Yes, I know, worshiping the temple of e-Commerce is a bit far out of my usual wheelhouse, where I’m typically frolicking with Cthulhu or posting unhinged rants against palm trees. But guess what, chicken butt: Your humble author has to eat too, and articles about Amazon Prime Day brings in the bacon.
It’s funny, too, because for all the vitriol Amazon draws, it’s really just the online version of Sears-Roebuck. Present your case, John Oliver:
Now my case:
Did you know Amazon is selling tiny homes? For less than 20K you can get free shipping on a build-it-yourself house. You know who else used to sell mail-order homes? Sears-Roebuck, Inc. One of my favorite niche blogs, McMansionHell, has a fascinating deep read on mail order house kits from Sears. Stick around McMansionHell, it’s not just a snarky architect (though it’s funny too), it’s also a mini-education on architecture and the history of the homes that built suburbia.
No surprise that Sears is closing down at the same time Amazon has risen to take its place. Sears was once the mail-order Amazon, and don’t think for a minute that it didn’t have controversies over employee relations, just like Amazon now.
You see? The Internet just replaced the mail-order catalog, that’s all. The biggest diffrence is that you can’t use the Internet for toilet paper in the outhouse anymore, tempting as the proposition might be.
