My comment from last year's post still stands, so all I'll say here is that this is not just a problem with Amazon. All systems that can be gamed will be gamed. Modern technology makes it easy to automate on a global scale. If only I could look to the right of the screen and find a good book on this topic. :-) I used to buy a lot of things online, back when the Internet allowed you to find rare/niche products that seldom got carried by local stores. But when Amazon went from being just a bookseller to trying to be the gatekeeper for everything, I knew things would start to get real ugly for everybody. Now I rarely buy anything online, and what I do get usually comes from companies that also have a local store I can go to if I have any problems. Everything else I try to buy directly from a nearby shop, the smaller the better. We all live in local communities, even if the Internet allows us to be global citizens. I refuse to feel bad about giving $5 more to my neighbors instead of allowing Bezos (or any other executive of a distant company) to become an even bigger billionaire. 6149e071d5d54d4b0950f4ecdcb5ce10fb00db61073da2c195503fa8ffa048e7