As a society we’ve become very consumer based. Everything you could ever want is at your fingertips, if you could just remember the name of that website that sold it.
From movies to home-ware to clothes and books we can find a way to buy it cheaper than the shops can sell it… I won’t slander the name of any companies which may or may not rhyme with Mamozon…
I have had this inner turmoil for some time now.
I’m a big buyer of books. A hoarder, really. I know I’m not the only one! This Mamazonian website offers such cheap deals on books it’s hard to pass up the offer but more and more I’m feeling like I’m being a bitch.
For one thing if we don’t have local stores we’re economically screwing ourselves over; once the big stores have elbowed the smaller ones out of the way those low low prices they offer now will be gone. Secondly we’ve become so obsessed with getting products for cheaper we’ve forgotten why we pay for things in the first place.
I often have the same argument with people who think that ‘it doesn’t matter if I buy something from this shop at this price because the author/product owner has already sold it to them etc.’
Yes, this is true. In a world where the internet is the biggest market in the world it would be insane for a writer not to offer their product online at these cheaper stores but ethically should we really be encouraging it?
If the school bully stole your friends money every day so they could buy you lunch would you still accept it?
I think it’s time we got smarter as a society and started thinking more like a community. I want the person who worked effing hard for their money to get some of the actual money.
Yes, I still buy some products from the cheaper stores because it’s easier for certain products but for books in particular I have veered off the usual track and started looking elsewhere. I want people to get paid, y’know?
Sam
Pretty Thoughtful Blog 