Is Amazon as Bad as Walmart?

I just read an article from Business Insider that I thought you guys might like. One of the passages that could summarize the piece goes as follows.

While Amazon has been applauded for its impressive benefits, the company has been criticized following reports of long hours and poor working conditions in warehouses. Some white-collar workers have described a brutal working environment where people cry at their desks after being pushed to their breaking point.

Furthermore, Amazon is starting to take some of the blame that Walmart received in years past for destroying small business.There's plenty of media coverage on why Amazon has cut into the market share of local retail, but I've never really considered Amazon as a company that would have the same destructive tendencies as Walmart. However, it seems pretty clear that Amazon has amplified the assault on small business.

At what point does the destruction that Amazon and Walmart creates overcome the benefit that they provide? I've been considering this question for a while, and I'd like to hear what you guys think. I know that when I visit my parents in my home time every year it seems more and more small retailers have closed their doors. Sure, I can probably get what I would have gotten at a local retailer at either Walmart or Amazon, but I feel something is lost in the process.

Article: http://www.businessinsider.com/Amazon-is-the-new-…

17 Comments
 

Amazon Now is probably the greatest thing I've ever used in my life. Being able to order a massive variety of products an have them at your door within 2 hours on a Sunday is amazing, the convenience factor is out of this world.

 
Best Response

I could not possibly care if Amazon destroys small businesses or if Amazon employees cry at their desk jobs.

I want lower prices and convenience and Amazon delivers, literally and figuratively, on both fronts.

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

Yeah, there's no doubt that Amazon is a terrible business that's ruining a ton of good shit in the world. Their relentless pursuit to satisfy the consumer is the exact same shit walmart did.

They make a buck, destroy rural america, then we're all too poor to afford quality shit and import it all from developing countries.

The friends I have working there are too busy comparing dick sizes in their own little gladiator game to actually care about how they're affecting people on the outside. They're trynna get into every sector but are just propped up by their big $$ until they kill off the competition.

Not only that, but AWS is the only actual profitable thing they have going for them...

If they can't keep the competitive edge in tech, don't go long on Amazon. They purposely stay fragile af to keep their caffeine-fueled foreign contractor labor drones running on adrenaline so they don't lose their family back in India's only income stream.

 

They do, good point.

I think small businesses that fail to use Amazon as a means of getting their product out are missing on an avenue of growth. However, I doubt that many small businesses are really getting involved in online retail, and I think this is one of the reasons why Amazon is dominating the retail space. This could be the evolution of retailers, either learn how to use marketplaces like Amazon or die trying to maintain the physical status quo.

 

Personally couldn't care less. Amazon is a convenient service in which I can purchase virtually any item I want to and have it come to me fast. Is it bad for small businesses? Yes and its essentially become the new Walmart. The day Amazon starts opening up stores is the day small business retail dies.

Amazon employees crying at their desks because of their relatively cushy white collar job? Spare me the tears, if you really hate your job that much then quit. No one is forcing you to work there and you chose to work there anyways.

 
"CreditMadrid"Amazon employees crying at their desks because of their relatively cushy white collar job? Spare me the tears, if you really hate your job that much then quit. No one is forcing you to work there and you chose to work there anyways.

Solid point. If you have Amazon on your resume, I'm sure there are a multitude of companies happy to hire you.

Array
 

I would defend Amazon along the same lines i defend Walmart, but yes they're essentially doing the same thing.

That said, the comments above make me giddy with excitement to see technology taking away some of the finance bro jobs, and it'll only get worse. It's not just happening to working stiffs you don't care about.

 
"Jcr10" At what point does the destruction that Amazon and Walmart creates overcome the benefit that they provide?

The point at which regulatory capture becomes more important than innovation.

 

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