My love-hate relationship with Amazon

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EDITOR’S

Business types have already written op-eds claiming that Boston or Washington D.C. are the leading contenders for HQ2, while SNL reduced Atlanta to a traffic hellscape with nothing of merit other than Chick-fil-A, Coca-Cola and Paula Deen’s racism (although I’m not sure what Deen has to do with Atlanta other than she’s an easy stereotype for Southerners). The fact that Amazon’s search for a second headquarters was worthy of a comedy skit shows just how much the retail behemoth has captured the public’s attention.

If Amazon locates HQ2 in Atlanta it could mean billions in additional revenue for the state and 50,000 jobs.

I have a love-hate relationship with Amazon. My novels and poetry collections are sold there and it’s usually the first place readers go to find my work. I’m a devotee of Amazon Prime, because I love the video service and two-day delivery. I also seem to order something from there every other week: a new charging cord for my iPhone, a fresh pair of walking shoes, an obscure European film on DVD that I can’t stream on Netflix. It’s become second nature to click a button and have it magically arrive at my door. While my books are sold at Amazon, I don’t buy books from there anymore. With the sale of physical books on the rise after the whole eBook thing leveled out and indie bookstores gaining a foothold again, I am willing to drive to Charis, Eagle Eye or A Cappella and spend a little extra. What is irrefutable is that Amazon is a brick-and-mortar retail killer. Toys R Us, Target, Barnes & Noble, shoe stores, supermarkets and countless small retailers are being upended by Amazon. Unlike eBooks, it doesn’t look like the public is going to lose interest in buying from Amazon.

I’m not advocating an Amazon boycott, but I am encouraging you to balance out your shopping habits. If you have a favorite small retailer or mom-and-pop shop, don’t forget to show them some love a few times a month rather than buying on your phone.

As the always prescient Joni Mitchell sang: “You don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone.”

Correction

In our January 2018 issue, there was incorrect information about 20 Under 20 runner-up Sophie Green. Here is her bio:

Sophie Green, 18

Sophie has pioneered a relationship between The Paideia School and The Connections School of Atlanta by piloting a program to teach the ball game four square, played on concrete within four quadrants with a player in each square. She saw four square as a great connecting tool for autistic teens looking to be understood by their peers and neurotypical students looking to expand beyond themselves.