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Amazon closing its Fresh and Go stores

finance.yahoo.com

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Re: Amazon closing its Fresh and Go stores

#351

Post by llbbdd »

direwolf20 wrote: post #348
llbbdd wrote: post #344

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've seen more than a few people on this forum assert that the old taxi system was/is comparable to Uber or somehow better. I even got some shit for referring to it as old, legacy, I forget the exact verbiage I used. But it is old, and it is worse. I get the price upfront, I can adjust the "class" of car I order if I'm going to the pharmacy alone or to a nice dinner. Calling ahead to preorder a taxi feels like callin…

Obviously we live in a different era now where things are ordered by apps instead of websites or phone calls, but those used to be socially acceptable ways to order things.

For sure, I was there. But we also used to have to have the people on the phone read our order back to us to confirm it, now I've got a screen that does that automatically. I'm not at all nostalgic for the alternative.

Re: Amazon closing its Fresh and Go stores

#352

Post by giaour »

twoodfin wrote: post #347
arrosenberg wrote: post #296

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Predatory pricing is illegal in the US, but difficult to prosecute under the existing laws.

What is “predatory pricing” vs. “pricing”?

Selling items for less than they cost to produce is known as "dumping" in international trade (where it is generally disallowed by trade organizations) and can be illegal in the US if the intent is to eliminate competition [0]. That last factor can be hard to prove, and I don't think the FTC is doing much about anticompetitive behavior these days.

[0]: https://www.ftc.gov/advice-guidance/competition-guidance/gui...

Re: Amazon closing its Fresh and Go stores

#353

Post by giaour »

warkdarrior wrote: post #338
direwolf20 wrote: post #329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe the one where you flagged down a car on the street, but you could always call to book a taxi and those companies worked exactly like Uber — over the phone, because it was the pre–app era.

Uber also gives you a price upfront, and that is the most you will pay (+ tip, if you feel like it). I don't remember pre-mobile phone taxi system that gave you a price upfront. They used to list the price per mile, and then it was up to you to figure out the distance and make sure the driver took a reasonably short route. So no, the old taxi companies did NOT work "exactly like" Uber.

It depends on where you lived. NYC had a large number of "black car" livery services where you would call, arrange a ride, and typically get a price up front. It wasn't legal to hail them on the street, but in practice it was pretty common to hail a black car (a "gypsy cab") and negotiate a price up front. Source: I lived a few blocks north of Central Park and in Hamilton Heights before Uber was a thing and took gypsy cabs a couple of times a week.

Re: Amazon closing its Fresh and Go stores

#354

Post by mcmcmc »

twoodfin wrote: post #347
arrosenberg wrote: post #296

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Predatory pricing is illegal in the US, but difficult to prosecute under the existing laws.

What is “predatory pricing” vs. “pricing”?

To add onto sibling comment: it is specifically when they sell below cost to eliminate competition, with the goal of later being able to raise prices to recover those losses (and more) once they are the only player in town and can jack the prices up all they want. The later price elevations are what result in consumer harm, which is why it is illegal.

Re: Amazon closing its Fresh and Go stores

#355

Post by twoodfin »

giaour wrote: post #352
twoodfin wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is “predatory pricing” vs. “pricing”?

Selling items for less than they cost to produce is known as "dumping" in international trade (where it is generally disallowed by trade organizations) and can be illegal in the US if the intent is to eliminate competition [0]. That last factor can be hard to prove, and I don't think the FTC is doing much about anticompetitive behavior these days. [0]: https://www.ftc.gov/advice-guidance/competition-guidance/gui...

Yes, I can imagine it’s hard to prove, which is a pretty good indicator it’s a slippery concept to being with. Everyone wants to “eliminate the competition”, including your competition!

Re: Amazon closing its Fresh and Go stores

#356

Post by to11mtm »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #311
NickC25 wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon also did this with diapers.com They are notorious for doing this.

https://archive.is/2020.07.29-212026/https://www.bloomberg.c... >“We have already initiated a more aggressive ‘plan to win’ against diapers.com,” longtime Amazon retail executive Doug Herrington apparently wrote in an email released by the committee. “To the extent that this plan undercuts the core diapers business for diapers.com, it will slow the adoption of Soap.com,” another company owned by Quidsi. >Herrington c…

The logistics buildout is arguably Amazon's biggest retail lynchpin.

However, it's built on a few fragile external costs.

First that comes to mind, is the comingling, which will theoretically resolve one way or another with their ending of comingling. Comingling almost certainly lowered logistics costs however...

Second being, the externality of how both warehouse and delivery workers are treated in the name of the almighty metrics. NGL I feel like the public's acceptance of their labor practices has ironically only accelerated the erosion of labor rights and worker treatment.

Re: Amazon closing its Fresh and Go stores

#357

Post by arjie »

I used one in San Francisco once because I wanted to try it out. It was honestly a rather flawless experience for me and I liked it because the scan gate and minders (it was when it launched - I don't know if they kept them) kept the shoplifters out. Shoplifters are unpleasant to share a store with. Unsurprisingly, those who skip some social norms also skip other ones.

Anyway, I didn't go back after the first time because it was more like a corner store than a grocery store. Bags of chips and sandwiches in plastic boxes and so on. Overall, the modern Whole Foods is a much better experience. Guards at the entrance to keep unpleasant people out, a fairly quick check-out experience, and the ability to scan your palm instead of having to pull out a credit card or tap your watch.

About the only improvement that I would personally like is a Fast Shopper bonus where you scan something that maps you to your Amazon Prime profile and if you finish checking out fast you get access to a faster lane. The only downside is when people with large bags of things insist on using the self check-out counters and then stand there having mis-scanned items.

Speeding up check-out is a personal life improvement but realistically it would not cause me to shop more, so I understand discontinuing the store.

Re: Amazon closing its Fresh and Go stores

#358

Post by groundzeros2015 »

_DeadFred_ wrote: post #316
groundzeros2015 wrote: post #303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nobody on this forum believes in startups or technology anymore.

Heck, Elon's ownership of SpaceX even got to me to not really care about space travel anymore, one of my biggest passions since I was 6. But I just can't root for whatever his vision of space faring society would look like.

Politics consuming all other interests

Re: Amazon closing its Fresh and Go stores

#359

Post by _DeadFred_ »

groundzeros2015 wrote: post #358
_DeadFred_ wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Heck, Elon's ownership of SpaceX even got to me to not really care about space travel anymore, one of my biggest passions since I was 6. But I just can't root for whatever his vision of space faring society would look like.

Politics consuming all other interests

Yeah I hear you. I too wish he would have stayed out of politics. Sadly he chose not to, and not just go a little, but to go all in. And to choose to make it basically his public identity.
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