I don't want 1 hour shipping. I want charming niche shops and fabs where the employees are treated well and able to serve higher quality products, and repair things when they occasionally break.
I get the sentiment, but the market as a whole said differently. I doubt Americans could afford that.
Americans could afford to spend more on goods that are actually durable. And those who couldn't would buy used items that actually are worthwhile because they were built to last.
Maybe they could 50 years ago but they decided then that Walmart was the way to go.
Now all most of them can afford is Walmart
I really just want a choice in shopping that isn't Amazon, Target, or Walmart.
Like, there are pretty much no mom and pop shores anymore. There's an occasional "niche" bigbox, like Dicks or Walmart or Marshalls...but like, for real, there's nothing left.
And then, you think you're going direct to manufacturer, but nope, just a fancy skin on top of Amazon.
Or worse, twice so far, is order something from eBay and have it delivered in Amazon packaging on an Amazon truck.
All the ma and pa shops were forced into selling on Walmart and Amazon and eBay etc.
They are equally beat to shit by the platform pushing their prices down, the platform controlling the visibility of their products, and countless rules that if ever broken result in a permanent platform ban, ending the business.
Walmart is niche?? I feel like I must be misinterpreting. 😅
I could've sworn I said BestBuy...which I would consider "niche" in that, I can't think of a single other retailer in my area that competes directly as an electronics store.
There's maybe an appliance shop nearby still? But I'm hundreds of miles away from even a Fry's. No more CircuitCity or CompUSA or even Sears.
If I didn't have a wholesale club nearby or a MicroCenter ~90 mins away, I wouldn't have a clue where to buy a TV (for example), in person, besides WalMart, Target, or BestBuy.
Online, the first that comes to mind is those, and Amazon. Then if I start to think deep I'll think maybe Newegg?
No matter how sassy your reply is if it is on twitter you're part of the problem.
You can make money without being cruel or awful to your workers. But every mega corp just wakes up and picks the most exploitive option humanly possible.
No you can't. Not in crony capitalism. Any honest business will go under, be bought out, or turn corrupt. If you are a multi millionaire or billionaire, you are absolutely evil.
If a company is publicly traded it's evil because their business model depends on infinite growth for investors and doesn't care about the workers.
Progress!
25 years ago I could get everything I need within 1 hour by riding the tram or my bicycle to the store.
Where staff with a 3-year education recommended the right product for me, and weren't aggressively pushed by their employer to upsell.
(This wasn't in the US though).
Today, the only things left in the city are shops for smartphones, sports betting, vapes and barbers where the haircut somehow costs half as much as the mandatory minimum wage with taxes.
Living in rural Norway this was never an option. Normal stuff was accessible (and in shops with qualified staff) but anything special was only available if a distributor had it.
EBay, Etsy, Ali Express and amazon (however much I despise their business practice) makes stuff available. Even now living close to Oslo, Norway is such a small market that stores can't really have that much capital bound up in stock that occasionally sells.
A few examples:
- Pluck foam is impossible to find outside specialized commercial vendors that want to sell it by the ton or something
- Small vortex mixer that is not sold by ThermoFischer for an insany jacked up prize.
- 3mm rubber mat, that apparently you get cut to measure in Home Depot according to the craft YT channel, cannot be found outside companies selling them as health and safety mats to cushion walking surface... Guess if they are cheap?
Same with IT. Unless i order it I can't get anything better than drop shipped unmarked second hand cables from media market. But we have 20 clothing shops with the same cheap slave made clothes.
Both are entirely possible. But only one will exist, because Amazon absolutely needs all the money in the world.
We used to have 2 day shipping. Now I'm lucky to get stuff the same week with prime. Price decrease? Nope price increase. Amazon sucks.
That was my experience. Also the 2 hour prime stuff when offered was never stuff you needed, its gonna be paper towels or a hat or something competely stupid, not like a car part that if I could get it here in 2 hours would be really fucking helpful so I could finish the project today!
We don't want or need one hour shipping. We want Jeff bezos to divide his net worth equally among all his employees so they can have a comfortable living while working their asses off every day.
Really. Nobody asked for this.
Exactly. I don’t need socks delivered like emergency medicine — I’d rather the worker gets a real lunch break.
I don’t need socks delivered like emergency medicine
If socks were delivered like emergency medicine, it would take six weeks to fill the prescription, cost you $600/sock, and you could suddenly be refused service because the head of HHS decided you deserve to be barefoot.
(in the usa)
They can't even meet their estimated shipping dates 3 days out. Whenever I choose the non 2-day option. They delay it an additional day beyond the estimate. With out fail.
So you’re saying their estimates are reliable.
Reliability inaccurate, yes.
Meh, still not happy about their overpromise on drone delivery years ago. Would much rather have a drone drop something off than someone peeing in a cup in a truck.
I'd like Amazon broken up.
I haven't ordered from them in a couple years, I think. They make a stupid amount of money from AWS so me spending $10 elsewhere isn't a big deal, but it feels worthwhile.
Also, I live in a livable city. A lot of things I can just walk outside and get in under an hour.
Includes a complementary bottle of piss.
"But if I dont subjugate an underclass and kill babies then someone else will and they might make money doing it."
-literally the problem with gestures broadly
One-hour shipping is impressive, but one-hour lunch breaks would be a much better flex.
Honestly I don't think it can. In USA there is this shit called "law of precedence" and also there is this precedence that means companies are liable in court if they don't prioritize shareholder profit.
Any reform that could possibly work must probably start with outlawing stock markets and loans.
The Longer I live, the more I realise America is just Rapture City from Bioshock with some adjustments.
There's nothing wrong with 5-7 buisness days, or 3-5. Whichever. We can go to the store if it's an emergency.
We can't easily go to the store when many things don't sell in brick and mortar anymore. When everything is online and the price is as low as it gets, it's a battle of convenience.
There is nothing wrong with longer shipping times, but they won't exactly win customers over.
I avoid Amazon by principle, but I've had to use it to source materials urgently on an occasion.
But but Jeffo is a Job Creator! He was just born Better Than You. /s
Wait weren't you americans having a whole striking day on May 1?
What happened, didn't the regime crumble under your powerful relentless resistance?
Xitter :(
nah, what would jeff bozo do if he didn't make another billion dollars? We can't have him GASP LOSING MONEY!
I don’t care about one hour shipping. Aren’t those workers overworked as it is?
I don’t want one hour lunch, I want to go home a half hour early
Let's be realistic here. The majority of people don't care, at all, about how the workforce of the place they buy things from is being treated. By and large, they happily buy things from companies with MUCH worse practices than Amazon without a second thought. If child and slave labor don't move the needle for them, why would the (comparatively-speaking) paradise of working at Amazon?
They should be forced to Unionize.
Work Reform
A place to discuss positive changes that can make work more equitable, and to vent about current practices. We are NOT against work; we just want the fruits of our labor to be recognized better.
Our Philosophies:
- All workers must be paid a living wage for their labor.
- Income inequality is the main cause of lower living standards.
- Workers must join together and fight back for what is rightfully theirs.
- We must not be divided and conquered. Workers gain the most when they focus on unifying issues.
Our Goals
- Higher wages for underpaid workers.
- Better worker representation, including but not limited to unions.
- Better and fewer working hours.
- Stimulating a massive wave of worker organizing in the United States and beyond.
- Organizing and supporting political causes and campaigns that put workers first.