I Broke Up With Amazon (But We’re Still on Good Terms)

Listen… Amazon and I had a thing.

I lived in Seattle when Amazon started flirting with me. I had an infant and my friend told me there was a new company that could deliver groceries. Wait. What?!

Then Amazon upped the ante with the Kindle, free books? I am a voracious reader, so I was all in. Amazon groomed me even more with free return shipping, then the Fire Stick (so many shows to choose from!!), and eventually it was packages showing up before I even remembered what I ordered. It was a whole relationship.

But then I opened a local business (www.ardendispatch.com) — and everything changed.

Suddenly I understood what it means when someone chooses you. When they walk through your door, when they trust your service, when they spend their hard‑earned money with your business instead of a giant corporation.

It hits differently.

So now I’m trying something new: shopping local whenever I can. Supporting the makers, the shops, the services, the people who make Sacramento feel like a real community.

Amazon and I aren’t totally over — we’re just… seeing other people. And honestly? It feels good.