I have mixed feelings about Amazon.
I love the ease of shopping there. And now that I’ve joined Amazon Prime, the shipping is often free and very fast. Another advantage of Prime: Last week I watched A Very English Scandal, a great mini-series with no commercials that’s only available on Prime.
On the other hand, I worry about the stores Amazon is putting out of business. As someone who enjoys shopping in person—seeing the merchandise close up, touching it, trying it on, talking to the people who own the stores or work there—I’d hate to lose more brick-and-mortar stores.
Of particular concern is my hometown bookstore and others like it. I love the staff and owner of the Edmonds Book Shop. They’ve helped me choose books for myself and my grandchildren. They’ve ordered books for me, and they carry my novel, Tiger Tail Soup. So I continue to buy books from them. But (hang my head) I buy even more from Amazon.
Seattle and Seattleites also have a love-hate relationship with Amazon.
The Amazon headquarters is in downtown Seattle. With a workforce there of 40,000, they occupy 8.1 million square feet of prime office space. That’s 19% of the city’s office space, or as much as the next 43 biggest companies combined.
With Amazon’s quick expansion, wages in Seattle have gone up and unemployment has gone down. On the other hand, Amazon’s growth has led to gridlock on the roads and sky high housing prices.
Putting all this aside … my sister, my grandson, and I signed up to tour Amazon’s signature building: the Amazon Spheres. Even though the Spheres is meant for Amazon employees, it’s open to the public two Saturdays a month. You have to make reservations, though.
my sister with her green bracelet
After showing our reservations and our ID, we collected our green bracelets, entered the three interlocking glass spheres, and stepped into a world of green. Inside the Spheres are more than 40,000 plants from cloud forests in 30 countries.
So why, you might ask, would Amazon build such a facility?
Here’s their answer:
The Spheres are a place where employees can think and work differently surrounded by plants. (They) are a result of innovative thinking about the character of a workplace and an extended conversation about what is typically missing from urban offices–a direct link to nature. … Studies suggest that spaces that embrace biophilic design can inspire creativity and even improve brain function.
One of the first things we saw upon entering the Spheres was this 60 foot high living wall.
The variety of ferns on the wall was astounding.
The Spheres are only four stories tall, but they’re surrounded by high rises, many of them belonging to Amazon, others under construction.
Up and down the four floors of the Spheres employees or visitors can surround themselves in greenery.
But they can also sit down for coffee and donuts or sandwiches and salad. They can meet in a circle of woven chairs or sit in a corner with their laptops.
The Spheres is full of plants that are beautiful, strange, and even creepy. Here’s one example. I’ve saved the rest for my post next week.
Yep, I would think that most authors have mixed feelings about Amazon. On the one hand, we need Amazon to carry our books. On the other hand, we love browsing through a bookstore in person, which is far more interesting than online shopping. Like you, I’m a brick-and-mortar shopper, but I also know that they are sometimes too expensive for most people to afford, while Amazon is more likely to carry what they need at a better price.
I still favor buying less and doing it in a store and hope to continue to do so.
And even though I have mixed feelings about Amazon’s mega business, I’d love to see the spheres for myself. This is quite outstanding!
I totally get what you write about the love/hate relationship between Amazon and the residents of Seattle. Same in San Francisco.
Thought-provoking post, for sure, Nicki.
I agree with you about buying less. That’s the best way to save money, and then you can afford to shop in person.
The changing face of Seattle is much discussed here. Today the cover story in Pacific NW, the Seattle Times Magazine, is I Hate You, Seattle: A Love Story. Here’s a featured sentence: A longtime Seattleite clings to a tenuous tether of hope as the city he loved–loves–reaches for the sky.
I would so love to go to Amazon Spheres! It looks like my kind of place! The last time I was in Seattle, we tried to go to the Space Needle, but the wait! And the cost! Forgetaboutit!
That being said, I think Seattle always had a traffic problem; although, Amazon certainly contributed to it, I’m sure. Did Boeing leave? Or did it just downgrade? Curious.
It’s a very beautiful city and I can see why many people flock to Seattle. But it always seemed expensive and growing. My friend took public transportation for years (in fact, he still might bus it), and the amount of time for him to get into and out of the city – I don’t know how he did it.
Interestingly, I read that Barnes and Noble is looking at maybe 2 more years of viability before they close down. The Amazons and the Wal-marts of the world have certainly changed the landscape of commence. But like you I appreciate both. I think sooner or later the tipping scales will have to return to more of a balance. At least I hope so!
after reading Nicki’s article i looked – it seems there’s a l – o – n – g wait to get in to the spheres, unless you’re an employee (or maybe an employee’s guest?)
Seattle’s overflow is creating urban areas in the surrounding cities, I’m sure you know, all governments always need more money (the way the system is designed), so they’re always looking for lots more people (and all the headaches that go along with that)
several years back, the Boeing ceo got angry with the state and moved the corporate headquarters to a “friendlier” city, I believe, Chicago.
the “free market economy” is based on infinite – growth, always, more… until, as you suggest, the scales tip???
Tucked between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, Lake Union in between, there isn’t enough room for all the roads needed to get traffic through Seattle. Amazon and several other big tech companies have recently located in downtown Seattle–unlike Microsoft which long ago established its main offices way out in more sparsely populated Redmond. All the recent growth has put a terrific squeeze on housing and transportation. Boeing did move to Chicago, but it was just the headquarters that moved, a very small portion of what was here. They still build lots of planes on both sides of Seattle. I’ve heard it said that Seattle has been a boom and bust city since the Alaskan gold rush when the miners bought all their supplies in Seattle.
You talk about a coming balance in retail. I think that’s true. Big stores like Sears are having a hard time, but certain types of stores and cute little malls are gaining momentum. The downtown where I live is doing just fine. It’s small and pleasant to shop in. I think the carefully chosen items in the stores and the size and familiarity of the town give people a sense of being in a neighborhood where they belong.
Ahhh, I think the last time I rolled through Seattle (ages ago), Amazon was still on the outskirts. But moving downtown! GAH!
I didn’t know that about the Alaskan gold rush. Interesting!
Malls are making a comeback in America? Now, that’s news. Malls in Asia have always been hot spots and they are such a different experience than America…as you probably know.
The malls that are making a comeback tend to be outdoor malls with more trendy shops and eating places. University Village near the Univ. of Washington, for example, has expanded a lot. It’s not really a mall, but that’s the kind of place that’s hot.
Beautiful space, and very appropriate considering that the company is called Amazon, haha. I don’t buy that much in Amazon even though they have a Chinese specific website but it is quite expensive. Here most shopping is done online (delivery companies have sprung like mushrooms in recent years) and the biggest platforms are Taobao, for cheap stuff, and JD for better quality.
I really enjoy hearing from you to keep up on what’s happening in China. It sounds like the Chinese are even bigger online shoppers than we are.
That is interesting about Amazon — I did not realize they had such a place like that, filled with green space! I totally understand your mixed feelings about it. I have had Prime in the past, and of course I’m even an affiliate with them…but I also recognize that corporations have gained a LOT of power in recent years, to the point where it seems that corporate interests often matter far more than what’s in the interest of average people.
And the Supreme Court decided that corporations are people. That’s sure a strange decision.
I’m old enough to remember when General Eisenhower warned us about the military-industrial complex. I’m afraid the rich and powerful have had an outsized influence over the people for a long long time.
What a cool place to visit.
Like you, my feelings about the changes in how we shop is mixed. Sometimes progress for some is a dead end for others.
I grew up in a small town. You could buy everything you needed on Main Street, and your mom and dad knew most of the merchants. Then the next town over built a mall, and within a few short years, Main Street became an ugly shadow of its former self. Next step, online shopping. Change isn’t always progress, but you can’t fight it. We can’t deny that online shopping has advantages. Otherwise we wouldn’t do it.
And yes, it was a cool place to visit.
yes, yin and yang
i, too, occasionally make purchases through amazon, but am deprived as i do not have 1st class customer status, i.e. “prime” membership
however, nothing is “free”! people, organic, living, breathing people pay the price for amazon’s customers and major stock holders
and, don’t forget, amazon recently showed the world, for those who didn’t already know, the world, not only this country, is ruled by the major corporations
law givers are their protectors and must serve, them
Wasn’t it Eisenhower that warned us about the “military-industrial complex?” He forgot to mention the politicians. I guess that was understood.
I don’t order enough from Amazon to justify purchasing a Prime Account. I do order my Kindle books from them, but when I want a paper book, I purchase from Barnes and Noble. I’d have a difficult time working in such a beautiful place. I’d rather soak in the beautiful scenery. Thanks for sharing your photos, Nicki.
I didn’t get a Prime account until recently. If I were a careful shopper, I would keep track of how much a have been saving and see if it’s worth it. Of course, they gave me a deal for the first year, and now I’m getting used to it and enjoying the video. I know their tricks and I still fall for them.
Even when I’m working, I do like to be surrounded by something beautiful and green. My computer is next to a window, and every so often, I take a look at my pansies and ferns and my little heavenly bamboo bush. Or I look across the street at my neighbors trees or up at the sky.
Oh, Amazon. Such a problematic fav. They build a gorgeous place like Spheres and then have overworked employees in hot warehouses for minimal pay peeing in bottles in order to make deadlines.
But I also love their series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”
I also like “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” Now I’m watching “Goliath”–courtroom intrigue, a lovable, flawed hero, and plenty of villains.
One article I read said the Amazon warehouses are pretty much the industry standard. Ohh! Unbridled capitalism! The rich are getting richer; the poor are getting poorer; and the unions are disappearing. And in Seattle, with the price of housing going up so fast, the homeless numbers are growing every day.
I also have Amazon Prime. And I also worry about businesses that go belly up because they can’t compete with Amazon. Like Kate mentioned, the Barnes and Noble near me has low inventory.
That said, what a lovely place they’ve built. They certainly have the money.
Amazon certainly does have the money. Their expansion has been amazing. It seems strange to me that they would build their headquarters in a crowded place like downtown Seattle. I suppose it’s fine for their employees who want to live in condos and have enough money to pay for them. At least they don’t have to commute. even though the Spheres must have been expensive to build, stock with exotic plants, and care for, it seems worth it to me. You can’t put a price tag on beauty, serenity, and innovation. Expensive or not, I like it.
It looks like a cool place to work. I worked for a short time for an innovative employer who built an atrium with a glass ceiling in the middle of their offices. Very cool. Unfortunately my work wasn’t so cool so I left! Many of us have that same love-hate relationship with Amazon. For clothes especially I love to feel, touch and try on before I buy. For a hair dryer, doesn’t matter. We’ve lost all our book stores except Barnes and Noble and one run by a local college. I was in the B&N this past week and their inventory is way down. So sad.
We have two bookstores in town. One is a regular bookstore that’s been in town forever and is still very popular. The other is new, a nice used-books store. We have a Barnes and Noble at the mall. I sure hope it survives.
I buy T-shirts from LL Bean, but for the most part, I need to try clothes on. Online retail is here to stay, and I think lots of small stores are doing okay. I don’t know about the big chain stores like Sears and JC Penney. We’ll see.
That is quite the nature section within Amazon’s office in Seattle. It does look impressive. How long was the tour? You do have to wonder if Amazon is putting many small businesses out of business. I don’t think Amazon has that big of a reach in Australia, though when Amazing US recently decided to no longer ship to Australia there was a bit of noise about that. Like you, I like seeing things for myself in person before making a final purchase. Never have used Amazon much because shipping tends to hurt my wallet a lot, and I prefer buying direct from retailers, even if it’s through their online website if I can’t get what I want in store.
It was a self-guided tour, Mabel. I think we were there for an hour and a half or more. Online shopping has grown a lot in the past few years, and Amazon is the big player. I’m lucky to live in a city with its own downtown, and one that’s walking distance from my house. It’s up to me and my neighbors to keep our lovely downtown alive. So even though I do shop on Amazon, I also do a good part of my shopping in person.
All the more reason for you to walk to the city and shop. But sometimes there’s more variety online. When I shop for clothes such as jeans and jackets, I like to get them from Hollister’s online store. They used to have retail stores here in Australia but not any more. What I like about online shopping is if you buy enough, you get free shipping.
You must be easy to fit. I have to try jeans on. I do buy T-shirts on line from LL Bean. They’re simple and reliable, and they come in many colors.