Uber's selection of businesses for delivery is strange. Hugo Boss? Louis Vuitton? Tiffany's? Those are all stores for which the shopping experience is paramount.
Uber Is Testing a Massive Merchant Delivery Program
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Re: Uber Is Testing a Massive Merchant Delivery Program
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
They are puppies from local shelters that they encourage people to adopt.
They should be carting around older dogs which are rarely adopted. Maybe it's wrong of me but I find Uber hiding behind puppies to be about as despicable as the rest of their actions.
That sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen. Imagine they have the "wrong" old-dog adopted by an innocent family, and something bad happens afterwards? Who is the family going to blame exactly? More importantly, who are you going to call out if that were to happen? Be honest.
Re: Uber Is Testing a Massive Merchant Delivery Program
#63The brands mentioned seem like an implicit admission that this will be an expensive service. Is there actually demand for same day delivery of Tiffany's? Who buys stuff from Tiffany's but can't be bothered to go to the store and also needs it for tonight?
I think they are trying to just punch up the status of the service, making those be the first brands people associate with it.
Re: Uber Is Testing a Massive Merchant Delivery Program
#64It's probably worth noting that--primarily in denser locations--the rapid delivery of goods is already a thing. Delivery of papers by bicycle messenger (although that has declined), takeout delivery, grocery delivery (which has been around for a long time in many cities but has been getting more systematic with services like Instacart). Of course, there have also been massive failures trying this in the past like Koz…
It's also about division of labor and specialization. Grocery stores don't have thousands of vendors showing up at stores, they have long delivery chains that consolidate and redistribute... On the last mile for home delivery it makes sense for one service to act as a delivery agent for multiple stores, when a pizza shop doesn't have many orders from 1pm-5pm, they are paying employee(s)... with a service based delivery, the throughput is more optimal.
Not to mention the time this will save... I hate going to the store, which kills at least two hours a couple times a week. I'd pay $20-30 to have that time back. It won't reduce traffic either, but at least the uber drivers are more likely in economy/subcompact cars (a lot of prii) which would displace the SUV behemoths that would otherwise be used by those most likely to be ordering.
Re: Uber Is Testing a Massive Merchant Delivery Program
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
Assuming there's no coercion occurring, I would say yes.
How can you ever make that assumption? What would you define as coercion?
I think you're misunderstanding what I'm saying. I apologize for poor phrasing in the previous comment. Let me see if I can more clearly explain with an example.
Imagine the question is, "Is purchasing food with money perfectly fine?".
Most people would agree that trading money for food is fine so long as it's consensual and both parties agree (i.e. assuming there is no coercion).
If one party used violence, or threats of violence, to get the other party to make the trade, that would be coercion. Most people would agree that this type of "trade" is not okay.
Hopefully that helped. Cheers.
Re: Uber Is Testing a Massive Merchant Delivery Program
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
Competition is what allows us to do more with fewer resources, which makes us all better off.
then theres that darn network effect. oops!
Sorry it must be one of those days where I'm having trouble making the connection. Would you mind elaborating a little bit?
Re: Uber Is Testing a Massive Merchant Delivery Program
#67After appearing in TC & on HN, the “quietly” attribute may be removed from the testing. It has become quite loud now.
Good point. Done.
Re: Uber Is Testing a Massive Merchant Delivery Program
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
They are puppies from local shelters that they encourage people to adopt.
They should be carting around older dogs which are rarely adopted. Maybe it's wrong of me but I find Uber hiding behind puppies to be about as despicable as the rest of their actions.
uh, what? hiding behind puppies?
Re: Uber Is Testing a Massive Merchant Delivery Program
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
The problem is it is harmful to others. There is always someone who is willing to work for less or worse conditions which collectively affects everyone.
Competition is what allows us to do more with fewer resources, which makes us all better off.
Really? It appears that's not the case, and "competition" means those with leverage (both with capital and technology) are able to capture an ever increasing amount of wealth compared to the rest of the working class.
Funny how "competition" is great as long as you're on the "winning" side.
Re: Uber Is Testing a Massive Merchant Delivery Program
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
Please state your disagreement.
Employers shifting externalities onto employees is something that labor law has been created to mitigate for decades. The fact that Uber has found a loophole (which is being closed quickly) does not make it "okay, because it's consensual". Also, I have issues with semantically null statements that could have been written by a Markov Chainer that's seeded with text from the Mises Institute, but that's a more personal…
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