this post was submitted on 31 Jan 2024
1099 points (95.2% liked)

Technology

59656 readers
2707 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each another!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
L3s@lemmy.world
L3s@fry.gs
L4s@fry.gs
L4s@lemmy.world
enu@lemmy.world
1099
It’s Surprisingly Easy to Live Without an Amazon Prime Subscription (slate.com)
submitted 10 months ago by AnActOfCreation@programming.dev to c/technology@lemmy.world
428 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 
  • The author canceled their Amazon Prime subscription on a whim and realized they didn't really need it.
  • Leaving Prime meant slower shipping but the author was happy to wait and still found the selection and delivery speed satisfactory.
  • Many people love Prime for its fast shipping and convenience, but some readers expressed ambivalence and considered canceling.

Archive link: https://archive.ph/3M27c

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] abraxas@sh.itjust.works 18 points 9 months ago (1 children)

It's an extreme-case prisoner's dilemma. For shoppers to prevent a Walmart/Amazon monopoly, people would have to both give up convenience AND affordability in hope that everyone else had the same radical values. There were PLENTY of boycotters for both, but they just weren't anywhere near enough.

At some point, when you're starving and Sam Walton comes by and offers you food your family can afford, you pull the trigger. And I don't fault someone who does that.

[–] Silentiea@lemm.ee 4 points 9 months ago

For real. It would obviously be better if they didn't use such destructive and predatory practices, but "vote with your dollars" isn't an option for a lot of the people these businesses earn most of their money from.

It turns out that there is, in fact, a case to be made for regulation and labor organizations in these situations.