toothpaste buying is my “go to” example of madness !! There are so many formulas and brands it’s mind boggling to me. I’m in favor of making things simpler with everything. The European stores I’ve been in are small and simple. I love it.

even when there were 25 different brands of laundry detergent, most were made by just two companies. I was in Walmart and could not find any unscented detergent except for the most expensive, Tide. Went to my grocery store and got some at a good price, their house brand.

Oh I am old Bon Ami reminds me of "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken."

It's called "Scan & Go". They are trying it in over 150 Wal-Mart's. You can use the store handheld device or your Smart phone with a downloaded app. You scan your groceries, produce, etc & place them in the provided brown bags. Then pay using your phone. Supposed to save you time. However if they do this for all shopping & have no check outs jobs will be lost. We even refuse to use the self check outs, because they took jobs.

As far as items no longer available...yes many are now missing from store shelves & you can only buy them on line. I so hate this. I like to pick & choose the items I place in my cart & I sure wouldn't want anyone picking out my produce! Bananas, tomatoes, melons, lettuce, etc. all need to be carefully checked before placed in your cart. I can imagine a store needing to unload their stock, so you end up with fruits & veggies that may have one good day left. No thanks!

Think about this too.....if the items you buy on line are not what you expect, or don't fit, then you end up paying to send them back only to do it again & again & again. So much for saving money buying on line. The business will save tons tho.

The Malls put the Mom & Pop stores out of business, now the internet is putting the Malls out of business. In my area we pretty much have Wal-Mart, Sam's Club & Lowe's left & that's it. Sears, K-Mart, Bon Ton, Montgomery Ward, Macy's, etc. are all gone.

As long as they continue to sell coldwater Tide I'm good. All I have used for years.

Yes! This is what worries me the most. I've been surprisingly accepting of and good at technology. But I do use a small flip phone with no data plan, preferring to use my laptop for internet things. After spending 6 months with my daughter and family in 2017, I really saw how much I am missing out by not using a smart phone. But I can not afford to upgrade as Verizon is the best/only provider of cell service in my rural area. Maybe in another year.....

Yep, I've noticed it, too. Seems like every time I find a product that I really, really love, they either stop carrying it in stores, or the manufacturer discontinues it completely. Aahhh! :hunf:

Geri b, my feelings as well so you are not alone!

Maybe all this buying on line will blow itself out and we will go back to simpler times. I can dream anyway.

This whole thing has me confused as I don't even have a smart phone as I do not know how to ue one but this is why Amazon is winning when I can't find something Amazon has it I wanted a simple clothes hamper could not find one any place so Amazon wins again