“If all online products at all online stores are the same, then of course I’ll use a price-shopping Web site to find the cheapest product”
― Seth Godin, Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?
It seems like nowadays everybody complaints about the damage to the environment and to small business owners caused by the shipping of very important packages containing vital objects.
And still everybody keeps ordering stuff online. Why? Well, because you can get everything online. Usually it is cheaper, and they bring it to you house – unless you get the one shitty delivery service that does not even bother to knock before leaving you a notice. You end up going into a small shop in a part of the city you never heard before.
Regarding small businesses: I don’t even have one in mind. Seriously! I’m sure we have some – every city does – but I really don’t think I’ve ever been in one. Probably because they don’t usually last long enough for people to notice. They tend to succumb to the pressure of competing with big companies. These have the advantage of having enough money to wait for people to get accustomed to them; also, they offer more or less the same shitty range of products everywhere you go. And there goes individuality. How are we supposed to get things we like if we are not given a choice? It’s like with little kids, when they try to stand up for themselves and we give them the feeling they got a choice: “Do you want to take a bath before or after dinner?” They will still end up taking a bath if they want or not.
Likewise, we still end up buying the same clothes in different colours, but we get to choose the label. More or less, I mean it depends on the kind of money we earn, but we could save up for the expensive ones if we wanted to; they also last longer depending on the price range. So why can’t I shake the feeling that it is a little like giving free stuff to rich people? They have the money for it so why get stuff for free? Does it really make much more sense to make poor people pay for everything?
There are of course those who try to sabotage the system. Those who still order online but not from Amazon. Does that really make a difference? I really don’t know. Do you?
Regarding the environment: big companies ship lots of containers through the world. They exploit poor countries to reduce manufacturing costs and maximize their income. If you take a look around the corner or if you go for a walk to the pier, you’ll see huge amounts of shipping tanks clouding the sky in front of you. Now I don’t know about you, but I avoid ordering from the other end of the world, mostly because it takes way too long to arrive. For some reasons it is cheaper to order English books from the US then the UK but overall, the main traffic remains restricted to the EU.
Do you remember people panicking because of the increased use of the internet? They thought people would stop reading books and the post offices would close. I think we can agree, that after so many years, it still isn’t the case.
Next time you brag about buying your made in China, Taiwan or whatever thing in your local store, ask yourself how it came to be there and remember that you could have gotten a cheaper and more beautiful one online. In some cases, you could stumble upon small local shops, which sell online only to avoid paying too much to rent a place in the middle of the city. Give it a try.
Aromatic deception 