Buying everything on Amazon: immediate savings vs long-term costs

Amazon wins on price: €28 in local shops, €4 online

It is not just the price that has given Amazon the upper hand. The fact that local businesses, in many cases, have stopped being competitive has also played a role. A daily planner that cost 28 euros at the neighborhood bookstore was found online for 4, with next-day delivery. The customer who ordered it warned the bookstore that the price was too high for the four months remaining, but received no response: there was no alternative. Based on this, an uncomfortable fundamental question arises: is buying everything on Amazon irresponsible? The answer depends on whether one looks at today's wallet or tomorrow's catalog.

Real savings: from planners to heart-rate monitors

Concrete examples are hard to dispute. During a sale event, a GPS watch with a heart-rate monitor was 30 euros cheaper than on other dates on the same website, 40 euros below other online stores, and 60 euros less than the cheapest physical shop. A toaster, delivered to the door for 15 euros, meant a 12-euro difference compared to traveling to buy it. A PlayStation Plus subscription cost 35 euros a year compared to its 60-euro reference price.

Some argue that time savings weigh as much as monetary ones. Comparing prices and reviews online consumes hours, and those who do so with discernment know this well. A full calculation, item by item, including travel, fuel, parking, and the product itself, sometimes reveals differences that surprise even the most skeptical buyer.

Why has local commerce lost the battle?

The argument for proximity has a problem: the experience. Take the case of a professional who needed UNC 6-32 5/16 thread screws—the kind used in computers—and even the local specialist couldn't help; they arrived from a European supplier via an online route. Then there is the hostile response to unusual requests, that look of why do you want this?.

Added to this is the cost structure. In Gijón, the Bershka store on Calle Corrida closed: the rent was 24,000 euros per month for 375 square meters, and the landlord refused to lower it. If a multinational the size of Inditex cannot afford that rent, small businesses have it even worse. Generating 300,000 euros a year without a struggle is a business that the textile giant itself decided not to finance.

A more cynical, frequently repeated reading suggests something else: that many surviving local shops are run by people more exhausted than their own establishments, who hold on until retirement to collect their pension and, deep down, do not need customers. It is not a provable thesis, but it explains why sympathy for local commerce has been running dry.

The shadow of monopoly: when no alternatives remain

This is where the narrative gets complicated. The underlying concern is not today's price, but tomorrow's power. Those who only buy when there is real savings or when a product cannot be found elsewhere admit that if Amazon manages to control the market, service will decline and reference prices will rise. Delivery has already suffered due to its own logistics network: the contracted couriers are often blamed as the weakest link, evidenced by a delayed order notification from June.

The counterpoint is that Amazon is not the only gateway. There are dozens of online stores with equivalent guarantees, and several users maintain that Chinese platforms have not yet achieved what the American company has: hassle-free returns and real customer service. On one of those websites, a refund for a defective product amounts to only 10% or, with luck, 20% after negotiation.

The impact of supermarket prices

Food, however, holds its ground. Filling the pantry online requires paying 4 euros per order, adding the cost of products, and being a premium subscriber. No one does their daily shopping this way. For essentials—clothing and food—the large platform has not replaced the corner shop, although in areas without a nearby supermarket, the digital option wins points purely due to a lack of supply.

Taxes, income, and underlying discontent

A non-commercial motive pulses through the entire conversation: taxation. Some openly declare they buy where taxes are lowest, believing that public money ends up where it shouldn't. It is a stance difficult to defend in terms of general interest, but it reveals that online shopping is not always a price decision, but one of disaffection.

A historical detail often cited is that of the euro: some claim that local businesses, the very ones appealing to the community spirit, took advantage of the currency change to raise prices by 1.66%. Whether it was widespread or not, the perception remains.

What might happen

Given these factors, the reasonable conclusion is uncomfortable for everyone. Physical commerce will not disappear, but it will be reduced to providing what a screen cannot: trying on clothes, seeing the product, and receiving real advice. Those who do not evolve into an online store or a differentiated service will face difficulties. And Amazon will continue to gain market share until a competitor appears with its logistics, after-sales service, and catalog. The doubt is not whether it is wise to buy everything from them. It is what will happen the day, without an alternative, there is no longer a choice to make.