Amazon Tries Really Hard

[SZR48207]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
Originally Posted By: Reddy45

WM actually pays a fair share of taxes where applicable. Amazon seems to have a track record of NOT paying taxes.

Also, most walmarts are involved with local charities and causes because that WM building is a component of that community. Amazon cannot claim this.


Amazon pays corporate taxes as required just like any other company, and collects sales tax in states as required.


Not quite.

https://www.seattlepi.com/business/tech/article/Amazon-paid-no-US-income-taxes-for-2017-12713961.php

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted By: Reddy45
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Originally Posted By: Reddy45

WM actually pays a fair share of taxes where applicable. Amazon seems to have a track record of NOT paying taxes.

Also, most walmarts are involved with local charities and causes because that WM building is a component of that community. Amazon cannot claim this.


Amazon pays corporate taxes as required just like any other company, and collects sales tax in states as required.


Not quite.

https://www.seattlepi.com/business/tech/article/Amazon-paid-no-US-income-taxes-for-2017-12713961.php


A lot of companies pay zero federal tax, just do a Google search.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/meet-the-18-companies-that-paid-no-taxes-over-8-years/

 

[AZjeff]

Having owned a small local retail business for 17 years I'll say unless you've been there you don't understand. We got out before Amazon became what it is now but had to deal with Walmart coming in. Without getting long-winded I can only say a local business has to offer a service or added-value that can't be delivered in a box on the porch. Many/most small retail business owners are not business people first and just don't understand what to do and how to compete when sales go down because they just can't compete on price alone. Retail is a tough game today.

 

[OilFilters]

Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Without getting long-winded I can only say a local business has to offer a service or added-value that can't be delivered in a box on the porch.


Personally, I'm not looking for that and prefer not to pay for it. When I go to a store for something, I already know what I want, how it works, how much it should cost, etc. I've already done my research. Quite often I even know where it's located and how many are in stock better than the people in the store. A small time store really isn't a great place to go for advice and service. Maybe they are good, maybe they are not, who really knows. Just because they don't have a chain of thousands of stores doesn't necessarily mean they know the product any better.

Example:
Local small time gun shop is terrible. Their prices are horrendous compared to others, the service is bad, and the people that work there aren't very knowledgeable. Their google and yelp reviews reflect this. When I wanted a shotgun, I went to Walmart. I think the only reason they stay open is because the owner owns the building, and he's old, so it's basically just his hobby and his family mostly works for him. It's been there for 40+ years so everything inside is paid for. He also owns several buildings next door that he rents out and I suspect that is where most of the income comes from.

 

[billt460]

Originally Posted By: OilFilters
I say good riddance to all the things Amazon is putting out of business. They treat their customers well, offer good prices, and great selection. Businesses are not a charity, even small local ones, so if they can't offer me the best price, I'll find it elsewhere.


I tend to agree. I never bought into all of this, "support the local mom and pop businesses". Why? I owe these people nothing. When you go into business, you have to provide the best goods and services at the best possible prices. If you can't do that, (and many mom and pop operations can't), then you are going to go out of business. It's survival of the fittest. Nothing more.

Plus, today customer service has gone into the toilet in many brick and mortar businesses. Help is sparse to non existent. And when and if you do manage to find someone, they don't know a thing about the products they're selling. All they know is how to take them from the box, and place them on the shelf.

50 years ago the company to beat was Sears & Roebuck. Then it was K-Mart. Then the Wal-Mart dynasty came roaring on the scene. Now with the Internet, coupled with fast delivery from UPS, Fed Ex, or even USPS Priority Mail, it's Amazon. Today people lead very busy lives, and many don't have the time to shop 9 to 5 businesses. But they can order anything they want from Amazon at 2:00 AM, from the comfort of their home with the click of a mouse. And it will be in their hands in a day or 2. Convenience, coupled with good prices and fast delivery has made them a smashing success. And this will only continue. As it should. They've earned it.

 

[billt460]

There is yet another reason Amazon is enjoying such success. People age 65 and older now make up 13 percent of the total population. That's over 42 million people in this country alone. Many of these people have trouble getting around. Many of them can't drive because of poor vision, or other disabilities. It's the reason many grocery and drug stores in retirement communities have home delivery.

For many of these people Amazon is a godsend. They can find exactly what they want at a good price, and have it shipped to their front door quickly. Without it they would be forced to inconvenience friends or family members to get much of what they require.

 

[SeaJay]

I needed to buy some Kayak accessories. There is a very large REI outfitters store by me. Looked up on their website, and they had the items I needed. Went to the store as I would prefer to see the product I am purchasing first. Nothing remotely in stock resembling what I wanted. I did order from them online, with free shipping as the order was well over the $50 minimum. There is a good chance that what I ordered is exactly what I do need (hopefully).

It must be that online is the way of the world for most things that aren't impulse purchases, as that is what REI's store stock seemed to consist of to a large degree. I wouldn't mind paying more to be able to first see the product and to then take it home with me, but I am in a minority it would seem.

 

[BJD78]

Also for people who live many miles away from larger metro area, farmers, ranchers and millions of people who like rural and small town living or maybe just hate driving in large metro area with lots of traffic.

 

[supton]

Hmm. Makes me wonder. If technology advances means nothing stays the same, then I wonder if obtaining financial independence earlier rather than later makes sense. One never knows when their area of expertise will be on the chopping block. Play your risks (long hours, specialization, etc), cash out early (big saving). Then any gambling later on won't hurt as much. Gambling being high risk stocks, real estate, small business, whatever.

On the flip side: I wonder if this doesn't allow each succeeding generation their shot at making their mark. They get to look at the situation with fresh eyes, make unbiased judgments, take their risks, reap their own rewards.

 

[Mr Nice]

Jeff is amazing and can see things other companies refused to acknowledge such as consumer buying trends, robotics in warehouses and distribution centers, Prime memberships, etc...

All the BITOG members raving about Amazon, hopefully you purchased Amazon stock. AWS is a big part of their future growth and success.

 

[Touring5]

The main draw of Amazon for me is being able to purchase the part or material I need quickly and easily. Many times I've searched for a part on Google and one of the results is from Walmart. Inevitably, the WM listing will show "not available" or "not in stock".

One example of why Amazon is so useful is from a couple of years ago when I needed an exhaust gasket for a Toro snowblower. I went to my local mower shop (a Toro dealer) to pick one up. Of course, they didn't have them in stock, so they ordered the part and charged me for the shipping (and of course added in their generous markup on the part.) Why do I need a retailer to order the part and charge me significantly more for it if I can do that myself from home, pay less, and get quicker delivery? A month ago I needed a 30 amp automotive fuse (again for a lawn mower). I could drive to Autozone and buy two for around $3 or I could order an assortement of 100+ fuses (multiple pieces of several values) for under $10 without leaving my chair. I joked to a friend that I had to buy the assortment just out of principle.

There are a number of items that are cheaper to buy from local retail. It seems the more common the item, the less competitive Amazon is.

Someone mentioned Apple and their profitability. Yep, robbing willing people and shafting them on customer service is one way to be profitable - lucky for them there are enough people who'll glady accept "the shaft". (If you're interested in learning about how Apple treats their customers on repair of damaged (and defectively designed products), check out Louis Rossman's YT channel).

 

[Huie83]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: eljefino
The guarantee is that if stuff's late, I get my shipping money back. But I have free Prime shipping, so this is a scam.
Apparently you can ask them to extend your Primer membership by a month every time they miss a delivery date.


I do this all the time. I don't know if it is growing pains or what, but I have had more late "guaranteed by" deliveries this past year than ever. I used to trust their delivery dates, not it's more hit and miss. I have noticed that they take a lot longer to ship the order than they used to, maybe that is part of the late delivery issue..

 

[xxch4osxx]

Originally Posted By: BJD78
Also for people who live many miles away from larger metro area, farmers, ranchers and millions of people who like rural and small town living or maybe just hate driving in large metro area with lots of traffic.
This is definitely me.

 

[4WD]

Nothing from me … I’d rather shop in person with persons

 

[OilFilters]

Something I forgot to mention - if you sign up for an Amazon "business" account, you get significant discounts on a lot of items. It's kind of random, just like their normal pricing, but it's often $3-12 lower than the price everybody else pays. It cost nothing to sign up for a business account and you don't actually have to be a business.

They used to give free Prime shipping on orders over $49 for business members, but have stopped doing that recently.

 

[George7941]

Just tried signing up for a business account on Amazon.ca and could not do it. Opened up a chat window and was informed that Amazon.ca does not offer a business account. Too bad.

 

[JeffKeryk]

As others have said, Amazon is simply supplying a demand. My father is 94 and I am determined to keep him at home. I have a live-in health care giver and another who comes in overnight to watch him. I see him every day and all day on Sundays.
He cannot be left alone; he could fall.
When we need something, click-click-click and it's there.
I have zero time to shop.
Amazon makes it doable and the selection is unbeatable.
Returns? A snap.

 

[PandaBear]

If you think Amazon is destroying retailers in America I have some bad news for you: Amazon is not competitive enough to handle businesses in Taiwan and China.

On one of my business trip recently, I realized that most local retailers can now deliver within the day by 3pm to your local 7-11 for free shipping. Want to hear something even more ridiculous? You can order fresh seafood (by fresh I mean live, restaurant grade stuff), to the restaurant you want, and let them cook it, and then the next deliver guy bring it to your hotel room, within 2 hours. Any restaurant, any hotel, any dish.

The internet made the world a much smaller place. Local businesses cannot just sit in the store waiting for customer to show up ,and buy what you have sitting on the shelf for 6 months, and then give you a 50% cut to compensate for your labor, real estate, and other costs.

Local businesses these days mean you do your own marketing and products, and then ship it worldwide. You pick one thing you are good at and not too many out there are doing, and then you do it better than anyone else.

Like a whole village specializing in school performance costume, or Xmas decoration, or faux antique decoration, or water heater anodes.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
It works, for some things.

I'm lucky that there's an amazon "storefront" at the University of Pennsylvania. So anything that needs to be returned I can walk there to return absolutely free.

If I didn't have that option, Id be having more issues.

Amazon is fast, but brick and mortar is instant. So to a great extent that will never go away.

And for some stuff, you just can't. I went to JC Penney to get some khaki pants. I tried on a few types to determine fit. No augmented reality laser scan will ever be 100% right to verify human emotion and the human eye. Some stuff, like clothes, you just need to shop.

And the obsolete shopping mall, when kept small and neat in a more rural area, is a breeze and a delight. The one by me is totally "upscale", the lots are doubly crowded due to most places offering valet parking (yuck), and it's too much of a chore. Give me a smaller 1980s mall that has been kept up. Not many left.


The younger generations no longer go to the mall.

Even my wife (40) just buy online and then return 1/2 the stuff. Clothes retailers realize labor and real estates cost too much, and return / shipping ends up being cheaper.

Fresh produce and toilet paper will probably still be cheaper in B&M stores for a while.

 

[OilFilters]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
Want to hear something even more ridiculous? You can order fresh seafood (by fresh I mean live, restaurant grade stuff), to the restaurant you want, and let them cook it, and then the next deliver guy bring it to your hotel room, within 2 hours. Any restaurant, any hotel, any dish.


LOL! I was in Vegas a few months ago. Trying to get some food other than what the mega casino downstairs had around 1AM. Took me a good hour to figure out how to get a good Cheeseburger, when I decided the Uber Eats McDonalds wasn't going to cut it. There was really only one place that could do it - and I still had to go downstairs to meet him because apparently the delivery guy was banned from the casino.

On my way two different people offered me coke. (not 'acoloa) It literally was easier to get coke than a cheeseburger...