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Amazon

Started by bgmnts, April 03, 2021, 12:22:35 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

Zetetic

Quote from: Butchers Blind on April 03, 2021, 11:31:52 AM
Those drop boxes are handy so you don't have to wait around for it to be delivered.
Lots of places provide similar options, including via networks like Collect+.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Quote from: idunnosomename on April 03, 2021, 10:41:46 AM
I havent used amazon for a year now

Likewise. However, I was given some birthday vouchers which was annoying (though tbf I hadn't told my work about my opinion so they weren't at fault).

As for Trenter's post there's little further to add. If you think a company are a sack of cunts then at a bare minimum try and give them as little of your money as possible. So what if they cut jobs, that's a shit argument. They aren't running a charity or employing humans out of the goodness of their hearts. If you want good pay and conditions, as, we all do, then organise and push the agenda to the max. Boycotting is part of the mixture of measures that forces corporations to sit up and take notice.

pigamus

I should quit them, but they've been a godsend in lockdown. It's just the convenience and the fact it's literally twice the price to go elsewhere.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Quote from: pigamus on April 03, 2021, 11:39:28 AM
I should quit them, but they've been a godsend in lockdown. It's just the convenience and the fact it's literally twice the price to go elsewhere.

How has everyone else who isn't using them but has the same money as you managed?

Zetetic

Post your order history plz, pigamus, thx.

(I'll confess now that my Amazon boycott is imperfect.)

Fambo Number Mive

Quote from: TrenterPercenter on April 03, 2021, 11:00:57 AM
Effectively telling a load of people we are going to make you unemployed by boycotting the person that pays your wages hasn't historically gone down well with employees; who often in fact end with worse terms and conditions due effectively handing companies more power (less jobs, less money means more pressure on staff to prove their worth).

Wouldn't boycotting Amazon and using another company for buying items help create jobs at the other company that Amazon workers could apply for?

pigamus

Well it's not always twice as expensive but it can be. I do try and use alternatives if I can. PayPal is good - I use it for eBay and Just Eat and a few other things, but not everybody takes it. I was using Abebooks but then I found out they're owned by bloody Amazon!

Jockice

I try to avoid them...but sometimes. Well, a couple of months ago my old electric fire died on me. I have a big living room and one inconveniently-placed storage heater.  And it was bloody cold. So I needed something fairly quick. I couldn't really go out and pick something up and looking at other mail order places it was too complicated and would take too long for delivery. So I went with Amazon. Two heaters (one a radiator and the other an air-blowing thing) delivered to my home in a couple of days. The bloke even brought them into my flat for me.

I've heard other disabled people sing the praises of Amazon too. But like I said, I do try and avoid them. I was bought a Kindle for Christmas and it turns out that books bought for that come through them. Which I do find a bit annoying.

An tSaoi

A lot of audiobooks only come through Audible.

BlodwynPig

Quote from: An tSaoi on April 03, 2021, 12:21:23 PM
A lot of audiobooks only come through Audible.

And thus, Baby Hitler rose once more to power...

TrenterPercenter

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on April 03, 2021, 11:36:43 AM
Likewise. However, I was given some birthday vouchers which was annoying (though tbf I hadn't told my work about my opinion so they weren't at fault).

As for Trenter's post there's little further to add. If you think a company are a sack of cunts then at a bare minimum try and give them as little of your money as possible. So what if they cut jobs, that's a shit argument. They aren't running a charity or employing humans out of the goodness of their hearts. If you want good pay and conditions, as, we all do, then organise and push the agenda to the max. Boycotting is part of the mixture of measures that forces corporations to sit up and take notice.

I agree; you are making out that I'm anti-boycott; I'm just saying there are limitations.

I'm also not defending amazon ffs in saying "oooh they will cut jobs" I'm talking about the workers that work for them that are reliant on the wages to eat.  Labour had this exact problem if you remember regarding Copeland where the attitude came across as fuck the workers we are anti-nuclear I don't need to remind you what happened next do I?

I'm not anti-boycott, I boycott things, boycotting is part of the mixture isn't it, part of it, not all of it, and the problem is that some people (not you as you are all wonderfully clever and right-on) think these actions absolve them from the other parts.  It's bit like clapping for the NHS for some people.

pigamus

Quote from: Jockice on April 03, 2021, 12:14:43 PM
I try to avoid them...but sometimes. Well, a couple of months ago my old electric fire died on me. I have a big living room and one inconveniently-placed storage heater.  And it was bloody cold. So I needed something fairly quick. I couldn't really go out and pick something up and looking at other mail order places it was too complicated and would take too long for delivery. So I went with Amazon. Two heaters (one a radiator and the other an air-blowing thing) delivered to my home in a couple of days. The bloke even brought them into my flat for me.

I've heard other disabled people sing the praises of Amazon too. But like I said, I do try and avoid them. I was bought a Kindle for Christmas and it turns out that books bought for that come through them. Which I do find a bit annoying.

I wouldn't be able to give up Kindle books. They're like my last ten Amazon purchases or something.

ZoyzaSorris

Trenter - you don't seem to address the obvious logical flaw in your argument that by buying stuff elsewhere from companies that don't treat their workers appallingly then those companies will be able to employ more people. (I speak as someone who still uses amazon more than I should btw)

poo

Love Amazon try not to think about it too much. Prime press button man appears day later with stuff just terrific.

TrenterPercenter

Quote from: Fambo Number Mive on April 03, 2021, 11:45:18 AM
Wouldn't boycotting Amazon and using another company for buying items help create jobs at the other company that Amazon workers could apply for?

Yes and No.  As I said Amazon hosts other companies so unless you think any company that uses Amazons frontend and logistics is shit for cunts also then you are hurting them also; maybe this is a price worth paying...... you bunch of bell ends do realise this fucking website is an Amazon affiliate?

I just think that if as much effort was put into unionising those workers as boycotting then it would (like Uber) have far reaching benefits and it would send an incredible message to the rest of the world.

TrenterPercenter

Quote from: ZoyzaSorris on April 03, 2021, 03:05:18 PM
Trenter - you don't seem to address the obvious logical flaw in your argument that by buying stuff elsewhere from companies that don't treat their workers appallingly then those companies will be able to employ more people. (I speak as someone who still uses amazon more than I should btw)

Yes I was just getting to that bit. There is no logical flaw I think you should buy things from elsewhere as I'm not pro Amazon am I.  I was just pointing out the problems that have happened in the past.

Dex Sawash

Last weekend an Amazon delivery person took about 20 minutes just to do the 6 deliveries within view of my house. Felt as if I was part of the revolution just watching. Masterpiece of fuckaboutery.

Sebastian Cobb

I've been avoiding them mostly. This has come in quite handy:
https://ethicalrevolution.co.uk/

It includes a search engine for books/films so can search more ethical places like hive and worldofbooks in one go, it also lists retailers for other stuff that are competitively priced. So far I've had no problems using The Box for electronics and OnBuy for clothes.

Often if you're buying fairly generic tools, gadgets etc you can find them much cheaper on aliexpress if you're prepared to wait a few weeks on shipping, it's obvious there's lots of dropshippers flooding amazon with stuff under their own brand names with quite a high markup, I'll happily cut out the moneygrubbing middlemen.

I have a firestick but don't use amazon services all that much on it, I think I'll let my current prime subscription run its course then see how it behaves afterwards. It doesn't seem like there would be much benefit to swapping it for a roku, would just create more e-waste.

JamesTC

Quote from: bgmnts on April 03, 2021, 12:22:35 AM
All the stuff about workers having to piss in bottles and constantly monitored and punished for any sort of infraction. One guy actually suffered a heart attack and was on the floor for like 20 minutes.

Despite being constantly monitored, he was allowed to have a little rest and a lie down. Sounds like a progressive employer to me.

Fambo Number Mive

Trying to cut them out. I think it will be easier to do so once the non-essential shops open.

checkoutgirl

Quote from: TrenterPercenter on April 03, 2021, 03:11:20 PM
Yes I was just getting to that bit. There is no logical flaw I think you should buy things from elsewhere as I'm not pro Amazon am I.  I was just pointing out the problems that have happened in the past.

Can I just say I think you are very reasonable and people are being unfair.

An tSaoi

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on April 03, 2021, 03:50:17 PM
Often if you're buying fairly generic tools, gadgets etc you can find them much cheaper on aliexpress if you're prepared to wait a few weeks on shipping

Isn't everything on Ali Express cheap knock-off tat? In my experience it's an online flea market.

Then you're supporting China, which is also bad.

I'll try your link though.

Zetetic

Quote from: An tSaoi on April 03, 2021, 04:52:24 PM
Isn't everything on Ali Express cheap knock-off tat?
This is true of most "generic tools, gadgets etc" on Amazon though. A good contemporary example of this is IR thermometers and pulse oximeters - there are about 3 major designs in production across a small number of factories in China, trading under a slightly larger array of names, that then get rebadged a dozen times.

Some of these might bother with (self-certified) CE marking, I guess.

TrenterPercenter

Quote from: checkoutgirl on April 03, 2021, 04:28:47 PM
Can I just say I think you are very reasonable and people are being unfair.

Thank you for saying that CG.

BlodwynPig

Quote from: TrenterPercenter on April 03, 2021, 05:38:55 PM
Thank you for saying that CG.

I also think you are spot on

Captain Z

Me three. The best way to stop Amazon is to use them so much that eventually every single person in the country has been employed by them and subsequently quit.

greenman

Quote from: Zetetic on April 03, 2021, 11:40:49 AM
Post your order history plz, pigamus, thx.

(I'll confess now that my Amazon boycott is imperfect.)
I admit mine is limited to making sure bigger purchases aren't though them, no big electronics and large orders of physical media I'll try and make though HMV or preferably individual labels that release them if they have the option.

Old Thrashbarg

Not that it negates the gesture, but I do wonder how much people who are boycotting Amazon (the online retail shop) are aware of the vast amounts of the internet that run on AWS. Generating revenue for Amazon is largely unavoidable for anyone who spends any amount of time online. Though I do think the working conditions for those in the warehouses on the retail side of things are probably worse, generally, than those working in cloud services.

Butchers Blind

Does anyone click on the Amazon link on the front page here?

The Ombudsman

Quote from: Old Thrashbarg on April 03, 2021, 09:29:39 PM
Not that it negates the gesture, but I do wonder how much people who are boycotting Amazon (the online retail shop) are aware of the vast amounts of the internet that run on AWS. Generating revenue for Amazon is largely unavoidable for anyone who spends any amount of time online. Though I do think the working conditions for those in the warehouses on the retail side of things are probably worse, generally, than those working in cloud services.

Doesn't AWS return more profit than Amazon?