Amazon, Amazing.

[SparklyKid]

Lil next door gave me a shopping list yesterday for Christmas. She wanted some paco rabanne for her son.

I ordered it yesterday and it arrived today.

Amazon will make a killing this month during lockdown.

[naomi24]

Yes, I agree. Apart from supermarkets, Amazon will be the business that really benefits from lockdown.

[emmie]

yes they will whilst other businesses go bust

[Bobbisox1]

My Amazon man should be on my Xmas card list, we are getting to know each other quite well haha

[Bobbisox1]

Sadly that's through Covid Emmie

[emmie]

not all of covid is at fault, people shop on line when we have no virus and many small business can't compete

[emmie]

i will go shopping out when the time comes, but not now when feeling rough. shopping online is so much quicker and easier i confess

[naomi24]

Apart from what I've actually needed, I've bought very little this year. Clothes I have, and I don't like shopping anyway but with no foreign holidays, not a lot of going out or socialising, what's to buy?

I will use Amazon for Christmas presents though.

[emmie]

i have replaced winter coats, jackets, i get mine from Cotton Traders who are excellent, good quality clothing at reasonable prices, not to mention a pretty good and safe returns system

[emmie]

i will also use Amazon for gifts, though there isn't too many i buy for these days.

[barry1010]

There is a small business half a mile from me, it has been there at least 30 years. His business is booming because of his online sales - he sells home and abroad and most of his goods are large and heavy, can't be slipped in to a jiffy bag and the post box. His online sales outstripped shop sales long before lockdown.

The last bed I bought was online from another small business which I would never have found without the internet. (I already had a bed and wanted another of the same make/model).

Small shops can and do compete.

[emmie]

perhaps but many have gone bust, as have chain stores.

[retrocop]

Mikey will be spinning in his grave. He hated Amazon with a vengence.
Good luck to them. They always seem to come up with the goods and are efficient. Something lacking in the UK these days imo.

[Bobbisox1]

I only use Amazon for times such as Christmas gifting and 'hard'stuff like lamps etc, never for food though

[Bobbisox1]

Arh dear Mikey, I miss his input same as AOG

[AuntPollyGrey]

Small Independent businesses can sell on Amazon, just like they do on eBay except obviously there is no bidding. You can still support small businesses by shopping online, in fact online sales have been the only thing keeping many small retail shops afloat since way before Covid.

[barry1010]

Big stores went bust before Amazon became so popular - Woolies, C&A, Littlewoods, BHS, Tandy, Do It All, Rumblows, Kwik Save are just a few.

[sherrardk]

I use Amazon all year round for everything that’s not food related. I pay £7.99 a month for Amazon Prime which I share with boy #1 (so he gets free deliveries to his uni house) and we can all access Amazon TV, books and music - I can’t fault them.

[gingejbee]

barry...C&A didn't "go bust"...it simply closed it's UK operation.
It's still a thriving business in many European countries.

[barry1010]

Good point, ginge, but it wasn't because of Amazon that they decided to leave the UK

[woofgang]

Yes i am both a big Amazon and Cotton Traders user. Every time I see one of those "support local/small business" comments anywhere I comment that I would encourage EVERY small/local business to establish some kind of online selling presence even if its only as simple as an email account, somewhere to post pictures and a paypal account.