Well done Amazon.

I understand about the tax reservations, but they have been very useful in lockdown. From hay fever medicines to bird food.
I have not seen it mentioned here but in our area they do an app called Prime Now which here links to Morrison’s. The delivery is free over £40 and delivery is either same day or next day. Substitutions are checked in real time by text as the shopper goes round and the order is delivered by car in paper sacks. We have found it a useful service.

I guess us older ones will continue to shop online after lockdown ends. I haven't missed shopping one bit especially for food.

OH not happy with Amazon today. He plays a lot of football games on his Xbox which keeps him happy. Said Xbox started playing up so he ordered a new one from amazon. It was supposed to be delivered Monday [There tracking system for your delivery is usually very good] In this instance it kept showing Xbox arriving at depot for 4 days, different depots!
Everyday for the last 5 days he got a message saying it will be delivered today! So far nothing. Its annoying we don't go out often at the moment but do walk dog. shop etc and had to stay in for days on end. He phoned today to be told item lost. They offered a refund which will take 5-7 days. Then he can order another. He not a happy bunny.

Exactly what GrannyGravy said!! ?

I don’t even pay for Prime, and nearly everything arrives free within a few days anyway. If I need something very quickly, or don’t want to buy £20 worth of stuff to get free delivery, one of the offspring orders it for me on their Prime account. I’ve taken delivery today of a very random selection I only ordered on Wednesday evening - poster paints, Fimo, my reading group book, night cream, and stuffing and yet more knitting wool for the dude dolls. The only thing still en route is (are) the new bathroom scales to replace the ones that have just given up the ghost.

Until I’m confident enough to get back to proper shopping, it’s a godsend.

Sorry...last post on wrong thread.

I'd be lost without Amazon Prime - not just for deliveries but I watch a lot of the programs on there . I think the service for the yearly fee is brilliant value.

Our Amazon delivery man has been here so often I am thinking of inviting him for Christmas Lunch as I have seen more of him than AC during lockdown ??

I would usually only use Amazon when all other alternatives had failed, but they have been spectacularly reliable these last three months.

Me again...just seen advert for the meals to store without a freezer....parsleybox.com

No idea if they're any good!

Does everyone know about using Amazon smile? If you go through smile.amazon.co.uk a small donation goes to your choice of charity. I have nominated our local preschool. It mounts up.

I saw a cartoon praising a woman who had built a second home out of Amazon boxes!

Absolutely brilliant service we have used it loads during lockdown.

So happy this morning because my GD has cut my hair, it looks and feels so much better.
I still have the hair bands for real emergencies.

Perhaps Amazon should be charged a lockdown 'windfall tax', like the one paid by privatised utilities in 1997? ..had to look that up

Funky pigeon are good for cards online. I have used amazon a lot in lockdown but feel uneasy about it. Callistemon, after a couple of dodgy purchases I have found selecting items that are 'amazons choice' or best buy tends to avoid the more dodgy suppliers.

I usually give grandchildren cash and a card for birthdays. Cash online is no problem now they all have their own bank accounts, but cards were a problem...getting someone to buy one and someone to post it. I suddenly thought...Amazon! Not a card, but a very small box of chocolates. With prime I did gift message, sent straight to birthday girl, cost not much more than card and postage, and more appreciated!

Amazon has been a lifesaver during lockdown with various medical supplies etc. available next day.

I have the same reservations as others, but all we can do is encourage the government to sort out the rules.

Amazon France had a court injunction to stop them trading for a time earlier this year in part due the poor working conditions of their employees.

I joined Amazon Prime when I needed silicone cupcake cases overnight for my granddaughter's birthday party last October.
Didn't intend to keep it going but have done as I like the e-books and TV channel.
There are some really lovely films of the Julia Donaldson children's books that we've been enjoying on a rainy day (last week!).

My son is back at his normal job now and is hoping the business recovers after lockdown, but says he would have no hesitation in applying to Amazon again if he needed to find another job.
He'd also been offered a temporary job at Ocado, but turned that down as Amazon pay so much more!

Amazon have been our lifeline too during lockdown.

We have Amazon prime so free delivery and prime TV.I have just started a free trial of kindle unlimited and had some really good books.

Well of course Jeff could take the hit and not notice the difference, Callistemon. But do you really think he would?

Would prices need to increase when the owner is the richest man the world? What does one person and his girlfriend do with all that wealth?
Although, as Dolly Parton said, "It costs a lot of money to look this cheap".

I’d been cutting down my Amazon use and doing more shopping locally before lockdown, but they have been invaluable. From DH’s Father’s Day presents and DGS2 and 3’s birthday presents and cards to little essentials like the desperately needed phone charger, toothbrush heads, a spider catcher and a couple of balls of wool when I ran out of all face colours for my dude dolls knitting.

Re working conditions, it’s good to read about your son’s experience, V3ra. They’ve had a lot of bad publicity around these, but many claims have been debunked. It’d be interesting to hear from others with actual experience of how they work. I certainly wish they’d pay more tax, and I think most of us would accept the increase to their prices this would inevitably cause. Wouldn’t we?

I don't have Prime membership and normal channels of complaint seem to be shut down. It's all very odd, this item was offered by several companies but could all have been the same one based, I found out afterwards, in Wuhan; I put on a review but the item has been taken off Amazon now.
I lost the cost of that rubbish and had to order something else instead.

I'll try again, thanks Opsadaisy.

Callistemon I’ve always found them very good with refunds, just got £11.55 refunded yesterday because the item hadn’t arrived, one item was damaged so they refunded the money and told me to keep the item, we managed to repair it and use it ( it was a bird feeder) , so fingers crossed it will continue that way.
Top Tip, press the Prime box, on the left hand side at the top When you do a search, that way it’s no hassle to get a problem sorted If you order via Prime.

I've used them too, despite reservations. I have used other firms as well.
My only gripe was that a puzzle I ordered for DH arrived poorly packaged, was bashed around and the actual puzzle was such dreadful quality that he gave up trying to finish it. Trying to complain was impossible.

Be careful, I got severely told off on GN for ordering online and told by another poster that I was putting people's lives at risk.
I thought I was helping to keep people in a job.

I tried to avoid using the evil empire because of the workers terms and conditions, the tax avoidance etc but - during lockdown I've found it invaluable.
The drivers are friendly, well trained in social distance and customer service.
I was isolating throughout lock down and only managed a supermarket priority 7 or 8 weeks in to this crisis. Amazon has been great.