Have People Lost Their Minds By Ordering Stuff Online?

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hvizsgyak

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I work for one of the three big package delivery companies (FedEx, UPS, USPS) and our deliveries have more than quadrupled since Amazon started picking up speed in the online business. We value the online business tremendously because it helps our company out financially but as a Catholic, I wonder about the materialism going on in our country. People (I’m told by my customers) are buying things online because they are cheap and easy to get a hold of. Some customers tell me that they don’t even leave the house anymore because they can get everything they need online and delivered to their home (sometimes the same day). Some people get one, two, three packages a day, everyday. What’s going on with people? Where are they getting all this money to buy stuff? Or is it all on credit? I’m not exaggerating this, our company is delivering a lot of packages. I don’t even want to think about Christmas this year!!!
 
I’m not sure it follows that people are spending more simply because they are doing most of their shopping online.

Actually, it is reminiscent of my grandmother’s day when the grocer and large department stores would deliver items after one made a phone call to them. Online ordering seems to be taking us back to those days, just with a twist.
 
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I agree with you that a lot of people are utilizing the online more. It really is helpful for the small businesses to get their product out there. All they need for their business now is a good website for customers to go to and of course a good product that people want.

My only concern though is that people are overindulging in online services because its cheaper and easier. They are buying a lot (and I mean a lot) of stuff they may not necessarily need but they buy it because its either cheap or there is a big sale they cannot refuse to participate in. Then they are just wasting their own money.
 
We use online ordering for groceries, and it actually prevents us from buying as much as we might if we were at the grocery store indulging in impulse purchasing.
 
Don’t rush to judge the recipients of your packages. You don’t know why they are buying, but they may have good reasons. If you are worried about them, offer silent prayers for them as you go about your work. A package and a blessing.
 
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They aren’t necessarily spending any more than they ever have. They have just changed their method of shopping. I order everything on line, now, from cleaning supplies, to automotive supplies, to medicine to clothing. Sure I buy electronics and household appliances on line, too. I bought my last car on-line and then just picked it up from the dealership and signed a few forms they had waiting for me.

Quite frankly, it frees up a lot of time for me to do things with my friends and family that I didn’t have before. It is a good thing.
 
People are simply buying things online that in the past, they would have gone out and bought at a brick-and-mortar store.

It’s similar to how ordering from the Sears catalog used to be, back when Sears sold things people wanted to buy at a good price, had exclusive deals, and had a catalog.

Amazon now offers just about every possible thing you need/ want in life, right down to groceries. People, including the women who used to go out and do the shopping, now work all day and have less time to go out to physical stores. There are also people who because of age, caregiver responsibilities, disability, or location have difficulty getting out to physical stores, and rely as much as they can on phone order, Internet order, and delivery services.

Many areas, such as my father’s old hometown, no longer have any local shops and you have to drive a distance to get to a decent shopping center. Why spend your precious free time and your gas money driving 20 miles to the shopping center when delivery will bring stuff to your doorstep?
 
RandomAlias said:
Don’t rush to judge the recipients of your packages. You don’t know why they are buying, but they may have good reasons.
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Yeah, my mother used to receive regular packages. They contained things like the adult incontinence wear and prescription medications she needed. Needless to say, they weren’t labeled in huge letters “Adult Incontinence Pads” or “Prescription Drugs”. Once in a while she’d also buy a clothing item, or I would order some clothes for her, as she was not able to walk through department stores picking out a blouse or a new pair of comfy trousers when the old ones got stained or holey.

If somebody wanted to think Mom was a big materialist because she was getting these shipments on a regular basis, that’s their hangup.
 
For those of us with disabilities, online shopping is a true blessing. I’d imaging the same for parents of young children, those with busy schedules. Imagine, one can spend Saturday at home with family instead of out dragging around shopping!
 
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I want to say this is not my feelings alone. I work with hundreds of people and I would say 85% of them agree with me that there is a lot more online shopping being done and some of it is excessive. I know people who work for the other two businesses that deliver packages and they say the same thing. Now some of you may not buy excessively but we who deliver the stuff can spot excessive buying people. There garages are usually stacked to the max with all sorts of stuff. Otherwise they are hoarding. Again though, I’m not saying everybody buys excessively but trust me, there are a decent amount of people that look like they do.
 
The type of people who may buy excessively through the mail existed prior to Amazon. They bought from brick-and-mortar stores as well as from the mail order outlets that existed at the time, most of which shipped in those days via the US Mail so unless you’re a mail carrier you wouldn’t see it.

Frankly, I don’t think people’s buying habits are the business of the person delivering the packages, and it seems gossipy to be judging it and discussing it here on a Catholic forum. Scripture cautions us not to judge and not to engage in idle gossip. On top of that, the package deliveries are keeping the delivery persons in a job, which I would think they would be grateful to have.
 
In the UK stores are being very badly affected by online shopping. A lot of romper solid retailers have ceased trading or are closing stores all,over the country.

It would be a great shame if we find that there are few real shops left to view stock, assess quality and buy from. And that’s apart from the excursion, socialising and fun you can get from a shopping trip.
 
JulianN said:
Completely off the topic at hand, but you do know that gossip can be a fact?

hvizsgyak:
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Precisely. To think that the people who work in deliveries are standing around gossiping in judgmental words about the people who pay their salaries is unprofessional as well as uncharitable. I’ve managed many groups of employees in my day, if this were happening on my watch, there would be some serious “coaching” taking place.
 
Yes, I know a fact can be gossip too if I were saying (for example this is a fictitious name and scenario) Betty Sue keeps buying a lot of chocolate bon bons from Swiss Colony and she is overweight as it is. Now that’s gossip. What I’m stating is fact but not bringing anybody up in specific. I’m making a statement based upon years of observation.

If I were a priest and I was giving a homily on materialism and excess buying would you be as haughty about your comments?
TheLittleLady said:
Precisely. To think that the people who work in deliveries are standing around gossiping in judgmental words about the people who pay their salaries is unprofessional as well as uncharitable. I’ve managed many groups of employees in my day, if this were happening on my watch, there would be some serious “coaching” taking place.
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How is it you can separate your business life from your spiritual life so easily? You sound like some business people I know who don’t think about the consequences of their actions because all they know is the almighty dollar rules everything. There are a lot of people in debt because they cannot control their spending. I myself have been down that road before and it hard to get out of. All I’m saying (and its addressed to those who are in debt), try to watch your spending.

Our package delivering services will be around for a long time and with plenty of work. Thank you for your business. God bless.
 
hvizsgyak said:
You sound like some business people I know who don’t think about the consequences of their actions because all they know is the almighty dollar rules everything.
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Fail to see how expecting people to be professional and charitable while at work is “almighty dollar rules”, but, okay.
hvizsgyak said:
There are a lot of people in debt because they cannot control their spending. I myself have been down that road before and it hard to get out of. All I’m saying (and its addressed to those who are in debt), try to watch your spending.
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As human beings it is natural to rail against the afflictions that tempt us the most.

It lacks charity to assume sin in other people simply because you once battled that sin.

Maybe try thanking God for all of these people ordering things or offer up your uncomfortable feelings for everyone who has lost their job.
 
hvizsgyak said:
How is it you can separate your business life from your spiritual life so easily? You sound like some business people I know who don’t think about the consequences of their actions because all they know is the almighty dollar rules everything. There are a lot of people in debt because they cannot control their spending. I myself have been down that road before and it hard to get out of. All I’m saying (and its addressed to those who are in debt), try to watch your spending.
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Except it’s not your spiritual life. It’s other people’s spiritual lives that may or may not be affected by an activity they could do just as easily in brick and mortar stores. It’s always dangerous to be too concerned about the state of the souls of others, especially those you don’t know.
 
In the US, its kind of a mixed reaction to online shopping, with the rise of Amazon where you can find anything you want or need and at a great price, a lot of the big stores that have been around for years find it tough to compete such as Toys R Us, Sears, JC Penney, Home Depot, Bed Bath and Beyond. But from what I understand about Amazon, they give access to shoppers a ton of small businesses that would not have much recognition without Amazon. So small businesses are starting up and growing while the big store are scaling down due to more competition. So Grandpa Smedley’s Cold Fused Moonshine can compete against Johnny Walker’s Whiskey. People here love that. God Bless and have a great day in the UK.
 
I don’t know the state of the person’s soul who is pro-abortion but yet I everyday pronounce the evils of abortion to those who are for it. I do not know the state of the person’s soul who is cheating on their spouse but yet I talk to many about fidelity in marriage. We are called to point out sin in this world and hopefully people will hear and change their ways. And at the same time we are to point out God’s love and mercy so people will grow closer to our Lord. In our country, the religious have been silenced because others don’t want to hear what they have to say about God. We are called by Christ to go out and make disciples of all the nations. That doesn’t mean I’m overlooking my sins, I’m not. I can work on my sins and still pronounce the wrongs of this world so people will be reminded of what sin is. Its amazing, I never thought a simple observation would bring such ire to this thread. God bless.
 
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