4 ms·

Amazon got us hooked on one day delivery, now small businesses are paying for it

13 points by neilfrndes 5y ago

neilfrndes 5y ago
https://archive.is/c20zV https://archive.is/c20zV
aosaigh 5y ago
We can (and probably should) blame Amazon, but at the end of the day it’s you and me on the end of every transaction. Consumers need to be more thoughtful about who and where they buy from, along with the consequences of their choice. I avoid Amazon at all costs. I try to shop through local suppliers (or even - gasp - in-person). I understand when I buy from smaller retailers knowing it will cost to ship and most likely take longer. As a side point, it seems crazy that the family mentioned in the article decided to abruptly stop selling through shops and suppliers? I wonder did they test their online sales first?
m000 5y ago
It's funny how Trump undermining USPS to hurt Amazon in the end helped Amazon and hurt small business. Pure genius!
ragingrobot 5y ago
Not a terribly big fan of Linus, but I came across this clip recently, which tells his story on the same subject. Specifically he tells about how Amazon holds the seller responsible even in cases where an order is "Fulfilled by Amazon", yet something goes wrong. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyz3VO3JNUg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyz3VO3JNUg
karaterobot 5y ago
Amazon's marketplace provides fast, free shipping for a lot of products. That's definitely a competitive advantage they have invested heavily in. I don't see the point of condemning Amazon because people who aren't in their marketplace can't provide the same fast, free shipping. Of course they can't, they didn't build a distribution network. Is the point of this article that Amazon is to blame because people who try really, really, really hard to do the thing Amazon does can't do it as well as they do? If you're trying to sell things to people, and it turns out what they care most about is the level of fast, free shipping Amazon marketplace offers, then you have several options: join Amazon marketplace and pay their toll, or create your own marketplace and compete with Amazon, or compete on some other aspect of your product and hope that customers care about that more than shipping.
- southerntofu 5y ago
  You don't see the point in condemning a private corporation for employing millions of wage-slaves throughout the world and abusing public postal services (while building their own distribution network) to make their boss the richest man on Earth and make sure no one can compete with their business? If that's the case, we have wildly different ethical standards.
  - thatguy0900 5y ago
    "employing millions of wage-slaves throughout the world and abusing public postal services" I don't see how you can blame anyone but the government for these. If sending a lot of mail is "abusing" the public postal system instead of being the #1 customer then they need to charge more. If being a wage slave is possible then the minimum wage needs to be raised. Amazon is hardly the only company hiring minimum wage workers, after all.
    - jjeaff 5y ago
      Just because there isn't a law against something doesn't make it ok. And there is more to wage slavery than just low wages. Amazon has a history of abusive, manipulative behaviors when it comes to warehouse employees.

13 points by neilfrndes 5y ago

https://archive.is/c20zV https://archive.is/c20zV

We can (and probably should) blame Amazon, but at the end of the day it’s you and me on the end of every transaction. Consumers need to be more thoughtful about who and where they buy from, along with the consequences of their choice. I avoid Amazon at all costs. I try to shop through local suppliers (or even - gasp - in-person). I understand when I buy from smaller retailers knowing it will cost to ship and most likely take longer. As a side point, it seems crazy that the family mentioned in the article decided to abruptly stop selling through shops and suppliers? I wonder did they test their online sales first?

m000 5y ago

It's funny how Trump undermining USPS to hurt Amazon in the end helped Amazon and hurt small business. Pure genius!

ragingrobot 5y ago

Not a terribly big fan of Linus, but I came across this clip recently, which tells his story on the same subject. Specifically he tells about how Amazon holds the seller responsible even in cases where an order is "Fulfilled by Amazon", yet something goes wrong. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyz3VO3JNUg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyz3VO3JNUg

karaterobot 5y ago

Amazon's marketplace provides fast, free shipping for a lot of products. That's definitely a competitive advantage they have invested heavily in. I don't see the point of condemning Amazon because people who aren't in their marketplace can't provide the same fast, free shipping. Of course they can't, they didn't build a distribution network. Is the point of this article that Amazon is to blame because people who try really, really, really hard to do the thing Amazon does can't do it as well as they do? If you're trying to sell things to people, and it turns out what they care most about is the level of fast, free shipping Amazon marketplace offers, then you have several options: join Amazon marketplace and pay their toll, or create your own marketplace and compete with Amazon, or compete on some other aspect of your product and hope that customers care about that more than shipping.

southerntofu 5y ago
You don't see the point in condemning a private corporation for employing millions of wage-slaves throughout the world and abusing public postal services (while building their own distribution network) to make their boss the richest man on Earth and make sure no one can compete with their business? If that's the case, we have wildly different ethical standards.
- thatguy0900 5y ago
  "employing millions of wage-slaves throughout the world and abusing public postal services" I don't see how you can blame anyone but the government for these. If sending a lot of mail is "abusing" the public postal system instead of being the #1 customer then they need to charge more. If being a wage slave is possible then the minimum wage needs to be raised. Amazon is hardly the only company hiring minimum wage workers, after all.
  - jjeaff 5y ago
    Just because there isn't a law against something doesn't make it ok. And there is more to wage slavery than just low wages. Amazon has a history of abusive, manipulative behaviors when it comes to warehouse employees.