[quote=Sedai][quote=John McClane]Amazon pushes itself as being customer obsessed.

That, in and of itself, is evil.

Ok, now I will shut up. :lol:[/quote]

Every business is focused on their customers - that's the very definition of business. Good businesses are also focused on taking care of their employees, which Amazon has come under fire for from time to time. Still, not seeing how any of this is evil, when considering the definition of the word.[/quote]

[quote=John McClane]Oh man, don't even get me started about the boxes that are three times bigger than necessary. :rotfl:[/quote]

[quote=doubledenim][font=century Gothic]Amazon and Walmart mail-orders supply all my packaging needs.

I'm tempted to return items that arrive without packaged air. [/font][/quote]

[quote=John McClane]I'm the dude who parks in BF Egpyt and hits three or more stores without ever moving the car, and if I buy anything I will take it back to the car before I go to the next store. Planned transportation. :D[/quote]

[quote=Austruck]Apologies if your shouts did not convince me. My own Amazon shopping habits have saved me many, many trips out in the car. 

Clearly you're just not doing it right. :D[/quote]

[quote=John McClane]Amazon pushes itself as being customer obsessed.

That, in and of itself, is evil.

Ok, now I will shut up. :lol:[/quote]

[quote=John McClane]So my argument, essentially, is that Amazon has disrupted our economy by introducing a pollution heavy service. Its services haven�t detracted from our CO2 emissions.

It wasn�t until just a couple years ago, and after immense pressure, that they committed to being carbon neutral. And that�s not going to happen until like 2040 something!

And that�s because their supply chain and service has grown so massive and wasteful that it will take decades to fix it.[/quote]

[quote=John McClane]Shout bump[/quote]

[quote=John McClane]"Experts say that e-commerce could actually, if optimized, be beneficial for the environment. Getting into your personal vehicle and going to the store isn�t very efficient, but consolidating multiple shoppers� deliveries into one vehicle can be. Anne Goodchild, director of the University of Washington�s Supply Chain Transportation and Logistics Center, told BuzzFeed News, “Broadly speaking, delivery services have the potential to dramatically reduce miles traveled.”

However, people aren�t offsetting the traffic to shopping malls and grocery stores by buying online. "The problem is we are still doing both, meaning there are more emissions and more congestion," Jaller said. In fact, the number of trucks (which includes all types, not just delivery vehicles) on the road has doubled since 1995."

https://depts.washington.edu/sctlctr/news-events/in-the-news/hidden-environmental-cost-amazon-prime�s-free-fast-shipping[/quote]

[quote=John McClane]But truly, Amazon and company destroyed my hometown�s shopping ability. There used to be sooo many places around here to get whatever you needed. Same day shopping > 2 day shipping.

Only a handful of places have survived and even their inventory has been affected by the online trend. If I lived in/near a major city I�m sure I would love Amazon.[/quote]

[quote=John McClane]That�s the thing: I�m not buying from them. I think I did all of 5 transactions last year, which makes their returns all the more aggravating. I only buy from them if it�s cheaper than someone else by a large margin. Otherwise, I�ll stop by whatever store I need to when it is convenient: I ascribe to the “planned transportation” model.

I think the real root of the issue here is I just miss the 90s and Amazon seems like a convenient scapegoat. ;)[/quote]