I’m a simple girl. My idea of fun is an annual event in which people are crushed in pursuit of half-price Christmas decorations. But those days have passed. Welcome to the era of the always-on sale.

If you’re into capitalist nightmares, you might like EOFY sales, Oh No We Forgot EOFY sales, SOFY sales, Father’s Day sales, AFL grand final sales, and “my boss doesn’t want me to send this email” sales. Then we go headlong into Australia’s Black Friday sales, which start around the beginning of November and last until January, as is tradition (though not ours).

In fact, there is no longer a reason to leave anything on the shelf. Every minute of every day, something is marked down and waiting for your card details, as long as you’re willing to compromise your moral and ethical obligations to the planet and those who live here. Full price is dead, long live the sale.

We’re now in the throes of Prime Day, an event that defies the laws of time and space to inhabit a full week and is expected to generate US$23bn in sales for Amazon and its third-party sellers. For a mere 168 continuous hours, shoppers are given the option to support a global capitalist behemoth as it asks the question, “Do you need a walking desk, cat food and a 30-pack of........

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