I am unhooking from all-things-bezos, and though it is a process, it is a progressing process. I have not ordered from A since its founder paid for officious pompousness at the inauguration. I have shopped at WF once since then when I hadn't yet found alternative sources, and I cancelled my WP subscription when they stopped being a newspaper and started being a wing of the party in charge. Sigh. The other day I was searching for active dry yeast to make pizza dough. I went to Trader Joe's and learned they consider yeast a seasonal product. The polite young man suggested I go to WF where they carry it year round. I told him I do not shop there any longer. I found a good quality brand at the Fresh Market that just opened one town over. I may not be able to make a speech to change the course of human history, but I can lend my weight and money to the moral arc of the universe as it bends towards good, and I can keep on, especially in such good company as I find here.
A seasonal product. Huh. It’s been a process for me, too. I fall asleep watching “Night Court” on Prime so I’ll need to find a replacement but that’s not going to kill my, I think. I am amazed at how embedded I made that company. Yikes.
When you have trouble walking through stores, and money is a problem, Amazon helps you maintain independence. It’s a gift… I feel guilty sometimes, but it has helped me a lot. I appreciate you all, though.
I cancelled my subscription to Washington Post, but am keeping my subscription to Amazon Prime. I also like Whole Foods. They are a better option than ShopRite or Stop & Shop for some things. There are times when Amazon it so helpful. (Like now when I need a few hard to find things quickly) And Amazon is also AWS (Amazon Web Services). I believe they are the largest cloud platform provider. It's likely most other companies use them to keep their businesses going. The Amazon warehouse also hired several people I know of who were refugees who had trouble finding decent work. Amazon paid them more, offered better work conditions than their previous job, and offered benefits. One had terrible work conditions in his previous job. Amazon UK also enables me to order birthday and Christmas gifts for my niece in London. We love our Amazon Echos for turning on/off lights, listening to music/podcasts and even making my online grocery lists. Amazon is in our IRAs and I wouldn't know how to clear it out if I wanted to. Lastly, Mackenzie Scott is also a large individual shareholder and she does great things with her Amazon wealth.
All that to say, I think there are good reasons to leave them and good reasons to stay with them. We each need to do what seems best and right. I give you a ton of credit for unhooking yourself. I imagine it may not be easy to lose the convenience of it.
I agree 100% with you and I love the ‘allegiance to convenience’ phrase. Amazon has made it soooo easy to shop and the pandemic emphasized the laziness that still continues to this day. I’m as guilty as anyone but the Amazon boycott of a couple of months ago proved to me that it wasn’t a necessity to sit in my living room and order sheets of laundry detergent. I could actually get off the couch, get in the car and drive to the store. What a concept!
I wish my hubby wasn’t so attached to Prime TV shows or I would cancel my subscription today. And that wedding…the amount of good he could’ve done with what it cost! Excessive, exorbitant, extravagant and a whole other bunch of ‘ex’ words. I hope she has a decent pre-nup.
Well, we have an Amazon Prime membership, and we're likely to keep it. Because movies and TV shows.
And some things I foolishly find myself desperately to want no longer sell anywhere else. :( Tonka beans, for example-- Amazon UK, they're illegal in the US. :(
I think Sheeyun's losing the Amazon habit. I hope so.
Today I will go to the Great Yorkshire Show and look at swine some more, and see Suffolk Punches, being shown for the first time for this show, today. And probably get tea and a scone made by a Women's Institute member.
Unfortunately I found when I got there that while I had my membership placard, I had neglected to bring my membership card! :D So no Punches today. I'll go tomorrow, the last day, better equipped.
Sheeyun and I went yesterday, saw the heavy horse competitions-- single rider (gymkhana) and driving--, and I had a nice conversation about swine.
I’m with you. I canceled WaPo after the Ann Telenes incident and started looking for different sources for my Subscribe & Save items. Less convenient, but really not a big deal. I’m trying to buy less anyway. My Prime membership expires in October, and I won’t renew. My husband will be annoyed. I don’t care.
I have had similar experiences with outrageous box sizes. And they were filled with paper. Fortunately, I found a solution to appease my guilt. We were doing daycare for our 2 granddaughters and they were at the stage where they loved to scribble crayon, I guess to just see the color. Anyway, I noticed that the large amounts of paper actually had preformation marks and I tore them into sections (very large) and ironed them. Voila, lots of paper for which I didn't 'pay' for and made me feel less wasteful. But really? I dropped Amazon, and I have ordered 5 things since January, but it hasn't been that inconvenient. And, yes, I just didn't buy somethings. They keep trying to lure me back, but it is an easy "no". Prime Days were never a big draw for me. It has been mostly electronic gadgets which look like a self-induced migraine.
Great process. I’m trying to wean myself off. Like the iPhone, Amazon prime has made itself indispensable - from music/tv/movies to deals to next day deliveries. Breaking up, even knowing the working conditions (atrocious) and the wealth of Bezos that he makes tax free (enraging), breaking up is a slow entangling and moving away, rather than a one-and-done. I’ll check my renew date and use that as my time to say good bye.
I have reduced my spending on Amazon, cancelled all my subscribe and save subscriptions. But admit that sometimes they have items I need at a good price. I don’t have a lot of shopping choices where I live and at Marine Hardware, our local store, every item is almost double the price you would spend retail. (All items are shipped over by boat, but I also believe they are taking advantage of the fact that they are the only hardware store on the island) I try to do without, but admit it is hard. I laughed when I was reading your post— I too have used the Amazon boxes to kill ground growth and create wild flower gardens in my back and front yards. ( they are really beautiful this time of year). I cancelled my subscription to the Wash Post last year. At least that is something— onward!
I have boycotted Whole Foods since the West Hartford store not only closed but boarded up before the Black Lives Matter protest in 2020 that was organized by our high school students and led by our 6'5" African-American police chief. The next day I went into the store with my phone onto document and gave the manager quite a piece of my mind. People do look at you a little funny when you start yelling "boycott this racist store" but I emerged unscathed. We cut the Amazon cord completely in April. We do not miss Prime, there wasn't much worth watching on it in the first place. If what you're looking for are TV sitcoms to fall asleep to, there are plenty of other places to find them.
And it's amazing how we've managed to live without those little boxes showing up at the front door. I will always choose to shop at locally owned businesses whenever possible.
It's not a perfect system, but feeling pretty good that we've managed to dump Bezos without hardship. For those who can't, there are other ways to fight back.
There sure ARE many ways to fight, and, yes, where one way does not fit for me, there will be and are other things that do. Yes, Amazon helps me as a poor woman with disabilities. Feh. I can write. I can make phone calls. … and I do.
That said? I admire you all in here. May we all keep fighting!
I miss Prime, but not that much. I am buying SO much less. I recently had to buy a bed rail and in the olden days, I would have just gone to the website, but instead, I went down to Manchester Pharmacy and had a lovely interaction with the staff there. And, I got it right away, which was important since my Dad fell out of bed and I didn't want to go another night without a bed rail. There are shows I can't watch, but there's plenty of other options out there. I miss it less than I thought I would. It's been about 6 months. The problem is that retail stocks much less than they used to and stores are closing because most people still shop online.
I am unhooking from all-things-bezos, and though it is a process, it is a progressing process. I have not ordered from A since its founder paid for officious pompousness at the inauguration. I have shopped at WF once since then when I hadn't yet found alternative sources, and I cancelled my WP subscription when they stopped being a newspaper and started being a wing of the party in charge. Sigh. The other day I was searching for active dry yeast to make pizza dough. I went to Trader Joe's and learned they consider yeast a seasonal product. The polite young man suggested I go to WF where they carry it year round. I told him I do not shop there any longer. I found a good quality brand at the Fresh Market that just opened one town over. I may not be able to make a speech to change the course of human history, but I can lend my weight and money to the moral arc of the universe as it bends towards good, and I can keep on, especially in such good company as I find here.
A seasonal product. Huh. It’s been a process for me, too. I fall asleep watching “Night Court” on Prime so I’ll need to find a replacement but that’s not going to kill my, I think. I am amazed at how embedded I made that company. Yikes.
I think that was their strategy, and all of us being new to the world of “e-commerce” we went right along with it. I know I did.
Same here. Whee!
When you have trouble walking through stores, and money is a problem, Amazon helps you maintain independence. It’s a gift… I feel guilty sometimes, but it has helped me a lot. I appreciate you all, though.
Don't feel guilty. We all do what we can.
I cancelled my subscription to Washington Post, but am keeping my subscription to Amazon Prime. I also like Whole Foods. They are a better option than ShopRite or Stop & Shop for some things. There are times when Amazon it so helpful. (Like now when I need a few hard to find things quickly) And Amazon is also AWS (Amazon Web Services). I believe they are the largest cloud platform provider. It's likely most other companies use them to keep their businesses going. The Amazon warehouse also hired several people I know of who were refugees who had trouble finding decent work. Amazon paid them more, offered better work conditions than their previous job, and offered benefits. One had terrible work conditions in his previous job. Amazon UK also enables me to order birthday and Christmas gifts for my niece in London. We love our Amazon Echos for turning on/off lights, listening to music/podcasts and even making my online grocery lists. Amazon is in our IRAs and I wouldn't know how to clear it out if I wanted to. Lastly, Mackenzie Scott is also a large individual shareholder and she does great things with her Amazon wealth.
All that to say, I think there are good reasons to leave them and good reasons to stay with them. We each need to do what seems best and right. I give you a ton of credit for unhooking yourself. I imagine it may not be easy to lose the convenience of it.
We agree. I do not believe in purity tests on these things, as if I did believe in them, I'd flunk a few.
😊
I agree 100% with you and I love the ‘allegiance to convenience’ phrase. Amazon has made it soooo easy to shop and the pandemic emphasized the laziness that still continues to this day. I’m as guilty as anyone but the Amazon boycott of a couple of months ago proved to me that it wasn’t a necessity to sit in my living room and order sheets of laundry detergent. I could actually get off the couch, get in the car and drive to the store. What a concept!
I wish my hubby wasn’t so attached to Prime TV shows or I would cancel my subscription today. And that wedding…the amount of good he could’ve done with what it cost! Excessive, exorbitant, extravagant and a whole other bunch of ‘ex’ words. I hope she has a decent pre-nup.
I notice his ex-wife seems to have her priorities right. I admire her largesse.
Yes, she does. And she’s not a plastic Barbie.
(Tee hee. Why do perfectly beautiful women go get themselves enhanced?)
With you.
Well, we have an Amazon Prime membership, and we're likely to keep it. Because movies and TV shows.
And some things I foolishly find myself desperately to want no longer sell anywhere else. :( Tonka beans, for example-- Amazon UK, they're illegal in the US. :(
I think Sheeyun's losing the Amazon habit. I hope so.
Today I will go to the Great Yorkshire Show and look at swine some more, and see Suffolk Punches, being shown for the first time for this show, today. And probably get tea and a scone made by a Women's Institute member.
What a lovely day.
Unfortunately I found when I got there that while I had my membership placard, I had neglected to bring my membership card! :D So no Punches today. I'll go tomorrow, the last day, better equipped.
Sheeyun and I went yesterday, saw the heavy horse competitions-- single rider (gymkhana) and driving--, and I had a nice conversation about swine.
Seriously, a perfectly lovely day.
I’m with you. I canceled WaPo after the Ann Telenes incident and started looking for different sources for my Subscribe & Save items. Less convenient, but really not a big deal. I’m trying to buy less anyway. My Prime membership expires in October, and I won’t renew. My husband will be annoyed. I don’t care.
That's where I am, trying to buy less, anyway. I mean, how much Stuff do I need?
I have had similar experiences with outrageous box sizes. And they were filled with paper. Fortunately, I found a solution to appease my guilt. We were doing daycare for our 2 granddaughters and they were at the stage where they loved to scribble crayon, I guess to just see the color. Anyway, I noticed that the large amounts of paper actually had preformation marks and I tore them into sections (very large) and ironed them. Voila, lots of paper for which I didn't 'pay' for and made me feel less wasteful. But really? I dropped Amazon, and I have ordered 5 things since January, but it hasn't been that inconvenient. And, yes, I just didn't buy somethings. They keep trying to lure me back, but it is an easy "no". Prime Days were never a big draw for me. It has been mostly electronic gadgets which look like a self-induced migraine.
I have a grandson who, when he was little, liked nothing more than big boxes. They were cars. They were trains. They were airplanes.
Great process. I’m trying to wean myself off. Like the iPhone, Amazon prime has made itself indispensable - from music/tv/movies to deals to next day deliveries. Breaking up, even knowing the working conditions (atrocious) and the wealth of Bezos that he makes tax free (enraging), breaking up is a slow entangling and moving away, rather than a one-and-done. I’ll check my renew date and use that as my time to say good bye.
I cannot believe how long it's taking me. I mean, come ON, Susan. I can do this.
I have reduced my spending on Amazon, cancelled all my subscribe and save subscriptions. But admit that sometimes they have items I need at a good price. I don’t have a lot of shopping choices where I live and at Marine Hardware, our local store, every item is almost double the price you would spend retail. (All items are shipped over by boat, but I also believe they are taking advantage of the fact that they are the only hardware store on the island) I try to do without, but admit it is hard. I laughed when I was reading your post— I too have used the Amazon boxes to kill ground growth and create wild flower gardens in my back and front yards. ( they are really beautiful this time of year). I cancelled my subscription to the Wash Post last year. At least that is something— onward!
I think we all do what we can. I am able to do this but I do not live where things arrive by boat. You will not hear from me, whatever you choose.
I have boycotted Whole Foods since the West Hartford store not only closed but boarded up before the Black Lives Matter protest in 2020 that was organized by our high school students and led by our 6'5" African-American police chief. The next day I went into the store with my phone onto document and gave the manager quite a piece of my mind. People do look at you a little funny when you start yelling "boycott this racist store" but I emerged unscathed. We cut the Amazon cord completely in April. We do not miss Prime, there wasn't much worth watching on it in the first place. If what you're looking for are TV sitcoms to fall asleep to, there are plenty of other places to find them.
And it's amazing how we've managed to live without those little boxes showing up at the front door. I will always choose to shop at locally owned businesses whenever possible.
It's not a perfect system, but feeling pretty good that we've managed to dump Bezos without hardship. For those who can't, there are other ways to fight back.
Amen.
There sure ARE many ways to fight, and, yes, where one way does not fit for me, there will be and are other things that do. Yes, Amazon helps me as a poor woman with disabilities. Feh. I can write. I can make phone calls. … and I do.
That said? I admire you all in here. May we all keep fighting!
Oh, we will. And we will do so as we each can. There’s no one size fits all.
You bet. We MUST!
We all do what we can, Jeannette. What you're doing is huge!
I miss Prime, but not that much. I am buying SO much less. I recently had to buy a bed rail and in the olden days, I would have just gone to the website, but instead, I went down to Manchester Pharmacy and had a lovely interaction with the staff there. And, I got it right away, which was important since my Dad fell out of bed and I didn't want to go another night without a bed rail. There are shows I can't watch, but there's plenty of other options out there. I miss it less than I thought I would. It's been about 6 months. The problem is that retail stocks much less than they used to and stores are closing because most people still shop online.
I have mostly weaned myself but yeah. It’s been a process and it’s made me realize how I did this, followed the unspoken rules and got entrenched.
I hope your dad is doing OK.
By buying from the actual manufacturer directly, not shopping at Whole Foods and letting Prime membership expire.