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The reason Amazon can charge so much for its fulfillment services is that it often delivers the product next day. I run a print-on-demand company, dropshipping

The reason Amazon can charge so much for its fulfillment services is that it often delivers the product next day. I run a print-on-demand company, dropshipping for merchants. For me to deliver a product next day (or even two-day) costs many tens of dollars. The fact that I can buy a $7.95 item on Amazon and have it profitably delivered in a day or two is absolutely incredible. It should be lauded, not punished.

phone8675309 5y ago
> The fact that I can buy a $7.95 item on Amazon and have it profitably delivered in a day or two is absolutely incredible. Is it profitable though, or is this a loss leader to get more people shopping at Amazon?
- axaxs 5y ago
  They definitely don't make any money on it, but I'm not sure I'd call it a loss leader, but more of a 'loss at the expense of keeping customers on Amazon.' That is, if Amazon didn't offer it, I may check out Walmart or Overstock or somewhere else, and find other things at good prices.
  - ruined 5y ago
    you just described a loss leader
    - axaxs 5y ago
      I was debating that. I always considered a loss leader as something to get you into a store to buy more expensive things. This is similar I guess...but I don't think it's identical because it isn't about getting you to buy more things(at that moment). More about getting you to not check out competitors. Perhaps it still applies.
- tzs 5y ago
  I see an Amazon delivery van most days in my area, making several deliveries. The marginal cost of delivering an additional order to my neighborhood should be very low. Same for the other stages of delivery. They've already got something set up to move large amounts of goods between their warehouses to where the delivery vans are loaded. The marginal cost of one more item should be low. When they have that kind of distribution/delivery infrastructure set up and essentially providing an almost continuous delivery pipeline, I'm not sure it makes a lot of sense to ask whether or not an individual item was profitable.
aimor 5y ago
The problem is that Amazon is strong arming sellers to prevent them from offering that item for a lower price elsewhere.
perryizgr8 5y ago
My friend broke his phone on the way to office, ordered a new one from Amazon when he arrived at office (8am), and left with a new phone at 5pm. Can't beat Amazon shipping.
subhro 5y ago
You should talk to FedEx and UPS and ask for discounts. I can ship things often cheaper than USPS flat box when shipping FedEx express.
jimktrains2 5y ago
> often delivers the product next day. I haven't had the ability get next day shipping for a while. Anymore my order won't even ship for a few days. A little over a year ago next day or 2 day was the norm.
- caturopath 5y ago
  I don't think you're detecting a global change in Amazon. I think you're detecting a change in how they service your address.
  - jimktrains2 5y ago
    Quite possible. I live in the Pittsburgh metro area just outside the city and know many others here and elsewhere with similar experiences.
barrkel 5y ago
They'll deliver something, but I'm not so sure it'll be worth $7.95. I don't even trust Amazon for buying books any more. Of the last batch I bought, about 30% have blotchy, blurry font, making me suspect they're knock-offs printed from imaging the original. Often it's the same imprint but one book has crisp clean lettering and the next has varying fuzzy blur around every letter.
Dylan16807 5y ago
> The reason Amazon can charge so much for its fulfillment services is that it often delivers the product next day. Except I never asked for everything to cost more in exchange for getting it next day. Imagine if everything cost $20 more but all came with next-hour shipping. That's a miracle of logistics but it's a terrible consumer experience. And forcing that price onto people should definitely be punished.

phone8675309 5y ago

> The fact that I can buy a $7.95 item on Amazon and have it profitably delivered in a day or two is absolutely incredible. Is it profitable though, or is this a loss leader to get more people shopping at Amazon?

axaxs 5y ago
They definitely don't make any money on it, but I'm not sure I'd call it a loss leader, but more of a 'loss at the expense of keeping customers on Amazon.' That is, if Amazon didn't offer it, I may check out Walmart or Overstock or somewhere else, and find other things at good prices.
- ruined 5y ago
  you just described a loss leader
  - axaxs 5y ago
    I was debating that. I always considered a loss leader as something to get you into a store to buy more expensive things. This is similar I guess...but I don't think it's identical because it isn't about getting you to buy more things(at that moment). More about getting you to not check out competitors. Perhaps it still applies.
tzs 5y ago
I see an Amazon delivery van most days in my area, making several deliveries. The marginal cost of delivering an additional order to my neighborhood should be very low. Same for the other stages of delivery. They've already got something set up to move large amounts of goods between their warehouses to where the delivery vans are loaded. The marginal cost of one more item should be low. When they have that kind of distribution/delivery infrastructure set up and essentially providing an almost continuous delivery pipeline, I'm not sure it makes a lot of sense to ask whether or not an individual item was profitable.

aimor 5y ago

The problem is that Amazon is strong arming sellers to prevent them from offering that item for a lower price elsewhere.

perryizgr8 5y ago

My friend broke his phone on the way to office, ordered a new one from Amazon when he arrived at office (8am), and left with a new phone at 5pm. Can't beat Amazon shipping.

subhro 5y ago

You should talk to FedEx and UPS and ask for discounts. I can ship things often cheaper than USPS flat box when shipping FedEx express.

jimktrains2 5y ago

> often delivers the product next day. I haven't had the ability get next day shipping for a while. Anymore my order won't even ship for a few days. A little over a year ago next day or 2 day was the norm.

caturopath 5y ago
I don't think you're detecting a global change in Amazon. I think you're detecting a change in how they service your address.
- jimktrains2 5y ago
  Quite possible. I live in the Pittsburgh metro area just outside the city and know many others here and elsewhere with similar experiences.

barrkel 5y ago

They'll deliver something, but I'm not so sure it'll be worth $7.95. I don't even trust Amazon for buying books any more. Of the last batch I bought, about 30% have blotchy, blurry font, making me suspect they're knock-offs printed from imaging the original. Often it's the same imprint but one book has crisp clean lettering and the next has varying fuzzy blur around every letter.

Dylan16807 5y ago

> The reason Amazon can charge so much for its fulfillment services is that it often delivers the product next day. Except I never asked for everything to cost more in exchange for getting it next day. Imagine if everything cost $20 more but all came with next-hour shipping. That's a miracle of logistics but it's a terrible consumer experience. And forcing that price onto people should definitely be punished.