Og hated the rock I gave him last year, and regifted it to Thok.
Posted on 12/13/2022 8:58:50 AM PST by Responsibility2nd
Yesterday me and Mrs. R2 went to town. She had a doctors appointment, I filled up the gas tank, I had two property inspection jobs to do, we had lunch, we went to HEB (grocery store) and a UPS store.
The line at the UPS store was out the door, but still; I was in and out in about 15 minutes. I shudder to think what a similar line of folks would be like at the USPS.
While at HEB, I needed to make an exchange at the Service Desk. While there, a man cut in line and was served ahead of me. Fortunately I thought of Peace on Earth and remembered the Spirit of Christmas and did not make a scene.
And throughout the day - traffic was not good. And all this got me to thinking of how Christmas and especially Christmas shopping used to be.
Remember huge shopping malls? Remember Walmarts and Targets full of frustrated shoppers? Parking lots full of no places to park?
I'm looking at our Christmas Tree with hundreds of dollars of presents under it. 90% of which all came from Amazon.
I love it. I don't miss hours spent looking for and not usually finding that special gift.
“avoid doing business with the enemy. There are other sources on-line to shop”
True. A part I need for my sewing machine is available on Amazon for a good price and free shipping. It took an extra minute to find the same part at a family store in-state — same price and free shipping. So I was able to avoid Amazon and the only inconvenience was about a minute to search a little harder.
Confessions: We do use Amazon often, but try to find alternatives if possible.
like me
The reviews help from verified buyers, I read a lot of those. I also choose brands I know and trust to be the quality I expect. I order all my books from Amazon and they are delivered immediately onto my phone/computer and iPad. My daughter has all of her paper products - toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning supplies- delivered every six months at great convenience to her family.
I have had very few negative experiences with Amazon - my money was refunded immediately when an order (coloring books) never arrived.
All in all, I’ve been ordering from them for more than a decade and haven’t been disappointed with their business model.
Ok, sell your soul for convenience. . . .
I will admit I got many things from Amazon ahead of and during the pandemic. Then once I saw the news of Bezo’s personal wealth soaring off the charts, and all of the unhappy workers, I decided to help the littler guys stay in business. Now I only get things from Amazon that are not easy to find elsewhere, like the tiny Avery labels I need for price tags in my shop.
I use Second Sale for used books, Dick Blick for art supplies, Thrive Market for many foods (which are less than retail in most cases.)
The internet is huge and there are so many options. And what happened to the Prime promise of 2 day delivery, BTW? I am paying a higher fee for less service than I received a handful of years ago.
Everytime I see a mall closed or repurposed it brings a smile to my face - never got the cult of Black Friday myself.
“Amazon prices are not great anymore.”
Agree. Also, with Prime we used to receive orders in two days — sometimes even the next day. Now often it-s 5-9 days.
Still ... I don’t have to go to the store. I’ve always hated shopping. Probably why my husband proposed to me - LOL!
a lot of these changes in shopping habits are mostly because we are having fewer children...fewer children means fewer grandchildren....
children are the engine in an economy and because our young people refuse to breed, too icky I guess, there is no impetus to buy...clothes, toys, bikes, sleds, etc...
Per my dad and aunt, Bamberger’s in downtown Newark was amazing - second largest department store in the US for many years taking up an entire city block. You could shop eat, see Santa and a light show in one place.
Oh please.
If I refuse to trade with communist China, and retailers who are pro-abortion, pro-woke, pro-Biden and anti-American, then I’ll go Gault and you can find me living in a van down by the river.
In the meantime, you and I can agree to disagree on our chinese made phones, laptops and personal devices.
“”Way back in the 90’s, I decided that I was no longer going to play the game! From then on, all of my gifts would be certificates to things that created memorable experiences. They were far easier to buy, prior to the internet, and they suited most anyone. ATV rides, Horse Sleigh rides, Helicopter rides, iMax, Jeep Rides, Balloon rides, Go-Carts, concerts, Wild Animal Sanctuaries, Trips... there’s so much and I remember sharing many of them with the recipients.””
More than memories, like books, those adventures you gift can sometimes unlock something inside of an individual, a little something of self or interest, or capability that may never have been discovered otherwise.
Spel_Grammer: The downside? Lowe’s donates to the dims. The upside: Home Depot donates to the Repubs.
Lowes is 3 miles from my house, Home Depot an hour+ away. Guess I am giving to the dims.
The closest shopping mall to me is crime ridden. I order everything online now.
Did majority of my online and nothing from Amazon or Walmart. Some gift cards - Ulta and Nordstrom Rack for DIL, running store GC and Salomon running shoes for son, My Slippers and a gadget called Keysmart for Mr Tea. Ordered from Pura with their BOGO. I have two in our house. Love them. Spongelle soapy sponge thingies for DIL. She loves them. Lots of other stuff but mostly direct from the seller.
My Tea and I did order Starlink. We have access to so so internet and we only stream - no cable or dish. Just got it. We’ll see how it goes.
I generally have all my present shopping done before Thanksgiving if not shortly after. Then I just kick back.
But when the last big Christmas Eve rush begins, I would go to the local mall and patiently wait for a good parking spot. After securing my primo spot, maybe wander around the parking lot holding my keys to see how many cars follow me. Then I would head into the food court and get some ice cream, go sit on a bench and watch all the people frantically rushing from one store to the next.
When I finish my ice cream, I will head out to the parking lot and screw with the parkers one more time before heading home by way of the ABC store for my gift from Santa...
That's such a good point! My wife is now such a huge fan of Go-Karts now!
I almost always check at the manufacturers site and use them directly. A lot of stuff is still made here.
Og hated the rock I gave him last year, and regifted it to Thok.
Another thing that was so yesterday was going through the checkout line, and the cashiers would always say merry Christmas. Now the cashiers are scared stiff to even utter the word Merry Christmas. Even I forget to wish them a merry Christmas once in awhile, but if I remember I make it a point to say it loud and clear so everyone can hear me.
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