Posted on 06/22/2021 2:09:34 PM PDT by dynachrome
An Amazon warehouse in Scotland reportedly destroys millions of unsold products every year, according to undercover footage and anonymous employees at the facility.
British news outlet ITV obtained footage from inside the e-commerce giant’s Dunfermline facility that showed laptops, books, jewelry and other still-packaged products being sorted into boxes marked “destroy.”
The items, some of which were new and others which were returned, were then sorted into trucks and taken to recycling centers or landfills, according to the outlet.
“From a Friday to a Friday our target was to generally destroy 130,000 items a week,” a former employee at the site told ITV.
“I used to gasp. There’s no rhyme or reason to what gets destroyed: Dyson fans, Hoovers, the occasional MacBook and iPad; the other day, 20,000 Covid (face) masks still in their wrappers.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
They apparently also destroy a lot of what they try to deliver to me, too…
Why?
I am going to take a guess that it costs more to return some items to the manufacturer then it does to simply destroy them.
I purchased three items recently and spent about $70, but decided I didn’t want them. I got my card refunded, but they said to just keep the products...
Very odd. I thought about that for a while. The objects were obviously that cheesy, marked up Chinese stuff I am sure.
>>Set the items out in Chicago, Detroit, etc. Problem solved.<<
Seriously that is what I do in my MILs house in Mexico. I replaced a bunch of stuff like a blender and some TVs and just put the old ones (blender was rusty, the TVs were old tube types) out in front by the roadside.
Gone within an hour.
Putting them on sale below a certain price do the same thing. I wonder if they donate any of the goods to local non-profit organizations, schools, churches, etc.
Ive never heard of getting a refund and keeping the goods. Your explanation is the only thing that makes sense.
Your MIL’s neighbors must cruise the streets here in the SF Bay Area, too. Things are gone quickly. If you want things to disappear slowly, put a “FREE” sign on them. If you want them gone right now, put a “FOR SALE $100” sign on them.
That was my guess. There are probably several container ships waiting to be unloaded, and they need the shelf space.
Kinda like bait. I'm a hunter and I don't find it very sporting to hunt over bait, but I could make an exception in this case.
That's never happened to me on any firearms related materials I've ordered. Just once I'd like for them to say "No Charge" because you're a good guy and loyal customer.
>>Your MIL’s neighbors must cruise the streets here in the SF Bay Area, too. Things are gone quickly. If you want things to disappear slowly, put a “FREE” sign on them. If you want them gone right now, put a “FOR SALE $100” sign on them.<<
LOL - I suggested just that but the wife thought I was too cynical.
Not me. Never had a problem with an Amazon delivery. And I’ve had probably a few hundred. For all his flaws, Bezos really created an incredible business.
“old tube types”
Some tubes are worth a couple of bucks if still working.
I have an eCommerce business, and I do the same thing
I toss 90% of the returns
Just isn’t worth the time
I bought a Hoover battery vacuum on Amazon a couple months ago. It was sold as new, but a bunch of separate parts all re-wrapped in poly bags arrived in a brown cardboard box. The wear marks showed that the battery had clearly been inserted into the charger a number of times. I actually phoned Amazon customer service and they apologized profusely for that screw-up. They sent me a new one in the manufacturer’s box and it arrived the next day. They said to keep the used one, too, and not return it — I was only charged once. That worked out well as we put the used one upstairs and kept the new one downstairs!
Lots of things are superseded by new models and the manufacturer would only destroy old inventory returned to them anyway. So they tell Amazon to keep it. As new models are introduced, sales of the old models declines quickly. So Amazon just destroys it. Either the manufacturer does or Amazon does.
When I worked for a company that manufactured cable TV equipment, we did the same thing. Our distributors in other countries would provide certificates from companies that destroy products attesting that the obsolete stuff was indeed destroyed.
Probably many reasons.
Bet a lot of this stuff was proven defective from bad manufacturing runs etc. Those PPE mask usually have a expiration date, Yes they are good but you have to pitch them.
We live in a really screwed up world.
Neighbor renovated a farm house, over a two week period. Got rid of two toilets and a bathtub, three double doors. Individually, put them by the road, with a “$100 or best offer” sign.
Was fastest and easiest, and cheapest, way to get them gone. Only labor was down the driveway.
We’ve been good Amazon customers for well over 20 years and have probably had thousands of deliveries. We share our Prime account with our kids, so we have four families getting deliveries now. I can recall only three mistakes in all those years: 1) they sent me a counterfeit hard disk drive (which was the merchant’s doing, not Amazon, 2) they sent me a used vacuum that was sold as new, and 3) they couldn’t fill an order and cancelled it. The accuracy and speed of their business is really astonishing.
I’m seeing local merchant inventory continuing to decline. I went to four stores the other day looking for a Scotts drop spreader for fertilizer. Nobody had it, so I went home and ordered it from Amazon. Same thing with a patio umbrella — everybody is sold out. Lots on Amazon. Ditto for certain yard weed killers and chemicals.
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.