The Amazon van makes frequent stops at our house

I registered for my Amazon.com account in 1999, the same year I also logged on to eBay for the first time.

If back then you would have asked me which of the two would have the biggest long-term impact on American shopping habits, I would have said eBay, hands down.

Amazon was, after all, primarily a place where you could get books and/or CDs. Or at least that's what my first several purchases were limited to.

eBay, on the other hand, offered everything. I would have assumed that, rather than brick-and-mortar retail stores, product manufacturers would just start putting their wares on eBay and selling through that model.

And many do, of course. This isn't to denigrate eBay at all. I still make a purchase or two per year there, particularly if it's a hard-to-find item.

But it's no Amazon. Nothing is Amazon except Amazon itself.

In many ways, Amazon has become Walmart, but in a much better way than Walmart was ever Walmart.

We have a huge Amazon distribution center near our house. There are times when I will order something and it gets here in far less than 24 hours, almost certainly because it was in stock at that facility in Euclid.

This is stunning to me, a person who grew up in the 70s and 80s when, if you ordered something by mail and were told it would arrive in 4 to 6 weeks, by gosh, they meant 4 to 6 weeks.

That perspective alone makes me appreciate the speed of Amazon transactions all the more.

I do understand there are legitimate concerns with Amazon, not the least of which is the threat it poses to local mom-and-pop businesses. And I really do try to patronize those businesses when they have what I need.

But the reality is that, thanks to its convenience and wide selection, Amazon has a devoted customer base within my house.

Like many people, we serve as a regular stop on the Amazon person's delivery route. We have a stockpile of Amazon boxes and envelopes.

It won't be long before Amazon will start delivering stuff before we even realize we need it. Then we'll know we're really in trouble.