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I'm not sure I'd allow the delivery times and customer support to be attributed as a real thing to Amazon. Both were meant as audience capturing tactics and we

by csydas 8y ago

I'm not sure I'd allow the delivery times and customer support to be attributed as a real thing to Amazon. Both were meant as audience capturing tactics and were basically unattainable by most all other competitors due to costs -- Amazon only avoided it riding on a large wave of money and eating costs for years until it was the only game in town. Now you can't have a thread about Amazon without constant complaints about the 2-Day shipping never really being 2-Day shipping, the constant fakes that plague the Amazon inventory (with a seemingly blind-eye from Amazon itself on it), and so on. These weren't really public goods introduced by Amazon, as plenty of stores handle the customer service side just fine in most cases, and the delivery stuff was mostly just investors subsidizing the costs for a time, which appears to no longer be a major focal point.

darawk 8y ago
Except that you can still just as easily buy things from normal retailers. They're not dead. People choose not to because the value of obtaining things from Amazon remains higher to them.
TheTrotters 8y ago
Perhaps it’s selection bias. People who are happy with Amazon may not see the need to comment about it in every thread. But to counter this trend: I am very, very happy that Amazon exists. It’s allowed me to discover and buy plenty of books that I otherwise would never read or sample. Not to mention dozens of everyday items I buy from them. Nail clippers, socks, alarm clock, router, resistance bands, headphones and many more I’m forgetting about. It’s all under one roof, delivery is usually very fast (sometimes it’s just one day on two-day delivery; when there are some delays and it takes an extra day they always notify me by e-mail). Amazon is great and I’m a more-than-satisfied consumer.
ElBarto 8y ago
It's not only about costs. It's really about hard work to deliver the best for customers. Many online retailers simply do not make efforts to deliver, quite apart from any cost consideration, and then they moan about Amazon. In addition, it's also about creating trust. Buying something online requires more trust than buying from a store so convincing people that it's safe and that there won't be any issues with returns and refunds is a big part of getting people to place and order and to come back.
mrob 8y ago
> I'm not sure I'd allow the delivery times and customer support to be attributed as a real thing to Amazon. Amazon has "Amazon Lockers", which let me accept deliveries at a time convenient to me, with no human interaction. This is a real improvement over previous methods, and AFAIK no other retailer in my country has anything similar.
- coldtea 8y ago
  >Amazon has "Amazon Lockers", which let me accept deliveries at a time convenient to me, with no human interaction. So, just like a post office box? Not to mention that the raise of companies like Amazon and the "on demand" mentality is the one that forces people to not have more regular hours "convenient to them".
  - mrob 8y ago
    Post office boxes are expensive, require filling in an application form, and require human interaction to access the contents. Amazon Lockers are included in the normal "free" delivery, require no paperwork, and are completely automated.

by csydas 8y ago

darawk 8y ago

Except that you can still just as easily buy things from normal retailers. They're not dead. People choose not to because the value of obtaining things from Amazon remains higher to them.

TheTrotters 8y ago

Perhaps it’s selection bias. People who are happy with Amazon may not see the need to comment about it in every thread. But to counter this trend: I am very, very happy that Amazon exists. It’s allowed me to discover and buy plenty of books that I otherwise would never read or sample. Not to mention dozens of everyday items I buy from them. Nail clippers, socks, alarm clock, router, resistance bands, headphones and many more I’m forgetting about. It’s all under one roof, delivery is usually very fast (sometimes it’s just one day on two-day delivery; when there are some delays and it takes an extra day they always notify me by e-mail). Amazon is great and I’m a more-than-satisfied consumer.

ElBarto 8y ago

It's not only about costs. It's really about hard work to deliver the best for customers. Many online retailers simply do not make efforts to deliver, quite apart from any cost consideration, and then they moan about Amazon. In addition, it's also about creating trust. Buying something online requires more trust than buying from a store so convincing people that it's safe and that there won't be any issues with returns and refunds is a big part of getting people to place and order and to come back.

mrob 8y ago

> I'm not sure I'd allow the delivery times and customer support to be attributed as a real thing to Amazon. Amazon has "Amazon Lockers", which let me accept deliveries at a time convenient to me, with no human interaction. This is a real improvement over previous methods, and AFAIK no other retailer in my country has anything similar.

coldtea 8y ago
>Amazon has "Amazon Lockers", which let me accept deliveries at a time convenient to me, with no human interaction. So, just like a post office box? Not to mention that the raise of companies like Amazon and the "on demand" mentality is the one that forces people to not have more regular hours "convenient to them".
- mrob 8y ago
  Post office boxes are expensive, require filling in an application form, and require human interaction to access the contents. Amazon Lockers are included in the normal "free" delivery, require no paperwork, and are completely automated.