A Year Without Amazon
Saying “No” to the big online retailer.
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One of our New Year’s resolutions for 2020 my wife and I decided on was to no longer shop at Amazon. You’d think that as a collector Amazon would be the ultimate retailer for me. Well, if I didn’t have a conscience, it probably would be.
Constant stories about how Amazon doesn’t pay its staff correctly, doesn’t allow them toilet breaks, is killing off bookstores only to then have the cheek to donate £250,000 to “save” them, selling books below cost to undermine other competitors, trying to smear those ex-employees who dare speak ill of the company and more makes one wonder how anyone could support such a business. Further to this, people we know very well who are in the publishing industry have spoken to us about unscrupulous practices that Amazon has forced upon them.
Amazon actually charges publishers to investigate bootleg copies of their books that are being sold on the Amazon marketplace!
With lockdown, it turns out that while many people are losing their jobs, Jeff Bezos’ earnings actually went up. As always, the rich are making money off the suffering of the poor, and Amazon is one of the biggest recipients. Now, this would be fine if Bezos funnelled those profits back into his staff, or helped the research for a COVID cure, or donated to relief efforts. But no, he’s done none of that. He’s too busy becoming a supervillain.
We decided we didn’t want to continue supporting such a company. It’s been a year (well, pretty close) and I have to admit…I’ve not missed it at all. Over 2020 so I’ve purchased something like 20 to 30 graphic novels, as many collectables and at least a dozen books. None of these have come from Amazon.
For my books and graphic novels, the majority I’ve bought from Waterstones and Forbidden Planet, British bookstore and comic chains. (And yes, I admit Waterstones haven’t been without their issues). For collectables, they’ve come from Forbidden Planet, Zavvi, eBay or directly from the manufacturer. Games I now buy either…
