Posted on 03/09/2022 5:15:03 AM PST by lowbridge
A veteran who set up an independent business delivering packages for Amazon told Protocol he wanted to shut his business down but was too afraid of anticipated exit fees from Amazon.
Amazon's vast delivery network is partly made up of delivery service partners, third-party contracted firms that deliver the tech giant's packages to customers.
-snip
The veteran, along with other DSP owners who spoke with Protocol, said they were dependent on federal Paycheck Protection Program loans to bolster their income or they previously were.
The veteran told Protocol he wanted to close his business but was too scared of the exit fees he could incur.
"They make it extremely difficult for you to get out of the program," he said. "If I were to say, 'Hey, I can't do this anymore,' they write down every nick or scratch on a vehicle; the average person that tries to return the vehicle, you're looking at well over $100,000 of damages they are going to find in your fleet."
Amazon offers DSP owners a "flexible lease" option that lets them lease Amazon-branded vans from an unnamed "third party fleet management company."
The veteran set up his DSP after he saw an ad that specifically encouraged veterans to apply by saying the usual requirement for applicants to have $10,000 in startup cash could be waived for veterans, he told Protocol.
Protocol granted the veteran and other DSP owners it spoke with anonymity because they were afraid Amazon might retaliate against them.
Vice also published a report on Monday about Amazon DSP owners shutting down their businesses.
One delivery service partner told Vice she shut down her business in October because she was falling into debt and showed the publication an invoice for $64,465 for damages on 20 vans.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
Note to self: always read the fine print, no matter how boring.
Doing cheap deliveries for Amazon is overloading and overworking the USPS. Mailmen are working longer hours and making less. That’s why they’re short of labor.
If delivering packages were hugely profitable, Amazon would do it themselves. If delivering packagers were slightly profitable, Amazon would outsource to UPS or FedEx. Ask yourself two questions (1) Why is Amazon outsourcing package delivery in the first place and (2) why to specifically new businesses and you will have yet more evidence it’s a bad idea.
” $64,465 for damages on 20 vans.”
That is $3,223 per a van. Something is off on this article.
Delivery vans will have normal wear and tear, which might include scuffs and scrapes from driving into and backing out of tight driveways and spaces.
What was not clear to me in the article is why the veteran wanted to shut down the business. I get that it is difficult to close it down, but why isn’t it profitable? Amazon is the biggest retailer in the world.
As the Good Book says, By their fruits you will know them.
Looking at you, Bezos - your fruits are foul.
you have to open a llc to deliver packages so you can just close it down when you stop.
Amazon wants to throw their weight around at small, owner-operated delivery companies, while avoiding hiring drivers who might unionize. They also want avoid dealing with unionized drivers at a large nationwide firm.
“What was not clear to me in the article is why the veteran wanted to shut down the business. I get that it is difficult to close it down, but why isn’t it profitable? Amazon is the biggest retailer in the world.”
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Bezos has never been in business to make others rich. I suspect that the fees that Amazon pays aren’t variable depending on cost of gas and labor. Bezos wants to keep his contracted slaves on the plantation. He makes it difficult for them to leave by placing obstacles in their paths.
Just sayin’.
I have seen people do the same thing with rental cars, not understanding the huge financial obligations they are taking on.
Note to self: always read the fine print, no matter how boring.
—
Always get lawyer to tell you what it means.
Because Amazon holds all the cards and the data. My guess is that their algorithms are so sophisticated that they can squeeze every last drop out of an unsuspecting delivery novice. You are a rat running on their treadmill, with them feeding you and providing you air and water. They operate for their benefit not yours...
Amazon is good about slipping things into the fine print. I know a guy who works in one of their warehouses and he said they have stickers that have to go on every package that contains a lithium battery, to warn people that it is not to be shipped by plane. The FAA can fine them tens of thousands of dollars for each package that slips by. Well, when you work at the warehouse, you sign something saying that if a package gets by your workstation without a sticker, then you are the one liable to pay those FAA fines, not Amazon. So better read the fine print!
If you are too stupid to read the fine print, you probably shouldn’t go into business.
...and do you think they could have used the word ‘veteran’ in this very short article (9 times)? Not sure why it matters that he was a veteran, other than trying to get sympathy - guess he couldn’t play the race card, so he is playing the only card he has.
Yep. I seem to recall financial penalties for every bit of damage no matter how small are typical when returning leased vehicles. Why would Amazon or its subsidiary be different?
“That is $3,223 per a van. Something is off on this article.”
Actually as an average that could be cheap considering how the “damage” scam works. Last trucking company I worked for did this very same thing to their drivers. They billed their drivers for damage.
Here is how it worked. Every time a driver got in a different truck, or hooked up to a different trailer they made out an inspection report of any visual damage to either and documented it.
If damage was found then the previous driver who used them was charged for it. But the company was not archiving any previous old damage. So it was all “new damage per their records” so they were charging for old damage over and over and over. They were actually making enough money off the drivers with this scam to make all the truck payments the company owed.
The drivers were actually paying for all the trucks out of their paychecks. This scam is why I ended up quitting them. I was a district maintenance manager and they were asking me to go and take pictures of the “new” damage which was actually old damage over and over and over and ordered me to testify under perjury that it was indeed new damage when I absolutely knew better.
I just could not go along with this illegal and immoral fraud scam... So it is easy to rack up huge bucks in “new” damage when you do not archive any records of old damage and charge over and over for the same old damage.
I am very concerned about my Amazon stock. The fuel crisis is definitely going to bring a correction to Amazon. Reading articles like this you’ll find that many small owner operators will start dropping their trucks because they can’t afford to pay for the diesel fuel.
I wonder what Amazon stock will look like 30 days from now?
I bet you it drops to about 2500 per share.
Amazon stocks are the least of our worries, the whole market is going to crash...
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