Brave New World or Stupid New World

Brave New World or Stupid New World
The Reader's Turn
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Some thoughts on “online” buying versus “brick and mortar” shopping. Online is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Aren’t we spoiled? Just got one bottle of a particular hairspray for my wife from Amazon. It’s hard to find it elsewhere. Online has taken over sanity. The item shows up in a 9-by-12 cardboard box with plastic filler. That’s one bottle shipped directly to our house.

What did it take to get it here? For us, easy as pie—about one minute on Amazon. What did it actually cost (both us and the world)? One bottle of hairspray, in its own cardboard box with plastic bubble wrap. Price of the item, well, OK? Price of the total, well, not OK! What a waste of resources. Cardboard tossed, plastic tossed (actually both recycled, I hope), shipping for one single bottle to a suburban address …

What a stupid waste of resources. I’m going to a store that gets a gross of the hairspray in one box at a “volume/gross” price. Amazon has found the answer—“transform” the U.S. into a land of wasteful people while making billions. Welcome to the Brave New (Stupid) World.

Oh well!

Paul Kartinen

California

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