Can We Live Without Amazon?

An interesting concept has emerged over the last 10-15 years. It started out as the minimalist movement. The minimalist movement is basically owning nothing that doesn’t bring you happiness or things you are not actively using. Most of these people realized they were more stressed and burdened by owning too many things.

From minimalism, we have seen people move to the buy-nothing concept. People who participate in buying nothing are trying to escape the trap of consumerism. For some, it is a way to save money to pay down debt. For others, this eliminates the need to own many things. Everyone who participates in the buy-nothing concept has their own rules. You can determine how long you want to do it, what things are acceptable to purchase, and where you are going to spend your money.

Both of these things were born from rampant consumerism. Consumerism has been around for a very long time. If you needed to purchase something, you could go to the store and do that. Until online shopping became prevalent in the early 2000s, people had to drive or walk to a store to make purchases or order by mail from a catalog. It was harder to purchase and receive things.

The game changed with the advent of Amazon Prime. Amazon Prime launched in 2005 and included an unlimited two-day delivery subscription service. It didn’t really take off until 2010 when Prime Video and other services were added to the subscription. Now, people can have almost anything they want in a short time.

Amazon has become an asset for people living in rural areas. While you can order from other websites, Amazon offers goods that people in rural areas would otherwise have to drive 2-3 hours to purchase (I speak from experience). With Amazon, you know right away whether something is available. Driving 2-3 hours to purchase an item becomes a gamble because the store may or may not have it in stock. With many stores now, you can see online what they have in stock, but that is only if their inventory systems are up to date.

Amazon has also become an asset for busy people who do not want to spend time going to a store. Point, click, and ship makes their lives easier. They are busy with kids and work and need one more thing taken off their plate. They are also the reason for the popularity of ordering groceries online for pickup or delivery.

What Amazon did was force other companies to develop an online presence with the ability to ship quickly. You might get four packages in one order, but you generally receive those items within 2-5 days. But unless you order from Walmart or Target, the range of items you can find may be limited, unlike on Amazon, which pretty much carries almost everything.

The real question is this: Can we live without Amazon? I know there are people who do because they refuse to give them money. They refuse to support Jeff Bezos or give the mega conglomerate any money. They refuse to participate in the rampant consumerism that many people take as a lifestyle.

I have been an advocate for local first for a very long time. I do my best to purchase many of our household items from local businesses and farms. However, I am limited in choices. The closest city to me is 5500 people. All we have is Hy-Vee, Fareway, Bomgaars, Dollar General, and Dollar Tree. There are small local businesses, but many of them sell boutique clothing or home goods.

The closest Walmart and Target are 45- 60 miles away. The same with Aldi, Fleet Farm, and Menards. Many of the supplements we take are not provided in our area. ‘Specialty’ foods are not available. Hence, we turn to Amazon to provide those goods.

There is a growing group of people who say no to Amazon. I watch many of them and I see the value in their logic. It’s gotten to the point where I am doing it too. I avoid Amazon as much as I can, but there comes a point when I need to purchase things I cannot find in stores.

Could you walk away from Amazon? There are many factors that could lead you to do so. I have already talked about a few of them. One of the biggest problems I see with people who use Amazon (including myself) is that it is so easy to click, add to cart, pay, and go on your merry way.

You don’t truly contemplate your purchase. You don’t pause and wait to buy something. You don’t have the drive to go to the store, look at your options, check prices, and ask yourself if you really need the item. You don’t have the pause to talk yourself out of a purchase.

I do know there are people who will wait three days or longer before buying anything online. They take the pause no matter what. However, many people like instant gratification and want the item now. I do pause and end up deleting many items from my cart. It’s a system of checks and balances that has worked very well for me over the years.

In this era of instant gratification, people confuse their needs with their wants. To be fair, everyone’s needs and wants are different. However, we are more influenced than ever by advertisements and creators who want us to buy their products. Everyone is trying to make a living, but most of them depend on us spending money to do so.

This leads to money issues. Credit card debt is rampant in the United States. It’s too easy to put everything on a card and worry about that problem when the bill arrives. With online shopping, many people keep their card numbers on file with Amazon. They just click ‘checkout’ and all their information is stored so they do not have to take any extra steps. They do not physically take the card out of their wallet and consider whether to use it.

(If you are looking for ways to save money, do not keep your cards on file. That pause of entering the information could be enough for you to ask if you need the item. Companies allow you to keep your card on file to encourage you to spend more and make thoughtless purchases. One more way they are manipulating you.)

The answer is yes, you can live without Amazon. You might spend more time looking for alternatives. You may need to go to the store to purchase the item yourself. You may have to consider if you really need the convenience. However, if you continue to support Amazon, your hard-earned money goes to a billionaire, while the store in your town employs local citizens and adds value to your community.

Speaking from experience, when a major employer leaves a community, the community struggles. They can start a downward spiral, losing people and other businesses. The communities began to fail to thrive. Then they become a place for people to live, but nothing else.

Amazon doesn’t care if they destroy a local economy. They only care about their bottom line.

Thanks for reading,
Erica

Erica Nygaard writes, lives, and breathes prepping, self-sufficiency, & frugal living. She also likes to point out the ironies of today's world in various ways and consider the alternatives in life. You can find her here on Substack and on her website, https://www.livinglifeinruraliowa.com. She has also written two ebooks: The Prepper’s Yearbook and The Dirty Truth About Homesteading.