I want to try cutting out Amazon from my purchases as the first step in avoiding online behemoths in general There's a host of reasons to do so from having one centralised monopoly for online storefronts, the open collection of my data across multiple service, to it just being a Chinese flea market these days.
The thing is though that I've noticed that sometimes even brands themselves will sell for cheaper on Amazon and the organisations logistics make postage pretty unbeatable. Have you lads found a way to crack online shopping or really the commercial side of the online world in general?
I don't buy very much, so it doesn't come up that often for me, but I have a friend who sells guitar pedals on Amazon, and he hates it too. If you emailed him, you'd probably get a better deal for avoiding Amazon. If you're passionate about doing as much shopping as possible from small companies, lots of them would probably be the same. It's certainly worth a try if you haven't tried it yet.
I already use Amazon as little as possible, but I do have to admit sometimes it's hard to beat when you need something last minute.
Personally though I'd say it's not that difficult to restrict your use of Amazon to exclusively those situations. And even then, you'll probably live if you have to wait a day or two, how often is it then end of the world?
The only reason it's difficult is because we easily become hooked on convenience. I worry about the younger generation who don't remember a time before online shopping (I barely do myself, born in 1990) or even what it was like back in the dark old days, back before couriers got the hint that they're the new backbone of commercialism and you'd have to take three days off because you didn't know when the parcel might show up, then get sent back to Llandudno or some shit if you missed it.
I just think there are lot of little luxuries it's very easy to go without in the modern world like wood stoves, and services like Amazon are definitely one of them. Unless you live and work in the middle of a big city, it's hard to give up your reliance on a car- No public transport system no matter how efficient can ever get you exactly where you're going, with all your luggage, in as timely a manner. It's hard to give up reliance on big chains like Sainsbos or Tesco or whatever- Because even though you might want to shop ethically, your main motivation will always be a) whichever is closest and b) whichever is cheapest.
But relatively speaking, it's very easy to wait another day for your Warhammer men to show up, or whatever it might be. Everything Amazon does business in is a word of luxury goods. You don't need any of it, and everything you might want from it is definitely available elsewhere.
>>9174 Nah, the thing about Amazon for me is that they're cheap. I don't even have Prime because I recognise how it locks customers into using Amazon but even for me it's usually free delivery for orders over £20 which gives a significant price advantage.
>Everything Amazon does business in is a word of luxury goods
I think that depends on how you define luxury goods. I get my clothes off Amazon and pretty much everything else I can't buy at the supermarket.
Are Amazon even good for clothes? I've bought my clothes near exclusively from Primark for the last five or six years, save a couple of nice pairs of Levis/Wranglers and a few nice paisley shirts for when I want to dress nice.
Most days I'm either at work or just sat fucking around the house, and if I'm out it's mostly just to the supermarket or post office or whatever, so I don't need to look particularly sharp. I just wear whatever the cheapest shit is that keeps me warm and covers up my bollocks, and I can't imagine Amazon even has the behemoth of Primani beat on that front.
>everything else I can't buy at the supermarket.
That covers very little these days, and I suspect you can afford the extra quid or two's difference it usually makes. We are very rarely talking about a wide margin of fifty to a hundred quid here, where it might make the difference between affordable or not. It's only ever pocket change that, when we're talking about luxury goods, it's almost never truly honest to say it makes a meaningful impact on you.
Here's a tip for you, son: Looking good is all about fit, not fashion.
And if you have lovely long hair, you can get away with wearing anything, because birds will be far more impressed by that than what brand jeans you're in.
>>9173 Not only that, but I happen to know that the database back-end of IMDb is a single flat text-file. This usually horrifies and impresses people who understand what that means.
>>9183 > is a single flat text-file
This needs more detail. There must be structure to it, some kind of index. OR the text file is a SoT and there's a layer above it.
