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What’s the point of this comment besides being inflammatory? All those things are always discussed tirelessly in HN every time there’s something about Amazon.

What’s the point of this comment besides being inflammatory? All those things are always discussed tirelessly in HN every time there’s something about Amazon. We get it. And it’s ok to bring them up here. But how about adding something useful to the discussion, instead of just making that statement and posting a bunch of links?

decebalus1 7y ago
I'll add something useful! All of the above are cold, business sided stories. Let's get personal. If you're an employee and want to share your personal story, go check out https://sites.google.com/site/thefaceofamazon/home https://sites.google.com/site/thefaceofamazon/home
clSTophEjUdRanu 7y ago
I thought it was insightful. 4 and 5 are what made me boycott Amazon and shop at, gasp, Wal-Mart. Amazon might be surging now but they are eroding consumer trust with this BS.
serf 7y ago
>We get it. Eh. Speak for yourself. Either the vast market that they exploit is ignorant to their abuse of the world, or the vast market is knowingly participating in fairly a-moral behavior knowingly. I prefer to think that people are generally good (moral) & naive, so i'll continue parroting the point everytime Amazon comes up, just on the off chance that i'll elucidate to someone Amazon's true nature that they may otherwise be unaware of. Speaking of topics that are spoken of ceaselessly on HN : Amazon's success and profit. Where's your issue with that topic? > What’s the point of this comment besides being inflammatory? I think that's an absolutely atrocious response to anything human-rights related.
- pasabagi 7y ago
  I think moralizing about companies is stupid. If a company makes moral decisions, and as such, is less sucessful, they're probably going to get their lunch eaten by their less moral competition. The only antidote to this is laws that ensure some basic level of civility. Capitalism is a nasty, amoral system by nature. Saying some companies are good and others are bad is just scapegoating. If everybody boycotts amazon tomorrow, they'll be replaced by a company that does the same stuff - because amazon have proved that it works, and that it is profitable. Nothing but legistlation can stop that. Talking about how bad amazon is obcures this.
  - HarryHirsch 7y ago
    Capitalism is a nasty, amoral system by nature. Saying some companies are good and others are bad is just scapegoating. Actually, this isn't the case. Not too long ago, orphan drugs were actually reasonably priced. Cuprimine went up from 500 USD to 24000 USD for a 30-day supply when Valeant bought the original manufacturer, and Daraprim went up from 13.50 USD/dose to 750 USD/dose thanks to Shkreli: https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-senate-drug-price-study-20161221-story.html https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-senate-drug-price-stu... Something changed, but I'm not sure what.
    - refurb 7y ago
      Those drugs are going up in price so they reflect the prices of new orphan drug launches. And they can do it since competition won’t bother to jump through FDA hoops.
      - HarryHirsch 7y ago
        jump through FDA hoops Not that again. Bioequivalence is important so that a patient can take Levothyroxin 75 μg from Ranbaxy one month and Levothyroxin 75 μg from Teva next month and notice no difference. Unfortunately, the market for orphan drugs is so small that it's impossible to recover the outlays.
        refurb 7y ago
        Just as an aside, once you start on a thyroid medication, it’s recommended you stick with that manufacturer. Yes, they are bioequivalent, but to the FDA that means 80%-125% of the originator. But yes, these markets where formally cheap drugs get 100x price increases are tiny markets where the outlay to get FDA approval is more than they’d make on it.
  - totalZero 7y ago
    The ideology you are pushing will self-reinforce. If everyone rewards companies for being nasty because that's somehow "smart" or "successful", then the nasty companies will be among the most successful ones. If everyone boycotts companies that do unethical things, then those companies will be punished financially and ethical behavior will be economically incentivized. Choose the world in which you want to live.
fludlight 7y ago
Some people are jerks. Discussions about them always begin or end by stating that. It's a cost of being a jerk. Why should companies be treated differently?
totalZero 7y ago
Sadly, I found the parent comment more useful and less inflammatory than your complaint about its content.
Traster 7y ago
I don't know about the original poster, but I think it's important when we talk about these massive 'success' stories that we're actually talking about the domination of capital holders over workers and the failure of regulators when it comes to technology companies.
point78 7y ago
His comment is very useful. Amazon is a shit company that dodges taxes.
blibble 7y ago
I note that the resume on your website states that you're currently employed at Amazon
- whoisjuan 7y ago
  I’m not. Used to. Could talk shit about Amazon for days, but that’s not the point of what I said. Thanks for being super creepy, and digging through my profile. Unfortunately you couldn’t even get that right. And by the way, even if I still worked there I can’t see how that discredits my opinion. But since you seem to going down that route, I can say confidently that I don’t like Amazon as an employer and many times I don’t like it when I interact with it as a customer. Mind blowing, right? Someone who can be critical and still tries to seek objective opinions.
  - blibble 7y ago
    > Thanks for being super creepy, and digging through my profile. no problem, next time there's a potential conflict of interest then state it in your post > Unfortunately you couldn’t even get that right. it's hardly my fault if your resume on your website is out of date

decebalus1 7y ago

I'll add something useful! All of the above are cold, business sided stories. Let's get personal. If you're an employee and want to share your personal story, go check out https://sites.google.com/site/thefaceofamazon/home https://sites.google.com/site/thefaceofamazon/home

clSTophEjUdRanu 7y ago

I thought it was insightful. 4 and 5 are what made me boycott Amazon and shop at, gasp, Wal-Mart. Amazon might be surging now but they are eroding consumer trust with this BS.

serf 7y ago

>We get it. Eh. Speak for yourself. Either the vast market that they exploit is ignorant to their abuse of the world, or the vast market is knowingly participating in fairly a-moral behavior knowingly. I prefer to think that people are generally good (moral) & naive, so i'll continue parroting the point everytime Amazon comes up, just on the off chance that i'll elucidate to someone Amazon's true nature that they may otherwise be unaware of. Speaking of topics that are spoken of ceaselessly on HN : Amazon's success and profit. Where's your issue with that topic? > What’s the point of this comment besides being inflammatory? I think that's an absolutely atrocious response to anything human-rights related.

pasabagi 7y ago
I think moralizing about companies is stupid. If a company makes moral decisions, and as such, is less sucessful, they're probably going to get their lunch eaten by their less moral competition. The only antidote to this is laws that ensure some basic level of civility. Capitalism is a nasty, amoral system by nature. Saying some companies are good and others are bad is just scapegoating. If everybody boycotts amazon tomorrow, they'll be replaced by a company that does the same stuff - because amazon have proved that it works, and that it is profitable. Nothing but legistlation can stop that. Talking about how bad amazon is obcures this.
- HarryHirsch 7y ago
  Capitalism is a nasty, amoral system by nature. Saying some companies are good and others are bad is just scapegoating. Actually, this isn't the case. Not too long ago, orphan drugs were actually reasonably priced. Cuprimine went up from 500 USD to 24000 USD for a 30-day supply when Valeant bought the original manufacturer, and Daraprim went up from 13.50 USD/dose to 750 USD/dose thanks to Shkreli: https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-senate-drug-price-study-20161221-story.html https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-senate-drug-price-stu... Something changed, but I'm not sure what.
  - refurb 7y ago
    Those drugs are going up in price so they reflect the prices of new orphan drug launches. And they can do it since competition won’t bother to jump through FDA hoops.
    - HarryHirsch 7y ago
      jump through FDA hoops Not that again. Bioequivalence is important so that a patient can take Levothyroxin 75 μg from Ranbaxy one month and Levothyroxin 75 μg from Teva next month and notice no difference. Unfortunately, the market for orphan drugs is so small that it's impossible to recover the outlays.
      - refurb 7y ago
        Just as an aside, once you start on a thyroid medication, it’s recommended you stick with that manufacturer. Yes, they are bioequivalent, but to the FDA that means 80%-125% of the originator. But yes, these markets where formally cheap drugs get 100x price increases are tiny markets where the outlay to get FDA approval is more than they’d make on it.
- totalZero 7y ago
  The ideology you are pushing will self-reinforce. If everyone rewards companies for being nasty because that's somehow "smart" or "successful", then the nasty companies will be among the most successful ones. If everyone boycotts companies that do unethical things, then those companies will be punished financially and ethical behavior will be economically incentivized. Choose the world in which you want to live.

fludlight 7y ago

Some people are jerks. Discussions about them always begin or end by stating that. It's a cost of being a jerk. Why should companies be treated differently?

totalZero 7y ago

Sadly, I found the parent comment more useful and less inflammatory than your complaint about its content.

Traster 7y ago

I don't know about the original poster, but I think it's important when we talk about these massive 'success' stories that we're actually talking about the domination of capital holders over workers and the failure of regulators when it comes to technology companies.

point78 7y ago

His comment is very useful. Amazon is a shit company that dodges taxes.

blibble 7y ago

I note that the resume on your website states that you're currently employed at Amazon

whoisjuan 7y ago
I’m not. Used to. Could talk shit about Amazon for days, but that’s not the point of what I said. Thanks for being super creepy, and digging through my profile. Unfortunately you couldn’t even get that right. And by the way, even if I still worked there I can’t see how that discredits my opinion. But since you seem to going down that route, I can say confidently that I don’t like Amazon as an employer and many times I don’t like it when I interact with it as a customer. Mind blowing, right? Someone who can be critical and still tries to seek objective opinions.
- blibble 7y ago
  > Thanks for being super creepy, and digging through my profile. no problem, next time there's a potential conflict of interest then state it in your post > Unfortunately you couldn’t even get that right. it's hardly my fault if your resume on your website is out of date