memes

I mean, I get where you are coming from, but they are also my backup durable medical equipment supplier. I have two options in my area and they are number two. If you rely on medical equipment and have ever been jerked around by a supplier, having one that is responding to your money and only your money is very nice.

Like, I bought some pink tape off Amazon a few years back. Someone had unspooled the roll until it was almost empty then put it back in the box, then sold it to Amazon to sell to me. Nice scam, right? Fortunately the equipment I need is not returnable like the pink tape. Since I need medical equipment and when I need it from them I need immediately, it makes sense for us to pay for prime. Comes out to about six bucks a head if I did the math right, and I didn't even try

You're wrong. Low income households were absolutely made dependent on it, solely because of prices.

Some examples:

• Certain food is way cheaper, especially spices. In the shop I get 30-50g of it for 3-8€. On Amazon I get 250g for about 10€. Doing without means worse food.
• A lot of tech is cheaper. Especially daily items such as cables, powerbanks, earphones etc., other shops usually are more expensive - often even for the exact same items.
• Clothes are cheaper. The very same shoes from a known brand (Hummel) were just 33€ there, but 50€ anywhere else.
• Some items you won't even find anywhere else except shady shops or Ebay sellers, and especially poor people can't afford to be screwed over. To know Amazon will just give you your money back is an unavoidable perk.

Now add more disgusting tactics to that:

• Amazon has certain ways to firmly insert themselves into e.g. poor people's lives. In Germany you get free Prime (and therefore free shipping) if you're on welfare. Combine that with the above, especially items like food or clothes. You have to save every penny, you do not have the financial freedom to just say no to that. Especially parents don't.
• Local shops simply vanished due to online shopping, subsidized mega markets such as Amazon did the rest. For lots of stuff you'd have to travel long distances. Let it be because of no affordable public transport, slow ones or your old junker of a car falling apart, this isn't an option either.

And it isn't even just poor people. With the economical situation as it is more and more people don't have the luxury not to use the cheapest, most easy option (you have to manage stress as well after all, and Amazon is easy). Even just spices and kitchen supplies probably saves dozens of € per month for a family, unless they really like bland food. Money available for healthy ingredients instead - or the washing machine that just broke.

Please be aware how privileged you are being able to say what you said.