Posted on 10/15/2019 3:51:13 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
It used to be that ordering household items from Amazon Prime meant stocking up.
Many brick and mortar-resistant shoppers relished 48 rolls of toilet paper or 24 cans of cat food arriving at their address in two short days.
Until recently, to protect Amazons retail margins, Amazon has made it difficult to purchase a single item in the $1-$5 range and also get fast and free shipping items like a stick of deodorant, a make-up brush or a tube of toothpaste.
In September, analysts at Edgewater Research started noticing that Amazon had disabled its add-on program, the system Amazon used to allow the purchasing of low-priced items, but only if they were added to create a $25 minimum, for example. On their own, items below $5 didnt quality for free-shipping, until now.
Not only has Amazon recently increased its delivery speed from two days to one, but this shift in Amazons logistics should make brick and mortar competitors like Walgreens, CVS, Walmart and Target nervous.
(Excerpt) Read more at freightwaves.com ...
Lots of stores now match Amazon prices and I buy from them.
The stores that do that will be the ones that survive.
When do the tax payers stop subsidizing Amazon?
Kirkland Signature Aged Balsamic Vinegar (33.8 oz) current price:
Costco: $10.99
Amazon: $23.14
Walmart already has the infrastructure and IT systems in place that Amazon is trying to build, and they’ve now invested in automation (ASRS) to further streamline the delivery to the customer. Amazon will continue to have a large share, but watch for Walmart to significantly grow in this space.
Amazon recruited a huge number of Walmart executives, to the point that Walmart sued Amazon. I expect it has also poached a large number of FedEx and UPS execs. The problem for UPS vs Amazon is that UPS is unionized, whereas Amazon is not. Amazon has the potential to become a big shipper for non-Amazon website shipments alongside FedEx and UPS. Whether it moves in that direction depends on how confident it is that becoming that huge in the shipping business is compatible with avoiding unionization. Its package handling side is already getting a lot of political static regarding work conditions. Its workers are probably getting paid about as well as union workers, but they are the best of the best in their category, the product of a gruelling weed-out process that has eliminated most of the less productive workers that tend to find a secure niche in union work forces like UPS’s, thereby dragging down UPS’s gross margins, with potentially company-ending consequences in a price war.
When legislators decide to stop warring your money.
In the meantime, Amazon is building their own fleet for want of capacity.
[Kirkland Signature Aged Balsamic Vinegar (33.8 oz) current price:
Costco: $10.99
Amazon: $23.14]
Walmart offers grocery delivery but I am too far away. They also offer quick grocery pickup. I tried it and everything went smooth. I also got $10 off.
I doubt I will use it again unless they have the $10 off again.
Walmart already has the infrastructure and IT systems in place that Amazon is trying to build, and theyve now invested in automation (ASRS) to further streamline the delivery to the customer. Amazon will continue to have a large share, but watch for Walmart to significantly grow in this space.
...
Amazon messed up and took 10 days to get an item to me. I got tired of waiting and ordered the same item from Walmart next day for free. The Amazon item got returned. One good thing about Amazon was the return was easy and they had a canned reason of “shipping took too long.”
How Amazon can deliver $1 items overnight for free
...
It’s not free when people are paying for Prime.
Well some people pay for Prime and some people pay for a Costco membership. I pay for neither and in any category I’ll match my annual expenses with anyone else.
Costco stuff on Amazon is always higher in my experience.
I find in my local that UPS is SLOW compared to FedEx and USPS. So slow that I call them the Slowest Ship in the Shipping Business. I just ordered something on Oct 10 that weighed 20lbs that wasn't even eligible for "Prime" shipping and I got it Oct.12th. California to Illinois - delivered by USPS. UPS doesn't deliver on weekends around here either. They better shape up.
Businesses rely on UPS for several services. The USPS and Amazon use UPS for some deliveries. Although Amazon wants the residential market, they cannot provide to businesses what UPS does.
So I look for UPS to be around awhile.
I use amazon for a lot of books because I look at the used book prices. VG is basically new for good prices.
Why would anybody order one can of cat food. That’s just gonna tick off your cat.
[I just ordered something on Oct 10 that weighed 20lbs that wasn’t even eligible for “Prime” shipping and I got it Oct.12th. California to Illinois - delivered by USPS.]
I hear ya. USPS pension overhead is astronomical. They are very generous paid days off too. Seems like my mailperson works only in good weather. I can almost tell by the forecast whether she will show up or not.
They can probably thank James Riddle Hoffa for those wages.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.