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Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season

reuters.com

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Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season

#131

Post by infecto »

vouaobrasil wrote: post #44
vasco wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had this exact sentiment for many years but... what are we supporting really? Is it because you want a distributed network of inventory across the country near you in case of emergency? Is it because you like talking to someone when doing purchases? Is it because you think someone is doing a societal good by parking money in inventory they brought near you? Is it because you just don't like someone doing it more…

What you are supporting is local sustainability. The world would be better off with less global trade and more local productions. Local productions means a stronger community and more visibility for business practices, because it's more sustainable. If a global business decides to just toss all the plastic it uses it in its backyard you'll never notice because it's 2000 miles away. If Amazon decides to treat their wo…

Your ideas of how the world work are just patently false. A lot of local farms use large amounts of plastic everyday, its quite common to use plastic sheets to cover the ground when planting. You think you would know they are just dumping it into the pit on their land?

Global trade is one of the best things to happen to the world, it has improved the lives of many. All your advocating for is going back to a time which you did not live it but you romanticize. I suspect it was not as romantic as you make it out to be.

Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season

#132

Post by ants_everywhere »

nine_k wrote: post #108
a12k wrote: post #102

I’ve found that the rise of Apply Pay as a payment mechanism on random sites has been helpful in getting me off of Amazon. Often it’s just as easy to order something direct if they have Apple Pay (or ShopPay, but I have other issues with them) and the same price as Amazon. Plus discoverability is awful on Amazon anyways. Still don’t get the Whole Foods return ability when not shopping from Amazon, but not punching in…

To me, the key feature of Amazon is the fast delivery with Prime. Do other merchants offer fast delivery often enough? Regarding credit cards, I started using privacy dot com for virtual, merchant-locked cards. It protects against (rare) card details leaks, but, of course, does not give you any points or cashback.

For the most part these days, Amazon seems like a fast way to ship goods from Alibaba in the one to two day time frame.

For a lot of other stuff, it feels like they've lost their edge on price and shipping.

Often my main reason for using Amazon is that it reduces the friction associated with buying for more retailers. For example worrying about data breaches, being put on spam email lists, etc.

Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season

#133

Post by admissionsguy »

carlosjobim wrote: post #114
vouaobrasil wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What you are supporting is local sustainability. The world would be better off with less global trade and more local productions. Local productions means a stronger community and more visibility for business practices, because it's more sustainable. If a global business decides to just toss all the plastic it uses it in its backyard you'll never notice because it's 2000 miles away. If Amazon decides to treat their wo…

The products sold in local stores are never produced locally. It's national or international products, just like on Amazon. Buying from local stores pays the salaries of local salesmen, that is a benefit for the community. But wouldn't the community benefit better if they did a job that was needed instead?

> It's national or international products, just like on Amazon.

Yup. If you go to a souvenir store in a remote town (say Kiruna, Sweden), you will typically find local themed products manufactured in China.

Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season

#136

Post by Retric »

vouaobrasil wrote: post #83
Retric wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(2) They where literally describing a poor area being better off with global trade. Economies of scale and local advantages make the world better off. There’s no advantage to growing bananas in greenhouses in Iowa when you can grow wheat and trade with Panama.

That local trade involves taking advantage of the commons (putting CO2 in the atmosphere) to make it work. In my opinion, we do not have the right to take that advantage.

More CO2 is produced manufacturing and maintaining those greenhouses than shipping fruit from tropical locations.

So no, in this case local production is simply worse for the commons. More broadly things that cost dramatically more are generally worse for the environment in subtle ways.

Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season

#137

Post by carlosjobim »

nxm wrote: post #104
ramon156 wrote: post #5

Had to buy some simple toolkit today. It was 5 bucks on Amazon, but I decided to find a local store that sells it. Same price btw. I think we should be a bit more aware about the impact of ordering everything through Amazon. Not only regarding delivery, but also the message it sends to local stores.

Should I spend 15 minutes each way driving (carbon emissions) to the store and waste 1 hr of my time in this case, when it can be delivered to me tomorrow? I definitely want to support local, but the cost/benefits are not as clear in this case.

You really need to consider the reality outside of your own bubble of concern. Especially as your bubble doesn't even extend beyond the door of your house, since you don't understand that the Amazon delivery driver is also driving and also spending his time.

Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season

#138

Post by n144q »

nine_k wrote: post #108
a12k wrote: post #102

I’ve found that the rise of Apply Pay as a payment mechanism on random sites has been helpful in getting me off of Amazon. Often it’s just as easy to order something direct if they have Apple Pay (or ShopPay, but I have other issues with them) and the same price as Amazon. Plus discoverability is awful on Amazon anyways. Still don’t get the Whole Foods return ability when not shopping from Amazon, but not punching in…

To me, the key feature of Amazon is the fast delivery with Prime. Do other merchants offer fast delivery often enough? Regarding credit cards, I started using privacy dot com for virtual, merchant-locked cards. It protects against (rare) card details leaks, but, of course, does not give you any points or cashback.

Do you actually care that much about fast delivery?

My Prime membership ended 3 years ago. These days I just put items in the cart, and place order whenever it reaches $35. If I need an item in a hurry -- which rarely happens -- I go to a store to buy it.

This barely affected me, and I ended up with much fewer impulse purchases.

What's funny though is that the "standard" delivery often takes 5 calendar days. But AliExpress shipments can take as few as 8 calendar days. I ended up spending even less -- well, if the items are manufactured in China, why not just order on AliExpress where you get the same/similar items and pay less.

Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season

#139

Post by pif »

gspetr wrote: post #119
vasco wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my grandpa's village everything was local production and commerce but they all lived way worse than me and my friends that get paid through remote companies and spend our money online. It's incredibly unclear to me why a super poor and undeveloped local economy is better than a specialized globalized one. In my country there was a dictatorship with protectionism and when we opened things got way better, not worse.…

Where were the police and regulations when Boeing's products killed hundreds of people? Last time I checked, nobody among top management went to prison for that. That's what "too big to fail" corporations can get you: failed products, anti-competitive environment, regulatory capture, no responsibility. Getting fined for a few (hundred) million dollars is not responsibility, it's chump change for multi-trillion dollar…

I agree with you: let's just buy our next 747's from the nearest mom-and-pop aviation shop!

Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season

#140

Post by n144q »

the_snooze wrote: post #116
jvanderbot wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The local Target and Home Depots all offer same day pickup and delivery. For our house, that's taken 90% of the business away from Amazon. What's ironic is we still make purchases on Amazon that don't require their fast shipping. We're just conditioned to expect it. I'm thinking TVs, books, project supplies, art, etc.

>What's ironic is we still make purchases on Amazon that don't require their fast shipping. We're just conditioned to expect it. I'm thinking TVs, books, project supplies, art, etc. Realizing this was what made me quit Prime years ago, and eventually drive down my Amazon purchases to just a handful of times a year. For the most part, there's really not much of a difference if I get a book tomorrow vs. four days from…

Exactly. The $35 free shipping threshold actually helped me hold off a few impulse purchases. Thanks Amazon!
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