Boycotting Amazon

But there again...some of us don't stick strictly to Forum etiquette ourselves!

Quite.

I thought it was bad forum etiquette to comment on other posters' grammar!

[shrug emoticon]

Good job I do not speedread yours, Merlot.
"I don't wish to.... comments" is not gramatically correct.

I don't wish to sound insulting, Jendurham but the reason I haven't realised you can think laterally is because I usually speed read your comments.

We are talking about the Blairs because Bags asked me if I thought the govts. were immoral, and yes I do.
It's a thread, which means it can weave in and out.
Some of us can think laterally. If you've followed any other of my comments, you may think that's all I can do!
Oh, and I have boycotted Amazon as well, and told them why, although it was difficult to do.

Quite, merlot. This thread's about boycotting Amazon. Nothing to do with the Blairs.

Over to you Granjura .

Why are we talking about the Blairs? What have they got to do with Amazon?

TEflon and ghastly Cherie are English , Amazon is American , there is no comparison.

OK Amazon are hiding their profits , what excuse do Blairs have ???

Which is presumably what Amazon have been doing

Is not Amazon American ?

Why is the greed of the Blairs any more odious than the greed of Amazon? (ok not talking about the war here) - at least they do pay taxes? (although I'm sure they've found ways to keep this as low as poss).

As said before, Merlotgran, the boycott would not have to last very long if it was significant - long enough and hard enough for them to get the message- but not sufficient to have to cut staff. It is not an either/or situation,

They won't be treating their workers right if loads of them get made redundant due to a fall in business.

YankeeGran, would this growing movement be the same people who decided to boycott Children In Need so their donations would fall this year?

I have nothing against big businesses, if they treat their workers right, if they do not exploit slave labour, and if they pay fair taxes.

Why support them if they do not?

Apologies if someone has already mentioned this but Love Film is part of Amazon as well, I believe.

......immoral selfish and greedy...how unusual for a big business!

If you need alternative shopping suggestions, check out the Sunday papers. They are FULL of ways to circumvent Amazon. There IS a growing movement to boycott these companies, though the fact that the list is growing means that it becomes ever harder to find "legit" alternatives. Name and shame!

I don't think that anyone here is passing judgement on others who are posting different views. Rather, this is a forum for ideas. Some will not feel able to boycott Amazon or any other company. Some will feel it is the least they can do. The point is that the millions of tax these avoiders don't pay is money that is not coming into government coffers, the absence of which forces cuts in government spending. I guess the question is do you feel comfortable supporting a multimillion pound business which does not contribute to the overall well being of the society from which it draws its customers? Their practices are not illegal, but they are immoral, selfish and greedy - IMHO.

Well said, Granjura. I agree with everything you have said here.
Before I read about Starbucks and Amazon I admit I had just bought something from Amazon - 4 bottles of Sambucol for the inevitable colds before Christmas.
Last year I used all my Nectar points to get vouchers for my grandchildren. This year I will not. I will not use Amazon at all until they see the error of their ways.
We all use the influence we can.
I do not know if this is relevant or not, but I used to have one of the chocolatiers at Nestle staying in my guest house in York.
I used to tell him that I would not buy his products even though they tasted nice (he used to bring me samples of the new lines to try and comment on)
because of Nestles business ways and because they did not use organic or faitrade ingredients.
They now have some fairtrade products.
May or may not have been my influence. I like to think so. One person or one family is not enough to change the ways of these errant companies.
We can only influence those we meet.

So why does Costa and Caffé Nero pay their taxes? Surely they could avoid that too, but they choose to do the right thing, why? Because they think it is right to do so.

Here our accountant has given us lots of ways of keeping quite on some things- we could easily keep stumm on some assets in the UK - but we told him, that NO we want to pay what is fair and due- couldn't do anything else.

I know some very wealthy people in the UK who spend a week on holiday in the Bahamas with their accountant- to work every possible way of tax avoidance, and it makes my blood boil. Other wealthy people who work out with their business partners that they do not make a profit on the books while their kids are at private school, so they get scholarships, etc, etc. It is WRONG - and if I can do anything about it, I will.

Thanks for the link Bags. And I like Andrew Marr's choice of words 'grotesque'- and he is no left-winger. Yes Petallus, the small local businesses, and larger ones at national level- would be delighted if some of the boycott business goes to them- and i'd be delighted for them too, I must say. Those businesses going through very tough times at the moment, and who pay every penny they owe in tax- no loopholes for them. Our great independent bookshops, record shops, toy shops and cafés- let's root for them- and at the same time send a message to those businesses that avoid tax + as a bonus, try to stop the cloning of our cities. Hurrah.

Apparently France and Germany do not believe Starbucks or Amazon. And neither did lots of the committee members that interviewed them.
The problem with relying on HMRC to sort things out is that they have lost hundreds of workers and are really overworked.
A long time ago my husband designed an extension for someone who worked for the tax people in London. After he handed over the drawings and told this man how much it would cost, he was asked if that was cash in hand. Ken said he never did that and anyway "You work for the taxman". This man said they were after bigger fish than Ken. Obviously not.
Bags, you asked me questions. I was answering them.