Liberation Day

[steepholm]

My Fellow Dreamwidthers,

For too long now, Amazon (and no doubt the rest of Brazil) has enjoyed a huge trade imbalance with my household.

I have bought books, small electrical items, those little wotchermacallits-that-my-local-shop-doesn't-stock, and more, from them. They, meanwhile, have bought precisely NOTHING from me.

I call it an imbalance - but it's better seen as the result of trade barriers imposed by Amazon. For example, while Amazon has a button that allows me to BUY goods, there is no button that allows me to SELL goods to them! This, despite the fact that I have a spare bedroom full of old toys, clothes, chipped mugs and so on that I'd be glad to sell! If that's not an unfair trading practice, what is?

As a result, I am here to announce that from today I will be imposing a 100% TARIFF on all goods bought from Amazon. Admittedly this will make their goods twice as expensive, but that expense will be paid for by the money I receive in tariffs, making Amazon goods effectively FREE.

God bless Amazonia.

Comments

[zasu]

Wise decision 👏

[cmcmck]

Problem has become that Amazon and its like are no often the only place you can find certain things especially if you live in a small, rural town.

[heleninwales]

Exactly this. I always try to find whatever I want in town first. Failing that I'll try one of the businesses I've used for years and who sell online. I recently bought a larger clothes airer. The local shop only had a very small one, but JD Williams, a business I've bought from mail order since the 1970s had just the thing.

But sometimes the only place I can find things is on Amazon, e.g. a watch strap narrow enough for my watch.

[conuly]

Good luck?

[larryhammer]

We've been reducing as much as we can ordering from the Big River, but for some things we haven't found reasonable alternate local sources. Still working on that.

Both Janni and I have been selling things there, though -- our books. Most of my book income, enough for a six-pack of cider a month, comes from it. Ditto Janni, and she earns way more.