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Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

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Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#141

Post by TheSpiceIsLife »

protomyth wrote: post #124
jackvalentine wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it's so, so easy to get trapped in a cycle of endless below-livable jobs just to support yourself. My personal belief, and I'm more than willing to pay more for goods and services to support it, and I live in a country where we have a liveable minimal wage, is that every job if worked 40 hours should be enough for a very modest, but not totally hopeless life. You also then have time off to use to improve your…

> Because it's so, so easy to get trapped in a cycle of endless below-livable jobs just to support yourself. That's an appeal to emotions and has nothing to do with the argument. > My personal belief, and I'm more than willing to pay more for goods and services to support it, and I live in a country where we have a liveable minimal wage, is that every job if worked 40 hours should be enough for a very modest, but not…

> The forcing of every job to be "living wages" removes a part of the labor force that is willing and able (due to parents or other income) to provide services for less money.

This, and I think every one of your points, can be sufficiently addressed with one word: Australia.

My 19 year old unskilled housemate gets paid minimum wage $21.08 per hour as a casual.[1] She works 4 days a week and supports herself just fine. They say the cost of living is high in Australia, and it is -everything is expensive here- but we have options: we live in a share house and pay $100 a week per room (four of us) including electricity and Internet. She doesn't own a car, and doesn't smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol. Financially she isn't struggling at all.

The minimum wage for full time employment is $16.87 per hour, which includes 10 day a year sick leave and 20 days a hear paid leave.[1]

Also, because everyone here is paid a 'living wage' we're able to afford to pay social welfare. 'Newstart Allowance' is paid to unemployed job-seekers at $515.60 per fortnight.[2] It isn't a lot, below the poverty line apparently, but it is enough to rent a room buy food.

I do not think any of your arguments hold water.

1. http://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/policies-and-guides/fact...

2. http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/enablers/centrelink...

Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#142

Post by peteretep »

mooreds wrote: post #24

It's hard for me to see how this doesn't hurt local vendors badly. Of course, it depends on what the the 25,000 items are, but that was one of the key differentiators between Amazon and local stores--if you needed something and you needed it now, the local store was the only option (things like cabling for a new TV, gifts for a party that night, etc). Now, for prime members in NYC at least, Amazon is a viable option.…

If a Mom and Pop store can't differentiate, why would it be good for them to stay in business?

The ones that provide something extra will raise their prices and be more expensive, and people will go when they're willing to pay the difference; look at the independent book shops in London as an example.

It's a romantic idea and all, but beyond that I don't think "local vendors are de facto a good thing" is a reasonable starting point.

Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#143

Post by robryan »

snotrockets wrote: post #97
nezza-_- wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, the Pizzeria paying the driver ensures that the driver gets paid.

That's the problem is: most Pizzerias don't. Or don't pay a living wage.

This may be because of an expectation of tips though? If the tips dried up they would be forced to move that pay to the persons wage.

Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#144

Post by cauterized »

peteretep wrote: post #142
mooreds wrote: post #24

It's hard for me to see how this doesn't hurt local vendors badly. Of course, it depends on what the the 25,000 items are, but that was one of the key differentiators between Amazon and local stores--if you needed something and you needed it now, the local store was the only option (things like cabling for a new TV, gifts for a party that night, etc). Now, for prime members in NYC at least, Amazon is a viable option.…

If a Mom and Pop store can't differentiate, why would it be good for them to stay in business? The ones that provide something extra will raise their prices and be more expensive, and people will go when they're willing to pay the difference; look at the independent book shops in London as an example. It's a romantic idea and all, but beyond that I don't think "local vendors are de facto a good thing" is a reasonable…

Local vendors keep the money circulating around the local community in the form of wages, rent, and profits. So yes, they're good for a community.

Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#145

Post by sokoloff »

SiVal wrote: post #95
morgante wrote: post #43

I just placed an order with this new service (some HDMI cables for our office). The selection is pretty decent, definitely comparable to Google Shopping Express. One very odd note though: they ask for a variable tip to the delivery courier (something Google doesn't do). So even for "free" 2 hour delivery, you're paying for delivery. While I see how this is better for the courier, I think it's a big mistake—people hat…

Tipping is a nuisance, something that goes in the "Con" category in a Pro & Con analysis. The vendor is implicitly warning you that you shouldn't count on getting good service included just because you officially paid for it. They're warning you that they have no real control over their service providers, and "it would be a shame if something unforeseeable, like getting caught in traffic, were to happen to a delivery…

The equivalent cost of shipping from a brick-n-mortar store that's five minutes away is almost surely more than 15 minutes of your time (could easily be 30 minutes) and, if you drive, $2-4 at the IRS/GSA rates.

For me, avoiding that 15-20 minutes of annoyance is well-worth calculating and paying a tip. (Agree that that's a negative, but it's relatively small negative.)

Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#146

Post by protomyth »

Already__Taken wrote: post #138
protomyth wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Because it's so, so easy to get trapped in a cycle of endless below-livable jobs just to support yourself. That's an appeal to emotions and has nothing to do with the argument. > My personal belief, and I'm more than willing to pay more for goods and services to support it, and I live in a country where we have a liveable minimal wage, is that every job if worked 40 hours should be enough for a very modest, but not…

How is your fist point an appeal to emotions there's nothing evocative at all. If you have multiple below living wage jobs you've still a fixed amount of time in the day you can work just now you're being paid less for when you do work AND have higher transportation costs by definition. Maybe job security is an advantage as you won't get fired from everything all at once. You keep repeating how the suggestions will m…

Your suggestions mean that people will have more money but less purchasing power. They will still be poor, and a part of the workforce that has existed from the beginning will be gone. That part of the workforce has an effect on keeping goods and services at a lower price. Raising the cost of labor and getting rid of those "I just need some spending money jobs" results in companies looking to replace the higher cost workers or raise prices. Neither of these things benefit poor people.

"We're suggesting to pay poor people to not be poor."

I'm suggesting that the best bet for poor people is to provide a path to training that allows them to have jobs that are higher value to employers. Making low value jobs cost more doesn't help. It hurts as these people don't have high value skills and you are removing spending money from others that could be in the workforce.

Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#147

Post by ssharp »

SiVal wrote: post #95
morgante wrote: post #43

I just placed an order with this new service (some HDMI cables for our office). The selection is pretty decent, definitely comparable to Google Shopping Express. One very odd note though: they ask for a variable tip to the delivery courier (something Google doesn't do). So even for "free" 2 hour delivery, you're paying for delivery. While I see how this is better for the courier, I think it's a big mistake—people hat…

Tipping is a nuisance, something that goes in the "Con" category in a Pro & Con analysis. The vendor is implicitly warning you that you shouldn't count on getting good service included just because you officially paid for it. They're warning you that they have no real control over their service providers, and "it would be a shame if something unforeseeable, like getting caught in traffic, were to happen to a delivery…

The stores don't charge sales tax. The state mandates that they collect sales tax. If the state doesn't mandate that the store collect sales tax, the store won't "make" you pay it, though I think technically in most states, you're still supposed to file those purchases with your state income tax and pay then.

Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#148

Post by hnnewguy »

gdulli wrote: post #31
mooreds wrote: post #24

It's hard for me to see how this doesn't hurt local vendors badly. Of course, it depends on what the the 25,000 items are, but that was one of the key differentiators between Amazon and local stores--if you needed something and you needed it now, the local store was the only option (things like cabling for a new TV, gifts for a party that night, etc). Now, for prime members in NYC at least, Amazon is a viable option.…

Honestly, I like getting out of the house and going to the store. Not every day, I do my share of buying online. But there are plenty of times I'd rather go out and I'm not tempted to sit around and wait to be brought something, even if it could come within the hour. I often do reverse show-rooming. I'll browse through a real bookstore, which is fun, but I'll look up reviews on mobile and factor that into my buying d…

>I'll browse through a real bookstore, which is fun, but I'll look up reviews on mobile and factor that into my buying decisions.

This is my use-case. For my small corner of the world, Amazon has been a boon to used-book stores (even regional chains), as it is now easier to see what I'm buying.

Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#149

Post by hnnewguy »

cauterized wrote: post #144
peteretep wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If a Mom and Pop store can't differentiate, why would it be good for them to stay in business? The ones that provide something extra will raise their prices and be more expensive, and people will go when they're willing to pay the difference; look at the independent book shops in London as an example. It's a romantic idea and all, but beyond that I don't think "local vendors are de facto a good thing" is a reasonable…

Local vendors keep the money circulating around the local community in the form of wages, rent, and profits. So yes, they're good for a community.

>Local vendors keep the money circulating around the local community in the form of wages, rent, and profits

But that's all it is; a different allocation of wealth. If you happen to live in that community, great.

The question becomes: why should I care about your local community as opposed to some other local community, or even the global community, that stands to benefit from getting more for less?

Re: Amazon Unveils One-Hour Delivery Service

#150

Post by digikata »

philwelch wrote: post #33
Dirlewanger wrote: post #17

Can't wait to see how awesome the work environment will be for these couriers! Probably much like Uber's drivers: under constant pressure to meet a quota (in this case, probably minimizing the number of missed 1 hour marks), and if you're injured/hit/cause an accident, it's on you and the employer will be nowhere to be found.

Ever ordered a pizza? 1 hour delivery doesn't come close to any kind of realistic safety margin.

That depends: is the average distance between Amazon warehouses and recipients higher than the distance between a neighborhood pizza shop and it's customers?
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