Maybe it’s time to consider quitting!
  • The author canceled their Amazon Prime subscription on a whim and realized they didn’t really need it.
  • Leaving Prime meant slower shipping but the author was happy to wait and still found the selection and delivery speed satisfactory.
  • Many people love Prime for its fast shipping and convenience, but some readers expressed ambivalence and considered canceling.

Archive link: https://archive.ph/3M27c

  • Engywuck@lemm.eeEnglish
    2616·
    10 months ago

    Some of us have been living without an Amazon account since 2007 and we’re still alive. Go figure.

    • KptnAutismus@lemmy.worldEnglish
      331·
      10 months ago

      i have reverted to this lifestyle, and i love it. creating the 5-6 accounts for local platforms was a slight hassle, but now i can enjoy the benefits of a “small” company which still cares about what the customer thinks.

      • KnightontheSun@lemmy.worldEnglish
        15·
        10 months ago

        Can you please expound on this?

        I gave up on Amazon last year. I do without many things which is fine, but there are some things that are more difficult to find without them. I am still doing without as I’d like to figure it out for the long term.

        Can you give examples of the vendors that supplant Amazon for you?

        • rockSlayer@lemmy.worldEnglish
          29·
          10 months ago

          Not the person you asked, but generally I just go to the manufacturer website. Amazon is useful for it’s pictures and an aggregate of similar products, but now it’s usually just a catalog of stuff so I know what to look for

        • NightAuthor@lemmy.worldEnglish
          3·
          10 months ago

          Home Depot, Staples, B&HPhoto (decent selection of general tech merch, but tons of photo/video)

          As much as I dislike it, google shopping helps me find where I can pick things up locally.

          There are things that I’ve been unsatisfied with the alternative options, or particular brands that only sell on Amazon, so I use it occasionally. But I don’t have a subscription to prevent the compulsion to use it.

    • dogslayeggs@lemmy.worldEnglish
      172·
      10 months ago

      I started boycotting Amazon back in 1999 when they pulled the 1-click patent bullshit. I loved them before that.

        • dogslayeggs@lemmy.worldEnglish
          28·
          10 months ago

          I was an edgy college kid who was raging against software and business process patents. Their 1-click patent started me on a 25 year grudge.

          • asteriskeverything@lemmy.worldEnglish
            17·
            10 months ago

            Not a lot of people hold onto such a niche part of their righteous rebellious college years for so long. I love that, and your bar was so high too!

          • hoot@lemmy.caEnglish
            6·
            10 months ago

            A fellow Great Book of Grudges enthusiast! I too started writing mine early. I have not purchased anything Sony since they put rootkits on their CDs in 2005. Nothing. Fuck Sony. And anything Intuit makes for multiple reasons.

            And I am absolutely passing The Great Book on to my kids. They know exactly why we don’t buy certain brands.

            • dogslayeggs@lemmy.worldEnglish
              4·
              10 months ago

              In 1999 Amazon applied for and was granted a US Patent for One Click Purchase. Before then, everyone had a shopping cart that you had to go into to check out and pay. Amazon realized that a huge percentage of people would add stuff to their cart and then leave without buying anything, either because they decided they didn’t REALLY need that thing or because they found it cheaper somewhere else or whatever. They allowed you to save all your credit card info plus shipping preferences, then just hit “1 Click Purchase.” It was convenient for shoppers because they didn’t have to go through the whole checkout steps or add everything then come back later to check out. They could just hit a button and be done. For Amazon, though, it prevented the dreaded “items left in cart.”

              Other sites like Borders and Barnes & Noble, etc also implemented the feature, since it made a lot of money. Amazon filed for a business process patent (I think they also tried it as a software patent??) and forced the entire internet to go back to normal shopping cart purchases. They ended up losing the patent lawsuit in the EU, but that didn’t stop them from enforcing it on US websites. Borders and BN both implemented “2 Click Purchase” to get around it, but the damage was done. In everyone’s minds, Amazon was the place to go for convenience and speed. Amazon made more money, while others started losing money. With that extra money, Amazon was able to move into the “niche” of Walmart, since Walmart hadn’t yet figured out e-commerce. Amazon out-Walmarted Walmart on the web and became the trillion dollar behemoth we have today.

              • moistclump@lemmy.worldEnglish
                3·
                10 months ago

                Wow. Thank you for all of this I had no idea. That helps put a lot of amazons growth and lack of competition into perspective.

        • brbposting@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          7·
          10 months ago

          It’s kinda weird knowing I advertised for them (word of mouth) back around ~2007.

          Cheaper than brick & mortar! INCREDIBLE customer service! No sales tax (until you paid it at tax time of course)!

          Didn’t realize I’d be concentrating power, helping create just about earth’s richest human.

    • freebee@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      2·
      10 months ago

      Sometimes shop around on amazon. Find something I like or need: look for the website of the producer or distributor, order directly from them. Usually same price, sometimes cheaper. Fuck the middleman.

      • Engywuck@lemm.eeEnglish
        1·
        10 months ago

        Well, this is exactly what I do sometimes. And not only for Amazon, but for quite a lot of local marketplaces.