Poll of the Day > "Bro, it's not that hard to not shop at shitty companies."

(+) Yeah! (+)

Why would I want to avoid them?

Revelation34 posted...

Why would I want to avoid them?

Generally, for the sake of not actively funding companies that are abusing their workers, the environment, local populations, or any other unsavory activity you don't wish to contribute to.

adjl posted...

Fresh produce is generally a pretty safe bet, as is fresh meat and more local dairy options.

Not so much anymore thanks to vertical integration. The family farm is almost non existent in this day and age, with the corporations owning the land, the seed, the fertilizer, the pesticides, the livestock, the feed, the antibiotics, and the supply chain to get the product to market. Even if the farmer has somehow managed to retain their land, they are under onerous contract terms that they will one day default on.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

It's arguably possible to go even farther, and point out that, since humans have a net negative impact on the world even at the most basic of levels, we literally cannot exist ethically at all. Our mere presence - even at our most "responsible" - disrupts systems and has an unnatural detrimental effect to the world around us and other species in it.

I too watched "The Good Place"

Easy, you don't shop with companies at all, you go to markets, like in a tent, shit in a hole and be a hermit.

I'd rather just avoid the worst offenders and live a good life too.

Not shopping at shitty companies can be difficult, I imagine. Because, when you get down to it, you also need to filter out the local companies that are shitty which can he hard to do. And as pointed out, major companies like nestle and kelloggs own a lot of shit.

My problem is people who couldn't imagine a life without Amazon. It isn't really all that difficult to get your things elsewhere

argonautweakend posted...

My problem is people who couldn't imagine a life without Amazon. It isn't really all that difficult to get your things elsewhere

It takes longer to purchase, longer to arrive, costs more, delivery is inconsistent (or god forbid DHL/UPS), and if you want to refund a big item, they're more likely to ghost you while Amazon will let you keep it and refund you.

Amazon offers a waaaay better experience for buyers at least, avoiding Nestle has negligible effect on your life.

argonautweakend posted...

Not shopping at shitty companies can be difficult, I imagine. Because, when you get down to it, you also need to filter out the local companies that are shitty which can he hard to do. And as pointed out, major companies like nestle and kelloggs own a lot of shit.

My problem is people who couldn't imagine a life without Amazon. It isn't really all that difficult to get your things elsewhere

All it took was 4 minutes for someone to give Amazon love.

I wish people would try other companies. As Amazon started to push their paid shipping, others stepped up their shipping speed as well. Best Buy and Home Depot delivered within a day for me. My local record shops ship within two days usually. Then there's Ebay which can be hit or miss with shipping times, but usually arrives with 2 to 7 days.

As far as refunds go...never had a problem. Either I ship the product back, get a cash refund or get the cash back while keeping the product.

Living without Amazon is very rewarding in itself and price checking with Amazon can be quite laughable in their obvious greed.

Avoiding the others can be quite hard cause of vertical integration and what have you. There's so many companies that'd destroy this world in a decade if it meant another dime to them.

I feel like you quoted the wrong person.

pedro45 posted...

All it took was 4 minutes for someone to give Amazon love.

I wish people would try other companies. As Amazon started to push their paid shipping, others stepped up their shipping speed as well. Best Buy and Home Depot delivered within a day for me. My local record shops ship within two days usually. Then there's Ebay which can be hit or miss with shipping times, but usually arrives with 2 to 7 days.

As far as refunds go...never had a problem. Either I ship the product back, get a cash refund or get the cash back while keeping the product.

Living without Amazon is very rewarding in itself and price checking with Amazon can be quite laughable in their obvious greed.

Avoiding the others can be quite hard cause of vertical integration and what have you. There's so many companies that'd destroy this world in a decade if it meant another dime to them.

Thanks for reminding me I need some stuff off Amazon.

Solid Sonic posted...

I feel like you quoted the wrong person.

I was backing up the person I quoted. They mentioned people who can't live without Amazon, and within minutes, someone fit the bill.

Twitter quotes confuse me, so maybe I don't quote how you're supposed to these days.

I don't use amazon any more because of a combination of Jeff Bezos being weird, stories of workers being treated unfairly, and how I ordered a pen from one of the sellers on amazon and got shipped an obvious fake. Now, granted, amazon did let me return it for full refund after I sent it back, but that experience soured me on them, because if I go into a staples or office max or one of a bout fifty dedicated pen websites, I won't be shipped a cheap and clearly fake fake pen...Granted, this was a shady amazon seller and not amazon directly, but they allow this kind of stuff to happen on their platform, so they are at fault. I'm also pretty certain other than getting my money refunded, nothing happened to the seller, even though I put the reason for return is that I got shipped a fake pen.

While we are on the topic of pens, that pen I lost the other day(I made a thread about) isn't even on Amazon, so I couldn't buy it from there to replace it. But, since I've been burned once before, I really wouldn't be buying it from amazon either. Or Ebay, because of potential similar issues from individual sellers on a marketplace type setup.

pedro45 posted...

I was backing up the person I quoted. They mentioned people who can't live without Amazon, and within minutes, someone fit the bill.

Looked a little awkward but I imagined that was what you were going for.

If the company is owned by an asshole but generally treats there employees well, is that a bad company?

Also how do we judge franchisees vs franchisers?

I don't buy from Amazon, or at least haven't in like 5 or 6 years now

Muscles posted...

If the company is owned by an asshole but generally treats there employees well, is that a bad company?

Also how do we judge franchisees vs franchisers?

I don't buy from Amazon, or at least haven't in like 5 or 6 years now

No. Though that would be an oxymoron since if they're an asshole then they would be treating employees like shit anyway.

Revelation34 posted...

No. Though that would be an oxymoron since if they're an a****** then they would be treating employees like s*** anyway.

Not necessarily. A company that makes a habit of dumping chemical waste into a nearby harbour instead of processing it properly to minimize how much time their employees were exposed to it would be doing something beneficial for their workers but harmful overall. The two usually go hand in hand, since the attitude of being considerate of one's employees often extends to being considerate of the general population as well, but I'm sure you could find some exceptions.

I like ordering from Amazon cuz the delivery box has a smiley on it

Lokarin posted...

I like ordering from Amazon cuz the delivery box has a smiley on it

I need to ship a box so I'm just going to reuse an Amazon one. I needed a bigger box than the one I had.

Define 'Shitty company'.

For example, I'm sure many people consider Chic-Fil-A to be a shitty company. I personally find them to be top notch. They have awesome customer service and a great product.

Whom you buy from is generally a silly thing to worry about from the customer point of view unless they are selling a bad product, are trying to rip you off, or the company is in a position of being sold to inferior management (if you value / use warranty & customer service).

11110111011 posted...

Whom you buy from is generally a silly thing to worry about from the customer point of view unless they are selling a bad product, are trying to rip you off, or the company is in a position of being sold to inferior management (if you value / use warranty & customer service).

Unless you want to actually care about more of the world than just what products you end up with, since then there are plenty of other factors to consider. When you give money to a person or company, you are directly contributing to whatever else they want to spend money on. In the case of Chick-Fil-A, you get a tasty sandwich, but you're helping to fund the abolition of gay marriage.

11110111011 posted...

Define 'Shitty company'.

For example, I'm sure many people consider Chic-Fil-A to be a shitty company. I personally find them to be top notch. They have awesome customer service and a great product.

Whom you buy from is generally a silly thing to worry about from the customer point of view unless they are selling a bad product, are trying to rip you off, or the company is in a position of being sold to inferior management (if you value / use warranty & customer service).

Yeah, but lots of people have a desire to show everyone how much better they are than everyone else so they have to pretend to care about things that they really obviously don't care that much about

adjl posted...

Unless you want to actually care about more of the world than just what products you end up with, since then there are plenty of other factors to consider. When you give money to a person or company, you are directly contributing to whatever else they want to spend money on. In the case of Chick-Fil-A, you get a tasty sandwich, but you're helping to fund the abolition of gay marriage.

I really don't care enough about that to not eat there.

11110111011 posted...

Whom you buy from is generally a silly thing to worry about from the customer point of view
...
I really don't care enough about that to not eat there.

And that's why America has a history of aligning itself with fascists, religious radicals and drug dealers, all in the name of fighting international communism, and the threat of socialism.

11110111011 posted...

I really don't care enough about that to not eat there.

Who cares if gay people can get married, as long as you get your sandwich, right?

Zareth posted...

There is no ethical consumption under capitalism

Oh lawdy.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Arguably there is no ethical consumption period, at any level other than subsistence-level consumption.

Also this.

Revelation34 posted...

Why would I want to avoid them?

Also this.

adjl posted...

Generally, for the sake of not actively funding companies that are abusing their workers, the environment, local populations, or any other unsavory activity you don't wish to contribute to.

I'll take overly dramatic nonsense for $100, Alex.

And almost all of those issues a natural consequence of running that kind of business. But feel free to discuss your privilege-ethics while handwaving the ethics surrounding industries who have greatly reduced food insecurity and provide products where the negative health impact is obesity rather than actual historical issues like food poisoning. And kvetch about bottled water companies being evil when it's literally the only way many communities -- including American ones -- have access to safe drinking water at times.

CENSOR BYPASS POSTED

Not so much anymore thanks to vertical integration. The family farm is almost non existent in this day and age, with the corporations owning the land, the seed, the fertilizer, the pesticides, the livestock, the feed, the antibiotics, and the supply chain to get the product to market. Even if the farmer has somehow managed to retain their land, they are under onerous contract terms that they will one day default on.

Also this.

CENSOR BYPASS POSTED

I too watched "The Good Place"

Probably my least favorite part of the show.

argonautweakend posted...

I don't use amazon any more because of a combination of Jeff Bezos being weird, stories of workers being treated unfairly, and how I ordered a pen from one of the sellers on amazon and got shipped an obvious fake. Now, granted, amazon did let me return it for full refund after I sent it back, but that experience soured me on them, because if I go into a staples or office max or one of a bout fifty dedicated pen websites, I won't be shipped a cheap and clearly fake fake pen...Granted, this was a shady amazon seller and not amazon directly, but they allow this kind of stuff to happen on their platform, so they are at fault. I'm also pretty certain other than getting my money refunded, nothing happened to the seller, even though I put the reason for return is that I got shipped a fake pen.

While we are on the topic of pens, that pen I lost the other day(I made a thread about) isn't even on Amazon, so I couldn't buy it from there to replace it. But, since I've been burned once before, I really wouldn't be buying it from amazon either. Or Ebay, because of potential similar issues from individual sellers on a marketplace type setup.

The problem with Amazon is that it's a marketplace disguising itself as a retailer, so the quality of any given product -- even when being FULFILLED by Amazon -- is suspect. The only guarantee is on things sold by Amazon.

And I don't use Amazon as much because their prices are no longer lower than the competition as a general rule, and you don't have the opportunity to inspect things first.

Zeus posted...

I'll take overly dramatic nonsense for $100, Alex.

You think people shouldn't avoid giving money to companies that do things they don't like?

adjl posted...

you get a tasty sandwich, but you're helping to fund the abolition of gay marriage.

Tell that to the American Constitution.

It is pretty hard. I try to avoid buying from companies like Amazon, but every time I do, they never have what I want and charge up the wazoo. No wonder these companies are taking are taking over the world.