AIBU to please ask you not to plough even more money into Amazon over this lockdown?

[schitter]

I know, it's cheap and easy.
I know you probably need to find the lowest price you can.
I know it being delivered straight to your door is win win on non essential trips out.

But pleeeasssssse let's not make the richest man in the world any richer than he is already if you have any other option.
Even shopping online with the big high street retailers is better than lining JBs pockets.
Look at those little individual eBay shops that'll no doubt have exactly what you're looking for and you only have to wait a couple of days extra, it's not the end of the world.

Please look around you, please look what else is available.
Lots of your local shops have diversified into offering home delivery because their livelihoods depend on it.

My livelihood depends on it! My little business did 3% (yes, three percent) of its usual sales in April. I permanently laid off 4 staff and haven't made a penny personally since.
I feel sick at the thought.

Retail is a tiny proportion of Amazon. AWS is huge and basically keeps the internet running.

Another one who will use Amazon - except the search function is now a bit spammy with random crap.

Also for everyone saying Etsy, LOADS of the sellers on there now are from China, same cheap tat as you can find everywhere else which isn't helping independents either. Even when you sort by uk sellers only they've worked around it with a UK address even though it's dispatched from China

The convenience and excellent customer service I've always had from Amazon does make it appealing.

For me it is more about community and the high street and not particularly just about Amazon.

If we shop online, high street independents will not exist. Community life suffers, contact with others suffers whilst we all shop online buying from large warehouses like Amazon. Our independent traders are offering delivery, some of it by hand. High streets are adapting locally to help them survive. Something like this... hebdenbridge.totallylocally.shop

COVID might be making online shopping an attractive option but in the long term it would be awful if all we are left with is large retail impersonal warehouses. This is about a much bigger picture of community life.

Isn't the percentage of third party sales quite high now? If I started up a small business I'd be tempted to take advantage of a huge store front and superb logistics system too.

@Caeruleanblue

Amazon paid a total of £220 million in direct taxes in the UK last year despite its total revenues from doing business in the country amounting to £10.9 billion. Amazon revealed earlier this year that it paid £63.4 million in business rates, about £40 million less than Next, the high street fashion chain, which made half the sales of Amazon. The times 2019

And once again, someone who doesn’t understand how taxation works. Businesses pay tax on PROFITS, not revenues.

Sorry but no.

I am not paying more for something, not waiting three times as long, or risking poor customer service.

Also, business rates are based on premises. Next is a bricks and mortar store?!

This is about a much bigger picture of community life.

To you
Me, I avoid the shops when busy, always have
I like to shop in peace. I spend more when a store is virtually empty. No random people in my way.

Online solves that issues cos I can shop at 2am in bed

@ForthPlace

For me it is more about community and the high street and not particularly just about Amazon.

If we shop online, high street independents will not exist. Community life suffers, contact with others suffers whilst we all shop online buying from large warehouses like Amazon. Our independent traders are offering delivery, some of it by hand. High streets are adapting locally to help them survive. Something like this... hebdenbridge.totallylocally.shop

COVID might be making online shopping an attractive option but in the long term it would be awful if all we are left with is large retail impersonal warehouses. This is about a much bigger picture of community life.

There will always be indies. Always. But it will be the good ones with uniqe product/services, good service and accessibility. That's it. There are some cracking ones around mine who are competing with national chains well. Flooring, certain clothes, 'bit of everything' but 2ith unique designs, bookshops (few went but they had shit service), carpets, florists, artists' coop and so on. These won't suffer from amazon because people like to go there. They like to go there for the service especially.

Day 9 of waiting for blood pressure monitor, well at this point a refund actually🤷🏻

www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-why-does-amazon-pay-so-little-tax

As Sainsbury cut 3500 jobs and close 450 Argos stores. After John Lewis cut 1000 jobs yesterday. Retail Research is estimating almost quarter of a million job losses in the retail sector by the end of the year.

Why Amazon's dominance is dangerous:
www.the-american-interest.com/2018/02/20/dangers-amazons-dominance/
medium.com/swlh/the-most-dangerous-thing-about-amazon-is-that-well-never-stop-using-it-b86c11739c24

Someone further up the thread who pointed out mechanisation has been a way of life since the industrial revolution, yep, but so many people on this thread are mentioning how many jobs Amazon is (are?) creating at the moment - absolutely, but they will also be getting rid of most of those jobs the minute they can get a robot to do the same thing - they won't have to pay the robot or give them share options so win/win. For Amazon.

I've been an Amazon customer since they were a small business themselves, have rarely ever had an issue with any of their goods or services and am not going to stop now

Same here. Not sure when they started out but my first order with them was in 1999.

John Lewis shouldn't need to cut jobs - Waitrose must be doing really well and people will order other things from JL online. But whenever you go onto their website there are loads of things out of stock. Go onto Amazon, and it will be delivered within the week.

Go to Currys and there will be an item you want in the shop, but it's the display model so they won't sell it there and then and don't have any others and you'll have to go back to collect it ages later when it's been ordered. What's the point? Just order online to start with.

It's not our fault for buying from Amazon, it's the other companies' fault for being rubbish.

Argos has had most things I wanted in last 12 months out of stock here. I will not travel 15 miles to pick 20 quid item up. It used to be better.
Sainsbury's I don't believe is being done by Amazon, but more by the fact that they are quite expensive compared to many others (also, own argos that's nit helping).
John Lewis... It has been a ling time I went shopping there. Nice stuff, above my budget usually, many people's budget. Plus they had to close for a while, didn't they.

Remember that we are in recession. Not everything is a fault of Amazon.
Pizza express 1100 jobs
Byron burgers 650
Ask Italian and zizzi 1200
Pret a manger 1000 at risk
Cafe Rouge, Bella Italia 2000
And so on.

@diplodocusinermine

www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-why-does-amazon-pay-so-little-tax

As Sainsbury cut 3500 jobs and close 450 Argos stores. After John Lewis cut 1000 jobs yesterday. Retail Research is estimating almost quarter of a million job losses in the retail sector by the end of the year.

Why Amazon's dominance is dangerous:
www.the-american-interest.com/2018/02/20/dangers-amazons-dominance/
medium.com/swlh/the-most-dangerous-thing-about-amazon-is-that-well-never-stop-using-it-b86c11739c24

Someone further up the thread who pointed out mechanisation has been a way of life since the industrial revolution, yep, but so many people on this thread are mentioning how many jobs Amazon is (are?) creating at the moment - absolutely, but they will also be getting rid of most of those jobs the minute they can get a robot to do the same thing - they won't have to pay the robot or give them share options so win/win. For Amazon.

Honestly, you really don’t understand how automation works. Automation is part of the economic cycle when one commodity becomes less important and another one takes over. Do you think robots grow from the ground or fall from the sky? People, employees are needed for R&D, to design, manufacture and maintain the robots. Not to mention that when a type of robot become popular, lots of companies spring up trying to make it better and cheaper, creating more jobs in sales, marketing, services etc. No different to cars, or vacuum cleaners. Come to think of it, are you as worried about surgeons becoming redundant because surgery is being automated. Bottom line, think for yourself, don’t just swallow the nonsense fed by the guardian.

You can do both!
I use amazon a lot. I live semi rurally and at one point did not have a car.
I also shop locally and support local businesses.
It doesn't have to be one or the other.
Amazon is VERY good at what it does.
And I can get my sons supplements at half the price of brick and mortar stores.

It's not our fault for buying from Amazon, it's the other companies' fault for being rubbish.

I certainly think there is a huge element of truth in this sentiment when some small independents close down.

It's happened to a few near me and they blame the likes of amazon because it's an easy target. They would rather blame a big evil company than admit the real reasons behind there closures such as poor opening times, lack of choice, unhelpful service, unwillingness to adjust to changing markets, poor delivery options etc. Its just easier to blame others when they would have succeeded if they had offered the customer what they needed.

I don't for a second doubt that this story is unique to the independents near me. I would hazard a guess that its a common occurrence with many indies who closed because of Amazon.

Robots design (to a certain extent), manufacture and maintain robots. Not people. I know how this stuff works, I'm just pointing out that people on the thread are happy that Amazon are creating tens of thousands of new jobs, which will be very short term and will disappear when they've automated the process.

I give up. I hope this doesn't go the way I think it will. But I doubt it.

Honestly I wonder how people get through the day when they can’t understand/interpret/decipher a simple news report. Think for yourself people, don’t be lemmings. So there’s news reports about Argos and the natural leap someone makes is that it’s linked to Argos being out competed by Amazon. No, that’s not how it works.
Think what’s happened to supermarkets over the last year....their bricks and mortar sales have declines as more people shop for food online. What does that mean for their excess real estate and per sq. ft utilization of stores space.....it is not paying them back as much. So Sainsbury’s will shut the Argos high street stores and move them to supermarkets. It’s how businesses respond to changing consumer habits.

So Sainsbury’s will shut the Argos high street stores and move them to supermarkets. It’s how businesses respond to changing consumer habits.

They did this around mine and I swear to god, since than can't buy shit without going to a store xxx miles away🙄 So annoying. We are a major city too so would expect stock in one of them!

@LolalovesLondon

Also, the OP says ’No, my product isn't compatible with Amazon’ which is confusing. Surely if it’s a such a niche product there will be little competition. Must be something people don’t need or want during lockdown times.

I’m in a relatively wealthy area that had a lot of independent cupcake and fancy bakers that are now struggling as functions they supplied are not happening. I’ve never bought an elaborate cupcake for £2.50, but they do look difficult to post. And not essential.

I had a quick browse of the shops listed on the christmas thread. A lot of puzzles, toys, chutneys, jams. I have no use for any of that stuff, nor does anyone in my life. Even when I have a baby, some of those toys look quite niche/crafty- I remember playing exclusively with stuffed toys and baby dolls when I was a kid.

I just need useful things and I buy a lot of makeup from beauty pie/korean cosmetics (which is all online). My tastes are just very mass market I suppose.

hopingforonlychild they all seem such a waste of money.

I only buy for my dcs and dh and teen niece. Nothing appropriate on that thread. Amazon and John Lewis!

In not using argos anymore . Last time I wanted to buy something to use that day and was in stock I couldn't pick it up until 4pm. I got something cheaper in homebase . There is no point in argos anymore really if you have to wait until next day for what you want as I can get the same from amazon delivered free and don't have to leave the house

sst1234, tbh reading through the thread I ain't sure who the lemmings are........