The Amazon Ogre

[MadamSarcastra]

I have mentioned before that Amazon will never get my business. I stand by that, I believe with very valid reason. I am utterly disgusted with what I have heard & read about how that grotesque conglomerate is run. Please, if you can help it, stop shopping Amazon... and encourage friends & family to do the same.

Support smaller businesses! Boycott Amazon!

This is just one of the more recent stories....

Amazon Worker Jumps off 12-Story Building After Being Put on Big-Brother-Like 'Performance Improvement Plan'

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And some older stuff....

Amazon.com controversies - Wikipedia

High-Tech Cruelty: Inside Amazon’s Heartless (and Unethical) Workplace

http://www.housmans.com/boycottamazon.php

Amazon Is Cruel and We Are to Blame | The Huffington Post

Top 10 Reasons to Avoid Amazon.com

Worse than Wal-Mart: Amazon’s sick brutality and secret history of ruthlessly intimidating workers

How to boycott Amazon, Wal-Mart and become an ethical shopper - SpokaneFāVS

Boycott Amazon

Avoiding Amazon

 

[MadamSarcastra]

Taken from Ethical Consumer: the alternative consumer organisation and the last link above in case anyone's worried about online shopping for the holidays... or whenever....



Ethical Online Alternatives
We researched 25 ethical online retailers which sell a range of different gifts online, everything from food items to home-ware. The top 17 brands qualify for a best buy in our guide.

These include:

• Ethical Shop
• Amnesty
• Viva!
• Animal Aid
• Ethical Wares
• Global Seesaw
• Ecotopia
• Cebra
• Green Tulip
• Nkuku
• Nigel’s Eco Store
• Oxfam
• Evolution
• Green Shopping
• Shared Earth
• Traidcraft
• RSPB shops

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I looked up links for a few of those sites, as well.... (most are U.K.)

The best source for eco-friendly, ethically sourced and fairtrade treats - The Ethical Shop

Viva!Shop |

Animal Aid Shop : cruelty-free shop : vegan shop : ethical shopping

Vegan footwear, non leather belts, fair trade clothing, tibetan handicrafts, animal friendly cosmetics, ethical goods Ethical Wares

Ethical and Fairtrade Gifts - Global Seesaw Social Enterprise Shop

Green Tulip Ethical Gifts - Natural, Organic, British, Fair Trade, Recycled

Sustainable, Green Books, Tools and Eco Products | Green Shopping

SHARED EARTH (YORK) Ltd

 

[MadamSarcastra]

A lighter side....

8 Stupid Amazon Products With Impressively Sarcastic Reviews

www.cracked.com/article_18939_8-stupid-amazon-products-with-impressively-sarcastic-reviews.html

 

[silva]

I've worked with two people who had worked on their production floors filling orders. I asked how amazon was to work for and they both said it was better than most.
I'm not going to boycott amazon. There are certain products I can get far cheaper there, I can buy shoes and return if not right, They've been the most comprehensive on searching reviews for things than any other site
I keep my shopping to needs. It's the ones with money who see shopping as a hobby that are the ones keep these companies rolling in the dough. I see my contribution like my credit card. I take advantage of the perks they offer to get people paying interest for more flexibility and pay off every month
I feel there's far helped by avoiding consumerism. Most of the sites they link for ethics serve few of my daily needs, although I do try to research companies themselves

 

[Poppy]

I definitely support my local merchants - for the vast majority of my food and clothing purchases (not shoes). But for products I need to buy at places like Walmart, Macy's or Target, why spend the gas only to get to the store and be tempted to buy more things because of visual displays? I buy what I need, don't get distracted and get it quick when I use Amazon..

 

[silva]

Here's something that p'sses me off more than amazon. People with money to buy nice things who get their use out of them then try and sell the used items so they get a brand new thing that ends up costing them close to what the used, barely functioning one costs the person who can't afford the new price.
People sell shoes and clothes on ebay that will recoup the seller half their cost, and they're worn to sh#t

 

[MadamSarcastra]

I don't buy anything sight unseen. And I mean totally hands-on shopping... and I certainly won't buy clothes or shoes unless I can try them on first. I don't shop online for anything... I have no need for it... and conglomerates like Amazon will never be a consideration for me.

 

[Wolfie]

Amazon is also known for selling counterfeit products. I rarely buy anything there anymore. Besides, I like to see things firsthand before buying.

 

[FortyTwo]

Amazon is just a symptom of large-scale capitalism. I personally believe that whether someone participates in it or not really won't make that big of a difference - change has to come from dismantling everything at the top, not from making a well-oiled machine run infinitesimally slower. But then again, I'm vegan despite having a similar philosophy about the meat industry, so I can totally understand the idea behind boycotting them.

 

[Naturebound1]

I did buy vegan friendly hiking shoes and boots through Amazon because I can not find those anywhere locally (aside from a few trail running types of shoes) and some smaller online stores are ridiculously expensive. I don't avoid Amazon altogether but usually reserve it for very hard to find items I can't get locally but will serve a long term purpose.

 

[Moll Flanders]

I have said before on here that I use Amazon all the time and I also have Amazon Prime. I just had something delivered today, in fact.

I order flea and worm treatment, pet food and toys for my animals. I used to order from a pet company, but the delivery was very unreliable. I buy books, vegan stuff and almost everything I need from Amazon really.

I also order all my groceries online (not from Amazon) as we don't have a car and I find it much easier. I don't often go into real stores anymore, only if I have run out of something and I pop out to a local shop.

 

[Amy SF]

I'm quite sure you'll find millennials who make a point of avoiding Amazon for one reason or another, but I think it is the millennial generation who helped make the company the powerful internet presence it is today, because millennials tend to value speed and convenience. I think millennials, ironically, with their tendency to prefer quality experiences over material possessions, value convenience because it gives them more time to spend on other things, such as catching up with friends, instead of wandering through a lot of brick and mortar stores trying to find that one item they need. This is just my educated guess, of course. Older generations are more used to brick and mortar stores than millennials.

 

[MadamSarcastra]

Amazon is just a symptom of large-scale capitalism. I personally believe that whether someone participates in it or not really won't make that big of a difference - change has to come from dismantling everything at the top, not from making a well-oiled machine run infinitesimally slower. But then again, I'm vegan despite having a similar philosophy about the meat industry, so I can totally understand the idea behind boycotting them.

Yeah, I know I'm a minuscule speck... boycotting Amazon, Monsanto, & Koch brothers' products is for my own conscience. LOL

 

[FortyTwo]

I'm quite sure you'll find millennials who make a point of avoiding Amazon for one reason or another, but I think it is the millennial generation who helped make the company the powerful internet presence it is today, because millennials tend to value speed and convenience. I think millennials, ironically, with their tendency to prefer quality experiences over material possessions, value convenience because it gives them more time to spend on other things, such as catching up with friends, instead of wandering through a lot of brick and mortar stores trying to find that one item they need. This is just my educated guess, of course. Older generations are more used to brick and mortar stores than millennials.

Oh, definitely. But it's also important to remember we're just a product of the culture that raised us. I value instant gratification, against my more rational side, because I've had the internet right there my entire life.

 

[FortyTwo]

Yeah, I know I'm a minuscule speck... boycotting Amazon, Monsanto, & Koch brothers' products is for my own conscience. LOL

Fair, fair.

On the other hand, my house is filled with little control panels of Dash buttons, and Alexa helps us out with everything, so... I don't know how doing so would even be feasible. Our entire grocery order comes from Amazon most of the time.

 

[MadamSarcastra]

Fair, fair.

On the other hand, my house is filled with little control panels of Dash buttons, and Alexa helps us out with everything, so... I don't know how doing so would even be feasible. Our entire grocery order comes from Amazon most of the time.

I have no idea what you're talking about. LMAO When I leave the house with my ancient not-so-smart phone, I'll drive a car with no GPS or "smart" features, I'll go to an actual grocery store & pick out what I need... by hand! LOL

 

[Mischief]

I started buying a lot from Amazon when I was living on the farm. There were just many things I couldn't buy locally, mostly for the animals. Now that I live on the outskirts of the city again, I still find that to be the case. And frankly, my shopping is all driven by pricing, since I have a lot of mouths to feed and vet bills to pay. Ninety percent or more of the packages that arrive here are for the animals.

The diabetes testing supplies that I need for two cats were less than a third of the local price through Amazon. Even then, they are about four dollars per day. That comes to a significant savings over the course of a year.

For myself, I try to be a minimal consumer. All my clothes, except socks, shoes and underwear, come from Goodwill.

 

[silva]

I just review amazon orders I've placed over the last few years. every one has meant substantial savings!
Lysine treats for my cat with HVP I can't find anywhere else (as good)
side mirrors for my car
side mirror for my sons car
metal cat litter scoops
memory foam mattress
cheesecloth
memory card for cell phone
cell phone cases
the book How Not to DIe
food processor
instant pot
sink strainers
drip coffee thing
gaming keyboard
art set
older model asics shoes
cell phone battery
I can't begin to think of getting things like that elsewhere. I do comparison shop in stores, but I also utilize apps like camelcamelcamel to track pricing and bargain sites like bensbargains. Amazons prices flucuate a LOT, so when my items go down, I buy.
Where else can you compare electronic things? household items?
It peeves me that so many of these ethical stores, online or IRL sell simple DIY products for so much profit. Like I can make my own body butter TYVM! I'm all for making those kinds of purchases when profits go to charities, but that's not usually the case
More stores are going the route of buying online and picking up in store at discount rates
I'd love that! Grocery shopping is the only thing I like to actually pick out myself

 

[silva]

Have to add my central air conditioners capacitor and furnace filters!

 

[Mischief]

Amazons prices flucuate a LOT, so when my items go down, I buy.

Like you, I keep track, and do a lot of comparison shopping.

The other thing I find invaluable is the reviews on Amazon. I check those even when I buy locally.

As a side note: The reason I could get diabetes testing supplies so much cheaper through Amazon was that I was buying them first from India (through Amazon) and then from GB (again through Amazon). Then those overseas sellers could no longer sell to the U.S. through Amazon (I assume the manufacturer put its foot down), but I already had the overseas contact, and am now buying directly from them.