> The ad system they built isn’t illegal, but it’s pretty clear who it’s for.

"If you're not the customer, you're the product".

Well, Amazon actually did it. They made us the customer _AND_ the product. Hooray.

Like LOTS of other people, I, of course, use Amazon. But, more and more often... if I can find a product somewhere else within, say, 5-6%... I'll buy it that someplace else. Especially if that someplace else is actually a building I can walk into and inspect the thing I'm buying before I pay for it.

Shopping on Amazon is getting worse every day. How can it be good for Amazon in the long run that every time I buy something from their site, I actually have to spend time convincing myself that I'm not getting a knock-off product?

In the modern world, every single time money leaves my bank account I feel like I'm potentially being scammed. I hate it.