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?

@adaline why can't you just return your John Lewis goods at the PO opposite your work? It's also free. If you order from Argos they will collect returns for free.

If it’s not Amazon taking advantage, it will be someone else.

Yes. Resisting the Amazon model is kind of like resisting gravity, it's not going to work.

A couple of years ago I was really dead set against tax credits, but I've now come around to the idea that it's the best option of a bad set of alternatives - I'd prefer to see the government stepping in to round out the lifestyle of low-paid workers than making futile attempts to re-work Amazon.

The benefits system should really be reformed to work more realistically alongside this new, weird economy where workers have essentially zero clout.

Yes. I use them for my kindle, mostly (I don't have space for looks of books). This year I have bought a few Christmas gifts from there too, for ease of delivery. My high street is shit, has been seen I was a kid, and I don't drive.
I won't feel bad about it. If they don't their tax, thats not my fault. There must be someone in the government responsible for making them, and clearly they are failing.

I personally don't find them any more convenient or cheaper than John Lewis, Ebay or Argos & find it easier to refund John Lewis stuff. However I recognise that I live near a Waitrose & Argos.

Surely Amazon is a lot faster, though? And has a much wider offering?

I was buying dried mango for a small fortune every week at Whole Foods, and then I realised that Amazon owns Whole Foods and who am I kidding so now I buy the same thing on Amazon for literally less than half the price and - less plastic.

I like amazon it's very convenient and have a subscription on things that I can't get in store near me also saving money.

why can't you just return your John Lewis goods at the PO opposite your work? It's also free. If you order from Argos they will collect returns for free

I actually didn't realise John Lewis offered free returns, so thank you for letting me know :)

I personally don't find them any more convenient or cheaper than John Lewis, Ebay or Argos & find it easier to refund John Lewis stuff. However I recognise that I live near a Waitrose & Argos.

Surely Amazon is a lot faster, though? And has a much wider offering?

Argos is always faster for me as I can literally take the goods with me there & then! John Lewis does next delivery to my local Waitrose & has never let me down whereas Amazon has. I find eBay very fast too. Plus not everything on Amazon is eligible for free returns so I find it more of a hassle. Width of offer I think it depends, very few sellers are only on that platform & like I said I often don't find them the most competitive

Is it weird that I’ve never ordered anything off Amazon? I’ve also never used Uber, Uber Eats or Air BnB. The amount of ‘stuff’ that some people buy is just obscene.

I do sometimes order products online but it’s usually for a one off purchase and something I can’t buy from a bricks and mortar store.

“Most of us can afford that additional fiver in delivery and should bother.“

Can we? because £5 on everything you buy is a lot...

I won't be giving up Amazon any time soon. I'm disabled and it's such an easy option. I did order something from a different company recently and when I got to the payment page, ready to enter debit card details, there was an option to pay via Amazon with one click. So easy.

I once e-mailed my local Waterstones to let them know people in wheelchairs and mobility scooters couldn't get into their shop because of the arrangement of display tables. Rather than re-arrange a couple of tables they suggested I buy online. I took their advice but buy from Amazon. and now have a Kindle.

It's probably a bit paranoid of me but Amazon is just one of those companies that is so huge, I don't like the idea of giving them any more money (which equals power, after all) than they already have. Same reason I also avoid giving any money to Google, Apple, Microsoft, etc. whenever possible.

Problem is that as PPs have pointed out, these companies own so many others that it can be extremely difficult. Johnson & Johnson is another company I'd prefer to avoid, for example, but they own so many companies that it's almost impossible to buy any cosmetics without it being from them! And that's kind of why it's a so scary!

Can we? hmm because £5 on everything you buy is a lot...

Depends how much you buy!

I only order things online every couple of months.

I have also never used Uber, never had a takeaway and because of where we live Uber eats and all the other delivery companies don’t deliver to our address

I do use Airbnb though

I try my hardest to avoid using Amazon, and 99% of the time I find what I want elsewhere (usually eBay). I can see the attraction, as it’s so easy, but I hate their morals (and that the uk gov let’s them have no morals).

I’ve never used Uber or airb&b either.

I often wonder if all the pro brexit people put their money where their mouths are and only use companies that pay proper tax etc.

There must be someone in the government responsible for making them, and clearly they are failing.

No, not at all. When you're an international company selling globally, you're under numerous different tax jurisdictions and that's where the "anomalies" arise. If it was as easy as Dianne Abbott suggested (i.e. work out UK profits and pay UK tax), it would have been done years ago. The problems first started manifesting themselves in the Blair/Brown years 20 years ago when the internet started growing and so did Global/international firms. Ever since, all governments all over the World have been struggling to catch up, not helped by some countries only too willing to offer tax havens (Isle of Man is the closest) for their own advantage/benefit. Over the past few years, there are a number of big countries trying to work together to find a solution, but progress is slow because the tax haven countries obviously don't want to co-operate and lose their advantage - there's a lot of wheeling and dealing behind the scenes that is making slow progress. Being in the EU doesn't help this as rules say firms must pay tax in an EU country, so a firm trading in the UK can pay tax to their Irish or Swiss parent company and are fully compliant, even when tax rates in those countries are very low and the UK doesn't benefit. It's why there've been increases in VAT and employers NIC so that the UK gets employment and sales taxes from global firms' UK sales even if they can't get ccrporation tax on the profits. No easy solution. At least steps have been taken recently to prevent VAT fraud, i.e. forcing the likes of Ebay and Amazon to ensure that traders operating through such platforms are UK VAT registered.

What's wrong with AirBnB now?
Individuals and businesses advertise their rooms/ properties, what's the issue there?

I generally find it cheaper than elsewhere as well as convenient. Most other online shops have minimum spend for free delivery. How would me making myself poorer by not shopping Amazon help the underpaid workers or tax situation?

I have ordered 36 items on Amazon in the past 30 days. I haven't even sarted my christmas shopping yet!

why can't you just return your John Lewis goods at the PO opposite your work? It's also free. If you order from Argos they will collect returns for free

I actually didn't realise John Lewis offered free returns, so thank you for letting me know

Unfortunately John Lewis. Barge. Shit load for delivery, even more if you select a named day delivery. So the free returns is slightly beside the point

Sorry, that was charge a shit load for delivery

I live on a Scottish island. Delivery (from the retailers that actually do deliver here - but that's a different story!) can take up to 7 days+ for some items. With Amazon Prime I've had items delivered the next day. I'm currently waiting on a 15kg cat tree, which isn't available locally, could not be delivered directly from the seller, as they don't deliver to Scottish highlands or islands (despite us having royal mail, and numerous couriers here) so I went to Amazon.
As I'm now studying part time, my prime membership is heavily discounted, so, yes, I'm using it. There are things I just can't get on the high street (despite it being the most beautiful, apparently!) as the majority of the shops are gift shops for the vast tourist population we have in the summer. I've tried and tried to shop locally, but the cost and/or lack of availability for some items is prohibitive. If I want fudge, postcards, or magnets with puffin pictures, then I'm sorted, but the day to day stuff is a bit trickier to find!

Saying buy online from multiple non Amazon online retailers

Well - that's a bit like saying buy from corner shops / individual shops rather thN supermarkets (as people did)

Which because they were more expensive and more inconvenient and didn't have the same extended hours as supermarkets

They had n USP and the supermarkets now have a dominant position

So too with Amazon

Other online retailers need to up thier game

If / when their prices to fall to match those of Amazon, delivery is free and prompt, and customer service matches what John Lewis's was like 15 years ago, then I will use them

What's wrong with AirBnB now?

I've used Air BnB in the past & like the concept but there are issues with it.

Most other online shops have minimum spend for free delivery.

Doesn't Amazon have this too unless you pay for a subscription?

Well - that's a bit like saying buy from corner shops / individual shops rather thN supermarkets (as people did)

TBF it's a bit easier because going to multiple shops adds a lot more time than going to few different websites. Also I'm not even sure those smaller shops still exist, whereas the other websites actually do.

I'd love to buy my fruit and veg from a greengrocer instead of Tesco, but I haven't seen one in about 30 years. And my local market is down to about 2 mobile phone cover stalls on a sunday morning.