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Amazon also set new lows for how to pay and treat employees, and how little it is possible to care about selling counterfeit products.

a008t 8y ago
Clearly they have been better than the alternatives for customers - otherwise, they would not be successful. Employees also have a choice - Amazon is not a monopoly.
- ionised 8y ago
  > Clearly they have been better than the alternatives for customers - otherwise, they would not be successful. Plenty of shitty companies are successful. They just need to. be more convenient than their competitors. > Employees also have a choice - Amazon is not a monopoly. Not yet.
- KozmoNau7 8y ago
  The customer's don't see the horrible conditions behind the scenes, all they see are cheap products. If you're a delivery driver, your job options are extremely limited. You can deliver fast food, or deliver for companies like Amazon. It's either that, or starve.
  - danielmg 8y ago
    Or learn another skill?
    - KozmoNau7 8y ago
      Not really something you can "just do", when you're living paycheck to paycheck and can barely even pay rent, even after moving to more affordable accommodation, while also keeping your ~15 year old car running, because it's your lifeline to even having a job in the first place.
TangoTrotFox 8y ago
I never understand why people say things like this. It's not even remotely true. For instance we can quantify the salary comment. A quick search for fulfillment center work showed salaries starting at $12-$14/hour. The median pay for retail work, by contrast, is $11.24 [1], which means 50% of workers earn less than that. It's not possible to similarly conveniently quantify concern about counterfeit, but if you think they genuinely do not care about it then I don't even know what to say. Even from a purely greed centered point of view, counterfeits hurt mid to longterm revenue. [1] - https://www.bls.gov/ooh/sales/retail-sales-workers.htm https://www.bls.gov/ooh/sales/retail-sales-workers.htm
- KozmoNau7 8y ago
  I base my impression of their working conditions on a friend of mine, who's worked both the warehouses and as a delivery driver. The managers are slave drivers, and if you're just a minute or two behind on a schedules delivery, you get dinged, a black mark on your employment record and a severe talking-down. Even if the delay is of no fault of your own (bad traffic, weather, etc.), it's seen as a personal failure on your part. No level of pay can make up for being treated like shit. Regarding the counterfeits, Amazon loves to say how they're dealing with the issue, but the examples just keep piling up. And of course their childish behavior around Chromecast and Youtube.

a008t 8y ago

Clearly they have been better than the alternatives for customers - otherwise, they would not be successful. Employees also have a choice - Amazon is not a monopoly.

ionised 8y ago
> Clearly they have been better than the alternatives for customers - otherwise, they would not be successful. Plenty of shitty companies are successful. They just need to. be more convenient than their competitors. > Employees also have a choice - Amazon is not a monopoly. Not yet.
KozmoNau7 8y ago
The customer's don't see the horrible conditions behind the scenes, all they see are cheap products. If you're a delivery driver, your job options are extremely limited. You can deliver fast food, or deliver for companies like Amazon. It's either that, or starve.
- danielmg 8y ago
  Or learn another skill?
  - KozmoNau7 8y ago
    Not really something you can "just do", when you're living paycheck to paycheck and can barely even pay rent, even after moving to more affordable accommodation, while also keeping your ~15 year old car running, because it's your lifeline to even having a job in the first place.

TangoTrotFox 8y ago

I never understand why people say things like this. It's not even remotely true. For instance we can quantify the salary comment. A quick search for fulfillment center work showed salaries starting at $12-$14/hour. The median pay for retail work, by contrast, is $11.24 [1], which means 50% of workers earn less than that. It's not possible to similarly conveniently quantify concern about counterfeit, but if you think they genuinely do not care about it then I don't even know what to say. Even from a purely greed centered point of view, counterfeits hurt mid to longterm revenue. [1] - https://www.bls.gov/ooh/sales/retail-sales-workers.htm https://www.bls.gov/ooh/sales/retail-sales-workers.htm

KozmoNau7 8y ago
I base my impression of their working conditions on a friend of mine, who's worked both the warehouses and as a delivery driver. The managers are slave drivers, and if you're just a minute or two behind on a schedules delivery, you get dinged, a black mark on your employment record and a severe talking-down. Even if the delay is of no fault of your own (bad traffic, weather, etc.), it's seen as a personal failure on your part. No level of pay can make up for being treated like shit. Regarding the counterfeits, Amazon loves to say how they're dealing with the issue, but the examples just keep piling up. And of course their childish behavior around Chromecast and Youtube.