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How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail

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Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail

#211

Post by rdl »

earl wrote: post #172
rdl wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They show the seller, and I agree a lot of the Marketplace sellers are horrible. I pretty much stick to Amazon.com LLC (i.e. real Amazon) and trusted sellers (Adorama, J&R, ...) for most products. I wish there were a way to set a flag in your account to ONLY show Amazon.com LLC products.

They show the seller, kind of, but say the seller is rightguard. Is it the deodorant brand or is someone camping the name?

The seller is listed separately from that. e.g. for http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Silicone-Pastry-Brush/dp/B00...

Manufacturer is OXO, but it says "In Stock. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available." below the price. That means it's sold directly by Amazon.

You can also go to "more buying choices" where it is even more transparent.

Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail

#212

Post by einhverfr »

rat87 wrote: post #205
einhverfr wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The lack of sales tax hurts local tax entities far worse than it hurts Amazon's competitors. Except that proposals to collect online sales tax would hurt local retailers even worse if they followed the law.

Not because Amazon would be paying local sales tax, because their new business plans with 1 day shipping might(!!) bring them into more competition with local retailers. States putting pressure on Amazon to collect sales tax may have encouraged Amazon into this plan but based on their past opposition I think it has more to do with their guesses about the market.

The problem though is that a big company like Amazon can afford to worry about paying sales taxes properly. I worry about the electronic store that delivers though, being forced out of business due to increasingly complex sales tax reporting requirements. It seems to me it gives the online retailers way too much power over local competition when a department of revenue audit could be used to sink the B&M retailers.

Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail

#213

Post by NatW »

wheels wrote: post #54

Amazon has been doing this in parts of Germany since 2009. The results haven't been nearly as dramatic as the article predicts. As others have indicated, the limiting factor isn't so much speed of delivery as the inclination to physically inspect items before buying them. That said, Zappos, now a part of Amazon, has succeeded in doing that in one of the markets that tends the most towards such. Even so, there are sti…

I think, non-dramatic european response may, in-part, be due to comparatively sparse product options on Amazon's european stores compared to its US .com offerings. I have used Amazon.fr while in Paris and have been disappointed by the limited offerings. Price is an issue, too: on Amazon.fr: when shopping for a TV, for instance, the prices were cheaper at Parisian retail stores.

Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail

#214

Post by leoedin »

arjunnarayan wrote: post #97
cglee wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When Zappos first came out I thought they'd tank. I purchase new basketball/running shoes every 6months, and never ever make a new purchase without trying it on. Playing basketball or running with an even slightly uncomfortable shoe can lead to blistering, back problems, ankle sprains, etc. But my gf at the time thought it was brilliant. What I learned was that a lot of women's shoes are purchased based on anything e…

Yes. The build quality of women's shoes is astoundingly bad. Sometimes I look at them and they literally feel like glued on piece of leather, pretty on the outside, and nothing more. It's interesting how two different markets have developed (men's shoes and women's shoes) that have such different parameters. Men's shoes have outstanding build quality --- to the point where a good pair of quality shoes gets resoled mu…

There are plenty of poor quality men's shoes. Go to H&M or any similar "fashionable" retailer and pick up some low cost shoes. They'll have terrible thin rubber soles and fall apart within weeks.

Similarly, there are plenty of high quality women's shoes.

I'd probably agree that more men buy high quality shoes. In my experience men on average tend to put less emphasis on style over function, and so that does inevitably lead to functional (well made) shoes.

Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail

#215

Post by tallanvor »

arjunnarayan wrote: post #97
cglee wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When Zappos first came out I thought they'd tank. I purchase new basketball/running shoes every 6months, and never ever make a new purchase without trying it on. Playing basketball or running with an even slightly uncomfortable shoe can lead to blistering, back problems, ankle sprains, etc. But my gf at the time thought it was brilliant. What I learned was that a lot of women's shoes are purchased based on anything e…

Yes. The build quality of women's shoes is astoundingly bad. Sometimes I look at them and they literally feel like glued on piece of leather, pretty on the outside, and nothing more. It's interesting how two different markets have developed (men's shoes and women's shoes) that have such different parameters. Men's shoes have outstanding build quality --- to the point where a good pair of quality shoes gets resoled mu…

Men usually have fewer shoes than women. Some men can get away with 2 pairs: dress shoes and daily wear. --I used to be that way, until I started working out and then was cajoled into diversifying a bit. But even today I have one pair that gets used probably 75%+ of the time, and they're definitely of higher quality than a lot of shoes I see people wearing.

Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail

#216

Post by ericb »

MBCook wrote: post #123
robryan wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I expect to eventually see big retail outlets where there is only stock for trying things out. No buying at the store but you could complete your online order while at the store and have it same day/ next day.

Does anyone here remember catalog stores? That may not be the right name, I've only been in one once, and it has to have been over 15 years. You'd go in the store and look at the merchandise, all of it in glass cases. You'd use a little golf pencil to mark the order sheet they gave you at the door for what you wanted. When you were done shopping, you'd give your form to the guy at the register. They'd ring you up and…

Taking your idea to its conclusion: A catalog store, (like Service Merchandise) which stocks only 1 of every item for demo purposes. The twist--if you buy it by scanning it with your phone or an in-store device, the store gets an amazon affiliate payout. Is the payout enough I wonder?

Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail

#217

Post by ZoFreX »

tokenadult wrote: post #145
cglee wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When Zappos first came out I thought they'd tank. I purchase new basketball/running shoes every 6months, and never ever make a new purchase without trying it on. Playing basketball or running with an even slightly uncomfortable shoe can lead to blistering, back problems, ankle sprains, etc. But my gf at the time thought it was brilliant. What I learned was that a lot of women's shoes are purchased based on anything e…

I see multiple comments from men here about how women they know buy impractical clothing and shoes that are poorly made and don't last well. I'm happy to report that whatever the general pattern is, there are happy exceptions. Some women I know (for example my wife) and some girls I know (for example my daughter) seek out clothing and shoes that are well made and hold up to heavy use in outdoor exercise. Just the oth…

It's also worth pointing out that many men make their decisions on factors other than comfort. I'm currently wearing some Cons that are falling apart only a year after I bought them, and I've probably only worn them 1/3 of the time I've had them. I get blisters if I walk too far, they're a pain to take on and off, but they look awesome and I'll probably be getting another pair.

Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail

#218

Post by ZoFreX »

brc wrote: post #138
MBCook wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does anyone here remember catalog stores? That may not be the right name, I've only been in one once, and it has to have been over 15 years. You'd go in the store and look at the merchandise, all of it in glass cases. You'd use a little golf pencil to mark the order sheet they gave you at the door for what you wanted. When you were done shopping, you'd give your form to the guy at the register. They'd ring you up and…

IKEA is still essentially this concept to this day, only the customer picks their own goods. In the UK there is a big chain called Argos which still does this, right down to the employees fetching the goods. This might be related to the fact that big-box retail space in the UK is much harder to come by.

Possibly relevant to the article that Argos are experimenting with same-day shipping using Shutl.

Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail

#219

Post by adestefan »

mh- wrote: post #162
adestefan wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except for the times they charge you $8 for return shipping on a $5 item.

I've never been charged for return shipping. was this purchase an item sold _by_ amazon, not merely fulfilled by them (a la amazon marketplace)?

Yes. I gave a light bulb sitting in my garage unused because it was going to be $9 return shipping for a $14 light bulb.

Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail

#220

Post by zuppy »

ciupicri wrote: post #95
eswangren wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why wOuld I feel the need to inspect a book before buying it? I am working under the assumption that no pages will be missing. It's worked out fine thus far. You do realize that purchasing items over the Internet has been working well for some time now, right?

Purchasing from the Internet works fine until you have problems. Here in Romania you can't inspect the contents of the package until you sign for its delivery. Then if it's broken you get to keep the pieces, unless the merchant is nice. Of course, there's also the option of arguing with them, but it doesn't guarantee anything. I bought a couple of years ago an LCD monitors from today's Romanian Amazon wanna-be and th…

That's not true (probably you didn't knew). If you buy something online, you have 10 days to return it without giving a reason (and if they don't specify that clearly when you buy it, the period extends to 30 days). That's the law, it doesn't matter if they agree or not.
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