Last edited Sat Jan 4, 2020, 11:52 AM - Edit history (1)
subcontracted to do its own delivery. One don't-give-a-fuck whackjob left a package at the bottom of our drive, out of sight of house or neighbors but in full view of potential thieves, and right where we'd drive over it in the dark if we didn't see it. But that's been cleaned up. Good now. FAR from sucky.
As older rural dwellers, on-line shopping and to-the-door delivery are a great boon to us. Beyond doubt it saves us money on gas and on purchases (through Amazon as well as other direct-delivery vendors). And of course, it opens up a world of choices. Most on-line merchants now have a review function, but they're often less honest, less reliable or too limited. Three reviews are usually close to worthless. Much of the world now does basic consumer product research at Amazon.
Another benefit Amazon specifically first brought the world is that, due to the product review function, the average quality of merchandise has risen enormously, as have the number of choices.
Very young people would find it hard to believe that not long ago almost NO toasters, including name brands, didn't perform their very simple functions adequately, often poor to terrible, and often broke quickly. Suppliers were getting away with it because purchasers didn't know, just thought/hoped the particular one they bought was a dud. And almost every store in every region carried the same merchandise, literally the same 5 or so products max, from most often three name brands, so consumer options were very limited to the same lousy products. Had to go well upscale to break out of that exploitation, or at least widen the choices a bit, but do it in the car because distance shopping was still close to nonexistent.
Dislike what's not good about Amazon. Decide for yourself what that is. Do I worry that it's too big and powerful? You bet. But aside from that, and considering the whole world is in a transition period exemplified by it, I think it's been amazingly beneficial from the beginning, including climatically. We're going to have to deny ourselves in future, though, in order to make substantial diminution in on-line/delivery's footprints; as things worsen, we will. Most of the new exploitative warehouse jobs are already being eliminated or upgraded to higher skill and pay.
But for perspective, remember that we tragically lost most of what we wanted to preserve long ago when local merchants in little town centers closed, and with them the places communities interconnected. Imo, on-line is overall a great, great advance over what replaced them, which is the miles of ugly local strip malls people drive to to shop, one strip mall after another, and the big regional malls that people drive even farther to. At least we can say unequivocally that it is for us.
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