
Jeff Bezos- the richest man in the world is at $188.6 Billion and counting. He makes approximately $321 million per day and rules an empire that has taken over the world of retail sales.
Yet for all his wealth, is he THAT much happier than the rest of us? He endured the most expensive divorce in history in 2019 and his ex-wife is now one of the richest people on the planet as well.
Amazon is an amazing amalgam of enormous warehouses and smaller stores that has brought the entire world of merchandise as close as a mouse click. They are smart and damned convenient, and have made out like bandits during the Covid-19 epidemic. But there are downsides. Their business practices are monopolistic and ruthless. Amazon drivers are on such tight schedules that some have been caught peeing into bottles so they don't have to stop and find a restroom. Employees in the warehouses are subjected to Orwellian levels of supervision, and Amazon has had to provide specialized Advil vending machines to help its workers get through the day to spite all their aches and pains.
Alabama workers are voting as I write this to form the first Amazon union, and they have had to endure relentless pressure from management to scare them into not unionizing.
What good is it to build such an amazing company and vast fortune if it also creates unhappy employees and closes down brick and mortar stores left and right? Bezos isn't even being that smart with his immense fortune. While Bill Gates pursues the very real problem of climate change through his foundation, Bezos's big dream is to conquer outer space, which is one of the last things we on Earth need right now.
So here are three ways to stick it to Bezos, one way or another.
1- Shop local. This is obvious, but needs to be said over and over. Keeping sales inside of your community helps your neighbors, non-profits, local schools, small businesses and much more. Locally owned businesses especially grow that money by spending it in their towns for supplies and infrastructure, hiring local employees, and often sponsoring community assets like little league teams and local newspapers.
2- If you must shop on Amazon, make sure to get the best price you can by using a browser extension. Plug-ins search for the best coupon codes and automatically apply them at check-out. Some of the best ones are Honey, Rakuten, Invisible Hand, Amazon Assistant, and The Camelizer. Installing an extension on your browser isn't that hard- google how if you need help. If you must shop at Amazon, make their profits go down and your savings go up.
3- Help out an Amazon Affiliate- (Me). (Confession- I shop at Amazon when I can't find something locally, have a Prime membership, and joined their affiliate program). You can support this website below by clicking on links that will take you to an Amazon purchase. I actually get money from every completed purchase, and that's money out of Jeff's pocket and into mine, where I can use it to make this blog and website even better.
Below are some of the biggest sellers on Amazon. If you have something that you regularly purchase from them, (or a big-ticket item you know you want to buy from Amazon) send me an email (dan@authordanconnors.com) with a link to the specific item, and I will put an affiliate link on this page for you to buy from here. It costs you nothing, helps this blog, and keeps Jeff from getting his grubby little hands on a few more pennies. In the time it's taken you to read this, he's made another million, so he won't miss your money too much.
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