« Pres. Obama’s Charm Offensive with Jay Leno
Rick Perry, the Flat Tax, and the Road to Political Recovery »
How Amazon Changed My Life — And Yours
It is hard to believe that Amazon is now 15 years old and keeps on growing. No, make that growing relentlessly as it announced last night that its third-quarter earnings were up a staggering 44 percent to $10.88 billion.
I used to feel a bit guilty about spending my dinero at Amazon and not a local mom and pop store, but when you consider that the last half dozen things that I have ordered from Amazon — 100 feet of network cable, French onion soup bowls, a new printer, printer cartridges, a memory card for one of my cameras and an out-of-print book on Tuscan cooking — would be tough to find at most stores and the Walmarts of the world long ago drove mom and pop into retirement, you understand why Amazon has been such a hit.
Now if it would only drive Sears out of business, which is not farfetched considering that as a $100 billion company it has about 12 times the value of Sears.
Based on personal experience, Sears is the worst run retailer in America despite competition from Kmart, which it owns. When we purchased a washer and dryer from Sears, picking it up was agonizing and getting it hooked up a nightmare. When we purchased a lawn mower from Sears we bought an extended warranty and maintenance plan that Sears conveniently forgets each winter when we take the mower in for servicing. The one thing that Sears always seemed to be good for was their Craftsman tools with their lifetime guarantees, but the last Craftsman tool I bought — an impact wrench — broke the first time I used it.
Amazon, on the other hand, is a walk in the park.
I have never had problems with its merchandise, whether it be a polaroid camera filter or a 35-inch television, and as a member of Amazon Prime I get free expedited shipping (okay, it runs $70 a year). I seldom buy new books anymore, preferring to buy them used from Amazon-approved small business people. When it is claimed a book is in excellent condition, it is, and some of my purchases obviously had never been opens because the dust jackets were immaculate and the spines from-the-publisher tight.
So what’s not to like?
9 Responses to “How Amazon Changed My Life — And Yours”
Yes well I like Amazon too, but I fear that we didn’t force mom and pop into retirement. I fear we forced them into the forest in a tent, or under a bridge.
Shaun
Have you read anything about the labor conditions at Amazon distribution centers? That for me is reason enough not to buy anything from them.
here
How many independent book stores were driven out of business by amazon?
Ron:
Yes, I have read of the conditions at some distribution centers and, to my knowledge, Amazon has dealt with them.
I admire your forthrightness, but I will continue to by from Amazon. And I will continue to use Macs even though they’re made in China under less than ideal conditions, as well as drive Audi and Lexus automobiles although the Germans and Japanese were our WWII enemies.
JSpencer:
I couldn’t find numbers for the U.S., but I would imagine they’re into the thousands. I did find numbers for England, where the number of independent booksellers dropped 26 percent from 2006 to this year.
Note also that while Amazon may have chased some independents, it sells used books through independents.
I too buy from Amazon and though Amazon is responsible for many Independent Booksellers demise most in the the Bay Area went down because of Barnes & Nobel and Borders.
Now that I live in Yuma, Amazon is an absolute necessity because without it I’d have to drive to San Diego more often than I already do.
Good Grief! I’m afraid to ask, but what was Amazon doing to workers at their distribution centers anyway?
Allen:
Sweatshop-like conditions at a Pennsylvania distribution center.
Looks like Amazon at least did something after the 60 Minute piece and good for 60 Minutes.
I wonder what Herman Cain would have done had it been Godfathers pizza distribution?
Is it bad that when I read the headline, my first thought was Amazon.com, and then when I read the joke, it had no punch?