Sara Davidson
|March, 13, 2021
I love Amazon. But it’s becoming a guilty love, an addiction.
It began as a crush in 1995 when Amazon started selling books online. Then came the Kindle in 2007, and I found that I enjoyed reading books on it, although some of my peers refused to do so. I appreciated that you could order a free sample, read the beginning and then decide if you wanted to buy it. Ninety per cent of the time I did not.
Before Kindle, what I’d done was stand in the bookstore, turning pages, trying to see what books I wanted to read, then I’d buy four or five and never finish most of them.
In 1998 Amazon started selling music and videos, rapidly expanding to the point where, today, you can find anything, truly anything, for a low price, and you’ll receive it the next day.
I just bought a wetsuit, athroat spray that two local pharmacies didn’t have in stock, a child’s pony saddle, and an organic fungicide for house plants. I told my friend, Andy Weil, that without Amazon, I’d have had to go to four or five stores…
“What’s a store?” he said. “I haven’t been in one for two years. I’m a fellow Amazon addict.” Years ago, we’d heard that sugar was more addicting than cocaine. “Amazon is more addicting than either,” he said. “It’s too convenient.”
I’ll say. I had just ordered a shirt on sale from Eddie Bauer online, and was shocked when they added $9.99 for shipping, which wiped out most of the saving. And if I didn’t like the shirt, I’d have to pay to mail it back. With Amazon Prime, returns are free, and you don’t even have to box it, just drop it at Whole Foods and five minutes later, a credit is issued.
“Have you tried calling Amazon customer service lately?” Andy said.
“Yes. They answered quickly and resolved the problem, in my favor.”
And yet. And yet. Who pays for the convenience to us? Reports say that Amazon is a terrible place to work, especially in warehouses, where people on the margins of society work through the night at monotonous jobs, getting injured, and having no benefits. Even the company’s engineers describe ferocious pressure and 14-hour work days.
Amazon is fighting hard and dirty to keep unions out of its warehouses. It posts anti-union fliers in the bathrooms stalls, and offers unhappy workers $1000 to quit. (so they won’t be able to vote for the union) Struggles are going on in Iowa, New York, and Bessemer, Alabama, where entertainment and NFL stars are showing up to support union organizers. Even President Biden has spoken out about the right to form a union.
Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world. According to Forbes.com, which posts his net worth in real time, it’s $180.6 billion at this writing. It goes up about one billion a day. Couldn’t he afford to pay those midnight toilers better than minimum wages and provide safe working conditions?
Before 2020, Bezos was not known for generosity. He didn’t make Forbes’ list of the 25 Americans who donated the most to charity in 2019. But the following year, 2020, he was number one on the list for donating $10 billion to establish the Bezos Earth Fund, which will invest in clean energy and combating climate change. Ten Billion. It’s hard to even grasp the number, but it’s only 5% of his net worth.
To Bezos’s credit, after purchasing the Washington Post, he transformed it from a local paper hemorrhaging money to a profitable, web-based, international news outlet, which carries the best political reporting of any news organization, even the New York Times. It also carries the most extensive, non-biased reporting of Amazon’s fight with unions.
So far, the Washington Post operates independently from Amazon, which keeps acquiring new companies at a ferocious pace. The roster includes, to name a few, Whole Foods, Audible, Diapers.com, IMDB, Kiva robotics, Teachstart, Shopbop, and Zappo’s (which originated free returns long before Amazon did).
Amazon owns hundreds of clothing brands, energy companies, engineering and financial services, entertainment companies, web services, photo storage… shall I continue?
It has its own fleet of cargo trucks and airplanes, called Prime Air, and just built its own airport in Germany to ship deliveries all over Europe.
Amazon is determined to conquer retail in New York, despite the fact that community activists prevented it from building a new headquarters in Queens. The company is on a frantic buying spree for warehouses, so it can deliver products to New Yorkers even faster. It now owns 12 warehouses in Manhattan, where no other competitor has a single one.
They’re even recruiting more than a thousand residents in Manhattan and Brooklyn who’ll be paid to use their apartments to store Amazon goods for distribution. (When I learned this, I thought about leasing my guest room to Amazon. For about two seconds)
Democrats on the House antitrust panel issued a report in 2020 calling for Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google to be broken up, “or we’re not going to have a democracy anymore.” But no legislation has been introduced.
Meanwhile, Amazon keeps growing new arms. It reminds me of the book, The Circle, by Dave Eggers, in which a tech company grows so big that it envelopes and keeps watch on everyone’s lives.
At this moment, Amazon’s expansion seems benign. Everyone likes it. Everyone’s using it.
Except… Except… we have absolutely no say about it. We don’t get to vote or influence policy and that’s okay because they’re keeping us happy. We don’t have to think about who suffers for our convenience, or how Amazon is using our personal data to manipulate us. On our screens, little images keep popping up of products that Amazon has determined will interest us, and before we know it, we’re ordering one.
Can you see that Amazon operates like a country within our country? A world within our world? It improves our lives, yes, but any entity so powerful, so dominant, so unchecked makes me uneasy.
Everyone depends on it. Everyone loves it. Until…. what?
I avoid Amazon at all costs. I do not shop at Whole Foods (never did as it would wipe out my savings). I ordered a book via an alternative option, thus avoiding Amazon. I like Sierra Trading Post, which to my knowledge is not owned by Amazon. When I was earning my master’s in Organizational Management in 2000, we wondered if Amazon would survive, let alone be successful. It is more than successful in conventional terms, but at what price?
I’m with you. Their brutality of workers is totally unnecessary and is only supported by people who buy (instead of local) from them. Folks who make the choice to pay less, in most cases have more than enough. Money to get items wanted locally. There’s also the understated cost of shipping and the monopoly on goods that Amazon pays less for.
Right you are, on all counts.
Loved the article. I, too, have had a love affair with Amazon. It started when my first book showed up on Amazon and I began getting reviews. Then I could buy books that my local bookstore couldn’t get. And with the pandemic, I could get things I really needed to stay healthy. I had heard about their warehouses and got a deeper glimpse reading the book Nomadland. I hope you keep exploring and sharing what you find.
Thanks for the article. I’m a Canadian, and I’m upset that so many fellow Canadians choose to use Amazon instead of support local businesses. As I say to my friends – use hte hsops, or soon there won’t be any.
And sometimes, yes, shops don’t have what we want – but is it really a “need”? Or could we do without it, or find an alternative locally?
And you may be startled to learn what happens to Amazon “returns” – if you want an eye-opener, watch this documentary made by CBC – our national and very reputable news station
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1yqcagavfY
Finally, maybe it’s time for us all to grow up and start doing things instead of buying things – even during a pandemic, there is a lot you can do that does not involve sitting mindlessly at a computer making a few corporations even richer at the detriment of your local economies, workers’ health and rights, and frankly, cheap “shit” that mostly ends up in landfills.
Thank you, Sara, for expressing my thoughts so eloquently. I have been linked to you ever since reading “Loose Change.” Amazon is my most guilty pleasure, though it has been spoiled for all the reasons you mentioned. But as the line goes from Brokeback Mount, “I wish I knew how to quit you, Bitch.”
Your last line made me laugh.
How true! YOu made me laugh. Thanks!
Good read, thank you. I don’t shop on Amazon, but my husband does. All the time. I try to buy locally from small businesses as much as possible, but that doesn’t always work. Our grandkids want Amazon gift cards as gifts and I must admit I do sometimes buy those. Very hard to get away from Amazon.
Resist. Like any addictive activity or substance, it takes effort. And sometimes adds costs of money and time. But I certainly do not want the businesses in my home town to disappear, courtesy of Amazon, and it’s happening. Sometimes it’s unavoidable—I needed large sponges (what happened to them anyway?? Did I miss something?) and gave in an ordered them from Amazon. I’m trying to think of it as a last resort, but it’s hard, especially when you have Prime. I appreciate and praise what Bezos has done for the Post, but there’s a lot not to like otherwise. Too much power in one place.
Amen.
Sara, when you and I were young, another company dominated retail and mail order: Sears Roebuck. Amazon is dominant now, but that’s no guarantee it will be in the future.
Amazon has been a godsend during Covid. But now that we are vaccinated and going to stores again, we will only be using it for things we cannot get in our area. That said, it will continue to be one of our pharmacies for supplements.
It is, as you say, a very mixed bag.
I’ve been an Amazon Prime, one click addict for quite some time now, especially during this past year. And, I often feel guilty about the impact it is having (everything you listed so succinctly). The things I order the most often (specialty cat treats and cat food) are not available in stores in my neighborhood. The said, much of what I buy, I could find if I took the time to spend a few hours at the mall but this year but didn’t I want to risk getting Covid to buy my mother new underwear, or her favorite chewable multi vitamins, when I could order it and have it delivered to her?
I don’t know what the answer is and if you discover some ways to offset the situation, please share.
Blessings.
I refuse to order from Amazon. Support local and if not available locally go right to the manufacturer. Our sense of community is depending on us. 🙂
Amazon exists in its current form only because antitrust enforcement has been abandoned. John D. Rockefeller demonstrated what anti-competitive practices could create (such as selling products at a loss until Standard Oil’s competitors were driven out of business, at which time SO had enhanced its monopoly status and raised prices). Buying out competitors stifles both competition and innovation. Amazon is simply an economic predator that will expand until there is nothing more to devour, at which time it will have killed its host.
Regulatory capture is the method whereby the wealthy and powerful can expand their influence over the government that is supposed to enforce boundaries (in this case, antitrust statutes). Those doing the capturing can focus very strongly and for a very long time on getting their way. By contrast, those affected by predatory actions (you and me) have little time or energy to focus on protecting ourselves. It thus falls to government to keep up the pressure. But if government is captured, then it won’t. The current state of affairs will result in the US being dominated by a few incredibly wealthy and powerful institutions that will effectively run the country (if we’re not there already). We have no choice but to have a huge and powerful government that can act for us. The only other option is to do nothing (the current state) soon becoming economic serfs. We have an economic system that strongly benefits predators, and left unchecked, they will destroy every principle on which America is supposedly based (not hyperbole).
I agree with you completely. Let’s hope the Biden administration will turn the tide. Hope. What else?
Sara, Interesting piece- I totally agree with you about the convenience. I usually order 2-3 items from them each week. However, I recently read “Nomadland” and my opinion of Amazon changed when I read about how poorly they treat the elderly contract workers who help them with the holiday rushes. So, I wonder if that is enough to overcome my addiction to the convenience and plethora of products they offer? Perhaps if we could mobilize buyers to refrain from buying from Amazon for even one week- would that induce Amazon to treat their workers more fairly? We would need to hit them where it hurts- in their profits! I couldn’t spearhead such an effort, but would surely join in if someone else did. Well, thanks again for the thought-provoking post- I have been a fan since reading “Loose Change” 40 years ago! Keep on writing…Debbie
So well written. Always love your thoughts and writing. As I’m reading this lounging on a living room chair, I’ve also got , mind you, TWO amazon gifts cards besides me and was looking to order something before I lose them (the downside to gift cards ; or the get tattered in the billfold or expire). Many thought provoking
Ideas to ponder from your article. One thing about Anazon is convenience, reliability, and prices. Sometimes you don’t get what you think you see in the pictures. Still saves gas and time although not everything is available. Or they don’t ship to my hawaiian islands over the ocean (why is that?). I don’t support the underpaid , overworked ,workers. Is that a real fact or propaganda from competition? Give some of the profits to the workers like UPS does. How does it compare to Alibaba whose founder and owner threads a fine line with the chinese government? Interesting topic.
And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
— Revelation 13:15-17 Silliness from the past? We are all privileged to think of it what we will. Your item here reminded me of it; perhaps this passage is a baby that … has not quite so much need of being thrown out with bath-water. Anyway, my little impression happens to be that we already have one foot on what it describes – and that anyone who says we’re not steaming steadily in that direction, the burden of proof’s on them.
“Except… Except…” you (I respectively mention) sigh. Well: do we gather that you are swearing off the big A?
(P.S. My “website” is merely a recommendation to one page of a fabulous source – it’s not my own.)
pff respectively > respectfully
I buy as little as possible from Amazon. Doesn’t mean I don’t buy anything. I’ll buy if (1) I can’t find the product anywhere else, or (2) I really need the speediest delivery. I try to buy from local brick and mortar and/or from anyone else but Amazon. Now let me see if I’m fooling myself. Just checked – six purchases in 2020. Not bad. In fact Prime may not be worth it at that rate.
Wow, Terrence, I’m impressed. I’ve done 6 purchases in a week. As you’ll see, the overwhelming number of people responding here are anti Amazon. That’s hopeful.
I purposely do not shop anywhere that involves Jeff Bezos….
Not at Amazon and now not at Whole Foods either!
What really annoyed me was when he bought the Textile Museum
in Washington DC and turned it into one of his many 🏡 houses.
Yes the rich just keep getting richer such an unfair worldview!
Nothing about Amazon, but did you read Joan Didion’s interview on the last page of a recent issue of Time magazine? She seemed cranky and admitted to being mildy bored becuse of COVID reatrictions.
Belated happy birthday wishes to you, Sara. I see that you turned 78 on February 5. I’m much younger than you, having been born in September of the same year. I recently bought and read Leap!
Yes, I read that interview with Joan in Time, and it made me laugh. She is limited now in her ability to speak becasue of neurological issues, so I loved how she embraced brevity. I’d like to have been present at that interview, but it may have been conducted in writing.
I have boycotted Amazon in the U.S. I see trucks everyday dropping off purchases almost daily to various neighbors. I keep thinking of the wasted gasoline for delivery and all the boxes and packing material that are used. But even I have a weak point. I said U.S. but not Amazon.de (Germany). My son and his family live in the Czech Republic. I can’t send them money – too difficult and expensive. Too expensive to mail gifts so I send them Amazon gift cards for Christmas and birthdays. So though I am boycotting them in the U.S., not worldwide.
Amazon is a harsh@
Punitive employer. There are alternatives such as independent bookstores& local stores.
Please feel free to explore other options.
Well, I loved the radio ads. Such fun. But I never buy anything at Amazon–the more I learn about it/him, the less I approve. I prefer phoning a number in a catalog and ordering that way. And I prefer being able to go into a store like J.Jill’s. Alas, the pandemic has created a few problems…
Ram Dass and Bob Dylan inspired me. Still.
Without Amazon where/how will I get serotonin?
In my mind, it’s a no-brainer. Use Amazon only if you really must. There is usually a reasonable alternative! If things keep going the way they have been, soon there may be no reasonable option.
I have managed to almost entirely give up Amazon online. Whole Foods is a bit harder, but working on it.
It is not really a “mixed bag”. It is dangerous in so many ways. Take a few extra minutes and look elsewhere. We need to be willing to sacrifice SOMETHING for the greater good. And shopping Local is important, not just an advertising ploy.
Hi Sarah,
I’m Douglas, a coached you regarding your running in Boulder a few years back. I am glad to get you newsletter and glad to see that you are keeping a critical eye out for cultural difficulties. I for one see the difficulty with Amazon from another angle that you may appreciate, and perhaps have thought about. That is the addiction of “Instant Gratification”. Obviously most of our modern technological advances play into this particular addiction. The addiction to getting what we want immediately is very infant based and doesn’t allow for the appreciation of working and waiting. It has played into New Age Spirituality in many strange and bizarre ways, allowing the quick fix mentality control peoples lives and not take on the difficult work of development which so many guides through the ages have spoken of in many profound way. Thanks, and please continue your thoughtful work!
YOu’re right, Doug, about instant gratification.
Thanks for adding that element. warm regards, Sara
Hi Sara,
I so agree with what you said about Amazon AND if all that wasn’t bad enough I’m also thinking of the billions we taxpayers have to pay Amazon via government contracts (hard to even find the true number) and the fact that Amazon pays little or no taxes.
I agree with everything you wrote. Amazon is amazingly convenient, particularly during the pandemic. It has almost everything anyone could want. On the other hand, the comments about Amazon resisting unionization are accurate. There are also allegations that when sellers on Amazon are too successful, Amazon starts manufacturing the items itself and competes with the seller.
We recently agreed to not buy anything from Amazon for a week, and it was amazingly, and distressingly, difficult. Something needs to be done, but i doubt that there is the political will to do so.
I hope the Biden admin will get tough with the big cyber monopolies. Thanks for your report about them competing with sellers.
So true of Amazon! So easy to shop there!
Sarah,
This is a brilliant balanced analysis of Amazon. It’s amazing what a convenience it is. You are right. It’s an addiction. Who wants to give it up? However, I am willing to pay more if it means paying workers better and given them a safer more pleasant working environment. I will definitely stay tuned.
Lynne
Sara, the first thing I ever bought from Amazon was a copy of Loose Change. I had lost my copy years before and could never find another. I was so excited that I sent you an email. I printed out your response and taped it inside the book where it remains today! So there are many positives with Amazon along with the negatives, just like everything else in life!
Awww, that made me feel so good. At least Amazon sent you a real book. And I agree with you about positives with negatives. Still it makes me feel terrible about returning something “free” when I know it will most probably not be re-sold or donated but dumped in landfill. It’s not easy to be pure.
As I see it, the major problem of which Amazon is only a reflection, is consumer capitalism- the desire to buy more and more, the unconscious belief that this process will relieve boredom and make us happier. We need to buy less, live more simply, reduce our lifestyles dramatically for our species to survive. We all know this but the forces of consumption can seem overwhelming. Unfortunately, Amazon makes consumption easier.
I also use Amazon, mainly because I live in a remote area without much shopping for a 6’-4” guy with size 15 feet. Then there are items not readily available here. Other than that I shop locally as much as possible. I have avoided Kindle preferring Kobo as it sends a percentage to our local book store. I still love to read books and rarely use the Kobo. Just love the feel and smell of books. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a shopping saint, but want what I need conveniently. Be well. Love your blogs.
I love this piece, Sara. So timely. Great journalism.
I keep quitting Prime and then mysteriously getting signed back up. Sometimes the mystery is I sign back up, like when I’m running out of time to finish holiday shopping.
Other times, it happens automatically. Which is super creepy.
Thank you for writing on this at this important moment when the union fight is so key.
Although we all know Amazon is an evil empire, it is too hard to resist, especially during a pandemic. 1. Their return policy is the best. Period.2. No arguing about return shipping ( like Lands End to name just one). 3. No arguing about the reason for the return. 4. Generally the prices are lower and there is more information on the product. And, of course, the convenience. It is a juggernaut. As I write this more little stores on Main Street in my town are going out of business- a problem of late stage capitalism for sure.
I agree with all you said. AND, did you know, that almost everythign you return to Amazon is thrown out, burned, destroyed and added to landfill? Perfectly good, never used items–it’s cheaper for them to trash them than process them or even give them away.