The reasons for why Amazon is worthy of your cash that I present below are fairly obvious, but I will go into some details that may not be. Also, I must point out that the main way that Brains Report is monetized is through the Amazon Associates program. Basically, if you follow a link from here to buy something there, I may get a cut. So, one could argue that I’m biased. I like to think I’m pretty good at avoiding being biased so I’m going to present a few negatives about Amazon first:

  • They are a giant corporation driven by profits
  • Amazon may be hurting small businesses
  • They have way too much power

Now, please take a moment to read the positives and consider whether they outweigh the negatives in your situation. Also, think about your alternatives to Amazon. Much of the time, the alternatives also fit all of the above three criteria. In which case, you might as well enjoy the following positives:

1. You Don’t Have to Dress up to Go Shopping

Unless you’re a person of Walmart (the negatives far outweigh the positives with that monolithic megacorp), you generally have to put on a new dress or tuxedo when you want to go out and buy a vacuum sealer. After all, what if you run into coworkers? Or, the mayor? You want to look your best! On the other hand, according to my made-up statistics, 62% of Amazon shoppers are naked or wearing underwear incorrectly.

2. Subscribe and Save up to 15%

I try to automate as much of my life as possible so I can save my Brains-power and time for more important things, like idly rubbing on my phone while spending “quality” time with my kids. Subscribe and Save helps automate my life while saving me money. It works like this: for items you frequently buy, you can subscribe to receive them at regular intervals (i.e., every month, two months, year, etc.) When you receive five items at the same address in a month, you get 15% off.

3. Returns Are Simple

Amazon makes returns stupidly simple. You just tell them you want to return it, they give you the return label to put on the box, and you hand it off to your friendly package delivery person. I’ll let you in on a little secret, though. Sometimes, Amazon refunds your money and doesn’t even ask for the item back. On an unrelated note, do any of you need some turtle tank filters that are too small for our tank?

4. Prime Makes Me Feel Obligated

This might be one of the downsides of signing up for Amazon Prime but an upside to shopping on Amazon. Once you’re a Prime member, you feel obligated to shop on Amazon. Of course, it does improve the experience. For instance, you get free two-day shipping, and if you are patient and willing to waive your fast shipping, you earn rewards. For instance:

You can wait for lumbar support, but should you?

5. Save Time

I can’t stand strapping the toddler into his child seat, driving across town to the toaster oven dealership, unstrapping the toddler, dragging him into the dealership, losing him, picking the toaster oven I want, finding the toddler I want, bring both up to the checkout lane, waiting in line while the lonely person in front of me has their only social interaction of the day, having the checker attempt to get me to sign up for some credit card, finally paying, strapping the toddler back into his child seat, driving back across town, unstrapping the child, and realizing I left the now-missing toaster oven on top of the car.

6. Save Money

I strongly encourage you to shop around, but most of the time, I find Amazon beats competitors, online and off.

What are your thoughts about Amazon? Let me know below!