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> I think most Americans are unhappy with this situation. But we feel powerless to change it. BS. Americans will happily send half their disposable income to A
by mdoms 6y ago
> I think most Americans are unhappy with this situation. But we feel powerless to change it.
BS. Americans will happily send half their disposable income to Amazon in the name of convenience.
- computerphage 6y agoAh yes, because if I alone don't pay Amazon any money, they'll go bankrupt any day now. There is such a thing as coordination, and it's not always easy.
- tehjoker 6y agoThis is just blaming individual consumers for the fact that there is concentrated power that benefits from minor choices people make in mass, the kinds of choices that are easily manipulable by adding or removing friction to various choices. We don't have strong enough democratic social and labor movements that can move the needle yet. If we abandon the individualistic frame, we begin to see the necessity of joining political groups and regularly discussing our problems and how we can try to solve them, sometimes by coordinating with coalitions of groups to increase power.
- Aunche 6y agoNobody is "blaming" individual consumers. They're just respecting their free agency. Most people who purchase from Amazon prefer it to brick and mortar stores and other e-commerce websites. Most people who work at Amazon fulfillment centers willingly accept higher expectations in exchange for better pay. You don't get to decide whether someone is being coerced or manipulated.
- tehjoker 6y agoYou're always "free" to take whatever crumbs the master drops from the table. You're also free to organize a rebellion for a better world.
- nunez 6y agoName another company _that is not Walmart_ that can deliver most of the items I want or need (or, hell, anything that I can think of) next day without paying exorbitant shipping fees and I'll switch to them right now.
- stonogo 6y agoThe only replacement for centralized market dominance you're willing to accept is centralized market dominance with another brand?
- mdoms 6y agoYes this is the convenience I am talking about. Not everything needs to be delivered to you, much less "next day".
- wizardforhire 6y agoThis thread exploded and took me minutes before I could circle around to find this comment so, sorry for the delay. Grainger. Especially if you're doing commercial shopping and need stuff to actually idk maybe do what it says and not be counterfeit. I know i know they seem like a dinosaur, their catalog is a disaster and it seems impossible to find a real price. Thats all true, but theres a reason they obfuscate themselves. They’re a walled garden but once you're in its living in the future where this whole amazon problem has already been solved going on decades now!!! Its kinda like walmart to sams or target to costco. But grainger isnt owned by amazon, theyre direct competition and I’d wager if the hn crowd had our way and put consumer pressure on them to expand their market and made them know of our capabilities in helping them expand that vision, that grainger would pivot in a heartbeat to be more common consumer friendly. ... and then maybe we could have a little bit of peace. But seriously their worth checking out.