”But Amazon is easy to use, they are the cheapest, they have the best selections… I love them and could never live without them.” How many times have we all heard that, maybe even running through our own minds? We get it, Amazon is ubiquitous. They offer a huge selection of products, sometimes at the lowest price, and quickly delivered direct to your door. For some, Amazon has literally become a necessity for specific products due to Amazon’s unchecked monopolistic power.
We understand some Amazon consumers live in areas with limited access to brick-and-mortar stores. Some care for an aging parent and require specific supplies conveniently delivered. Some have children and are simply overwhelmed by daily life. For some people, Amazon may actually be the only option for certain products that we actually do need and cannot afford to purchase anywhere else – that’s what happens when we allow companies to become monopolies! We are not here to shame people just trying to get by, people who truly have no other options.
That said, it seems many American consumers have taken the bait Amazon has offered and we don’t need to. For those who Amazon has simply become a bad habit, likely turbo charging impulse buying, and for those who can afford to pay slightly higher prices if needed and have time to support local brick-and-mortar stores, you may be asking why should we? Because this Amazon habit has hidden costs.
Communities crumble if fewer businesses survive because of too few customers. Businesses close, jobs evaporate, and towns are poorer having less revenue, and fewer choices. Satellite businesses in the area such as restaurants and gas stations in the town suffer. Communities wither because only the big box stores and national chains can compete. We lose connection to the people in our community where once we had real relationships with store-owners and employees – our neighbors! It is a vicious circle that begins with us, buying from Amazon. And all of this destroys a democratic society.
Soaring demand for computing power for Amazon drives the development of data centers serving the needs of AWS, Amazon Web Services, like proposed Project Blue in Tucson. When we click, “Buy”, along with thousands of others, this starts the engine creating the demand for more and more data. Like the 1980’s arcade game Pac-Man, our purchases gobble up massive amounts of our natural resources, energy and water. Once built, data centers contribute few jobs to offset their massive consumption.
Some excellent books have been written on this topic, check out How to Resist Amazon and Why by Danny Caine, a bookseller in Kansas.
“When a company’s workers are literally dying on the job, when their business model relies on preying on local businesses and even their own vendors, when their CEO is one of the richest people in the world while their workers make low wages with impossible quotas... wouldn’t you want to resist?” Danny Caine, owner of Raven Book Store in Lawrence, Kansas
Read it to take a deeper dive into the many threats Amazon poses to our world. Buy it directly from the publisher here: https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/12043 or from one of the many great local bookstores in Tucson, or use bookshop.org where every purchase supports a local independent bookstore of your choice. Better yet, get it at the library and donate what you would have spent to keep these great community spaces in our city.
SO ON TO THE BIG QUESTION: HOW TO GET AMAZON’S HOOKS OUT?
One step at a time, then sustained for one month and then more. OR go cold-turkey if you can!
Are some things that you frequently purchase available elsewhere? Decide to buy one or two regular purchases not from Amazon. Try ordering directly from the manufacturer. If you have a friend who shops at a store that has what you want, perhaps they could pick it up for you. You could return the favor and buy what they need at other times.
Big step: cut down on your impulse buying from Amazon. Start in November during “Don’t BuyIt”- you’ll have a supportive community here. We may not drive Amazon out of business tomorrow, but they will notice and examine their business practices and become better corporate citizens if we all start taking action to shop elsewhere. Plus, perhaps you just don’t need so much “stuff.” The planet will thank you too.
ARE YOU STILL WONDERING HOW YOU WILL EVER BREAK THE HABIT? ONE OF OUR BOYCOTT AND TEAM MEMBER’S STORY MAY HELP YOU OUT.
“ Whaat?!
I’ve long since given up wondering “how much worse could it get” because every time I did... it got worse.
Now I’m angry. The Imposter-in-Thief has totally demolished the East Wing of the White House. Not his White House. OUR White House. An historic building.
Why? To build a ballroom. During a government shutdown. Caused by his cuts to Medicaid, ACA subsidies and SNAP, which are exposing millions of people to food insecurity and inability to access affordable healthcare. With thousands of federal workers furloughed, or *invited* to work without pay.
ITAA Boycott & Build team to the rescue (~cue superhero theme~). Here’s Heather Cox Richardson’s list of demolition funders: “Altria, Amazon, Apple, Booz Allen Hamilton, Caterpillar, Coinbase, Comcast, J. Pepe and Emilia Fanjul, Hard Rock, Google, HP Inc., Lockheed Martin, Meta Platforms, Micron Technology, Microsoft, NextEra Energy Inc., Palantir Technologies Inc., Ripple, Reynolds American, T-Mobile, Tether America, Union Pacific Railroad, Adelson Family Foundation, Stefan E. Brodie, Betty Wold Johnson Foundation, Charles and Marissa Cascarilla, Edward and Shari Glazer, Harold Hamm, Benjamin Leon Jr., The Lutnick Family, The Laura & Isaac Perlmutter Foundation, Stephen A. Schwarzman, Konstantin Sokolov, Kelly Loeffler and Jeff Sprecher, Paolo Tiramani, Cameron Winklevoss, and Tyler Winklevoss.”
Whew! Let’s see... Altria, Amazon... I don’t need to read any further. Considering that AWS (Amazon Web Services) dumped a lot of people from a lot of devices, apps, sites and services during their out[r]age Mon Oct 20, I’d say they’re long overdue for some antitrust action. Because there is no alternative to AWS. Just using the internet requires AWS (it can be disabled, but that renders a lot of devices, apps, sites and services unavailable or inoperable).
Eep! I’m as internet-dependent as most of us, not ready? or able? or willing? to give it up. So, back to basics: I’m not using Amazon’s website. The sandals I thought were only available there I found at a local store (Alan’s Shoes in Tucson, which isn’t as local as it used to be, but still better than Amazon). And I found more colors at the manufacturer’s site ( vionicshoes.com ) at a 30% discount, even.
I don’t know how much the sandals would have cost at Amazon. Just window shopping at their site makes money for them: increased traffic lets them increase their ad rates, so I don’t go there.
So yeah, my Boycott & Build strategy can be summed up in two phrases: “Go Local!” and “Avoid Amazon!” (And Black Friday has been Buy Nothing Day for me for years: I stay home and make turkey soup!)
And, when I can, I donate to the Community Food Bank.
Mary H.
Boycott & Build team member
ARE YOU MOTIVATED TO TAKE ACTION TO BREAK THE AMAZON HABIT?
Begin by making a commitment personally to quit Amazon.
Every time you want to buy, ask yourself is the cost of feeding the Amazon beast worth losing our democracy over?
Tell a friend, find a buddy to break the habit with.
Have a talk with the members of your family about Amazon and the hidden costs of spending family money with them. Challenge them to talk about how they can get what they want another way.
Remove your stored credit card information from your Amazon account so you have to type the numbers in every time.
Cancel Amazon Prime if you have it. Get free shipping by storing several items in your cart before pressing buy.
If you own Amazon stock. Divest.
Check out our ever-growing webpage with information and resources on how to find companies worth supporting - start with our Build Actions page here which lists tools to learn about which businesses to support with your purchases: https://www.indivisibletucson.org/build-actions.html
TODAY’S ACTIONS:
Decide what step(s) you are ready to take today. Then do them. Mark it on your calendar, maybe give yourself a gold star (at least a pat on the back) every time you complete a step toward breaking your Amazon habit.
Get others to join you. Having the support of others can be a key to success. Start making a date with family and friends to do things together that support getting the Amazon hooks out.
Start the conversation in our comment section. Know of a great resource to find businesses you feel good about supporting? Have great alternatives to Amazon. Please tell us in the comments!
Ask for help! We are here for you! Have questions, great ideas of support. Please ask or share in the comments on this post.
Spread the word about our campaign to friends and family. https://www.indivisibletucson.org/dontbuyit.html
DID YOU VOTE YESTERDAY? MAKE SURE IT COUNTS!
THANK YOU! What a hopeful night the election results brought!
THANK YOU! While this campaign focuses on voting with your wallet, voting at the ballot box is critical for our democracy’s survival.
Make sure your vote is counted. Use the link below to track your ballot and ensure it was properly received. If you voted by mail or ballot box, this is a great way to ensure your ballot was received and your signature was accepted.
And if you did not vote, it is never too early to ready for the all important midterms coming up next year. Use the link below to register to vote or check your existing voter registration to ensure it is still valid.