AMAZON [NOT the river!]

[sandGroundZero]

… and extract:

But here is where I encounter the problem of my own moral inertia. If a thing is available for purchase, and I want to buy it, I know for a near certainty that I will be able to get on Amazon, and that I will in all likelihood be able to get it quicker and cheaper than I would elsewhere. Just a moment ago, in fact, I got a notification on my phone – an email from Amazon informing me that a package I’d ordered had just been delivered. I went downstairs and opened the front door, and right there on the doorstep was a thin cardboard package, bearing the blandly smiling logo, and containing an illustrated book of Greek legends I’d ordered for my son a few days ago. I’d like to be able to tell you how much it would have cost me to get this book from another online seller, and how long it would have taken. But the truth is I don’t know, and I don’t know because it would have been a hassle to find out. A basically negligible hassle, maybe, but the point is that we live in a culture in which even negligible hassle amounts to a deal-breaker. It is a culture which Amazon helped to create and has come to exemplify, and of which I, as a consumer, am both beneficiary and product.

— Mark O'Connell, the Guardian

How many of us, I wonder, could have said the same?

Though we think of Amazon as 'the retailer of everything ', it is even more than that. Along with Google and Facebook, the tentacles of commercial behemoths are insinuating themselves into our lives in countless undesirable ways; so much so that it is a considerable effort to begin to comprehend.

[joan ofarc]

… and extract:

How many of us, I wonder, could have said the same?

Though we think of Amazon as 'the retailer of everything ', it is even more than that. Along with Google and Facebook, the tentacles of commercial behemoths are insinuating themselves into our lives in countless undesirable ways; so much so that it is a considerable effort to begin to comprehend.

The problem is that none of these entities could have reached the extent thay have if there had not been popular demand. When you can get next day delivery from somewhere far away why would you schlepp into town, pay parking charges or bus fare, maybe get cold and wet or have your pocket picked? And where would we have been during lockdowns without this service?
Trouble is things have moved too fast for the high street stores. Only those nimble enough to adapt have survived so far and, as yet, no one has come up with a viable business model that would tempt us back to the physical shops. Maybe, when we can mingle again, we will all have missed the interaction so much that we throng to the shops that are left but I doubt it.
As for social media I think it'sprobably one of the worst things to happen to society for a long time but people like it and use it. TPTB will only alter it when users desert it and profits are hit.

[sandGroundZero]

Clearly, Amazon is popular. It is true that bricks & mortar retailers have been being decimated by on-line retail. Amazon however has gone well beyond being 'the everything store ', AWS — Amazon Web Service — has the power to dictate to small and large retail users. It is home to innumerable other services; its web servers are said to consume as much electric power as Norway!

Amazon's founder has proposed an intention to move humankind off the planet (incredible as that seems)!

[I recently read that Bezos contemplated naming his company 'Make It So' (after a fictional character with a similarly polished dome).]

[The PNP]

Maybe, when we can mingle again, we will all have missed the interaction so much that we throng to the shops that are left but I doubt it.

Town centres can - and should be - about more than just parting with money for goods.....They are convenient transport hubs, many with good bus, train and road connections in and out. They are thus the perfect place to meet up with friends, or have a coffee, a small snack or full 3-course meal. Town centres are ideal places for live entertainment, shows and exhibitions, both at indoor venues and on-street in traffic-free spaces.

For some, town-centre living is convenient and even desirable, with all you need being within a short walk or bike-ride. They are good too, for simply relaxing on a bench, to chill for a spell and watch the world go by.

The function of towns may be transformed over time - but have no doubt (sealevel rise permitting) they will always be there.

[said]

The problem is that none of these entities could have reached the extent thay have if there had not been popular demand. When you can get next day delivery from somewhere far away why would you schlepp into town, pay parking charges or bus fare, maybe get cold and wet or have your pocket picked? And where would we have been during lockdowns without this service?
Trouble is things have moved too fast for the high street stores. Only those nimble enough to adapt have survived so far and, as yet, no one has come up with a viable business model that would tempt us back to the physical shops. Maybe, when we can mingle again, we will all have missed the interaction so much that we throng to the shops that are left but I doubt it.
As for social media I think it'sprobably one of the worst things to happen to society for a long time but people like it and use it. TPTB will only alter it when users desert it and profits are hit.

I have used Amazon from time to time, particularly when sending items abroad - but in general I do not us the internet for much - just the odd item that you could not get elsewhere. Clothing and shoes are a nightmare - one size has various fittings, so I would never buy any clothing off the internet. I would not buy any electrical goods off the internet either - too much hassle if they go wrong. So I guess I am not the best internet customer.

Having said that - I don't like having to go shopping anyway, I will only go when I really have to, and I am unlikely to meet any of my mates at the shops anyway - so that has no attraction. If I want to meet up with them - I will call at their house or they will call to mine or we make arrangements on the phone.

Social media is good because there are people who share what is going on in the community, and personal views are far more accurate than main stream news. Obviously, you can ignore those who rant about something which has upset them, but you do get a good overview.

[Hamble]

Amazon (not the legendary female warrior) UK employees 2020
40.000

Think I will keep using them.

[The PNP]

I have used Amazon from time to time, particularly when sending items abroad - but in general I do not us the internet for much - just the odd item that you could not get elsewhere. Clothing and shoes are a nightmare - one size has various fittings, so I would never buy any clothing off the internet.

Agree about clothing. One brands 'medium' can be the same physical size as another brands 'small'.

Last item I got via the 'web' recently was a book: Traffic-Free Cycle Rides (150 Great Days Out) - Published by Sustrans. I ordered it directly from the Sustrans website.

[toothache]

I would be dependent on other people shopping for me were it not for supermarket and Amazon deliveries, so I think they are great!
Clothing is not a problem - I recently got rid of loads to charity shops but have enough left to see me out!

[Graeme1978]

I would not buy any electrical goods off the internet either - too much hassle if they go wrong.

On the contrary, I bought a microwave on Amazon last year. It developed a fault after 6 months so I contacted Amazon via the live chat on their App. Within 2 minutes they’d arranged a replacement unit, and booked a courier for the following day after delivery so I could put the faulty one into the box the new one came in. Bought in store it would have been two trips out, and possibly unable to return in due to shops being closed.

[sandGroundZero]

Everyone agrees. Amazon's on-line retail puts customer satisfaction first and foremost.

Amazon is not one online retailer among many. Along with Google and Facebook, Amazon stores and monitizes your personal information; it has accumulated a vast database of your personal browsing and acquisitions.

Amazon has for one example succeeded in disrupting the global brand Nike's distribution efforts. Amazon squeezes a percentage from small retailers whose use of Amazon Web Services is, practically, the only option.

________________________________________________________________________

Posts on Q Local Southport forum have occasionally alluded to the impact Amazon is having on High Streets including Lord Street. We read: 'the government should do something '; but, the government is fearful of Amazon, such is its power!

[The PNP]

Posts on Q Local Southport forum have occasionally alluded to the impact Amazon is having on High Streets including Lord Street.

And there was I, thinking it was all the fault of the humble bicycle!

[sandGroundZero]

Photograph: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images

Whenever you see Jeff Bezos (net worth: $195bn) make a philanthropic donation or build another space rocket or buy another mansion, remember that his fortune comes directly from the legalized oppression of hundreds of thousands of people like those in his warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama. He is a rich thief. His victims are the people whose labor made him rich.

— Amazon's mushrooming power has met an unlikely foe: Bessemer, Alabama

[The PNP]

Whenever you see Jeff Bezos (net worth: $195bn) make a philanthropic donation or build another space rocket or buy another mansion, remember that his fortune comes directly from the legalized oppression of hundreds of thousands of people like those in his warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama. He is a rich thief. His victims are the people whose labor made him rich.

Imo, once you reach the 10's of millions level, have a big house, boat and plane, can eat as much as you want etc, seeking more wealth becomes unnecessary. He has in fact, lost something you and I take for granted. I.e., the ability to walk down a street without being constantly recognised for who he is. The guy must be constantly surrounded by bodyguards, in case some nutter takes a pot-shot at him........While I wouldn't say no to a modest slice of his pie, I'm not sure I'd want to trade places with him.

[joan ofarc]

It's no good demonizing Bezos. It just sounds like jealousy. Rail against the system that he exploited if you want to and against politicians who are slow to respond to a new reality in commerce but you have to admit that he worked hard, was innovative and created an amazing infracstructure for retail that we enjoy.

[local]

There is a odd ignorance attached to wealth.

Bezos sits on an asset which someone always would its not a mountain of cash.

The Socialist nirvana some aspire to has no examples of wealth creation worth copying or that would pay for the services we all rely on.