5 ms·

This seems like a great way to give employees a bit of a perk. An allowance could be used for technical books, and or other learning materials.

sombremesa 11y ago
This is Amazon we're talking about. The company that doesn't give employees prime, free hardware to take home, or a real employee discount.
- elmin 11y ago
  Amazons margins are so narrow an employee discount without some sort of cap would be ridiculous.
  - sombremesa 11y ago
    There is no veil here, and no reason to pretend there is something legitimate preventing Amazon from treating people like human beings. I'm not going to argue with you, unless you tell me you've worked there. Then at least I will attempt to understand why you believed such treatment is acceptable.
  - rifung 11y ago
    Indeed that may be true. But it's still pretty pitiful that they only let you apply your discount to $1000 worth of products a year. That means you save.. $100 each year!
- gohrt 11y ago
  Parent mean that Amazon's customers could use this is a book budget perk.
- simonbarker87 11y ago
  I think they mean any company for their employees, not specifically amazon - I think Buffer give their employees Amazon gift cards for their Kindles - something like that
- taeric 11y ago
  What is a non-real employee discount?
  - codeonfire 11y ago
    10% off up to $100 per year. So about 1/4 day off. Why bother?
    - taeric 11y ago
      Doesn't that essentially mean free prime? Also... it beats the discount I got back when I worked fast food. Not saying some places don't do better, but I do fear the entitlement of my peers here.
      - rictic 11y ago
        Agreed on the feeling of entitlement. When I first moved into the industry I found it striking too. It is healthy for the industry for people to have and share this information though. Employees in every industry talk about how they and their peers are compensated, and share scuttlebutt about which companies have better pay and benefits than others as a way of ensuring that they're getting a competitive wage.
      - vonklaus 11y ago
        > Doesn't that mean free prime? Based on what they are charging for it, basically yes. They must lose money on it though. My friend ordered a fridge on Amazon prime. I bet 48 hour shipping on a fridge is pretty close to the cost of amazon prime.
      - codeonfire 11y ago
        No, prime has music, instant video, free shipping, discounts, etc. It is a loss leader that can costs Amazon way more than $100 per member. Otherwise Amazon would scrap the 10% and give all its employees prime. On entitlement, It's not entitlement. If Amazon can't compete or doesn't want to compete on perks, that is their preprogative. Entitlement is not in Amazon's vocabulary. They have no concept of entitlement. When Amazon employees are forced to wake up at 3am to fix something it's not because Amazon feels entitled to their sleep time. It's because Amazon has devolved into barbarianism and raw power to force people to do things is all that matters there. There is no concept of entitlement because entitlement would mean some rule of law exists. The only reason a discount probably exists is because there is some small psychological benefit to the company that is greater than the (tiny) cost. So when someone feels they should get something more from an employer in that environment it is simply reciprocal hostility.

sombremesa 11y ago

This is Amazon we're talking about. The company that doesn't give employees prime, free hardware to take home, or a real employee discount.

elmin 11y ago
Amazons margins are so narrow an employee discount without some sort of cap would be ridiculous.
- sombremesa 11y ago
  There is no veil here, and no reason to pretend there is something legitimate preventing Amazon from treating people like human beings. I'm not going to argue with you, unless you tell me you've worked there. Then at least I will attempt to understand why you believed such treatment is acceptable.
- rifung 11y ago
  Indeed that may be true. But it's still pretty pitiful that they only let you apply your discount to $1000 worth of products a year. That means you save.. $100 each year!
gohrt 11y ago
Parent mean that Amazon's customers could use this is a book budget perk.
simonbarker87 11y ago
I think they mean any company for their employees, not specifically amazon - I think Buffer give their employees Amazon gift cards for their Kindles - something like that
taeric 11y ago
What is a non-real employee discount?
- codeonfire 11y ago
  10% off up to $100 per year. So about 1/4 day off. Why bother?
  - taeric 11y ago
    Doesn't that essentially mean free prime? Also... it beats the discount I got back when I worked fast food. Not saying some places don't do better, but I do fear the entitlement of my peers here.
    - rictic 11y ago
      Agreed on the feeling of entitlement. When I first moved into the industry I found it striking too. It is healthy for the industry for people to have and share this information though. Employees in every industry talk about how they and their peers are compensated, and share scuttlebutt about which companies have better pay and benefits than others as a way of ensuring that they're getting a competitive wage.
    - vonklaus 11y ago
      > Doesn't that mean free prime? Based on what they are charging for it, basically yes. They must lose money on it though. My friend ordered a fridge on Amazon prime. I bet 48 hour shipping on a fridge is pretty close to the cost of amazon prime.
    - codeonfire 11y ago
      No, prime has music, instant video, free shipping, discounts, etc. It is a loss leader that can costs Amazon way more than $100 per member. Otherwise Amazon would scrap the 10% and give all its employees prime. On entitlement, It's not entitlement. If Amazon can't compete or doesn't want to compete on perks, that is their preprogative. Entitlement is not in Amazon's vocabulary. They have no concept of entitlement. When Amazon employees are forced to wake up at 3am to fix something it's not because Amazon feels entitled to their sleep time. It's because Amazon has devolved into barbarianism and raw power to force people to do things is all that matters there. There is no concept of entitlement because entitlement would mean some rule of law exists. The only reason a discount probably exists is because there is some small psychological benefit to the company that is greater than the (tiny) cost. So when someone feels they should get something more from an employer in that environment it is simply reciprocal hostility.