A solemn hello to you all. It is time. Time for me to confess something that I’ve been ashamed of for quite some time now. There’s no easy way for me to say this: I’m an Amazon shopper! This won’t be easy to write, so I’d better get on with it before I lose my nerve.
I shop on Amazon a lot. So much so that I half suspect the reason Jeff Bezos felt financially secure enough to walk away from Amazon was mostly down to my purchases. It’s just so darn convenient! If you are a Prime member (which I am) you can get free next-day delivery on virtually anything. For some items, you can even get same day delivery.
It’s at this juncture that I imagine some of you are confused as to what is so shameful about any of this. Let me tell you:
1. Amazon pay very little tax
In 2019, Amazon (along with another 7 big tech companies) made £9.6bn profit from selling to UK customers. Between them, they only paid just shy of £300m in tax. By shifting money abroad, they avoided paying £1.5bn in tax (all figures here). It makes my blood boil that the richest (i.e. those who can most easily afford it) often seem to avoid paying tax, while the rest of us regular folk see plenty of tax deducted from our pay packets.
Just think how useful that extra tax money could be. We’re often told by the Government that there’s no magic money tree to solve our problems. But there is literal billions being siphoned away. The next time you hear that there isn’t enough money to properly fund the NHS, or to feed hungry kids, or to combat homelessness, just remember that tax avoidance is part of the problem.
2. Terrible working conditions
It’s been common knowledge for a while now that the conditions for those working in Amazon’s warehouses are appalling. Long hours, low wages, with workers having to pee in bottles to keep up with the constant churn of consumer goods.
And things aren’t much better for Amazon delivery drivers either. They have to provide their own vehicle and pay for all their own petrol (luckily petrol is very reasonably priced these days…), which means they have to deliver an unbelievable amount of items to actually make any money.
These workers (along with shopping/takeaway delivery drivers) were absolute heroes during the lockdowns. Putting their health at risk so the rest of us could maintain a modicum of normality. Do we reward them in any way? No. We do our best to ignore the issue. And if anyone has the temerity to speak out about the poor working conditions, we tell them they should be grateful to even have a job.
3. Destruction of local businesses
To put it bluntly, there’s just no way local businesses can compete with Amazon. For anyone who is like me – someone who hates walking around shops and prefers to avoid interacting with strangers wherever possible – internet shopping is manna from heaven.
The convenience of being able to find exactly what you need quickly from the comfort of your own home is difficult to go head to head with. And really, what can local businesses do? Even if they could afford to offer lower prices than what you’ll find online, pricks like me would probably happily pay more money for the ‘privilege’ of shopping from home.
4. Destruction of the environment
I know that not many people have much time for tree-hugging Extinction Rebellion types, but the simple fact is that global warming (or climate change, or whatever you want to call it) is very real and will only get worse unless we start to make some pretty drastic changes. So it’s a real shame that Amazon’s next day delivery is so bad for the environment.
A number of studies (such as this one) suggest that attempting to deliver items so quickly means that it’s more likely that delivery vehicles will be sent out before being full, meaning more trips need to be taken. Of course, we could just request a more reasonable delivery time frame. But when I need a new potato peeler, I need it pronto dammit!
I know all the above and yet, I just can’t seem to stop. The power of being able to summon almost anything to my home is too tempting to turn down. Essentially, it’s selfishness; the convenience and relative low cost is more important to me than the above mentioned issues that I have with Amazon.
This is doubly shameful when I think back to a conversation I had a few years back. My wife and I had some friends over and I offered one of our friends a drink. She politely said “No”, with the reason given that she didn’t drink Coca-Cola products. She further elaborated on why, educating me on some of the environmental issues they cause, as well as controversy over animal testing.
And do you know what I did? I scoffed. I said something along the lines of “Well, if you’re going to boycott Coca-Cola, surely you also have to boycott companies like Apple and Nike, both of whom have been accused of similar things.”. Looking back, clearly I was more interested in appearing smart – or winning an argument – than I was in being a good friend and just listening.
Furthermore, the argument I made doesn’t even make sense. It would be like responding to someone who gives money to a cancer charity with “Well, there’s lots of other deadly diseases out there. Unless you give money to all of them, you’re not really helping.”. It’s such a bad take! Of course there are always more shady corporations. Of course there are lots of worthy charities. But all we can do is our part, no matter how big or small.
What this woman clearly had (and still has) is principles. She found an issue and took a strong stance. I very much doubt she’ll read this but – just in case – I’m sorry I didn’t respond better to your cause at the time. I have nothing but admiration for you now. One can only hope that my principles kick in at some point and I become an ex-Amazon customer.
That’s all from me folks. Will I stop using Amazon? Not unlike a lot of Tory MPs, I have no confidence. But time will tell. I’m off on holiday pretty soon, so it may be a while until my next blog post. Until then, take it easy.
Rob Recommends
Cobra Kai – TV – Netflix – 9/10
It definitely feels like there’s been a bit of an 80s revival happening over the last few years. If you look at the success of the show Stranger Things, or even the Creed movies (which act as sequels to 80s movies) it’s clear to see audiences still relish the decade in which I was born. There’s just been a Top Gun sequel released as well. Cobra Kai is full of 80s nostalgia and is incredible.
A beautifully told story with a lot of heart, Cobra Kai is funny and genuinely touching. Chock full of call backs to the Karate Kid films, with plenty of original actors popping up now and again.
If you’re going to nitpick, it could be argued that some of the fight scenes involving the older actors aren’t the best; it’s clear at times that the actors are moving quite slow. But what do you expect, they’re in their 50s. And it is more than made up for by the teenage cast members, most of whom seem to be fantastic athletes and fighters.
The fight choreography is some of the best I’ve seen in a while (particularly during the climax in the final episode of season 2 and season 3). If you are a fan of Karate Kid, this show is essential viewing. Even if you’re not a Karate Kid fan, this might just still be worth a go. You won’t be disappointed.
A Rob Blog 