pieces. Fine with b&p, but after a long and exhausting traipsing around, I've managed to find 1 thing out of 10 I needed, even though theoretically they were all supposed to be there. Everywhere I went, I was advised to order the rest online by shop assistants.

Came home tired and irritated, pretty much empty handed and with a nasty cold. That was the last 'live' shopping for me, methinks.

I doubt this would have happened if I had bought it through Amazon.

You can buy these rip off warranties on Amazon too.

@ShadowOnTheSun

Your experience of high street Christmas shopping mirrors mine about 4 years ago. I wasn't looking for difficult stuff either but kept being told they could order it online.

That was the last time I went near the high street to shop at Christmas.

There's a book called 'Hired' where a journalist went undercover as an Amazon worker and it is fairly shocking how they treat their staff (hardly news now, this has been known for a while). Not bashing anyone as I still use them on occasion but something to think about. I only tend to use them around Christmas as I can't stand the mayhem of the shops then. This thread has reminded me I need to cut back though.

I use them weekly as the service and range is amazing. The packaging is a little excessive at times but cardboard can be recycled.

They employ thousands of people, keep delivery firms with customers and do pay taxes in line with where their headquarters are based. Plenty of large companies have headquarters outside the UK.

I can’t shop locally as it’s a good drive away so would be worse for the environment if I had to continually drive.

I find the indignation about amazon to be a bit precious, tbh.

It’s all food for thought, which is surely a good thing.

Most 'recycling' is not recycled because the country does not have the capacity. We need to reduce usage of all single use items (which includes cardboard packaging) not make ourselves feel better by recycling which is not an environmentally neutral process in itself.

All of us proudly taking our bags for life to the supermarket whilst happily ordering more and more online using even more packaging are not achieving much at all.

It is all food for thought.

I use amazon frequently and I live with myself fine.

For those saying use other sites like abebooks and book depository...Amazon owns them too!

I use amazon a several times a week. I simply do not have the time or headspace to go to shops or mess around looking on other websites when I can get everything I need with one click ordering and reliably delivered next or even same day. Amazon frees up my time, gives me less to worry about which all helps my mental health. As for the conditions for workers, I’m not that bothered, there are other jobs. I enjoy looking in shops for clothes when I have proper time but prefer going to bluewater or suchlike, can’t remember the last time I went to a town centre; expensive parking and full of charity shops, betting shops and poundshops it has no relevance to my life.

For those saying use other sites like abebooks and book depository...Amazon owns them too!

When I first stopped using Amazon, I was caught out by this too, most books now I get from Wordery or World of Books, CDs and DVDs I get from music magpie.

There are alternatives, eBay for starters, I rarely need to traipse around the shops looking for a particular item, and now there is an Argos inside Sainsbury's I can pick things up when I do my top up shops on the way back from work.

It must be 6/7 years since I last used Amazon. In the grand scheme it makes no difference, but my decision is mine to make.

It is funny how people seem to need amazon so much because they just don’t have access to shops etc. I live in Australia where amazon isn’t really such a thing. I also live in a really small town which is more remote than any one of you in the UK where we have barely any shops and do you know I manage to survive without it just fine. I have not thought once “I wish I had amazon” I can think of very few things I could not get from our extremely small high street. Maybe people just need to buy LESS SHIT. (Disclaimer books are not shit but they come from libraries mainly) Part of the problem in the world is that people are convinced they need all this crap. If it was going to take 2 weeks to get to you would you still really need it or would you actually just manage without it? Yes there are SOME things that you need delivery for or that are really hard to find but mostly this is just lazy consumerism at its worst

This week on Amazon, I bought:
little fire starter thingys
dried mango
ACT prep book for my son
printer cartridges
fire alarms
diet coke
dog poo bags

My SIL boycotts Amazon because she disagrees with their employment practices, their tax practices, and thinks they contribute to rampant consumerism. I guess all these criticisms are valid, but 1. I'm paying taxes for the tax credit topups of low-paid employees; 2. I don't particularly care about tax avoidance; 3. I don't buy a bunch of nonsense on Amazon

I use them and dont feel bad
I have no guilt shopping online from any site if i can get a better price and the product to my door

I refuse to accept Amazon is any worse than any other multi national company for poor wages, poor working conditions, disregard for the environment and tax dodging.

I live in Australia where amazon isn’t really such a thing. I also live in a really small town which is more remote than any one of you in the UK where we have barely any shops and do you know I manage to survive without it just fine

Im aussie in a small town too, out in SA
Yeah amazon isnt as big but ebay is
We would be screwed without online shopping here, i wouldnt even be able to get clothes that fit, much less like
Our town has foodland, a charity shop, 1 clothing shop and a hardware. That in NO WAY fills our needs
Id rather a 2 week wait over a almost 2 hour drive to adelaide, then a hunt round the shops that may have it.

Considering all of price, user-friendliness, convenience and customer service, for me Amazon spectacularly outperform all their competitors. So I buy nearly everything from them.

I am wondering what people actually buy off Amazon on a weekly basis?

I like to support local retailers. However, at a local hardware shop buying a mousetrap this morning (ugh don't ask) and a couple came in and asked if they had a 26cm pot lid. There were 24cm lids 28 and 30. The saleswoman said they didn't sell that size but maybe they could go to a charity shop and get lucky🙄. I said try Amazon. Then the saleswoman and her colleague were all like 'oh they'll have our jobs blah blah blah'. I said well if you don't stock an item you can't blame someone for looking elsewhere. And that's the thing. I live on an island and it can be limited supplies here and many mainland stores will not deliver to here or only for a premium, but Amazon generally does, and many times for free and next day. I can order from here for stuff to be delivered to family abroad via that country's Amazon. And I found an obscure cake mix from childhood that you just can not buy anywhere. So I'm still going to shop on it.

I bloody love amazon.

I returned my Alexa as barely used it & canx my prime as I started to find lots of prime items were not next day delivery, the delivery fee is built into
some items & many items are not cheaper.

I really don't use it that much anymore.

When it would cost me £5 to get the bus
£5 to then get a train to get to a toy shop. No, I don't mind buying this stuff on amazon.
When the item I want isn't in the shops no I don't mind using amazon.
When I need a new phone charger the next day no I don't mind using amazon

In short no, it's a service that's available to me and living in a smaller town with mainly charity and coffee shops on the highstreet amazon is the best way I can find and purchase any items. From a handbag to Christmas gift