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.

Oh please, let's not pretend Waterstone's is a small friendly neighborhood shop. They have crushed many independent bookstores over the years too.

For me, Amazon can deliver what I need quickly. If a small company can offer me free same or next day delivery then I'll use them.

Fuck. I was semi - keeping up with replies but they trebled while I was sorting a work issue 🤦🏽‍♀️

Thanks for the support from the few I've seen
I am absolutely snowed under trying to keep my plates spinning.

No, my product isn't compatible with Amazon.

If you buy ten things and just tried to buy one of them from a local business then our economy would be safe as houses. Just remember that

@vanillandhoney

Amazon underpays employees, squeezes suppliers and pays almost no tax. Every pound spent with a better company is a positive.

Your analysis is simplisticly appealing, but not correct.

I will continue to use Amazon when it has things I want at a decent price.

To not do so does not make sense.

I do try to shop locally and independently where possible. However amazon does have small businesses trading on there. A friend runs a successful business selling refurbished phones. Using a service by amazon allows his products to be fulfilled by prime and come with packaging etc. So no, I won't stop using amazon.

I hope people DO use amazon!

My DP was made redundant in the first lockdown and has recently started working for Amazon as they have opened a new depot close by, I am guessing due to increased demand?

The pay is a lot better than other jobs he was looking at and he is really enjoying it. Their overtime pay rates are really good too.

And like everyone else says, small business sell on Amazon too!

Sorry, I will continue to use Amazon. They deliver faster than most shops and as I already pay for Prime I'm not paying a delivery charge elsewhere.

However, I do think Amazon has its place and at the end of the day it's a competitive market

The big question is whether they raise their prices once they have squashed a load of the competition, the answer is likely yes. At the moment they operate at a smaller profit margin that they could, as even though they buy in huge amounts and so it's cheaper, they could charge even £1 more for most things and people would still use them; that would add up to a lot in a day! But they don't, they go cheap, and when they have the monopoly of course they will be less concerned with being competitive as no need to be.

Op... Slightly ignoring all the posters pointing out that Amazon is used by a lot of small businesses, and many will also be "local" wherever they are situated in the UK.

Yes why can’t we make this a trend

It's a lovely idea OP, but unfortunately, I'm also concerned about tying my cash up with companies that might then go under, which sadly is becoming more prevalent this year. This relates to High St brands as much as smaller independent businesses, and unless I can buy a product and take it away with me, I'm less inclined to prepay for something that might never arrive with little recourse to recovery. Lockdown during a busy Xmas shopping period unfortunately makes this a larger issue.

@Coldwinterahead1

Amazon has been a lifeline for my family, I have prime so not paying for delivery anywhere else. Reliable and I've done all my Christmas shopping with them and it's all ready to wrap. I have never had bad service from them

You are seeing your children out of a job.

@Ferrari458

Op... Slightly ignoring all the posters pointing out that Amazon is used by a lot of small businesses, and many will also be "local" wherever they are situated in the UK.

Yep, very much a let's just casually glide over that huge plot twist to the OPs argument...

Sorry, but I have no intention to stop using Amazon. I get a lot out of my Prime membership. I also hate shopping and live rural.

Amazon is a platform for smaller businesses. I buy herbal tea, for example, from a small business on amazon. I could buy from her website instead but the tea is expensive and I get free shipping on Amazon which saves me £3 so it’s a no brainer 🤷🏻‍♀️.

I buy from lots of small businesses, I use Etsy a lot for example. Still will be using amazon because it’s cheap and convenient.

@ThomasHardyPerennial

Oh please, let's not pretend Waterstone's is a small friendly neighborhood shop. They have crushed many independent bookstores over the years too.

Not saying that at all.

But if you need a discount on the big Christmas bestseller, you cannot afford a local indie who charges full price, and you are committed to the purchase, then Waterstones is a good compromise.

They are the ONLY dedicated high street bookshop chain left standing. If they go, the book trade is in big trouble.

For books - choose indie if you can afford to. But don't default to Amazon if you can possibly afford not to.

Please keep using Amazon. My lovely Bil's company get 70% of their trade through Amazon as do many other small businesses.

[quote BefuddledPerson]@vanillandhoney

Amazon underpays employees, squeezes suppliers and pays almost no tax. Every pound spent with a better company is a positive.

Your analysis is simplisticly appealing, but not correct.[/quote]
Actually, the lowest Amazon pay is £9.50 an hour, which is nearly £1 above minimum wage in the UK (currently £8.72 an hour).

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45717768

So, while not amazing, it's far better than thousands of other employers up and down the country who pay minimum wage.

And while it's all well and good to tell people to support small businesses instead, there's also often a massive difference in price. I've found stuff on Amazon for more than half the price of my local high street. I just can't afford to pay that much, every time.

There are also lots of independent businesses who make a lot of money via Amazon.

I buy from Amazon through Amazon Smile, which gives a small amount of money to my local school.

I have been buying more from other places online, but I won't buy from independent online shops unless they will take either PayPal or ApplePay, as I'm not keen on putting my credit card details in too many places. Unfortunately most independent businesses' websites don't seem to say whether you can pay like this until you're actually checking out, which is a waste of time.

Bookshop.org has launched today and would wholeheartedly encourage all booklovers on MN to shop online there, if they don't already buy direct from a local or independent bookshop. They are an alternative online bookshop, 30% of whose profits goes to support independent bookshops, instead of into Bezos' pocket to not pay proportional tax on.

Also, they don't sell at RRP (most books are discounted) and delivery time is comparable as they'll be shipping direct from a wholesaler.

@EwwSprouts I bet they'll be changing their widget to reroute through bookshop.org in the future!

Plug over (and I promise I don't work for them!)

Noitjustwontdo, the tea supplier will still have to cover the delivery costs, and a percentage of the price of the tea will go to Amazon too.

I avoid Amazon, although it's true they are a platform for small business and employ people, the issue to me is they don't do those things well. They are essentially parasites.

However - I really dislike ebay, I've had too much trouble with them and so no longer use them.

Sorry, that should be "for less than half the price".

Agree with earlier poster that the issue with tax is that we have shitty governments who are happy to allow huge tax loopholes for big corporates. Exacerbated by the fact that as a small business there are pretty much no useful tax loopholes so we (small businesses) pay the full whack while Amazon doesn't. Nor do other big companies.

I would love to use more independents. But the service is shit and unreliable so what's the point? We have a small independent cafe in our village. They get brilliant support at all times. Not because they're independent. But because their service is fantastic, they know their customers (literally, by name half the time!) and they are quick to adjust to what's needed. So, during first lockdown they quickly converted to takeaway and created various treat options that were convenient, cost effective and easy for people. It was a mutually beneficial situation.

Unfortunately, most local shops do not do this.