this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2023
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I'm shocked at the amount of people in the replies here whose response to this is basically "no, I won't, because its convenient".
It is widely known that this convenience comes at the price of poor working conditions for Amazon workers. Our consuming habits have a very real and tangible impact. The article linked covers this briefly:
Of course there are many other negative impacts caused by this convenience which are also covered in the linked article.
I would rather inconvenience myself than buy something from Amazon at all if I can avoid it. I understand for a non-zero number of people, Amazon is their only option, but for those of us who have a choice I would encourage you to reconsider your consumption habits.
Edit: Adding clarity in some statements.
Everyone who thinks people should cancel their prime account because of horrible working conditions should first look at their phone... then their tv... then any other random electronics they have... then look at their shoes and their clothes and everything else they have made cheaply in a factory that abuses human labor. Then find a dictionary and look up the word hypocrite.
Living under capitalism is living under the yoke of devils. You cannot escape them, and you sometimes make deals with them, whether because you have to, or you think the deal will work out for you. But that doesn't mean you should love the devils, and if you can get away from them you should.
Yeah, most people's phones or shoes or whatever probably have some dirty pasts, but that doesn't mean we should just give up on making any kind of good or moral choices. We're locked into capitalism, and we will have blood on our hands whether we are aware or not, but using that as an excuse to give up on trying to do better is not a coherent moral position.
I think there's a significant difference between "any shoe I try to buy is shady, and if a wholesome option even exists it is incredibly hard to find/buy/pricey", and "sure Amazon workers literally die in warehouses, but next day shipping on my random knickknacks is soooo convenient!"
There exists real and valid use-cases for prime, as several other people in this thread have expressed. But just shrugging and saying "eg whatever" because you want to save $1 on random junk isn't one of them.
You realize that the alternatives to Amazon all do the same thing, right? Working in a warehouse supplying brick-and-mortar shop isn't exactly a cushy or well-paid job, either.
It isn't hard to be better than the worst. My SO worked in a non-amazon warehouse before moving in with me and it is no walk in the park but it is still far better than Amazon. They even started trying to recruit people from her warehouse and everyone who jumped ship to Amazon regretted it quickly.
I think what your argument is boiling down to here is "there is no ethical consumption under capitalism"?
Whilst this is a mindset I tend to agree with myself, I don't think it's a good excuse to not try and improve our consumption practices.
Edit: To add clarity to my original post, all I am trying to do is point out how the convenience of next day delivery forces Amazon workers to experience punishing productivity expectations. And all I ask is for people to reconsider if the convenience of next day delivery is really worth this.
Yes, I also participate in society. But this does not change the fact that next day delivery with Amazon is unethical and I do not think pretending we do not see it because "everything we do is unethical" will help us progress forward as a society and actually make things better.
For real, the amount of people acting like the choices here are Amazon Prime or driving over to the B&M is ridiculous. It is like people forgot how to shop online. There are many other choices for online shopping. It is so incredibly lazy to just throw your hands up and say "Whelp, the local store doesn't have what I need, guess I need to use Amazon Prime."
Amazon and B&Ms won't steal your credit card. A lot of other websites will.
I've literally never had this happen to me. Plus, you are never on the hook for it anyway with a credit card. Also, privacy.com
What are people buying that they need same-day arrival from Prime instead of waiting 5-7 days? Do people get their medicine and groceries off of Amazon? Or is it just convenience?
Of course, I’m able to say this because I never got Prime in the first place so I never acclimated to same-day shipping and thus never got attached to it. When I had to order off Amazon, just wait and bundle with other items for free shipping anyways, no extra money sent off to get Prime. And they were never important enough that I needed them right now. I could wait.
I’m extremely motivated by convenience, so I’m no better, I just so happen to be able to say “no” to Amazon now because I never let it too far into my life in the first place.
Many people don't think about stuff like that, they would rather ignore or stay unaware and keep buying 2€ shirts
The only way to hit those price points is with slavery or "child labor" aka slavery kids edition