Do you use Amazon to purchase products

[herding cats]

97. I have, and use, an Amazon Prime account to get things both cheaper and that I cannot get locally.

Paul Krugman says he also has an Amazon prime account which he uses a lot and as he says, "so what?"

As a consumer I choose to use Amazon to purchase things I cannot find locally to avoid having to travel, or can't afford to buy locally. Yep, I'm a guilty party. I support local whenever I can, but I don't always have the option, a lot of us don't anymore.

If this was about Paul Krugman's column I'd like to add, the issue for Krugman isn't about who we patronize, but "public action to curb those who have too much power." Krugman was upset about how Amazon is dealing with Hachette.

So far Amazon has not tried to exploit consumers. In fact, it has systematically kept prices low, to reinforce its dominance. What it has done, instead, is use its market power to put a squeeze on publishers, in effect driving down the prices it pays for books — hence the fight with Hachette. In economics jargon, Amazon is not, at least so far, acting like a monopolist, a dominant seller with the power to raise prices. Instead, it is acting as a monopsonist, a dominant buyer with the power to push prices down.
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And on that front its power is really immense — in fact, even greater than the market share numbers indicate. Book sales depend crucially on buzz and word of mouth (which is why authors are often sent on grueling book tours); you buy a book because you’ve heard about it, because other people are reading it, because it’s a topic of conversation, because it’s made the best-seller list. And what Amazon possesses is the power to kill the buzz. It’s definitely possible, with some extra effort, to buy a book you’ve heard about even if Amazon doesn’t carry it — but if Amazon doesn’t carry that book, you’re much less likely to hear about it in the first place.

So can we trust Amazon not to abuse that power? The Hachette dispute has settled that question: no, we can’t.

It’s not just about the money, although that’s important: By putting the squeeze on publishers, Amazon is ultimately hurting authors and readers. But there’s also the question of undue influence.

He's raising a good point, and one we should all consider, but it's important to note he's not saying he's not going to continue to patronize Amazon for the items he's getting cheaper, and/or more conveniently, than he can buy elsewhere. He's saying we should be paying attention to them and the power they're accumulating. Very close attention. However, he's not mentioning the impact Amazon has on local retailers, which is my main concern when I shop.

If I can get it locally I do, if I can't I don't torture myself for being a selfish consumer and just buy from where I can get it cheapest. Sometimes, more often of late, that place is Amazon. Which since they have a local warehouse near me is sometimes helping out my local economy to some extent.