Amazon is adding a fuel surcharge to fees it collects from third-party sellers

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Apr 02, 2026, 10:14 PM UTC

crazygringo wrote: post #27

jrockway wrote: post #22

Sometimes I wonder if we just do these wars so that companies can raise prices and when the war ends, not lower them. Do we ever see "oil prices are down 3.5%, we are lowering our prices by 3.5%"? Never. "But the free market will force someone to do this to gain marketshare." But Amazon is the only Amazon, so I doubt that will happen.

> Do we ever see "oil prices are down 3.5%, we are lowering our prices by 3.5%"? Never. Companies lower prices all the time . It's the competitive market at work. They just don't tend to say why, because nobody cares about the reason, so it's not necessary. E.g. snack prices are coming down, to pick one recent example: https://www.npr.org/2026/02/03/nx-s1-5697941/pepsi-prices-ch... But it's human bias to notice when…

Post by singleshot_ » Thu, Apr 02, 2026, 10:22 PM UTC

lenerdenator wrote: post #14

Teever wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not just the vehicular fuel that goes into this process, it's the growing the trees, harvesting them, making them into paper, then combining that paper with ink that likely has a similarly complex supply chain on a printing press that consumes a lot of power. Getting flyers that are subsidized by the post office for stuff like lawnmowers and patio furniture even though I live in an apartment is peak absurdity.

I live in what was a family member's house before her passing in 2014. I still receive her mail. Here's the kicker: the mail is addressed to a name she hadn't legally had since the late 1970s. She divorced and remarried - which meant taking her new husband's last name - then lived another 30-ish years, died, I moved in, and it's been ten years of me there. It's an insanely wasteful practice.

Post by tt24 » Thu, Apr 02, 2026, 10:30 PM UTC

jeromegv wrote: post #49

crazygringo wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Do we ever see "oil prices are down 3.5%, we are lowering our prices by 3.5%"? Never. Companies lower prices all the time . It's the competitive market at work. They just don't tend to say why, because nobody cares about the reason, so it's not necessary. E.g. snack prices are coming down, to pick one recent example: https://www.npr.org/2026/02/03/nx-s1-5697941/pepsi-prices-ch... But it's human bias to notice when…

Absolutely in a competitive market. There’s an argument to be made that Amazon has so much of the online buying market that’s it’s not competitive and can likely get away with increasing price. And I tend to agree with that

Post by youarentrightjr » Thu, Apr 02, 2026, 10:35 PM UTC

kentm wrote: post #36

youarentrightjr wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Those who could but didn't vote aren't blameless either. The harsh reality is that "lesser of two evils" thinking is what got us here. In the 2024 election, the two mainstream party positions on immigration were: - Let's not enforce any immigration law, and subsidize those here illegally - Let's round up illegal aliens, indefinitely detain them without habeas corpus, maybe deport them to a country they aren't from…

> - Let's not enforce any immigration law, and subsidize those here illegally This isn't an accurate description of the Democrat party's platform and repeating it uncritically is contributing to the problem.

Post by crazygringo » Thu, Apr 02, 2026, 10:55 PM UTC

jeromegv wrote: post #49

crazygringo wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Do we ever see "oil prices are down 3.5%, we are lowering our prices by 3.5%"? Never. Companies lower prices all the time . It's the competitive market at work. They just don't tend to say why, because nobody cares about the reason, so it's not necessary. E.g. snack prices are coming down, to pick one recent example: https://www.npr.org/2026/02/03/nx-s1-5697941/pepsi-prices-ch... But it's human bias to notice when…

Absolutely in a competitive market. There’s an argument to be made that Amazon has so much of the online buying market that’s it’s not competitive and can likely get away with increasing price. And I tend to agree with that