Good that you resist.
I started shopping with Amazon when it was still an innocent looking bookstore in the 90’s. I just checked my order history, first order in 96 to be precise.
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I would’ve ended up creating one for borrowing public library ebooks anyway (their system is way more convenient and less buggy than Adobe’s DRM-epub setup). But I have had an account since 2000, though I’ve used it less and less as time went on and they became what they’ve been for quite a while now. I still occasionally buy things that are actually hard to find elsewhere - some “niche” hobby and hardware things that no one in NYC can or will give ridiculously-expensive inventory space to, for example. But I don’t have Prime, and haven’t bought anything except the occasional deeply-discounted ebook from them in more than a year…
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I was a pretty early adopter too (although my order history will only go back to 2000) ! I still had a compuserve email address, and they used to send me gifts!
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Do you mean if one of the HO participants posts a link to a product on Amazon, and someone else clicks and buys, HO can benefit? Because I dont recall seeing any ads on this forum.
Fitting thread for you to be participating in!!! (I do not have a prime account either, anything I “need” I have my daughter order for me")
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Yes. You can do a test. Copy the address of product you want to buy in amazon and copy in a post here, then click on it, automatically a tag is inserted. The two links in the address bar are different, although the product is the same.
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Example, the book Breaking Bread has this link:
The address after clicking is:
To be short, the click adds the tag:
?tag=amazon0d7e45-20
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I don’t like people very much, so shopping from home for most things is a blessing.
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You’re not the only one.
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I had to go look at when I started on Amazon. THEY started in June 1994; I first ordered in April, 1998. I used it sporadically (2-6 orders a year) up through 2011 or so. But the most number of orders/year I have had with them is 16-17 - but I try and “bundle” a couple of things together in a single order. Oh - and I often ordered stuff that was for my workplace and was reimbursed - so not everything was for me. Not sure if 16-17 orders a year is a lot.
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My husband also likes driving long distances, fighting through traffic, finding a parking spot, looking in various stores hoping they have your size and 20 colors to choose from, having somebody follow you like you might steal something, standing in line for an awkward mirror in a group dressing room, then standing in line to pay, only to find the credit card machine isn’t working.
Good times!
But seriously, once you know your brand, the materials, and how it fits, how can the “real world” be better? Have you SEEN all the shoe choices on Nordies website? Plus, I can see what I bought and sent back, as well as what I kept and love but don’t need another of… Usually.
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Except going to food shops. I dislike shopping in shops generally, if internet didn’t exist, I would buy much less stuff, especially clothes. I don’t visualise clothes very well on a hanger in shops, and need someone to wear it. Especially dislike people in the shops following and trying to sell everything you look at.
I’ve used online supermarket delivery a few years back, was annoyed by the quality of fresh vegetables, also I find that one didn’t really save time in online shopping and there was much less choice and one tended to buy too much to reach the minimum price limit for free shipping.
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Re Amazon and
I have had an account since 2000, though I’ve used it less and less as time went on
Otoh, fwiw, that doesn’t mean I don’t shop “online”, I just don’t shop on Amazon much. They have a better-than-average system for “shopping list” setup (which in my case amount to window-shopping lists) that I use extensively, I just don’t buy much from/on the site… As brick & mortar stores finally got on board, I started using “shop online pick up in store” more and more often, too (especially when they offer discounts/promos), and a few places (Home Depot being the big one for me, but I think Target does it too?) will ship to their stores for free, which is an added bonus…
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“…I started using “shop online pick up in store” more and more often…”
Yes! I want to support local businesses (and avoid shipping) as much as I can.
I felt personally responsible when our town closed our last bookstore. I still remember seeing the first Harry Potter book in a store, and not understanding (who was the intended audience???) but buying it anyway, and then starting to buy a LOT of books online. 
I don’t think I would have bought that first book if I was not intrigued by seeing it in real life. The rest is history.
I like shopping the real world, too, for produce, fish, cheese, etc. But if someone wants to deliver 40lb bags of cat litter, cases of printer paper, or cartons of 6 48oz bottles of V8 (all for less than I’d pay locally), I’m not going to say no.
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For me, browsing food shops is not a “chore” or “work”. That’s a “pleasant activity”.
Unless it’s "you must make dinner someone else wants to eat in 30 minutes ". That’s a chore.
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Buying on line and picking up in the store does not always support the local store. Where I used to work we got nothing for a purchase made on line and picked up in the store except the task of finding the merchandise and having it ready for the customer. The idea was we should be able to add on to the original purchase but most people who BOPIS run in and run out.
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There is a place for brick and mortar. In my mind that place is getting smaller. Custom shirts, tailored suits, hardware, stuff that can’t wait until tomorrow. Definitely food. For day-to-day goods - water filter cartridges, office supplies, all kinds of odds and ends - online shopping makes all kinds of sense to me. I can click on the button and go on with my life.
Shipping is a big deal. Amazon Prime is worth the toll to us due to the amount of stuff we buy. Streaming Amazon video is a plus. Shipping has its flip side. Unlike @small_h my experience with cat litter has been poor. UPS from Chewy leaves the box out at our mailbox. That’s a long way with a 40# bag. UPS drops light things at the door but heavy out at the street. FedEx and DHL use handcarts to move heavy things to the house. Amazon Prime sends a text when they are in the neighborhood and we get a moving map of where they are - I can open the garage and move a car out of the way and they’ll drop heavy boxes in the basement. TL;DR: I buy cat litter from brick and mortar again. For entertainment, it took twelve years for my wife to talk me into getting a cat. She cleans the cat box but I have to lug the big bags around. At least the cat food doesn’t weigh very much.
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What’s the time frame on having a dog?
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I don’t think we’ll live that long.
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