Not surprising, but fortunately it’s very easy for everyone who subscribes to Amazon Prime to do the math and determine whether it’s worth it for them. For a lot of folks the determination can be made based on delivery costs alone. The value of the extra stuff like photos, music, and video only enter the equation if you’re not getting all of the value/ROI from the delivery service.
I recognize this is a narrowly focused perspective based on personal economics alone. Like any system there are a number of macro level implications and second order effects to a service like this that makes it so incredibly easy have hard goods ordered on a whim delivered extremely quickly to your door with little to no regard to the true cost of the delivery service.
A quick survey of the number of Amazon vehicles on the road and coursing through neighborhoods nearly all of the time, not to mention the vast tracts of land devoted to fulfillment centers and warehouses, some of which are built on the graves of dead malls and retail stores driven out of business because they could not compete against online retail, and the mountains of cardboard waste (hopefully everyone recycles?) paints a truer cost picture that’s a little harder to do the math on.
The “eye” is back … staring straight at me. Ugh.
For me right now the biggest benefit of Amazon Prime is that it keeps me out of stores where I could be infected. I used to shop in multiple grocery stores to get all the stuff I needed and, if I needed electronics or home goods, I ran over to BestBuy or Lowes. But, thanks to Prime, I seldom have to do that now,
A bigger cost we pay is the death of small business and people becoming even more anti-social.
We’re getting to a point (at least in my town) where social interaction is “awkward”.
When I was a kid we not only had hucksters who came around selling produce from the back of their truck but milk men and a little mom & pop store at the bottom of my street that the housewives would walk to for bread & milk and such -- because the husbands would take 'the car' to work and walking was the only transportation. But, super markets and two car families drove them out of business.
Things move forward.
At some point even those Amazon delivery & warehouse people will be replaced with robots, self-driving trucks and drones.
A quick survey of the number of Amazon vehicles on the road and coursing through neighborhoods nearly all of the time, not to mention the vast tracts of land devoted to fulfillment centers and warehouses, some of which are built on the graves of dead malls and retail stores driven out of business because they could not compete against online retail, and the mountains of cardboard waste (hopefully everyone recycles?) paints a truer cost picture that’s a little harder to do the math on.
When Amazon opened one of their last-mile hubs in my area, they switched from UPS to their own delivery trucks. Much faster and more reliable than waiting for a UPS truck. I've had UPS shipments that were out for delivery not deliver because the driver's shift ended and he needed to return without making all the deliveries.
As for cardboard use, it just shifts who is using it and where it goes. There was still a vast amount of boxes going to traditional retailers back in the day. Every store has a cardboard bailing machine that then needs to arrange pick ups of all the bailed cardboard.
I've had stuff like that (or worse) happen with FedEx but NEVER with UPS. I'll see their trucks in my neighborhood till 6:00 or 7:00pm.
But I wish they would consolidate for efficiency: USPS, UPS, FedEx and Amazon all cruise by everyday. It seems really inefficient to me. Actually, Amazon pharmacy does use UPS instead of their own -- it probably has to do with certification or something.
This makes me consider cancelling. As others have mentioned, free shipping (not just at Amazon) typically provides good enough results and a lot of other online retailers have caught up to Amazon in terms of prices.
Not surprising, but fortunately it’s very easy for everyone who subscribes to Amazon Prime to do the math and determine whether it’s worth it for them. For a lot of folks the determination can be made based on delivery costs alone. The value of the extra stuff like photos, music, and video only enter the equation if you’re not getting all of the value/ROI from the delivery service.
I recognize this is a narrowly focused perspective based on personal economics alone. Like any system there are a number of macro level implications and second order effects to a service like this that makes it so incredibly easy have hard goods ordered on a whim delivered extremely quickly to your door with little to no regard to the true cost of the delivery service.
A quick survey of the number of Amazon vehicles on the road and coursing through neighborhoods nearly all of the time, not to mention the vast tracts of land devoted to fulfillment centers and warehouses, some of which are built on the graves of dead malls and retail stores driven out of business because they could not compete against online retail, and the mountains of cardboard waste (hopefully everyone recycles?) paints a truer cost picture that’s a little harder to do the math on.
The “eye” is back … staring straight at me. Ugh.
For me right now the biggest benefit of Amazon Prime is that it keeps me out of stores where I could be infected. I used to shop in multiple grocery stores to get all the stuff I needed and, if I needed electronics or home goods, I ran over to BestBuy or Lowes. But, thanks to Prime, I seldom have to do that now,
A bigger cost we pay is the death of small business and people becoming even more anti-social.
We’re getting to a point (at least in my town) where social interaction is “awkward”.
And how do I deal with local small businesses if they do not carry the product I’m looking for. More times than not recently I have been unable to buy brands and products form Amazon or Walmart online that simply don’t exist. My family seems to have this uncanny ability to find a new product locally and start buying it, then watch as it disappears from the local shelves a few months later for apparently no reason. But guess what? I can still buy it from Amazon and get it the next day in many cases.
Amazon Prime is worth it to me simply for the convenience and access to products not available locally.
As for social interaction being awkward read Issac Asimov’s novel The Naked Sun which is basically a murder mystery but takes place on a planet where there is no social interaction at all by law except for procreation. Even back in the 1940’s the SciFi writers could see this coming, a society where robots carry out the daily chores of life and people communicate only by technology, think Zoom, FaceTime, Skype, etc.
Right, and the more you use it, the fewer options you’ll have, as they continue to crush local businesses, and the local businesses that remain will struggle further as the local economy declines, while Amazon benefits from their economies of scale and the fact that they don’t even have to make a profit from their retail business (as they barely did for decades) due to the immense profitability of AWS. Then Amazon can ask for tax breaks to “bring jobs” to the depressed areas, essentially getting a taxpayer subsidy to further their domination. And with any luck, people will find a scapegoat that they’d rather blame for the economic upheaval, and politicians would be glad to help them with that.
I do recognize that online shopping provides access to a broader range of items than one can find locally, and even before the Internet, catalog shopping fulfilled that need, and of course it has its place. But I also think hat the full “price” in the larger sense isn’t always taken into consideration.
Said the horse and buggy driver, blacksmith and poop scooper put out of work by the automobile.
Said the Said the taxi driver who became obsolete because of Uber
Said Fotomat when digital photos became the norm.
and what the gas station owners will someday say when electric vehicles are common.
You get the point. Everything changes and evolves. Always has, always will.
Not surprising, but fortunately it’s very easy for everyone who subscribes to Amazon Prime to do the math and determine whether it’s worth it for them. For a lot of folks the determination can be made based on delivery costs alone. The value of the extra stuff like photos, music, and video only enter the equation if you’re not getting all of the value/ROI from the delivery service.
I recognize this is a narrowly focused perspective based on personal economics alone. Like any system there are a number of macro level implications and second order effects to a service like this that makes it so incredibly easy have hard goods ordered on a whim delivered extremely quickly to your door with little to no regard to the true cost of the delivery service.
A quick survey of the number of Amazon vehicles on the road and coursing through neighborhoods nearly all of the time, not to mention the vast tracts of land devoted to fulfillment centers and warehouses, some of which are built on the graves of dead malls and retail stores driven out of business because they could not compete against online retail, and the mountains of cardboard waste (hopefully everyone recycles?) paints a truer cost picture that’s a little harder to do the math on.
The “eye” is back … staring straight at me. Ugh.
Does Apple offer food shopping with any service? Amazon Prime does and that was saver during Covid sickness, isolation and lockdowns. You get your bags of food next to your doors - not just entertainment on your favorite device. You can survive without entertainment - not so without food. Also this is very convenient in times when we work from home and do not want to leave home for shopping (for many reasons). Add to that, that many devices including Samsung and Apple you can buy from Amazon with overnight (almost) delivery for free (Prime gives you free delivery on most of Amazon sold products and it is delivered even on weekends). So how do you plan to compare only narrow service from Apple with fractional part of Amazon Prime service that offers far more?
Not surprising, but fortunately it’s very easy for everyone who subscribes to Amazon Prime to do the math and determine whether it’s worth it for them. For a lot of folks the determination can be made based on delivery costs alone. The value of the extra stuff like photos, music, and video only enter the equation if you’re not getting all of the value/ROI from the delivery service.
I recognize this is a narrowly focused perspective based on personal economics alone. Like any system there are a number of macro level implications and second order effects to a service like this that makes it so incredibly easy have hard goods ordered on a whim delivered extremely quickly to your door with little to no regard to the true cost of the delivery service.
A quick survey of the number of Amazon vehicles on the road and coursing through neighborhoods nearly all of the time, not to mention the vast tracts of land devoted to fulfillment centers and warehouses, some of which are built on the graves of dead malls and retail stores driven out of business because they could not compete against online retail, and the mountains of cardboard waste (hopefully everyone recycles?) paints a truer cost picture that’s a little harder to do the math on.
The “eye” is back … staring straight at me. Ugh.
For me right now the biggest benefit of Amazon Prime is that it keeps me out of stores where I could be infected. I used to shop in multiple grocery stores to get all the stuff I needed and, if I needed electronics or home goods, I ran over to BestBuy or Lowes. But, thanks to Prime, I seldom have to do that now,
A bigger cost we pay is the death of small business and people becoming even more anti-social.
We’re getting to a point (at least in my town) where social interaction is “awkward”.
Small business can move online just like everyone else. And, more anti-social? Every time I watch the news is some story about some innocent person being killed while walking out front of their house or driving in a car. I'm beginning to think it's safer at home!
That's news to me. Can you point me to all these stories of "ome innocent person being killed while walking out front of their house"? Do you also have a link to this rise in crimes occurring when leaving the house?
In rural areas not, but you should follow news about NYC especially Manhattan. People are scared to leave houses as random shootings are now prevalent there let alone other crime (shoving on tracks under running train in subway incidents). That is also why many IT folks like myself working for finance work from home and rather leave the firm for another job than be force to commute to the office in NYC. NYC has changed with dumb legal reform enacted in 2019 and results are seen in last two years. I bet the same happens in many other cities run by "specially talented" politicians. For the record, that is why Deblasio lost election in NYC to former police commissioner who is now mayor and will not play games with people's safety.
If you are in the US and shop on Amazon, you should have the Amazon Prime credit card (by Chase). If you don't have Prime you get 3% on Amazon purchases. If you do have Prime it is 5%. I more than make up my yearly Prime membership fee through this and the only reason I have Prime is to get stuff wicked fast (without needing to order $25 or $35 all at once) -- I don't care about video or music or other "benefits" besides the cash back from Chase through the Amazon card.
Not surprising, but fortunately it’s very easy for everyone who subscribes to Amazon Prime to do the math and determine whether it’s worth it for them. For a lot of folks the determination can be made based on delivery costs alone. The value of the extra stuff like photos, music, and video only enter the equation if you’re not getting all of the value/ROI from the delivery service.
I recognize this is a narrowly focused perspective based on personal economics alone. Like any system there are a number of macro level implications and second order effects to a service like this that makes it so incredibly easy have hard goods ordered on a whim delivered extremely quickly to your door with little to no regard to the true cost of the delivery service.
A quick survey of the number of Amazon vehicles on the road and coursing through neighborhoods nearly all of the time, not to mention the vast tracts of land devoted to fulfillment centers and warehouses, some of which are built on the graves of dead malls and retail stores driven out of business because they could not compete against online retail, and the mountains of cardboard waste (hopefully everyone recycles?) paints a truer cost picture that’s a little harder to do the math on.
The “eye” is back … staring straight at me. Ugh.
For me right now the biggest benefit of Amazon Prime is that it keeps me out of stores where I could be infected. I used to shop in multiple grocery stores to get all the stuff I needed and, if I needed electronics or home goods, I ran over to BestBuy or Lowes. But, thanks to Prime, I seldom have to do that now,
A bigger cost we pay is the death of small business and people becoming even more anti-social.
We’re getting to a point (at least in my town) where social interaction is “awkward”.
Small business can move online just like everyone else. And, more anti-social? Every time I watch the news is some story about some innocent person being killed while walking out front of their house or driving in a car. I'm beginning to think it's safer at home!
That's news to me. Can you point me to all these stories of "ome innocent person being killed while walking out front of their house"? Do you also have a link to this rise in crimes occurring when leaving the house?
In rural areas not, but you should follow news about NYC especially Manhattan. People are scared to leave houses as random shootings are now prevalent there let alone other crime (shoving on tracks under running train in subway incidents). That is also why many IT folks like myself working for finance work from home and rather leave the firm for another job than be force to commute to the office in NYC. NYC has changed with dumb legal reform enacted in 2019 and results are seen in last two years. I bet the same happens in many other cities run by "specially talented" politicians. For the record, that is why Deblasio lost election in NYC to former police commissioner who is now mayor and will not play games with people's safety.
Murder in NYC is lower than it was between 1960 and 2011. One YoY increase doesn't make for a trend that should cause you to wet your pants for fear of going outside.
In rural areas not, but you should follow news about NYC especially Manhattan. People are scared to leave houses as random shootings are now prevalent there let alone other crime (shoving on tracks under running train in subway incidents). That is also why many IT folks like myself working for finance work from home and rather leave the firm for another job than be force to commute to the office in NYC. NYC has changed with dumb legal reform enacted in 2019 and results are seen in last two years. I bet the same happens in many other cities run by "specially talented" politicians. For the record, that is why Deblasio lost election in NYC to former police commissioner who is now mayor and will not play games with people's safety.
Crime, especially murders, increased all over the country during the Pandemic. In rural areas and in cities. Democratic-controlled states and Republican-controlled states. Even with the sharp crime increase in a short period of time, it does not even come close to the late 80s and early 90s crime waves.
The "dumb legal reform" in NYC you mention (but don't name specifically) has nothing to do with it as places without similar legal reforms saw crime increases as well. Politicians use lies about reforms to roll them back and save their jobs. Not going to happen. And De Blasio didn't lose to a former Police Commissioner. First, he was term-limited and was not even running. And second, the winner and current Mayor Eric Adams is a former NYPD captain. He left the NYPD years ago to become a politician and was out of law enforcement for about 15/16 years before becoming Mayor.
Not surprising, but fortunately it’s very easy for everyone who subscribes to Amazon Prime to do the math and determine whether it’s worth it for them. For a lot of folks the determination can be made based on delivery costs alone. The value of the extra stuff like photos, music, and video only enter the equation if you’re not getting all of the value/ROI from the delivery service.
I recognize this is a narrowly focused perspective based on personal economics alone. Like any system there are a number of macro level implications and second order effects to a service like this that makes it so incredibly easy have hard goods ordered on a whim delivered extremely quickly to your door with little to no regard to the true cost of the delivery service.
A quick survey of the number of Amazon vehicles on the road and coursing through neighborhoods nearly all of the time, not to mention the vast tracts of land devoted to fulfillment centers and warehouses, some of which are built on the graves of dead malls and retail stores driven out of business because they could not compete against online retail, and the mountains of cardboard waste (hopefully everyone recycles?) paints a truer cost picture that’s a little harder to do the math on.
The “eye” is back … staring straight at me. Ugh.
Does Apple offer food shopping with any service? Amazon Prime does and that was saver during Covid sickness, isolation and lockdowns. You get your bags of food next to your doors - not just entertainment on your favorite device. You can survive without entertainment - not so without food. Also this is very convenient in times when we work from home and do not want to leave home for shopping (for many reasons). Add to that, that many devices including Samsung and Apple you can buy from Amazon with overnight (almost) delivery for free (Prime gives you free delivery on most of Amazon sold products and it is delivered even on weekends). So how do you plan to compare only narrow service from Apple with fractional part of Amazon Prime service that offers far more?
Good points!
But unless something has changed food delivery may be a local / regional thing.
Here, Amazon stocks staples like oatmeal and coffee but doesn't have grocery store style food. And, while Whole Foods advertised delivery, early on it was impossible to get on the schedule (but that may have improved since then)
I wish they would open that up. There are a lot of Americans who don't drive -- especially older Americans -- who would find it easier to stay in their homes if their food was delivered. Prior to the pandemic I delivered Meas-on-wheels -- but, aside from being pricey for somebody living on Social Security, it is of limited benefit -- they still need to go to the store.
In rural areas not, but you should follow news about NYC especially Manhattan. People are scared to leave houses as random shootings are now prevalent there let alone other crime (shoving on tracks under running train in subway incidents). That is also why many IT folks like myself working for finance work from home and rather leave the firm for another job than be force to commute to the office in NYC. NYC has changed with dumb legal reform enacted in 2019 and results are seen in last two years. I bet the same happens in many other cities run by "specially talented" politicians. For the record, that is why Deblasio lost election in NYC to former police commissioner who is now mayor and will not play games with people's safety.
Crime, especially murders, increased all over the country during the Pandemic. In rural areas and in cities. Democratic-controlled states and Republican-controlled states. Even with the sharp crime increase in a short period of time, it does not even come close to the late 80s and early 90s crime waves.
The "dumb legal reform" in NYC you mention (but don't name specifically) has nothing to do with it as places without similar legal reforms saw crime increases as well. Politicians use lies about reforms to roll them back and save their jobs. Not going to happen. And De Blasio didn't lose to a former Police Commissioner. First, he was term-limited and was not even running. And second, the winner and current Mayor Eric Adams is a former NYPD captain. He left the NYPD years ago to become a politician and was out of law enforcement for about 15/16 years before becoming Mayor.
Amazing how things change when you hear the other side of the story -- ALL of the truth.
Not surprising, but fortunately it’s very easy for everyone who subscribes to Amazon Prime to do the math and determine whether it’s worth it for them. For a lot of folks the determination can be made based on delivery costs alone. The value of the extra stuff like photos, music, and video only enter the equation if you’re not getting all of the value/ROI from the delivery service.
I recognize this is a narrowly focused perspective based on personal economics alone. Like any system there are a number of macro level implications and second order effects to a service like this that makes it so incredibly easy have hard goods ordered on a whim delivered extremely quickly to your door with little to no regard to the true cost of the delivery service.
A quick survey of the number of Amazon vehicles on the road and coursing through neighborhoods nearly all of the time, not to mention the vast tracts of land devoted to fulfillment centers and warehouses, some of which are built on the graves of dead malls and retail stores driven out of business because they could not compete against online retail, and the mountains of cardboard waste (hopefully everyone recycles?) paints a truer cost picture that’s a little harder to do the math on.
The “eye” is back … staring straight at me. Ugh.
Does Apple offer food shopping with any service? Amazon Prime does and that was saver during Covid sickness, isolation and lockdowns. You get your bags of food next to your doors - not just entertainment on your favorite device. You can survive without entertainment - not so without food. Also this is very convenient in times when we work from home and do not want to leave home for shopping (for many reasons). Add to that, that many devices including Samsung and Apple you can buy from Amazon with overnight (almost) delivery for free (Prime gives you free delivery on most of Amazon sold products and it is delivered even on weekends). So how do you plan to compare only narrow service from Apple with fractional part of Amazon Prime service that offers far more?
Good points!
But unless something has changed food delivery may be a local / regional thing.
Here, Amazon stocks staples like oatmeal and coffee but doesn't have grocery store style food. And, while Whole Foods advertised delivery, early on it was impossible to get on the schedule (but that may have improved since then)
I wish they would open that up. There are a lot of Americans who don't drive -- especially older Americans -- who would find it easier to stay in their homes if their food was delivered. Prior to the pandemic I delivered Meas-on-wheels -- but, aside from being pricey for somebody living on Social Security, it is of limited benefit -- they still need to go to the store.
There are apps in the Apple App Store and Google Play store for home delivery from local grocery stores like Safeway, Lucky, Trader Joe and Walmart. They are not free delivery but neither is Prime with Whole Foods. Prime Whole Foods delivery use to be free but not anymore. There's now a $9.98 service charge added to home delivery and extra fee for 1 hour delivery service.
I haven't use any of them and don't have a Prime account, so I have no idea of their competitive delivery cost. But all the others do not require paying for a Prime membership, to get home grocery delivery. No one needing home grocery delivery are require to sign up for a Prime membership. Even if Prime delivery cost might be cheaper than the others, groceries a Whole Foods tend to be more expensive. They once earned the nickname of "Whole Paycheck". If you are a older American on a fixed income and need your groceries delivered, Whole Foods would not be your first choice of where to shop and there are apps for other supermarkets delivery services, to get your grocery delivered to your door steps.
Not surprising, but fortunately it’s very easy for everyone who subscribes to Amazon Prime to do the math and determine whether it’s worth it for them. For a lot of folks the determination can be made based on delivery costs alone. The value of the extra stuff like photos, music, and video only enter the equation if you’re not getting all of the value/ROI from the delivery service.
I recognize this is a narrowly focused perspective based on personal economics alone. Like any system there are a number of macro level implications and second order effects to a service like this that makes it so incredibly easy have hard goods ordered on a whim delivered extremely quickly to your door with little to no regard to the true cost of the delivery service.
A quick survey of the number of Amazon vehicles on the road and coursing through neighborhoods nearly all of the time, not to mention the vast tracts of land devoted to fulfillment centers and warehouses, some of which are built on the graves of dead malls and retail stores driven out of business because they could not compete against online retail, and the mountains of cardboard waste (hopefully everyone recycles?) paints a truer cost picture that’s a little harder to do the math on.
The “eye” is back … staring straight at me. Ugh.
Does Apple offer food shopping with any service? Amazon Prime does and that was saver during Covid sickness, isolation and lockdowns. You get your bags of food next to your doors - not just entertainment on your favorite device. You can survive without entertainment - not so without food. Also this is very convenient in times when we work from home and do not want to leave home for shopping (for many reasons). Add to that, that many devices including Samsung and Apple you can buy from Amazon with overnight (almost) delivery for free (Prime gives you free delivery on most of Amazon sold products and it is delivered even on weekends). So how do you plan to compare only narrow service from Apple with fractional part of Amazon Prime service that offers far more?
Good points!
But unless something has changed food delivery may be a local / regional thing.
Here, Amazon stocks staples like oatmeal and coffee but doesn't have grocery store style food. And, while Whole Foods advertised delivery, early on it was impossible to get on the schedule (but that may have improved since then)
I wish they would open that up. There are a lot of Americans who don't drive -- especially older Americans -- who would find it easier to stay in their homes if their food was delivered. Prior to the pandemic I delivered Meas-on-wheels -- but, aside from being pricey for somebody living on Social Security, it is of limited benefit -- they still need to go to the store.
There are apps in the Apple App Store and Google Play store for home delivery from local grocery stores like Safeway, Lucky, Trader Joe and Walmart. They are not free delivery but neither is Prime with Whole Foods. Prime Whole Foods delivery use to be free but not anymore. There's now a $9.98 service charge added to home delivery and extra fee for 1 hour delivery service.
I haven't use any of them and don't have a Prime account, so I have no idea of their competitive delivery cost. But all the others do not require paying for a Prime membership, to get home grocery delivery. No one needing home grocery delivery are require to sign up for a Prime membership. Even if Prime delivery cost might be cheaper than the others, groceries a Whole Foods tend to be more expensive. They once earned the nickname of "Whole Paycheck". If you are a older American on a fixed income and need your groceries delivered, Whole Foods would not be your first choice of where to shop and there are apps for other supermarkets delivery services, to get your grocery delivered to your door steps.
Yes, all true.
Plus that $10 delivery fee may not seem like a lot to somebody feeding a family of 4. But, for a single person buying for themself, it increases the food bill substantially. I can eat for an entire day on less than that -- but then my dietary choices tend to be very simple, basic foods: whole grains, beans, veggies -- my biggest single expense is fruit.
Comments
I will unfortunately be eating the rate increase and go along with it. It’s just too inconvenient to exist without Amazon Prime.
The "dumb legal reform" in NYC you mention (but don't name specifically) has nothing to do with it as places without similar legal reforms saw crime increases as well. Politicians use lies about reforms to roll them back and save their jobs. Not going to happen. And De Blasio didn't lose to a former Police Commissioner. First, he was term-limited and was not even running. And second, the winner and current Mayor Eric Adams is a former NYPD captain. He left the NYPD years ago to become a politician and was out of law enforcement for about 15/16 years before becoming Mayor.
Good points!
I haven't use any of them and don't have a Prime account, so I have no idea of their competitive delivery cost. But all the others do not require paying for a Prime membership, to get home grocery delivery. No one needing home grocery delivery are require to sign up for a Prime membership. Even if Prime delivery cost might be cheaper than the others, groceries a Whole Foods tend to be more expensive. They once earned the nickname of "Whole Paycheck". If you are a older American on a fixed income and need your groceries delivered, Whole Foods would not be your first choice of where to shop and there are apps for other supermarkets delivery services, to get your grocery delivered to your door steps.