Q. Oh, sure, a new platform can enter the market—but until it gets access to the 480 million items Amazon sells (often at deep discounts), why should the median consumer defect to it? If I want garbage bags, do I really want to go over to Target.com to re-enter all my credit card details, create a new log-in, read the small print about shipping, and hope that this retailer can negotiate a better deal with Glad?
A. Yes.
The question is from Frank Pasquale's essay [Naked Capitalism] which is critical of Amazon but takes the viewpoint of the "median consumer" for rhetorical purposes. Let's try it another way:
Q. Knowing what you know about Amazon's appalling labor practices, do you use Amazon for price comparison and then buy the product at another online store, as a way of saying "FU" to Amazon?
A. Yes