I resisted until a little over a year ago. I finally tapped my thick forehead and said to myself: "self - the stores aren't carrying the variety of inventory that you want anymore, if you want it you'll have to bend a little and join the rest of society to get it". I fought it until then because I wanted to support the local retailers and I happen to like to look and touch before I purchase. But after driving around to 3 or 4 different stores and still not being able to find what I wanted I finally decided they weren't going to bring in extra inventory just to please me so I joined up. The old days of going into a store and having so many choices is gone.

I gave up years ago trying to find most things in the stores. I joined Prime back before they charged sales tax and the state was saying that people shopped there because they saved the tax. WRONG! I shopped there, because it wasn't and isn't in the store, any store, big box or small local stores. I, also, prefer to look, feel, and see before buying, but you can't now.

I've been a Prime customer for many years.

Amazon has been a champ for us over the last 2 months. We've averaged maybe 5 deliveries a week, counting orders for ourselves and a family oldster who lives in a different area and can't get things easily.

I admire and greatly appreciate how Amazon has been able to ramp up to serve the tens of millions of people who are respecting the Stay Home order.

The current circumstances aside, I've never had an emotional attachment to "local retailers" when better choices and usually much better prices are so easily available. Whether using in person or over the internet alternatives for a better experience, Mom and Pop retail is a dying occupation and well it should be, it's a dinosaur from a different age. I feel no sentimental reason to delay the inevitable for any of them.

I no longer drive so Prime can be helpful in getting the items I need. Aside from the transportation issues, I just don't have the energy any more to shlep from store to store, especially when Amazon offers free returns if an item arrives defective. The older I get, the more precious my time and effort is. I also feel that the extras Amazon Prime offers like Amazon Prime Video which is varied enough that it has replaced cable make this choice worthwhile.

We've been prime customers for long as it has existed. Glad you are able to find what you need!

My brother joined Amazon Prime many years ago when we still lived in Venice, and I was an Amazon seller for a while, to get rid of excess DVDs that we had. Those were easy to sell and ship. He added me as a family member, and occasionally we stream movies, but he pays the membership.

At my age, the convenience makes it worth it. I never did like to drive, and I especially do not like driving in Los Angeles, unless it is for a short distance. I can ride a bike to the beach, if I want to go there, but I really need to stay out of the sun.

I do like to patronize local stores, but I don't feel that Best Buy, Home Depot, Costco, etc. are really local stores. I don't have a Costco membership and do not want one - I hate that store. I don't consider Walmart to be a local store (especially since there is not one in my neighborhood in L.A.), and I have never shopped there either.

Brick and Mortar is not the same as Mom and Pop, and I do try to patronize Mom and Pop shops. In general, I do not buy clothes or shoes on line, except for underwear, and there are a lot of local clothing boutiques and shoe stores in L.A. where I can go to buy fashion. I do make some of my own clothes as well, and I'm thinking about buying an additional sewing machine.

It seems like we have several packages a week delivered by Amazon. Today I ordered a replacement cushion for my CPAP machine, but it is not in inventory and therefore will not ship until April 30, but they said I would receive it May 1. I recently ordered a replacement battery for my cell phone and a waterproof MP3 player so that I can use that in the pool when the girl next door is playing outdoors screaming. She is incapable of playing without screaming, and now she has to play in her yard more than usual. I will be happy when she can go back to school and to playgrounds.

Anyway, it is especially convenient to have things delivered at this time, when stores are not even open.

Elmer, local stores come in handy quite often. My computer mouse quit working on Tuesday, and I tried the very last battery to try to breath some life into it. No go, it was old anyway. So I went to Walgreen's and got a new mouse, batteries, and a birthday card for my son. None of which I wanted to wait for. And the local Ace hardware franchise.... try to fix a toilet on a Saturday afternoon without them. I'm not wed to the local stores, either, but they are great assets to any community.

I just found my favorite sour pickles on Amazon!

I have used Amazon for Christmas shopping for so many years that DH subscribed to Prime. At my age, I cannot wander through so many stores looking for a particular gift for hours. Physically difficult. And these days the department stores and malls don't carry much. Now we are finally using Prime Video for all the hours we are shut in because I like to knit while I watch TV. Our first effort to order groceries from Vons/Pavilions a month ago looked promising. They had almost everything we wanted, DH drove over to the assigned spot at the assigned time, and no order was there nor on record. So he had to go inside and do the shopping at that hour with whatever was left. That was the end of our ordering for pick up.

Happy for you sushipup! Almost everything we watch for our Teatime Matinee is streamed via Amazon. Rarely order any actual items, but have never been disappointed with their delivery/return/policies.

I wish they offered some kind of 'batching' that would limit the amount of pollution. Do they really need to deliver every item to every household in every neighborhood as though life on earth depended on it coming instantly? There's 'needs' and there are 'wants'. I can usually wait a week for my orders.

Big chains ran most local shops out of business decades ago. It's not ideal to have to travel to a Target, Home Depot, etc., but consumers 'voted' for cheaper over most convenient.

Chisue, actually you can pick the day of the week you want your orders to come. They still might come in several boxes depending on what warehouse they come from.

There's far less pollution from one truck making deliveries to 50 or more people, than from those 50 or more people getting in their cars to drive to the store.

I use the free shipping offered by Target and Walmart for items like that. No desire to pay Amazon to ship to me.

I use the free shipping offered by Target and Walmart for items like that.

Walmart. Free on orders of $35 or more.

Target. Free on orders of $35 or more, or use a Target Credit Card.

*Restrictions apply. Not all products eligible.

I discovered many years ago that there are mom and pop stores that sell through Amazon when I noticed a pile of boxes with that smile thing on the side. I opened my mouth to ask about what books the store ordered from Amazon and was told those were books that people ordered from Amazon.

As I said earlier, I used to be an Amazon seller, and I do think Amazon is a good way for smaller shops and individuals to sell. Amazon requires all sellers to ship within 48 hours, or at least that's the way it was when I was selling.

Sushipup1, you should definitely take advantage of the Amazon Video and Prime Reading!

I love prime. The shipping thing really isnt the best thing about prime because it's a bit misleading. Yes. It's two day shipping. But it is two days from when they decide to ship it,not two days from when you order it. So if it was just shipping privileges I wouldn't go for it. We use prime video enough to justify the membership. I also take advantage of the free music offered. There are also lots of other benefits included with it which I dont use but I SHOULD.

I use the free shipping offered by Target and Walmart for items like that. No desire to pay Amazon to ship to me.

Once you accumulate a certain amount (usually $25, but it can vary) in your Amazon cart, shipping is free, albeit usually slower than with Prime. I've been an Amazon customer since 1996, have never been a Prime member, and have only paid for shipping a handful of times when I've bought from a 3rd party vendor that charges it. Before the virus hit I would often get my order within 48 hours anyway.

As for Prime video or ebooks, sorry, but not any good for me. I read real books, the kind with paper that I can dog-ear the page to mark my place, and I don't watch enough TV , less than 3 hours a day.

I'll have to be content with ordering sour pickles.

I ordered Finish Dishwasher pods yesterday, (84 count) for $12 and received them this afternoon. I don't like to wait until I reach a certain amount. If I need something, I order it.

I order from Amazon a lot. I used to use it only for the quick shipping but I recently started occasionally using Prime Video.

Sometimes I'll order from Walmart(dot)com. Usually I can do better there when ordering non-perishable grocery items.

I'm on a budget so I compare prices. If it costs more to order online than walking into Walmart, I walk into Walmart and get it. Paying more for the convenience, or having to tip for a Walmart grocery delivery, doesn't fit into my budget.

I'd love it if Amazon would extent Amazon Fresh into my area. I was hoping the pandemic would nudge them into it but it has not.

Amazon prices (even when sold by Amazon) can vary anywhere from a really good deal to an absolute ripoff so I sometimes make use of the 3 camel Firefox addon to notify me when an Amazon listing drops to the price point I specify: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/the-camelizer-price-history-ch/

When/if Walmart finally goes back up 24 hours, I'll likely return to my old routine. Shop often, just getting a handful of items, whatever looks good at the time. Late at night they were never busy. This town is rat-racy right up until... 10 PM or so but then it's dead, which I love.

I live in a high-rise and use Instacart or Shipt to shop and deliver my groceries. They bring the groceries on the elevator to me. How does amazon handle packages of food? Will be come up to my apartment on the 11th floor? I order a lot at one time. Do they have carts they can bring in to the building in to my apartment?

Like bookwoman, I order from Amazon and wait until I have $25 or more to finish the order. I never need to have my order immediately, and I don't see the need to pay the yearly prime fee.

I've never paid for shipping from Amazon. (That is to say, the cost is evidently already IN the price -- same with anything, anywhere.)

I know *I* can specify the date. I'm wondering if Amazon can't 'batch' deliveries from their end when a customer doesn't require instant delivery. For instance, Marshall Field's used to deliver to different areas of Chicago on different days of the week. (But that requires the customer to plan ahead, and I never understood the widespread need for ATMs.)

Years ago when I didn't order much more than books, that was how Amazon started, I just batched stuff to get the free limit. Well, when every store quit having the stuff I was used to buying, I just gave up and got Prime.

Welcome to the dark side..............I've used it for years but when DH retired he 'discovered' Prime (even though I had told him about it often) and now we get all kinds of things in boxes-----batteries, shoelaces, garden products. He hates to shop at stores so this is right up his alley.