> I don't understand why people willingly use Amazon for most buying or selling at this point.

Looking at some recent Amazon purchases of mine, I bought at Amazon because there was no obvious reasonable way to buy elsewhere.

1. I've long had one of these [1], which I bought decades ago in some local store (probably a bookstore) and it works great and was cheap. I really just wanted another one of those but they seem to be unavailable now except from medical supply companies (WTF!?) for around $35.

Barnes & Noble, Office Deport, and Staples all have book stands, but none with the simplicity and versatility of the Easi-Reader. Amazon at least has some with the same general design [2] so that's where I went.

2. I wanted a pyramid-style mechanical metronome. I don't really need it--I've got an electronic metronome, my piano has a built in metronome, and there are numerous free metronome apps for mobile and desktop, but a mechanical one would look great sitting on my piano, and I like the swinging arm so I can see the beat.

The only reasonably local music store doesn't have that style. They only have this kind of mechanical metronome [3], which I find ugly. The major online music stores either don't have mechanical metronomes, or only have expensive ones.

Amazon did [4]. It even matches the color of my piano.

3. A PT100 temperature sensor. I could have gotten one from Adafruit or Sparkfun or Digikey or similar, but they all charge a lot for fast shipping and even slow shipping is pretty high. I generally only use them when I've got enough things I need for longer term projects that I can place a big order.

When I want just one thing in a couple of days, like that PT100, I usually go to Amazon [5].

4. The most ridiculous recent Amazon purchase was dial calipers. Surely that is something I can get locally at Home Depot or Lowe's, right? Nope. My HD only stocks 3, one digital, one vernier, and one that is just a sliding ruler with caliper jaws so it can take inside and outside measurements. HD does have a dial caliper online for ordering at least. Lowes's only lists 3 on their website, two digital and one vernier which is the only on in stock at my nearest store.

The one that can be ordered at HD is plastic, and there isn't a lot of reviews on their site. So I went with Amazon [6].

5. I wanted a guitar stand that was not bulky and would work well with a classical guitar. I went with an Amazon Basics model [7]. The local music store wants $37 for an A-frame stand. They have a tripod stand for $18, but those are too bulky for where I wanted to use it.

6. A classical guitar strap [8]. My local music store does carry that exact same strap and it is even in stock, but that store is about a gallon of gas away round trip and this is such a low volume item that there is little risk of Amazon's being counterfeit so I went with Amazon.

(BTW, that strap is great! I've never been comfortable with the usual footstool approach nor ever been able to actually get good position that way and was considering trying something like Guitarlift [9] or ErgoPlay [10] but the sound hole strap approach is cheap enough I though I'd give it a try first as not much would be lost if it didn't work. For more options for and the history of supporting classic guitars see this video [10]).

[1] https://www.walmart.com/ip/The-Easi-Reader-Bookstand/1157552...

[2] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QMRBZN2

[3] https://wittner-gmbh.de/wittner_metronome_super_mini_e.html

[4] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IP8C04M

[5] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DP3LYPX

[6] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B5XJW7I

[7] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018FCZKR2

[8] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003B12ZFI

[9] https://www.stringsbymail.com/guitarlift-guitar-support-medi...

[10] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uawtsVi19A