How often do you shop at Amazon.com?

[Hortensis]

13. I confess I love Amazon in particular for enriching and revolutionizing rural life

AND (another biggie!) for revolutionizing the quality of goods offered for sale.

I remember when virtually all name-brand suppliers routinely sold several lines of garbage. They sold well because they were the only things available (I remember the 3 same bathroom scales the only ones available-- in every department store in Los Angeles (presumably in the nation), plus an additional model in a couple of more upscale ones.

AND consumers didn't know how incredibly systematically they were being ripped off, even when the item they took home quickly malfunctioned or broke "prematurely." Models that Consumer Reports rated high were usually discontinued. Just business.

Amazon's still the place to check reviews.

And as said, it's been a particular boon to oldies hiding from a killer virus spread by hostile conservatives and other idiots. Saves gas too. We do still shop locally a fair amount, but on fixed incomes we often just can't afford not to shop for low prices on line.

I also remember when almost every restaurant and store in town wasn't one of a chain of identical stores found across the nation. I do not worry that Amazon is hurting those soul-killing chains. What I want back is the wonderfully local businesses the chains destroyed in virtually every town in the country. Some have been reborn on line.