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Amazon Has Swallowed Downtown Seattle

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Re: Amazon Has Swallowed Downtown Seattle

#81

Post by Grishnakh »

nostrebored wrote: post #75
Grishnakh wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are plenty of valid concerns and complaints about Amazon (I'll list some of mine below), but I don't see why you're blaming them for electronics recycling and lifetimes, or "Walmartification". Amazon has done a pretty good job of being an all-in-one place to shop online and having very low prices overall. For cellphone replacement cycles, I have absolutely no idea where you get the idea that Amazon has anything…

In response to 1) The phenomenon you're viewing is usually the opposite of what you're suggesting. Amazon is trying to let you opportunistically buy things at a lower price by allowing prices to change frequently. Part of the appeal of Amazon is being able to get something on your doorstep in two days at the click of a button -- if this isn't something that interests you then services like Ebay might be better -- but…

I've been buying stuff on Ebay since 1996, and I only once ran into a fraudulent seller, and that was in 1998; I managed to track down his home address and phone number, and called and talked to his parents, who promptly straightened it all out. (It was some stupid teenager "selling" stuff and never shipping it.)

What I do see these days is counterfeit stuff. It's really easy to avoid this stuff though: there's a checkbox on the left that lets you filter results to show only US sellers or North American sellers. Filter out the Chinese sellers and the counterfeit stuff goes away. I've never had a big problem with late shipping, but if you're the type who demands stuff ASAP I can see how you'd be unhappy. The big thing you can do on Ebay is be careful who you buy from and look at the feedbacks. Huge-volume sellers with good feedback are usually pretty safe, and ship quickly. Low-volume occasional sellers with 100% feedback are safe. Foreign sellers with spotty feedback are to be avoided unless it's something really cheap and you're willing to take a gamble on it being junk (if it doesn't show up at all, Ebay will refund your money). It's really not that different from Amazon in this regard, since so much stuff on Amazon is sold by "affiliates", a bunch of whom are Chinese sellers, or otherwise independent companies that ship themselves rather than outsourcing that to Amazon.

Re: Amazon Has Swallowed Downtown Seattle

#82

Post by steve-howard »

golergka wrote: post #54
gohrt wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And now we put everyone in open-floorplan barns to "promote colllaboration", with nowhere for people to go back and work at when they are done collaborating. "Hallway conversations" have become "constant conversations"

One of the first things I ask potential employers in my current job search is whether they employ open space office or not, and simply refuse to talk further if they want me to sit with 20+ people in one room. I hope more developers will do it to put some pressure on this matter.

I'd love to have the leverage to do that, but I don't. The vast majority of companies see nothing wrong with this, and I'm not so in demand that I can filter based on office space.

Re: Amazon Has Swallowed Downtown Seattle

#83

Post by wickawic »

gohrt wrote: post #47
jasonpeacock wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depending on how you count, Amazon has made ~5 campus moves in the last 20yrs. So far, so good...

Amazon didn't build headquarters before the SLU move. Before that they rented pre-existing structures. That difference is the point of the predictive signal.

Well then in that case there have still been 2 new headquarters buildings :)

Re: Amazon Has Swallowed Downtown Seattle

#84

Post by atourgates »

techsupporter wrote: post #9
yunong wrote: post #2

"one of the best recruiting tools Amazon has is if people come interview on a nice day, and people are sitting outside having lunch from a food truck." Have they been to Seattle during the months of November to June?

I have (I live in Seattle, but don't work for Amazon) and the weather is pretty great roughly nine months out of the year. Late November to February are dreary but spring, summer, and most of fall make up for it. Sorry for leaking the secret, fellow Seattleites.

I think the secret is out[1].

[1] http://www.zillow.com/seattle-wa/home-values/

Re: Amazon Has Swallowed Downtown Seattle

#85

Post by jasonpeacock »

Grishnakh wrote: post #68
djsumdog wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've actually stopped shopping at Amazon. I'll pay and extra $10 for high ticket items to avoid that retailer. I'm sure many of the higher ups there don't have any ill-will, but they have unintentionally (or maybe intentionally; I dunno) become America's new Wal-Mart. That's a bad thing. Consumerist culture erodes long term sustainability. Laptop/cellphone replacement cycles need to be 10 years, not 2. Old electronic…

There are plenty of valid concerns and complaints about Amazon (I'll list some of mine below), but I don't see why you're blaming them for electronics recycling and lifetimes, or "Walmartification". Amazon has done a pretty good job of being an all-in-one place to shop online and having very low prices overall. For cellphone replacement cycles, I have absolutely no idea where you get the idea that Amazon has anything…

2) They have never been the lowest prices - you could, and still can, almost always find better prices elsewhere. But for the majority of people, the convenience is worth the extra cost.

3) No other stores sell stuff from China? Or maybe you're not used to seeing the cheap import items displayed next to the regular items?

Re: Amazon Has Swallowed Downtown Seattle

#87

Post by serge2k »

jonknee wrote: post #23
techsupporter wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd rather pay for my food because then there isn't the expectation that I stay at work to "enjoy" it. But I'm with you on food trucks. I just don't see the appeal (no, I don't need half of my lunch sliding down my arm as I stand up to eat it) but, damn, they are popular in urban Seattle.

> I'd rather pay for my food because then there isn't the expectation that I stay at work to "enjoy" it. It's Amazon, you're expected to both pay for your lunch and stay at work to "enjoy it". Or stay late to make up for having to eat.

I dunno, lunch was pretty well enforced at amazon. Go out and get food, come back and eat somewhere (conference room, kitchen area, outside, wherever). Took a full out each day.

Way worse where I am now, 25 minute lunch break. ugh.

Re: Amazon Has Swallowed Downtown Seattle

#88

Post by undersuit »

Animats wrote: post #66

The "Community Banana Stand" in one picture is amusing. As if someone were growing bananas within a thousand miles.

Actually it's just a short drive away. https://www.facebook.com/CWUBiologyGreenhouse/photos/pcb.102...

Sure probably not the same bananas, but maybe one day it will be cheaper to grow in a local greenhouse or greenwall than to ship them from another hemisphere.

Re: Amazon Has Swallowed Downtown Seattle

#89

Post by Symbiote »

segmondy wrote: post #64
yunong wrote: post #2

"one of the best recruiting tools Amazon has is if people come interview on a nice day, and people are sitting outside having lunch from a food truck." Have they been to Seattle during the months of November to June?

People live in Alaska, Seattle is not the worst, someone moving from Alaska might like Seattle. People live in Detroit, Job is scarce. Moving to Seattle to get a job especially if it pays well might be the best move instead of being unemployed. People live in East Louis and South Chicago, Moving to Seattle to escape the violence because you want to raise your kids in a better place is not bad. I'm not from Seattle, b…

> discussion of the weather comes up, I don't see that when folks talk about London tho.

Really‽ I'm from London, and pretty much everyone I meet makes some comment on the weather there.

I've had people insist to me that London is rainy and foggy for months on end. I think this comes from the usual depiction in cinema, which is pretty much opposite to the weather in TV series set in the countryside surrounding London. The reality is closer to the sunny weather, fog is very rare.

Re: Amazon Has Swallowed Downtown Seattle

#90

Post by nix0n »

djsumdog wrote: post #52
erickhill wrote: post #32

To be honest, the section of the city Amazon has "swallowed" was grass and weed filled parking lots 5 years ago as well as broken down buildings. While the construction has been a drag for drivers in that area, the city looks and feels so much better, IMO, due to their investments. Now, has Amazon invested enough in infrastructure to help the swelling population they are partly to blame for increasing (not to mention…

I've actually stopped shopping at Amazon. I'll pay and extra $10 for high ticket items to avoid that retailer. I'm sure many of the higher ups there don't have any ill-will, but they have unintentionally (or maybe intentionally; I dunno) become America's new Wal-Mart. That's a bad thing. Consumerist culture erodes long term sustainability. Laptop/cellphone replacement cycles need to be 10 years, not 2. Old electronic…

You're buying the same stuff on Amazon as you would buy from Wal-Mart and that's your fault. You dropped your phone so you go on Amazon and buy a new phone, but you could buy a new screen, and a tiny screwdriver too.

I think you're right about the need for real recycling, and consumerism is a debate worth having, but I don't see how fragmenting the marketplace works towards a solution.

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