More and more people are starting to recognize the numerous flaws of the e-commerce giant Amazon and are no longer buying their products. Instead, many are choosing to shop directly from local businesses when possible. Here are 17 reasons why we recommend avoiding making purchases from Amazon.
Amazon Exploits Workers and Fights Unions
A union needs to exist because workers face constant exploitation, particularly from large, powerful corporations, and need protection from them. However, Amazon is not in favor of unions. In April 2024, The Guardian reported on Amazon’s bid to cut down on unions, quoting one worker as saying the company would do ‘whatever it takes’ to limit them.
Amazon’s Environmental Impact is Significant
Amazon’s carbon emissions are comparable to those of small countries, which is pretty shocking to think about for a single business. They use far too much packaging for most of their deliveries (we’ve all had a tiny item delivered in a large box), and the number of delivery vehicles on the road makes things worse.
Free Shipping is Not Unique to Amazon
People think that being an Amazon Prime member gives them the exclusive benefit of free shipping, but this is also possible without a paid subscription through other large retailers like Walmart and Target. Plus, it’s easier to pick up your items in-store with these as well.
Questionable Business Practices
Many times, Amazon has faced allegations of price fixing, particularly with e-books. It’s also been known to use data from third-party sales to create products, and both of these things aren’t good for us as consumers or for other businesses, especially small ones.
Amazon’s Tax Practices
In 2022, the Institution on Taxation and Foreign Policy announced that Amazon had avoided some $5 billion in business income tax in 2021. It should have paid $7.3 billion, but it got away with paying just $2.1 billion.
Limited Benefits of Amazon Prime Membership
Many of the benefits that people get when they sign up for a subscription with Amazon Prime, like video streaming and e-books, have better alternatives. For example, Netflix has a lot more content than Prime Video, and there are several better places to buy and rent e-books.
Data Privacy Concerns
Amazon is in the business of hoarding its customers’ data, which raises many concerns. Not only does it buy data from third parties, but it has been known to sell to them, too, which compromises user privacy. Moreover, Amazon’s cloud services are used by government agencies for surveillance.
Negative Impact on Local Economies
Investopedia claims that “Amazon is responsible for 37.8% of all online retail sales in the U.S.” So, it’s pretty clear that the company is taking a lot of business from smaller companies, and this is damaging economies at the local level.
Ethical Concerns with Product Sourcing
Quite a few of the products that are sold on Amazon are sourced from unethical suppliers. This leads to issues such as child labor, underpayment for production staff, and counterfeit products. The bottom line is that Amazon does not go far enough to check its product sources.
Increasing Cost of Amazon Prime
We’ve already examined Amazon Prime’s actual content, but there’s also much to be said about the service’s increasing cost. It seems to be going up all the time, and now, many people are paying much more than they originally wanted.
Complicated Return Policies
Getting a return directly from Amazon usually won’t cause you too much hassle, but they can be difficult to deal with when mediating a return from a third-party seller. Customers have been made to wait for a long time or have had returns outright refused for no good reason.
Controversial Role in Immigration Policies
Not too long ago, it emerged that Amazon’s technology was used by government agencies to track immigrants, and this practice still continues. Naturally, this is highly controversial, as it raises serious ethical concerns about Amazon’s collaboration with law enforcement.
Over-Reliance on One Retailer
Basic economics tells us that a company operating without competition is always going to be bad news. Standards of operation can slip, and prices can go up, with customers not even noticing as they’ve become so embedded in the Amazon machine.
Misleading Reviews and Ratings
Wired has told us that many of the reviews on Amazon are fake, which means you never really know how good a product is. Even verified products can be unreliable, with sellers manipulating the review system to mislead customers into buying them.
Amazon’s Role in Media Monopolies
The company’s ownership of platforms like Audible and Twitch raises concerns about how much they’re monopolizing certain industries. There’s really no diversity and competition in many areas anymore because of them, and that’s bad for the economy in general and for consumers.
Impact on Authors and Publishers
Amazon’s revenue from sales of e-books and hard copies is very small indeed. This means that authors and publishers aren’t getting a fair slice of the pie for the work they put in. The company’s pricing strategies can also devalue books and other creative work.
Issues with Amazon’s Customer Service
The level of customer service at Amazon seems to have dropped off over the past few years. Delivery drivers have been known to mishandle parcels, throwing them over gates or not leaving them where they said they would. Handling disputes and complaints has become a large burden, so it’s not looking good for customers.
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