Cancel Amazon Prime: The subscription
service is Amazon’s greatest -- and most
terrifying -- invention
Atlantic,
by
Ellen Cushing
Original Article
Posted By: OhioNick,
6/28/2021 1:04:27 AM
Today is Prime Day. Imagine trying to explain that to an alien or to a time traveler from the 20th century. “Amazon turned 20 and on the eve of its birthday, the company introduced Prime Day, a global shopping event,” reads Amazon’s formal telling of the ritual’s 2015 origins. “Our only goal? Offer a volume of deals greater than Black Friday, exclusively for Prime members.” The holiday was invented by a corporation in honor of itself, to enrich itself. It has existed for six years and is observed by tens of millions of people worldwide. I hope you are spending it with your loved ones.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Smart11344 6/28/2021 1:17:46 AM (No. 828786)
I rarely buy from Amazon. I use eBay, instead.
23 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
DVC 6/28/2021 1:43:53 AM (No. 828791)
I make a real effort to avoid Amazon. For instance, I got a new biography of John Moses Browning today, and rather than getting it from Amazon, I drove a half a mile to a Barnes & Noble and purchased it there. With them matching their online price, and paying no shipping, I beat Amazon's price, and didn't support Bezos.
JMB was the greatest firearms designer ever, and while I know a great deal about his gun designs....learning more about the man should be enjoyable, especially if I am not sending any money to Bezos.
40 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
GustoGrabber 6/28/2021 2:07:02 AM (No. 828802)
Or antitrust laws can be enforced.
31 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
GardenGal 6/28/2021 5:58:01 AM (No. 828847)
Of course the article doe not talk about how grat online shopping is for all of us disabled people.
59 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
Corndoggies 6/28/2021 6:42:55 AM (No. 828866)
What’s happening over at Atlantic? They’re usually on my do not read list but this is the second or third article I’ve seen from them that is not lefty brainwashing. Are they getting real woke?
19 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
NancyD 6/28/2021 6:45:33 AM (No. 828869)
#4, Walmart has a wide array of products available and many times it less than Amazon.
29 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Strike3 6/28/2021 6:59:16 AM (No. 828878)
If you know exactly what you want, all large retail organizations have the same online system that Amazon does. Amazon is a good place to do initial searching and product comparison but you can go straight to Cabellas, Dunhams or whomever for the product order.
32 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
ARKfamily 6/28/2021 7:01:12 AM (No. 828879)
Home Depot is another good choice. . .
18 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Donna M 6/28/2021 7:05:23 AM (No. 828884)
Abebooks for books...supports independent sellers...and Newegg, where the tech guys shop, for computer gear if not MicroCenter which is local and retail.
18 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Donna M 6/28/2021 7:11:44 AM (No. 828894)
Jeff Bezos is going up in one of his Blue Ocean spacecraft. I hope he keeps going. The man thinks of himself as a God-Emperor and envisions himself as ruling over this country a la Brave New World.
Oh yes, Amazon is after your health data too, so if you subscribe to Pharmacy or sign up with Amazon Care, you're giving them carte blanche to manipulate and sell it--HIPAA? Fuggedabouddit.
23 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
skymom 6/28/2021 7:41:41 AM (No. 828915)
A lot of brick and mortar stores were put out of business by Amazon years ago due to "showrooming" - where people went to these stores to look at the merchandise, and then go to Amazon to purchase. I am now doing "counter" showrooming - I investigate products and reviews on Amazon, then find another source for purchase. Turnabout is fair play, I say.
Like many of us, my first experiences with Amazon were around book purchases. I know get books in audiobook form for free from my local library. I do look at reviews and authors on Amazon for ideas.
32 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
minuteman 6/28/2021 7:42:48 AM (No. 828916)
Dump prime. Use Amazon to read product reviews then buy elsewhere.
34 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
WD40 6/28/2021 8:02:36 AM (No. 828938)
I gave up on the article after the second mention of climate change.
37 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
erobot 6/28/2021 8:14:03 AM (No. 828945)
People, people. Don't be fooled. All this Anti-Amazon hysteria is nothing but payback for Bezos' anti-union stance. Amazon makes my life immensely more convenient and all those who whine about carbon footprints, etc., do you walk to the emporia where you buy the products you research on Amazon? Some of us live where there is very little choice for shopping and don't want to drive 50 miles to replace some minor items.
It's too bad that even here on Lucianne readers seem to inhale the left's propaganda and breath out news.
38 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
Bazi 6/28/2021 8:16:05 AM (No. 828948)
#9 Amazon acquired AbeBooks in 2008.
8 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
udanja99 6/28/2021 8:20:31 AM (No. 828950)
I canceled my Prime membership right after the election when Amazon went after Parler.
#1, be careful with EBay. I ordered 2 things from there last week and both came from Amazon and arrived in one of those Prime vans. It’s because the seller simply passes the order on to Amazon who fills it and it’s called “drop shipping”. In the feedback comment section of each item I asked why my order from EBay was coming from Amazon and stated that if I wanted to order from Amazon, I would have done so myself. Even though I had found the answer online already, I wanted the comment to be seen by others.
#5, perhaps the Atlantic’s bottom line is forcing them to get unwoke. #4, yes it does - at the very end.
Finally, despite what the author says, it is NOT difficult to unsubscribe from Prime. I did it in a matter of minutes. You have the option of letting it run out over time until you are due to pay for another year or you can cancel it immediately and get part of your subscription money back.
17 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
privateer 6/28/2021 8:29:01 AM (No. 828957)
The article does reference---albeit briefly---the advantage to the disabled. FTA: But many more—especially those with children, those living in rural areas, those with disabilities, those who work long hours—are stuck, running ever faster.
6 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
JackBurton 6/28/2021 8:30:07 AM (No. 828958)
I use Abe books...thanks for the update on ownership... they've been great for books. I use Walmart frequently. Same stuff. Same shipping policy. No annual fee (and no streaming). I try to shop locally.
With that said, a lot of the Famous Footwear stores are shuttered here in Michigan. When I went on line to buy a couple pair of my favorite New Balance shoes (no Nike, if you please), they were $69 a pair for several sources... but $49 at Amazon. I couldn't pass that up.
2 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
Kahunavol 6/28/2021 8:30:30 AM (No. 828961)
The article devolves into an argument that climate change is caused by shopping on Amazon as if goods appear magically at the doors of your local stores. The argument that it is "maddeningly difficult" to end your Prime subscription is a link to another article whose premise is, "It took me four separate clicks to cancel my Amazon Prime subscription." Four whole clicks, oh, the humanity! Not a Bezos fan nor particularly an Amazon fan, the technology is far more intrusive than the author gets into as she never mentions the Alexa devices or how all Amazon devices require it and are constantly updated without asking the customer. In the end of the article she does say that the calculated value of Prime to a customer, including all the bundled benefits is >$700. You can't economically make the case to pass up that deal so, let's go with moral arguments.
10 people like this.
You just need to remember that for many things, Amazon is a good choice. For many other things (like foods, clothing, and big electronic items) Amazon is a BAD choice because of knockoffs, and similar fake products. Consumers need to be aware and not just use Amazon for everything.
9 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
3D-Chess 6/28/2021 8:39:14 AM (No. 828970)
My last few purchases online have been from Walmart. I use to buy stuff from Amazon but decided this past year to stop giving 🤴King Bozo my money.
7 people like this.
Reply 22 - Posted by:
Casper27 6/28/2021 8:46:43 AM (No. 828977)
When I buy from Amazon I don't have to put on the mark of the beast: a mask.
When I buh from Amazon my health risk of being shot is reduced.
Wrecks in the parking lot. Fat fools in the aisles beating one another up at Christmas time.
Plus you have to walk forever dodging people and kids, I have a treadmill.
15 people like this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
Submariner 6/28/2021 8:47:10 AM (No. 828978)
Cancelling Prime does not protect you from the negatives the article lists - all o-line shopping tracks and sells your shopping data. #14 cites a plausible reason for the article - it smells of retaliation for whatever reason.
7 people like this.
Reply 24 - Posted by:
Speedypetey 6/28/2021 9:10:28 AM (No. 828996)
We buy from local owners like Bealls for clothing and hardware store franchises where we know the family and their college bound young adults. We do delivery of things we can't find to Walmart. Went to Barnes and Noble for a new book I'm reading. Not a fan of the Walton daughter but I will not sit in my house and see our local, touch it, feel it, try it on, retailers and local payrolls disappear to make that creepy, dickpicks oligarch wealthier.
4 people like this.
Reply 25 - Posted by:
LadyHen 6/28/2021 9:11:55 AM (No. 828999)
Alternatives to Amazon.
Chewy for pet stuff, free shipping over $35 and they have a 5% discount on auto shipped items. I get cat litter/food and wild bird food shipped 2 times a month (easier than Amazon) so no more lugging cans or bags or boxes from the store.
iHerb for vitamins. Again, free shipping. And you can making wish lists to keep track of what you regularly need. They also carry all the good brands at matching or better prices.
Newegg for anything electronic or computer. Been buying quality from them for years.
Bestbuy actually has good computer and electronic deals too.
And yes even Walmart does a good job with selection and fast shipping.
We have severely cut back on our Amazon spending.
5 people like this.
Reply 26 - Posted by:
Lawsy0 6/28/2021 9:21:53 AM (No. 829008)
Cushing says FTA: ''And, in an especially sinister move, it makes quitting Prime maddeningly difficult.''
I must disagree; my quitting Prime was suspiciously EASY. I quit Prime at 8 a.m. one morning and had the refund in the afternoon e-mail. But now, I am beginning to look the gift-horse in the mouth.
1 person likes this.
Reply 27 - Posted by:
swarfer 6/28/2021 9:22:48 AM (No. 829010)
I fully appreciate the impact Amazon has on the planet, but it does provide one marketplace for vastly different and obscure products that would otherwise be difficult to track down and certainly not available locally.
9 people like this.
Reply 28 - Posted by:
Axeman 6/28/2021 9:42:17 AM (No. 829038)
I quit Amazon and Prime when they went full fascist, I haven't missed them at all.
I already figured out that there is a large markup on many items. I would find information using their search and then search the whole web. Many things can be found for 20 to 30 percent less, enough to justify shipping, though even that is comped on more expensive items too. I have gotten to avoiding even searching on Amazon. It was a good business model at the beginning but when it got intermixed with politics and government it became the very definition of fascism.
10 people like this.
Reply 29 - Posted by:
lindaluka 6/28/2021 10:05:35 AM (No. 829059)
I kicked the Amazon habit this past January. There are so many other sources as previous posters have pointed out.
6 people like this.
Reply 30 - Posted by:
WV.Hillbilly 6/28/2021 10:15:34 AM (No. 829077)
Brick and mortar stores have run themselves out of business.
By being the only store in town. By not having clean, well lit stores. By not offering a large selection of goods, pricing them accordingly and having them all in one location. And yes, by higher prices.
Shoppers vote with their wallets and their feet.
If you're going to blame retailers like Amazon and Walmart, you have to blame the consumers too.
9 people like this.
Reply 31 - Posted by:
Jennie C. 6/28/2021 10:20:47 AM (No. 829085)
Remember the TV show "Dinosaurs"? They worked for the Wesayso company. My husband used to say that was Walmart, now he says it's Amazon.
Also, I clicked on the link about how "difficult" it is to cancel Prime. The guy was complaining that it took FOUR (4) clicks to do it. Wow, I wonder what qualifies as "easy" in his life??
4 people like this.
Reply 32 - Posted by:
Zigrid 6/28/2021 10:42:15 AM (No. 829108)
I don't use amazon idiots... I shop locally and pay with U.S. cash...I'm more convinced than ever that the chi/coms created the virus to shut down economic development around the world...and this little venture by amazon is just the beginning of complete control of everyone....they are in bed with china....
8 people like this.
Reply 33 - Posted by:
LC Chihuahua 6/28/2021 10:52:54 AM (No. 829119)
I still use Amazon occasionally. There are so many other online sites for shopping. Online shopping is so nice for those hard to find items that aren't always at the brick and mortar stores. Gone are the days of going to three or four stores, and striking out on what I was looking for.
My complaint with Amazon Prime is that I got signed up when I really tried to avoid it. Some stupid check box somewhere. I was able to discontinue it though. A friend of mine had to cancel their credit card to get things resolved. Never quite understood what the problem was. She made calls and nobody helped.
1 person likes this.
Reply 34 - Posted by:
Chicagoan 6/28/2021 10:54:47 AM (No. 829120)
While Amazon Prime is convenient, I've often found better prices at WalMart, Sam's, Walgreens, etc. and free shipping with sufficient dollar value. E.g. $50 or $100.
So Amazon's "free" shipping is made up in higher price. Take a moment to check.
4 people like this.
Reply 35 - Posted by:
Marzon 6/28/2021 11:14:05 AM (No. 829141)
I think a distinction can be made between Amazon and online shopping in general. I dumped Amazon after they dumped Parler and started threatening to kick conservatives sites off their cloud hosting platform.
I still do a good bit of my purchases online, just not through Amazon. You can get almost anything found there from other retailers and/or the manufacturer's websites as well and usually for the same price. It may take you a few clicks to find it and it might take a bit longer to get delivered but it's worth it to avoid supporting Bezos and his minions. I go to Amazon to see what's available, check out the reviews, determine a good price, etc. Then I search for and purchase the item elsewhere.
4 people like this.
Reply 36 - Posted by:
mc squared 6/28/2021 11:22:23 AM (No. 829157)
Ony Amazon carries specialty parts and items that can't be found locally. Try to find John Deere parts at Depot or even mower shops. My nearest Authorized dealer is 90 miles away. I say use 'em when you need to.
What's the fuss.
6 people like this.
Reply 37 - Posted by:
DVC 6/28/2021 11:55:49 AM (No. 829207)
For John Deer parts, I use GreenPartsStore or eparts, often they have excellent diagrams. And eBay, too.
I will refuse to support a thug like Bezos, and always search out alternative sources. They are out there, only just taking the easy way of going to Amazon because they have rigged all the search engines to come out on top is supporting those who hate you.
4 people like this.
Reply 38 - Posted by:
paral04 6/28/2021 11:56:39 AM (No. 829209)
If you want to have fun with Prime. Buy stuff, with no delivery fee, and send it back for a refund with no delivery fee. If enough people do this, it can break them. Anyone game?
2 people like this.
Reply 39 - Posted by:
earlybird 6/28/2021 12:02:13 PM (No. 829223)
I buy using Amazon when it is offered to me free. It was very useful when I needed small but needed things in a hurry.
This article ends up sounding very liberal (it’s the Atlantic), feeling sorry for the poor workers. Workers at any company are there at will - theirs as well as the company’s. They go willingly. They can leave. Warehouse work of any kind has always been hard. If conditions are so bad, protest to Amazon or leave.
5 people like this.
Reply 40 - Posted by:
SALady 6/28/2021 12:04:13 PM (No. 829226)
I can't stand the people behind Amazon. But the reality of today is that they are often the only source for certain things at a reasonable price.
My husband has a side business where he builds and modifies custom electronics for people. He used to get most of his parts at Fry's Electronics, but they went out of business earlier this year (and even stopped carrying much stock a couple of years before that). Now he is basically forced to get his parts on Amazon, since trying to buy them locally would cost 3-4 times what they cost on Amazon and would keep him from making any profit at all.
I am in my 60's. When I was a kid, there were small neighborhood grocery stores, and small 5 & dime stores. Now there are large chain grocery stores and Wal-Marts and Targets. Times change, and clearly not always for the better. Sadly, Amazon is the model of the future right now. I'm sort of glad that I won't be around for what comes after that!!!
3 people like this.
Reply 41 - Posted by:
earlybird 6/28/2021 12:28:51 PM (No. 829269)
Re #38, I can’t imagine pulling a stunt like that. Most of us have better, more decent things to do.
6 people like this.
Reply 42 - Posted by:
Dodge Boy 6/28/2021 1:09:35 PM (No. 829327)
I never signed onto Aprime for the same reasons I never signed onto facebook, tweeter, or instagram. And for the same reason I don't use google's browser and replaced it with Duckduckgo. And for the same reason our alexa is left turned off. And for the same reason I don't do youtube. And for the same reason I leave my smart phone in airplane mode when not in use and use caller ID when in use. And for the same reason we do not consume the msm's news products.
4 people like this.
Reply 43 - Posted by:
RedWhite&Blue2 6/28/2021 1:24:10 PM (No. 829341)
Everyone has an opinion or suggestion so riddle me this....where do I buy stuff if I dislike Amazon EBay Walmart Home Depot Barnes & Noble Lowe’s and Target??????
They’re ALL corporate monopolies and they all lean far left...We rarely see a conservative major outlet and no conservative news networks like abc nbc cbs...we are still all consumers with absolutely NOBODY fighting for us (remember Fight Back with David Horowitz?)as conservative consumers..the left controls us and we don’t even know it!
8 people like this.
Reply 44 - Posted by:
Donna M 6/28/2021 3:36:27 PM (No. 829467)
#40 for small electronics parts try MicroCenter if computer and Newegg. There are lots of independent stores on a simple search--no need to further enrich Emperor Bezos.
1 person likes this.
Reply 45 - Posted by:
Philipsonh 6/28/2021 3:57:16 PM (No. 829480)
I actually read the foolish article. What nonsense. It implies if you do not use AMAZON/PRIME you ain't living. I use it once in awhile when they have the product I want at the best price, but I prefer to use other vendors. I do not have PRIME. I do NOT need AMAZON or PRIME. Does anyone ??
1 person likes this.
Reply 46 - Posted by:
local500 6/28/2021 7:23:57 PM (No. 829690)
I have little to no problem with their size. But what disgusts me is their banners on the home page, on the shopping home page, on the prime video home back all forcing the lgbtq mafia garbage on you, the BLM indoctrination too.
I am now considering cancelling my prime subscription. I did not pay that yearly fee to be forced to see drag queens and other freaks on my TV or devices.
0 people like this.