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Moral of the story is - people like their goods to be cheap, quickly delivered, and convenient to order. Amazon encompasses all of that and it seems that Otto's

Moral of the story is - people like their goods to be cheap, quickly delivered, and convenient to order. Amazon encompasses all of that and it seems that Otto's companies do not. I applaud his effort to put people ahead of profits, but unless he changes his business model amazon will continue to eclipse his empire.

toomuchtodo 13y ago
Counterpoint: Perhaps government should enact regulation to lift the floor to prevent a race to the bottom. Amazon warehouses shouldn't become the sweatshops of tomorrow. Governments exist to protect their citizens, not their businesses.
- enraged_camel 13y ago
  >>Governments exist to protect their citizens, not their businesses. I totally agree. The problem is that many people defend businesses because, they say, those businesses provide people with jobs. Following this line of thinking, they are willing to completely ignore the shitty practices of said businesses, because in their eyes, jobs > *.
- anentropic 13y ago
  "Amazon warehouses shouldn't become the sweatshops of tomorrow" They already are... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25034598 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25034598 http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03k5kzp/Panorama_Amazon_The_Truth_Behind_the_Click/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03k5kzp/Panorama_Amazo... http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/dec/01/week-amazon-insider-feature-treatment-employees-work http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/dec/01/week-amazo...
  - toomuchtodo 13y ago
    I'm aware. I have more faith in the German government protecting its citizens compared to the US government.
    - mAritz 13y ago
      As mentioned in the article, it isn't really. There were mass protests by amazon employees in Germany last year. I don't know if anything really changed since then, but I kind of doubt it.
    - VMG 13y ago
      soon robots will eliminate those jobs completely anyway, the ultimate protection against low-wage jobs
      - toomuchtodo 13y ago
        The option then will be simple: Pitchforks or a Basic Income.
        avar 13y ago
        Or performing some useful function that can't trivially be replaced by menial robotic labor?
        toomuchtodo 13y ago
        Would you consider being a doctor a useful function? IBM's Watson already performs as well as a second year med student [http://www.forbes.com/sites/bruceupbin/2011/05/25/ibms-watson-now-a-second-year-med-student/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/bruceupbin/2011/05/25/ibms-watso...]. Eventually, all jobs will be replaced by software or robotic labor. What then? EDIT: "Your Job Taught to Machines Puts Half U.S. Work at Risk" http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-12/your-job-taught-to-machines-puts-half-u-s-work-at-risk.html http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-12/your-job-taught-to-...
        sb23 13y ago
        You get a job fixing the machines
        VMG 13y ago
- Houshalter 13y ago
  That would work in the short term, but in the long term they are just going to get rid of the employees entirely with robots. Which is of course, far worse, and already widely done in other industries, with no one protesting them.
  - eru 13y ago
    Why is that worse?
    - Houshalter 13y ago
      The employees wouldn't be working there if the alternatives were better. They will go to an even worse job or become unemployed.
giarc 13y ago
Hard to ship your cheap product when your warehouse workers are on strike.
legulere 13y ago
Convenience here really is the main reason. On otto you still mostly have to use categories, on amazon you have an exceptional search. You have third party sellers on amazon and a streamlined buying process.
sudomal 13y ago
Different retailers target different sectors of the market and those sectors have varying levels of profit and growth. To me, Amazon seems to be aiming at the lower end, i.e. they focus on price rather than ethics, so they experience high growth in sales and relatively low profits. I don't think everyone should copy them. It's like telling Apple to copy Acer or Samsung.

toomuchtodo 13y ago

Counterpoint: Perhaps government should enact regulation to lift the floor to prevent a race to the bottom. Amazon warehouses shouldn't become the sweatshops of tomorrow. Governments exist to protect their citizens, not their businesses.

enraged_camel 13y ago
>>Governments exist to protect their citizens, not their businesses. I totally agree. The problem is that many people defend businesses because, they say, those businesses provide people with jobs. Following this line of thinking, they are willing to completely ignore the shitty practices of said businesses, because in their eyes, jobs > *.
anentropic 13y ago
"Amazon warehouses shouldn't become the sweatshops of tomorrow" They already are... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25034598 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25034598 http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03k5kzp/Panorama_Amazon_The_Truth_Behind_the_Click/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03k5kzp/Panorama_Amazo... http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/dec/01/week-amazon-insider-feature-treatment-employees-work http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/dec/01/week-amazo...
- toomuchtodo 13y ago
  I'm aware. I have more faith in the German government protecting its citizens compared to the US government.
  - mAritz 13y ago
    As mentioned in the article, it isn't really. There were mass protests by amazon employees in Germany last year. I don't know if anything really changed since then, but I kind of doubt it.
  - VMG 13y ago
    soon robots will eliminate those jobs completely anyway, the ultimate protection against low-wage jobs
    - toomuchtodo 13y ago
      The option then will be simple: Pitchforks or a Basic Income.
      - avar 13y ago
        Or performing some useful function that can't trivially be replaced by menial robotic labor?
        toomuchtodo 13y ago
        Would you consider being a doctor a useful function? IBM's Watson already performs as well as a second year med student [http://www.forbes.com/sites/bruceupbin/2011/05/25/ibms-watson-now-a-second-year-med-student/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/bruceupbin/2011/05/25/ibms-watso...]. Eventually, all jobs will be replaced by software or robotic labor. What then? EDIT: "Your Job Taught to Machines Puts Half U.S. Work at Risk" http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-12/your-job-taught-to-machines-puts-half-u-s-work-at-risk.html http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-12/your-job-taught-to-...
        sb23 13y ago
        You get a job fixing the machines
      - VMG 13y ago
Houshalter 13y ago
That would work in the short term, but in the long term they are just going to get rid of the employees entirely with robots. Which is of course, far worse, and already widely done in other industries, with no one protesting them.
- eru 13y ago
  Why is that worse?
  - Houshalter 13y ago
    The employees wouldn't be working there if the alternatives were better. They will go to an even worse job or become unemployed.

giarc 13y ago

Hard to ship your cheap product when your warehouse workers are on strike.

legulere 13y ago

Convenience here really is the main reason. On otto you still mostly have to use categories, on amazon you have an exceptional search. You have third party sellers on amazon and a streamlined buying process.

sudomal 13y ago

Different retailers target different sectors of the market and those sectors have varying levels of profit and growth. To me, Amazon seems to be aiming at the lower end, i.e. they focus on price rather than ethics, so they experience high growth in sales and relatively low profits. I don't think everyone should copy them. It's like telling Apple to copy Acer or Samsung.