Amazon Prime Is a Blessing and a Curse For Remote Towns (vice.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: If access to Prime is reduced, or in some cases, cut off, it can leave many remote towns in the lurch. One dozen five-gallon barrels of hydraulic oil. A 2x4x8 of lumber. A pallet's worth of 10-ply, heavy-duty truck tires. These are just a few of the heavy, cumbersome orders one Redditor on the Alaska subreddit claimed to have ordered from Amazon Prime, with free shipping, before users started to notice difficulty finding eligible products. For many remote and rural communities in the U.S. and Canada, the arrival of Amazon Prime, with its low prices and free, expedient shipping was a boon. Hard-to-get or expensive products were now accessible, and reasonably priced to boot. For the cost of a membership (which now runs $99 per year), residents were able to get deals on everything from food to diapers to truck tires. But sometimes when something seems too good to be true, it is. Prime has proven to be a bit of a double-edged sword for many of these communities. Residents become dependent on Prime as local retailers struggle to compete. If access to Prime is reduced, or in some cases, cut off, it can leave many remote towns in the lurch.

Comments

This was Sears' model...100 years ago

[xxxJonBoyxxx]

Anyone else remember the song about the "Wells Fargo Wagon" from 76 Trombones? That was the end result of a remote order business hooked up to a rail-backed transportation system.

See also "Sears Catalog Home":
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sears_Catalog_Home

Re:Yes, yes, we get it

[Opportunist]

Actually, the story is telling a very different story. Amazon Prime endangers local stores. They will close shop, making you fully dependent on Amazon Prime in the end. Which is of course when they'll yank that carpet out under your feet and charge you through the nose for ... well, anything you might want or need.