My Love/Hate Relationship with Amazon
In deference to my post about Monty Python: and now for something completely different:
I have blathered on about my past, career, political viewpoint, and who remembers what else. Today, I thought I would try something very different. My big question is:
What Do You Think About Amazon (and not the river)?
Personally, I am conflicted. I understand what that company has done to so many brick-and-mortar retailers. In fact today, I received an email advising that my neighborhood Bed, Bath & Beyond was closing. I went there and found the store had less than a third of the goods they typically held, on the first day of the closing sale. The only bright side to the story is that I made some good money on BBBY stock years ago. When Amazon was growing wildly, I decided to sell my position. Good thing. I think I sold at the peak.
Many shopping malls have been closed around the country. Smaller retailers just cannot complete with Amazon’s pricing. Jeff Bezos must be deliriously happy.
So, as a rational businessman, I see the damage Amazon had done. But, I also see the benefit of not going to a store. I am a guy. I have never enjoyed shopping, except for groceries. I love to cook and must choose my own items. I do not trust some new associate to pick the right avocados, or chilies, or anything else. Who wants some stranger man-handling their food? Not me. Yes, I know some other strangers have handled everything before it left the fields and reached the shelves, but that is not the point. The point is that I make the final choice.
On the other hand, Amazon recently opened a one-million square foot distribution center less than ten miles from where I live. It takes thousands of workers to handle the incoming and outgoing shipments. Dozens, if not hundreds, of Amazon trucks are driven by well-paid people who bring my stuff to my doorstep. As a non-shopper, that is a fabulous convenience. With my Prime membership, shipping is free too.
Plus, being a bit compulsive, I tend to buy more than I need. If I have it, I don’t worry about running out, right?
Okay, Amazon Prime is not cheap anymore. I do watch Prime TV though. I am a rabid NFL fan, and now, Thursday Night Football is only on Prime. What other choice do I have?
I also have four grandchildren, two of whom live on the East Coast. Shipping presents with UPS or USPS is expensive. With Amazon, free again!
And now for the dirty word: China. Yes, I know too many Amazon products are sourced from China. When I buy those same things in a local store, they come from China too! What is a guy supposed to do? China is a bad place. I agree. But what can I do? For example, I posted about my bout with COVID, which originated in China. My pharmacy gave me COVID test-kits. Guess what? From China again. I think our relationship with China needs to change. That is up to our government.
In the interim, I do what I can. I imagine that is what we all do. So, what do you think about Amazon? Please let me know what you think.
Karl, I share your sentiments completely.
Hi, Karl! I’m as conflicted as you are about all of it. I’d much rather buy and use products made in the USA, but that train has left the station. I do enjoy the convenience of Amazon shopping, and I publish my books through KDP, although I stubbornly refuse to use their ISBN numbers. Until another solution presents itself, I’ll remain an Amazon customer.
Blessings,
Patty
Patty, yes, we all rely on Amazon for marketing our books. I also use another tool that provides some access to Barnes & Noble and other sites. Still, Amazon is the big dog in book selling. It is the eternal love-hate relationship. All the best.
I love Amazon, Amazon Prime, Subscribe and Save, KDP, NFL Thursday Nights…all of it. Like you, I also don’t like that some of the products I buy come from other countries. I try to be mindful and research where it’s coming from, but it isn’t always easy. I hate to shop, so Amazon is great for me. Would I prefer to buy American-based items? Yes. I just wish Amazon made it clear where everything is created.
Yvette M Calleiro 🙂
http://yvettemcalleiro.blogspot.com
Yvette, unfortunately for Amazon and us, too much manufacturing was moved to China. It was our goal to help them develop their economy. Instead, now they are weaponizing it against us. What would Apple do if they had to make their phones elsewhere? I hope China’s growing desire for global dominance will awaken more of our political class. Of course, they may be on the take too. What a mess!
Karl–I, too, am conflicted. I wonder how much delivery gasoline and boxes add to global warming. (Never mind that I can’t get my husband to throw away–even to recycle–and cardboard boxes unless I do it behind his back!) Also, I know that, as writers, we depend on Amazon to post our books and. book reviews for marketing purposes. I like shopping at small, independent bookstores. Some of them will carry our books, while some won’t. It really is a dilemma. I do have Amazon Prime for movies and shipping. On a global level, I agree with Yvette that I’d like to know where their goods are manufactured, too. My son-in-law does logistics for living, and he says that Amazon warehouses are very difficult places for warehouse workers to make a living because, although they earn a reasonable living, the pressure to make deadlines is intense. It remains a dilemma for me, just like with you.
Wanda, when companies get too big, they often loose touch with their employees and customers. The top executives look at numbers, period. With Amazon’s massive infrastructure investment (warehouses, trucks, delivery vans), if their numbers slip, the whole house of cards might collapse. Just like GE, I would not feel sorry for them, although I would pity me having to go from store to store again. I do recycle my boxes and as much other stuff as I can. Of course, that means putting them in the recycle bin. How the waste disposal company handles it is unclear to me. Thanks for your thoughts.
Hi Karl,
Amazon is getting bigger here in Germany, but they are not as big as in the USA. We still treasure going out to stores to do our shopping. Also, Amazon has an image problem here. Sorry, to hear that they are a giant by you all. Here they. Are still small.
Shalom aleichem
Amazon keeps getting bigger over here. The pandemic was a major boon for them, when people could not go out shopping. I still love it, as I hate shopping. Aida is more like you. When she goes shopping, she checks everything, and I mean everything. She loves shopping. I just want to get what I came for and leave. Have a great day.
I have never forgiven Amazon for being the first to underprice books. Now, you can buy a book for pennies, thanks to Amazon. The big name authors have their ratings adjusted hours, sometimes a whole day, before the lowly indie authors. Thank you, Amazon.
I’m a little concerned about Amazon gobbling up all the little mom and pop stores. There are pros and cons which you mentioned, Karl. What I don’t like is China. I think some of our representatives must be lining their pockets with bribery money to allow a country to compromise themselves so deeply. We used to have standards for what kinds of products could be sold. In came China and all the safety standards went out the window. It stresses me out to find out we don’t have a lot of choices with everyday items we need. Something needs to be done about it, that’s for sure.
I agree with you, Shirley. Too many companies thrive on the cash they save by buying goods from China. The problem is that the profits go to the Communist Party, which uses our money to fund their military and outreach activities, like the Road and Belt Initiative I mentioned. At some point, our government needs to acknowledge that China is more threat than friend. There will be some pain and higher prices, but perhaps that is the only way to stop China from growing too powerful for us to stop.
Karl, I noticed you are still tweeting out blogs with no hashtags, handles, nothing. You can’t promote your blog, not even to RRBC if you are not using hashtags. Go back to my blog and take notes. Some of the rest of you need to do the same. Right now you are promoting your blog to yourself. Not good and no promotion.
Thanks for that, Shirley. My WordPress has a place to put hashtags and I do put them there. It seems they don’t go anywhere. I did not know that, and I really appreciate you pointing it out.
Hi Karl, honestly, everything you said was spot-on! It’s kind of like a love-hate relationship, but as busy as I’ve gotten over the last few years, Amazon has helped me out tremendously. What I would like to see are more things made here in the USA.
Best wishes,
Donna M Atwood
D M Atwood
https://www.dmatwood.com
Thanks, Donna. I remain addicted to Amazon. I don’t like going to stores, other than for groceries. Even though Amazon is a jungle of Chinese goods and massive warehouses, it fills a need for me. Moving manufacturing away from China will take company leaders who have principles. In today’s world, that may be an oxymoron. Our government is doing nothing to change the status quo either. Hoping for the best.