How can this be

[Ole Anderson]

I just ordered on Ebay thrust bearings for the blade on my Craftsman Professional 15" bandsaw, direct from China, package of ten #80018 bearings delivered for $5.59. Delivery within 14 days. Shipping has to cost more than that.

[glenn bradley]

Today's business models are mind boggling at times. Amazon providing next-day delivery of a box of ink pens certainly doesn't seem sustainable.

[Matt Day]

Think about the volume of shipping amazon does. They’ve got their own delivery service in some areas too.

And think about how many containers China ships to America.

[Brian Elfert]

Do a search on Epacket subsidies. There is some sort of postal treaty where the Chinese can send Epackets to the USA at a very low rate. The USPS doesn't lilke it because they end up subsidizing the Chinese Epackets to the tune of $300 to $400 million a year.

The cost of mailing an Epacket is low enough that they can sell something for a few dollars with free shipping and still make a profit.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

I just ordered on Ebay thrust bearings for the blade on my Craftsman Professional 15" bandsaw, direct from China, package of ten #80018 bearings delivered for $5.59. Delivery within 14 days. Shipping has to cost more than that.

The American taxpayer is paying the shipping.

[Mark Daily]

Think about the volume of shipping amazon does. They’ve got their own delivery service in some areas too.

And think about how many containers China ships to America.
I just saw a news segment about Amazon delivery vans being involved in traffic accidents. Turns out they sub-contract all their delivery services so the vans you see with the Amazon logo are privately owned.

[Kev Williams]

If you were to receive your bearings from China in FOUR days, that would be remarkable. Fourteen days, no big deal due to the e-packet thing as noted. It like taking my aluminum parts to the anodizing shop; if I need 1 or 2 aluminum parts anodized and returned within a week, I'll have to pay at least $50. But as long as I agree to add my parts to the next biggest batch, I'll get them for 3 or 4 bucks each...

[Erik Loza]

...Amazon providing next-day delivery of a box of ink pens certainly doesn't seem sustainable.


Think about the volume of shipping amazon does. They’ve got their own delivery service in some areas too...

My wife works in tech and for a time, was with a company that handled AWS' (Amazon Web Services) server farms. Amazon's whole shipping thing is one giant loss leader. Their true profit comes from streaming services. So, I guess it is sustainable when you can offset the (surely) HUGE losses incurred on the freight side of things with golden life raft like the other side of the business. Craziness! (as I add more knick-knacks to my Prime cart).

Erik

[carey mitchell]

Amazon, Fed Ex and UPS use contractors at this time of year. In my development there are 850 homes. A few minutes ago there was a beat up red Ford explorer that stopped a couple of times. The fellow was wearing a UPS shirt and cut off jeans. Over the past week on the resident blog, there have been about 5 messages per day of mislaid packages. Either these people cannot read house number or just don't care. (probably some of both)

[Mark Daily]

Check out this article on Amazon delivery:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/05/us/amazon-delivery-drivers-accidents.html

And:

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/carolineodonovan/amazon-next-day-delivery-deaths

Actually, I found too many to post but you get the idea.

[Jim Koepke]

Check out this article on Amazon delivery:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/05/us/amazon-delivery-drivers-accidents.html

And:

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/carolineodonovan/amazon-next-day-delivery-deaths

Actually, I found too many to post but you get the idea.

The sad part is even if people with high ideals know of these incidents, they will likely shrug their shoulders and still purchase items from the companies pushing these policies. Until something happens to them or someone they know, it will be business as usual.

jtk

[Mark Daily]

The sad part is even if people with high ideals know of these incidents, they will likely shrug their shoulders and still purchase items from the companies pushing these policies. Until something happens to them or someone they know, it will be business as usual.

jtk

Thats true Jim. So many younger people today are only concerned with convenience and price.