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Amazon Flex

flex.amazon.com

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Re: Amazon Flex

#191

Post by ihsw »

dankohn1 wrote: post #165

This is a big step for Amazon, and one that I can imagine them eventually offering as a service to other companies that need to provide real-time delivery. And, $18 to $25 an hour represents close to a livable wage, although less than it seems once you take into account depreciation of your personal automobile (which is why the future transit and bike options are particularly intriguing.) But, it also calls out the n…

> although less than it seems once you take into account depreciation of your personal automobile (which is why the future transit and bike options are particularly intriguing.)

Vehicles depreciate a fair bit when they roll straight out of the parking lot.

Vehicles depreciate over time staying parked in your drive way/garage.

Racking up miles on the odometer will definitely inflict wear and tear, especially in wintery climates (read: salt water corrosion), but depreciation will occur regardless.

Where do most personal vehicles end up? Does everybody resell to dealerships or friends/ family/ co-workers/ random people on Craigslist?

Most people have accepted that the resale value a vehicle will be significantly lower than the purchase price, and honestly I think depreciation should be the least of our concerns.

And with regards for sick leave, family leave, and retirement savings that are decoupled from the employer -- look outside of the US and you will find it.

Re: Amazon Flex

#192

Post by crymer11 »

Interesting that they're requiring you to have an Android phone. I wonder if there are any specific reasons they're excluding iOS.

Re: Amazon Flex

#193

Post by arethuza »

wyldfire wrote: post #50
arethuza wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Somebody needs to work out how you drop of packages for Amazon while driving passengers around for Uber. Actually - not completely crazy - how willing would you be as a passenger to take a few detours to get a saving on your taxi bill?

Hmm. Sounds like an opportunity for a new business? Fluber will spawn itself as a broker to both services -- you just go where the app tells you and pick up your cargo (packages or people) and shuttle them to where the app tells you to go.

Flüber - disintermediating the sharing economy!

Re: Amazon Flex

#194

Post by mikeash »

bmelton wrote: post #72
radmuzom wrote: post #64

How does the math work out on wages once you factor in the vehicle costs (gas, insurance, maintenance, etc...)? Is it higher than minimum wage?

In America, generally speaking, if you're using a privately owned car for business, the companies pay a mileage rate, which is currently 57.5 cents per mile. That cost is expected to cover the cost of gas and maintenance on the vehicle. I don't know if Uber / Amazon actually DO this, but if so, that mileage fee would be on top of whatever their actual pay rate is.

That's far from universal. Companies can pay mileage, but nothing says they have to. To take a common example, pizza delivery drivers typically pay for all of their own transportation costs, sometimes with a small but insufficient delivery payment from their employer, and sometimes with nothing but a crappy hourly wage. That's why tipping is so important in that case: if you don't tip then it's likely the driver lost money on you, because they'll pay more for gas and maintenance on their car than they earned delivering to you without a tip.

I don't think there's anything special about 57.5 cents per mile when it comes to compensating employees, either. That figure is the rate at which you can deduct vehicle-related expenses from your taxes, which doesn't have to be the same as how you compensate your employees.

Uber doesn't pay any sort of mileage fee beyond the driver's 80% share. The driver can deduct 57.5 cents per mile driven for Uber on their taxes, thus reducing their tax liability.

Re: Amazon Flex

#195

Post by michaelt »

ekianjo wrote: post #40
deanCommie wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My theory is these jobs need to last only long enough for society to get it's head out of it's ass and introduce a universal basic income policy

> and introduce a universal basic income policy here we go again with this... What's wrong with such jobs ? AS mentioned by Amazon you don't need to work 9 to 5, you can just work for extra if you need. Even if you HAD basic income this kind of part-time job could make sense to make a bit more money that the nothing you would get to survive on your own.

  What's wrong with such jobs ?
Poor job security transfers costs that normally borne by the employer, and externalises them to society.

You've got cancer? Partner just died? Unplanned pregnancy? Not your fault, and in a regular job needing a week or two off won't leave you destitute.

Workers in the gig economy are still going to have these things happen - the expenses don't go away. If the employer isn't doing their bit, the expense will be borne by family, charities or the taxpayer. Good for Amazon's bottom line, bad for you and me.

Re: Amazon Flex

#196

Post by hiou »

shawnee_ wrote: post #118

Q: Where can I deliver with Amazon Flex? A: Amazon Flex is available now in Seattle. It will be available soon in New York, Baltimore, Miami, Dallas, Austin, Chicago, Indianapolis, Atlanta and Portland. Smart move by Amazon to refrain from making any Bay-area city one of its test markets. It's like Amazon is saying "we don't need to prove this will work in the bubble; let's base our test data set on realistic markets…

I'm not sure what it says about the Bay Area, but there does seem to be a bit of a correlation with avoiding certain cities. For example Baltimore is interesting in that Washington, DC is not included but very close and almost part of the same metropolitan area.

Re: Amazon Flex

#197

Post by Spooky23 »

joshstrange wrote: post #13
suvelx wrote: post #8

I've got a suspicion that Amazon has been trialling/building this in the UK since their purchase of Yodel, perhaps earlier. A number of times some bloke in a car has turned up and delivered me a package. No uniform, no branding. Just a phone running Amazon software. I can't say it's the greatest experience.

How was the experience bad? I never see my UPS delivery guy so I can't imagine it matters one way or the other to me how my packages "magically" show up on my front porch.

UPS/Fedex/USPS aren't burger flipper operations.

The "magic" is the stuff that happens behind the scenes, all of these companies, from the frontline employees to the backend systems have a lot of details.

Examples of why your experience would suck:

- Late packages

- Lost packages

- Stealing of your stuff

- Damage to your stuff

- Lower-tier people learning your habits

- Generally high level of fuckups.

IMO, Amazon's path here is a sign that they are in trouble. In the late 90's, ecommerce players looking to cut costs did stuff like use Airborne Express (later acquired by DHL) and the company that become Fedex Home/Ground. Both companies used contracted out delivery drivers or courier companies, and both were big fuckups.

UPS/FedEx/USPS are pretty efficient at this stuff, so the final frontier for Amazon is exploiting the workforce to cut costs. So you'll have folks driving their mom's car to deliver packages Uber-style, with inadequate insurance and insufficient income to maintain a vehicle suitable for the purpose.

Re: Amazon Flex

#198

Post by lmb »

ddmf wrote: post #70
suvelx wrote: post #8

I've got a suspicion that Amazon has been trialling/building this in the UK since their purchase of Yodel, perhaps earlier. A number of times some bloke in a car has turned up and delivered me a package. No uniform, no branding. Just a phone running Amazon software. I can't say it's the greatest experience.

Yodel use self employed drivers, probably in a similar way to flex, but I doubt they get as much money - £30 to £50 a day - not sure how many parcels that entails. http://yodel.broadbeantech.com/jobs/view/4467/

Its called courier owner driver I believe. There are forums dedicated to it. Payment is per parcel, with certain numbers "guaranteed". You need no meet certain insurance criteria, sometimes need to buy equipment / work clothing. Not an easy way to make money.

Yodel offer 50-85p per parcel: http://codforum.org.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11911 Amazon Logistics in the UK: http://codforum.org.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11936

There is also lifestylecouriers.net for anyone who wishes to delve deeper into Yodel, co (requires registration)

Re: Amazon Flex

#199

Post by SCAQTony »

jstalin wrote: post #154
shawnee_ wrote: post #118

Q: Where can I deliver with Amazon Flex? A: Amazon Flex is available now in Seattle. It will be available soon in New York, Baltimore, Miami, Dallas, Austin, Chicago, Indianapolis, Atlanta and Portland. Smart move by Amazon to refrain from making any Bay-area city one of its test markets. It's like Amazon is saying "we don't need to prove this will work in the bubble; let's base our test data set on realistic markets…

It's probably best to avoid California all together.

Amazon has five fulfillment centers in California: Moreno Valley, Riverside, Redlands, Tracy and Patterson. Here are their fulfillment centers nationally:

http://www.amazonfulfillmentcareers.com/amazon-fulfillment/l...

Re: Amazon Flex

#200

Post by vertis »

IkmoIkmo wrote: post #186

I wonder how long it'll take for an online thievery marketplace will pop-up selling Amazon Flex delivery data. For example, if you know you delivered a $10k gold apple watch (hypothetically), I can bet you that a local thief would pay you at least $100 for you to tell him which house it was delivered to. In fact, my neighbour's home was broken into last year. Turns out (unbeknownst to us), he apparently had a safe in…

With a few exceptions (such as your example above), the expensive packages go to the expensive houses with the expensive security systems.

I agree there is a certain amount of risk in crowd sourcing this, but I can't see the "data" being super valuable.

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