The Struggle to Say “Goodbye” to Amazon

The cost of convenience

This isn’t new information

We’ve known for awhile that Amazon treats its workers terribly. And it certainly did not escape us that our online shopping habit might be an insult to the environment as well.

Yet like many, we pushed those concerns down and continued feeding the monster anyway.

How we got “hooked”

When our son was born and we both worked full-time, shopping on Amazon felt like a deserved reward for our hard work. I’d like to say we didn’t realize as much back then as we do now about the company’s questionable practices, but I honestly don’t remember. We were tired, and it was easy. And so we did it.

Fast forward to almost a decade later when the world was rocked with a pandemic. During that time, like so many others, we became even more reliant on the behemoth, and it seems we never fully returned to our previous practices. Though we did shop on Amazon as I mentioned previously, I don’t think it permeated our consumer habits nearly in the way that it has until today.

But that’s not all

Somewhere in all of this, too, came Kindles and Audible. Then we have the Rings monitoring every entry point to our house. And when I found myself running a small channel all about my dog a couple of years ago, of course I became an Amazon associate so I might benefit if I recommended an item for dogs that a viewer chose to purchase.

All of these, and I haven’t even mentioned some of the other “big names” that Amazon now owns like Whole Foods, IMDb, Goodreads, and MGM.

Finally, we face the elephant in the room, she-who-shall-not-be-named lest we be overheard.

She, and therefore Amazon, have crept their way into our home and our lives to the point that they know when I wake up in the morning, when I take my meds, how often I have visitors to my house or even when someone simply walks by.

Amazon helps me when I’m too lazy to pull out a calculator to solve an equation I can’t do in my head. If I forget a fact I can’t be bothered to look up on my own, Amazon can tell me what they “found” from XYZ site in a scan of the web.

I ask Amazon about the weather, and Amazon encourages me to “establish a routine” and even shares shopping tips for when my husband’s favorite author releases a new book or it’s on a great sale.

Holy crap!

This is terrifying when you line it all up and look at it in whole. I think for a long while, we justified it by assuring ourselves that if we had nothing to hide, we had no reason to *really* be concerned.

But I’ll tell you what: Times they *are* a changin’.

AND STILL we’ve discussed that we’re not sure we’re ready to give up Alexa despite our move to give up the company she is intertwined with from top to bottom.

Are we alone?

I’m sure we aren’t the only family in this predicament, and you can be sure it is no coincidence. Amazon, and all the “services” they provide, provide us one thing: convenience.

This family, however, has finally decided to be inconvenienced.

I’m proud to say our family is saying its goodbyes to Amazon for the foreseeable future.

Like the rent, the cost we pay this company is “too damn high.”

The cost to our privacy

I figured I’d start here because I pretty much covered this one above. Amazon knows my whereabouts, my routines, and my shopping habits. Today especially, this is no longer acceptable.

The cost to our humanity

Our outrage surrounding selfish political moves combined with others’ inspiring national boycotts have motivated us to act now.

We can no longer support businesses out only for themselves. Greed, of course, is nothing new.

Almost 175 years ago, Henry David Thoreau responded to the American Industrial Revolution and the rise of the railroad saying, “We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us. Did you ever think what those sleepers are that underlie the railroad? Each one is a man…The rails are laid on them, and they are covered with sand, and the cars run smoothly over them. And every few years a new lot is laid down and run over; so that, if some have the pleasure of riding on a rail, others have the misfortune to be ridden upon.”

Perhaps the industry of concern has changed, but our reality has not.

Amazon’s treatment of its workers was never acceptable. Add to this the insult of walking back their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion practices, and we will not lay one more grain of sand on that track.

The cost to our dignity

At this point, shopping on Amazon just makes me feel gross. If Amazon is the new “train,” I’m ashamed we’ve ridden it this long.

I realize not every family is in the situation we find ourselves in today. For some who live in remote areas, Amazon may be their best option, especially for sourcing more difficult items. It’s not always easy to find what we need in brick and mortar stores, and even hunting for these items online can involve time – and if they’re already Prime members – an extra cost for shipping they can’t afford. Some people, too, just don’t have the capacity for “one more thing” right now. And that’s absolutely OK and understandable.

In contrast, we live just outside of a large, metropolitan city. Our son is now old enough to be left at home while we run errands. I currently work significantly fewer hours than I used to, and I do so from my home, so I have the time and mental energy to invest in researching and locating alternative options to fill the “hole” that Amazon leaves behind.

It may not be fun for us, and it may not be easy, but it’s manageable. And for that reason, it is well past time for our family to make the change

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Resources for You

I have already begun digging to find alternatives to replace Amazon. We have also decided to forgo a former favorite, Target, and have never supported Walmart to begin with, so neither of those are options we are considering for this change.

I recently started an account on Benable, a site where you can share a variety of lists with friends, neighbors, or anyone who is interested. If you would find it helpful, you are welcome to check out my first list, which provides a few alternative stores and marketplaces if you have also made the decision to scale back, or pull back entirely, your purchases from the “big three” I listed above.

The list is still very much in progress, but if you are interested, you can find it here: https://benable.com/ctrlzdigitaldesigns/boycotting-a-few-other-places-to-shop-instead

After this initial list, I also plan to add a list for some non-traditional, more eco-friendly options for replacing our former go-to’s, as well as a resource for going a bit “greener” if that is something you have been considering during this volatile time as well.

If you plan to give up one, two, or all three of these businesses, I’d love to hear from you. And if you’re thinking of trying to go more “green” with the recent relaxation of environmental laws in the United States, I’d love to hear about that as well.