The Case Against Amazon - Ripping You Off - Robert Reich

[appalachiablue]

Robert Reich: economist, professor, writer, former Secretary of Labor, author of The System, The Common Good, Saving Capitalism, Aftershock, Supercapitalism, The Work of Nations. Co-creator of "Inequality for All" and "Saving Capitalism." Co-founder of Inequality Media https://substack.com/@robertreich

[Auggie]

1. Yes, but for those of us who don't live in large retail markets ...

it sure is easy and convenient.

"You can't always get what you wa-ant." -- Mick Jagger

That aside, I do try to buy locally.

[et tu]

5. 'get what i need'

i to live in a rural area and shop mostly by e commerce. sadly amazon has cancelled their charity donations which at least helped a local animal
rescue. now i try to shop on more sites but amazon for me has been more reliable. walmart doesn't pay women as much as men and i believe is still in litigation. they would rather pay legal fees. so it is up to the consumer? no i don't think so, it is past time for good government regulations.
we the people should equal good governance~

[usaf-vet]

6. Exactly! When we moved to this corner of America it was 45+ years ago. At the time the ONLY downside was access.....

...... to stores that had the products you needed. It took a long time to get used to this phrase.....
"We don't have that in stock, but we can have it here in two weeks IF we order it today."

We soon learned what the ordering day was for the local vendors we used. We also learned just to plan to take the 140-mile round trip to the nearest large retail market.

That didn't always work, either. This phrase was common also. "We just sold the last one yesterday."
We eventually worked out an arrangement with the leading stores we frequented. We would ask them to hold one for us, and we would be there the following weekend to pick it up.

All these things were fine, except we had to factor in the cost of gas. And in the earlier year, babysitters for the day.

Then along came Amazon. Then, Amazon Prime.

We would have struggled to get through Covid if we didn't just didn't rely on Amazon. It was unsafe to shop in most of our local stores because we also moved to a region packed with Covid deniers. No vacs, no masks because Fox told them it was all a hoax.

For the most part, we do try local vendors FIRST but found that Covid disrupted their supply lines.

[appalachiablue]

12. I understand, esp when area stores are inadequate and

longer driving times are an issue. We started using Amazon more because of Covid and wanted to avoid crowded stores with crazy, unmasked customers, etc.

When and if this epidemic slows down we'll resume shopping at alternatives, esp. Costco.

[Shermann]

2. Amazon prices seemed fair up until Covid

After 2021 I became suspicious of some of the prices I was seeing and started price-checking more items with Walmart.com. Then I just started placing more online orders with Walmart. That keeps Amazon honest to a point, but Walmart isn't nearly as good at e-commerce.

[appalachiablue]

13. Good move, I want to get back to using local stores

more as well, if and when this epidemic subsides. I don't want to get too lazy and foster Amazon's dominance more in the meantime.

[bucolic_frolic]

3. Amazon is the Standard Oil of its day, eBay also has promoted listings for a extra fees

Worse than that is who can you buy from? Walmart is making a good stab at ecommerce. But local retail is not. Local DollarTree remodels have in my experience fewer items than the old format. So you go to Walmart, which is the same. Specialty items - especially parts can be hard to find. So you go to Amazon.

[WmChris]

4. Walmart's not my go to

COSCO is a much better choice IMHO. They have competitive pricing and treat their employees like assets instead of liabilities.

[appalachiablue]

10. We'll try Costco again, tx for the reminder about their

positive policies. I'd only use Walmart as a very last resort.

[MichMan]

15. Costco doesn't work very well for single people or couples

If I need a jar of mayonnaise or dill pickles, I don't need to buy 2 huge jars banded together.

[appalachiablue]

16. Good to know, thanks.

[appalachiablue]

14. Yes Amazon has been very successful in many ways

including filling the gaps you mention. But they still need oversight to try to curb monopolistic power which is bad for consumers, workers and communities. Anti trust laws were created for a reason although they've been weakened with Reaganomics.

[appalachiablue]

18. Good point, like Standard Oil, as big as it gets. An uncle

was a physician for SO, I don't know much about him.

[Oopsie Daisy]

7. Mehhhh.

I like Amazon. I like their streaming services for both music and video. I like their speedy delivery and gift-wrapping services. I like their easy returns. Prices are competitive, so it's unclear what Reich is whining about. I find things on Amazon that are cheaper than the hassle of driving to Target (and they're delivered, often next day, right to my door!)

[appalachiablue]

11. People can shop where they want. Reich is informing

and educating the public about Amazon's price hiking practices and the broader issue of monopolization in the US. The FTC case is based on these issues, for good reason. It's not whining.

The US used to have stronger anti trust laws to prevent this kind of corporate dominance which leads to reduced competition, low wages and opposition to unions.

I use Amazon at times and might use them more if they stopped the price hiking and treated their employees who are overworked better and paid them more. Bezos can afford to do this, he has more than enough money.

[Chainfire]

8. When you are old, and you live in the country, and it is a 40 mile drive to the mall, Amazon is wonderful.

[appalachiablue]

17. I understand that, the advantages for particular circumstances...

The ease of effort with Amazon is a real boon for many people. I'm not getting any younger, darn it! and also appreciate the convenience, vast inventory and fast delivery.

But after Covid, I want to get back into shopping more locally if possible so the community doesn't slide into decline, and also support jobs that many people rely on for sole income.

I can see myself getting very comfortable with Amazon, even lazy and that's no good for me.

[2naSalit]

9. I still do the...

Old fashioned rural lifestyle of planning out what I'll need for my twice monthly trip to the stores, if I have to I go over the pass and on to the nearest big box city. Takes a good chunk of the day but I'd rather not ever have an amazon account or any other for that matter.

On occasion, because I couldn't find it at big box city over the pass, I bought gifts cards and bought what I needed online but it was from Costco or some not major vendor.

Covid only changed how I shopped once inside the stores.