So how do we fix it, Jow Forums? I'm noticing my packages are taking not only longer to be shipped, but also longer to ship as well. Very clearly this indicates the ever growing volume of customers and demands for merchandising with a barely strong enough logistical infrastructure, both on Amazon's end as well as UPS'.
Would robots solve the problem?
if done right, maybe. next time this belongs in >>>/sqt/
No it doesn't. I want to discuss the technology of Amazon's logistics.
Amazon has let me down so much recently but I still continue to use it for convenice.
>Free 2 day shipping on prime item
Items arrives 5 days later
>No delivery notification
Item has arrived amazon says item is missing.
>what logistics
Waited 7 days for an item, Amazon says it's lost and will refund me. Rebuy the same item the next day. The following day the first item arrives. I call to cancel they say they can't it's too far along and for ME to call after it ships. I find that stupid, I call when it ships I ask that shipping be redirected to them. 3 days later it arrives at my door.
>Jow Forums delivery service
no thanks, i prefer my deliveries without hot glue.
Brick and mortar
Yeah but currently those are in only very select areas. There's also talks around the rumor mill of Amazon acquiring the Land and Building assets of prior Toys R Us properties to set up shop there.
My buddy got a free i7-6900k because of Amazon fuck up. This was before Ryzen was a thing of course, but
>my friend ordered an Intel i7-6950X. Needed dem 20 threads for editing work.
>Paid $2000 to Amazon.
>They sent him an i7-6900K, the lower end 16 thread model.
>Long story short, he reaches out to them to correct the problem. They say they'll send out the product with next day shipping free of charge.
>He asks what they want him to do with the wrong chip they sent him
>Do they want to send a box with pre-paid shipping label to send it back, drop it off somewhere, etc
>Tell him to just keep it. Says they'd waste more time and effort trying to put the 6900K back into their inventory for sale and that it would end up rotting on the shelf anyway because now technically, the product is "used" because it was shipped to a customer
>Amazon would have to pay to have the chip sent back, then pay to have a brand new still sealed CPU tested by a verified refurb company, and sell the CPU at a reduced price because they made a shipping fuck up
Buddy turned around and sold it for like $1200.
>>Free 2 day shipping on prime item
>Items arrives 5 days later
Yeah exactly. This is my biggest gripe with them right now. I ordered something on Tuesday, midday, free two day shipping and it shipped the same day. Two days from Tuesday is supposed to be today, Thursday, yet my package is arriving tomorrow. That's fucking three days. I'm seeing this happen more and more often now.
Maybe it's a regional issue because I haven't had any problems and I order from them constantly.
Two day shipping, same day delivery, everything is always right there.
The only delays I've had were from 3rd party sellers.
Yeah, I'm in a bit of a shipping hub and sometimes 2day shipping is actually 1day. Other times though it's 4 days preparing shipment and 2 day shipping.
Oh, and another thing that's bothering me as of late is their bare minimum packaging. Like, it's fine to have a box or envelope with absolutely no padding if the item being shipped is rugged and tough enough to withstand the movement, but it's an absolutely unacceptable practice for more sensitive items which can easily get squashed or ripped or torn open during the rough shipping process.
I mean I understand this is all the human element here, but I don't know, I feel that Amazon should be investing in optimizing these packaging practices for results and not minimal costs. But hey, I guess Bezos didn't break 100B's by doing that.
Really? They always send super heavy duty bubble wrap shit on mine. Maybe they specifically hate you.
why the fuck would this belong in >>>/sqt/, this is well suited for prolonged discussion
Sometimes it depends. For larger items, I'll get like one line of those big bubbles, but for small items, like fist size or smaller, they send it in a barely bubbled envelope with no additional protection. It's kind of a crapshoot, but I see it more often these days.
I haven't noticed this at all. Only had one scare
>Get order delivered in 6 different boxes, a bunch of clothes and shit
>One box is taking forever to ship out
>Finally ships day before its supposed to be due
>Was overnighted to me
Not that it would relate to my job in any way, but I'm just going to lurk here for a while and read any issues/ideas you guys share...
If this happened recently enough that you still have all the info, could you summarize your order date, when you got the "has shipped" email, and the carrier tracking date through to arrival?
Can you elaborate on the items? When you say ripped or torn open, you mean that the item could suffer that damage while inside its shipping box/envelope?
What are you, some top level management exec at Amazon?
>If this happened recently enough that you still have all the info, could you summarize your order date, when you got the "has shipped" email, and the carrier tracking date through to arrival?
Yeah. I ordered the package this prior Tuesday, got the order shipped at 6:35(45) same day. Expected arrival date was displayed as Friday from the get go, despite my selecting Free 2 Day Shipping. Checking the tracking info, no update since yesterday at 2:22 AM from CA.
>Can you elaborate on the items? When you say ripped or torn open, you mean that the item could suffer that damage while inside its shipping box/envelope?
Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. A package I ordered also recently was delayed, but was so damn banged up, it literally had a hole punched into it. Luckily the items inside didn't suffer the same fate, but it was a close call. The envelopes are not much better, considering you can squeeze them, sit on them or crush them very easily with another heavier item or package.
I've noticed recently that the people delivering the Amazon packages have been throwing them into my backyard.
No one has ever had a package stolen in my neighborhood in the past 5 years, so I find it odd that they are doing that. Better safe then sorry, I guess.
jeff beezos has so much money that he could resign tomorrow and have his family taken care of for life for generations do you REALLY think he gives a shit about your dragon dildo being on time?
Heaven forbid. We're on Jow Forums, I'm clearly an unemployed autist.
So with the first question, I'm most interested in the lapse between the timestamp on the "$item has been shipped" email you (should have) got and the first meaningful tracking info listed by USPS/UPS/FedEx. By meaningful I mean anything after the shipping label having been created.
Regarding the damage, what do you think about a deeper layer of protection on the item itself? Same shipping container otherwise.
You're stupid.
The whole delivery system can't handle Amazon. It's not just UPS you dumbfuck, Amazon is basically having all delivery services work for them.
In fact, they don't want to anymore.
Last week, major historic delivery service just gave up on them in France. They pay shit for their deliveries anyways.
I suppose it's a tactic to get a raise, but meanwhile, every other company is getting overwhelmed with their shit packages.
Well I can't imagine why you would be interested in these things if you're not affiliated with Amazon...unless you are and this is just a ruse...
But no, I received the email at 6:35, and the tracking info stated shipment out at 6:45.
Yes, a depper layer or just more robust packaging would help immensely, particularly for sensitive items. But it's not in Amazon's profit interests to invest in that kind of stuff. Yet.
I could also be affiliated with a major competitor looking to identify their shortcomings and beat them to the punch. Good money is still on neetbux though.
Nonetheless, thanks for both of those answers. They're both good to know.
Hey no need to be so rood.
>but meanwhile, every other company is getting overwhelmed with their shit packages.
Well I imagine this to be the case, considering the patterns I've outlined. It's been going on for a while gradually, but it seems like it's getting pretty bad pretty fast, hence why I said Amazon 's and UPS' infrastructure can barely handle it. I just listed UPS since that seems to be their primary mover for Prime.
Let's be honest, they need their own delivery service at this point.
Or, they need to pay their taxes and have competition happen.
I think Amazon is already looking towards that option for the long term future. That stuff we heard about their delivery drones is probably only a part of some kind of internal delivery logistics master plan they're developing. And this is probably why they're getting a decent amount of media and political attention too, since they're rapidly trying to dominate the market not just in online retail, but in retail overall with their considerations for establishing physical stores as well.
It's just a matter of how they're going to be doing it and how they're investing their assets to do so. They just keep growing but at the seeming expense of so many.
Look, I deliver this shit all day.
Amazon gets the shittiest tier of delivery we've got.
No signature or proof of delivery whatsoever.
I spend my day leaving presumably expensive packages (or not) on the front door.
I'll never get scolded about a failed delivery for them. Nobody cares, really.
Clients are fooled because it says Premium in there, somehow.
they already moved to gig delivery shit. People drive their own cars to deliver packages for not-wages.
Flex is really an entirely different domain than the third-party carrier shipments.
Not the guy you're replying to so I'll namefag
Yeah but it is at least a jumping off point for amazons own internal logistics division. They've gotta have their own beurocratic bullshit in place either way.
Fair enough. So where do the robots enter this equation? Instead of using their own cars, Flex drivers are behind the wheel of Transformers?
your retarded, they are working on their own logistics right now, they working the kinks
Eventually Amazon will get too cocky and bloated and piss off its customers enough that a real competitor will try to undercut them.
nah they give drone remote emergency stop buttons to mechanical turks.
Former USPS carrier user here
Amazon absolutely swallows delivery service whole. The post actually has carriers entirely dedicated just to amazon packages bigger than the padded envelopes. They give you an old postal van loaded from top to bottom and a list and shove you out the door for 8 hours. It's a good deal though for USPS desu, because Amazon has a locked in contract of how much they pay to deliver each size of box(it's weighted towards the heavier option by box-size. And Amazon warehouse reps are paid shit so they put 6x6 inch things in their 4-foot long boxes for some fucking reason.
I also got about 3 months of free prime last year because they switched from UPS to their own internal service and they couldn't be half-assed to walk up a single flight of steps to my apartment, so my shit wasn't being delivered.
The problem at this point is there's no one with the contractual reach to hit every household within two days.
So either most people will switch to things that deliver in longer time periods than that, or Walmart will double-down and actually get their deliver-to-store shit right.
>The problem at this point is there's no one with the contractual reach to hit every household within two days.
That won't matter to a competitor who can deliver more consistently on customer promises within suburbia.
>So either most people will switch to things that deliver in longer time periods than that, or Walmart will double-down and actually get their deliver-to-store shit right.
It's crazy how driving to Walmart is more attractive than driving to an Amazon Locker.
>That won't matter to a competitor who can deliver more consistently on customer promises within suburbia.
The problem is there just isn't anyone else who could actually get that amount of product anywhere within two days.
What we're far more likely to see is competitors that target specific markets like Amazon originally did with books, or someone undercutting Amazon by 10% and adding a day or two to delivery.
>It's crazy how driving to Walmart is more attractive than driving to an Amazon Locker.
Currently neither option is very appealing. There's 3 or 4 walmarts for every Amazon Locker near me(and the walmarts are generally closer and easier to get to)-but they're absolutely shit-tier at getting a product into my hands(seriously, there have been times I had to cancel an order to pick up because I went there after three days and physically found the object and bought it instead)
Though if Amazon starts gobbling up stores like it did with Whole foods locker would start being more attractive.
Seems like Walmart's issue is easier to solve within the scope of this thread's topic. Technical solutions for in-house logistics would be more straightforward than shipping fulfillment.
At least, that's assuming that the former is really Walmart's obstacle and the latter Amazon's.
jeff kisses pls
Honestly both companies could do with better training and better employees. Amazon has been automating as much of their supply line as possible, but all the shipping issues boil down to someone making
amazon buys multiple couriers in 2 years tops, every jurisdiction rapes them to death with antitrust litigation within 7 years.
Amazon doesn't want to buy them-then they have to pay more delivery employees.
What they want is someone to ship their shit for next to no cash.
>but all the shipping issues boil down to someone making
>Which non-automated process are the Amazon grunts fucking up?
If you live closer to an amazon warehouse, they'll have their own employees deliver packages and they're getting paid shit(they get some small reimbursement for gas and not having to be in the warehouse makes it desirable) and there's no real discipline for fucking up deliveries unless someone calls two or three times.
And despite the automation, in amazon warehouses the grunts still have to slap items into boxes and put labels on them. That's why sometimes you get a flash drive rattling around a four-foot-wide cardboard box and a graphics card in a fucking flat envelope.
I'm seeing a disconnect between
>all the shipping issues boil down to
and Amazon's direct deliveries. Those are a far, far cry from "all." Who's delivering most of the packages to all these Anons in the thread, Amazon or USPS/UPS/FedEx?
That's a separate issue to humans packing boxes I guess.
I've been expecting a USPS package via amazon for two days now, and it's not here of course even though it says it's right down the street at the post office. Post Office asks me if Amazon sent it to me in the original packaging, I said I don't fucking know, and she says that's probably what it is. Something about how they palletize amazon shipments and send them to each area every day and my package wasn't on either of them, despite usps tracking saying it is there. Still not sure if it's amazon's fault or usps' general incompetence. Just a clusterfuck all around.
>I'm noticing my packages are taking not only longer to be shipped, but also longer to ship as well.
Really? I've been noticing the exact lately. All of my Prime shippings get here in two days, and I've even been finding a good chunk of items that are free one day or even same day shipping recently.
Do you live close to a distribution center? I live subrurally, so that's why it would seem things take a little longer for me.
I don't think so. Not really sure where they are, but I've never heard of one around here
Prime was great before it got large
Well they were running a lot of shit at a loss to get adoption and that seems to have been not enough profit. Now they're cranking everything up to 14 or 15.
I cancelled my prime. I was tired of the disappointment so I switched to Walmart where stuff arrives within a day or two every time
I assume that's the case anywhere rural/not-airport-hub regions. All the big shipping companies like Fedex/UPS/etc have airport based warehousing and shit but I think Walmart's trucking is its own deal.
There are a few hubs within two hours or so from me, but it was like this when I lived in KC and STL
is there a way to avoid usps without paying extra?
um what I always have to pay return shipping and they want everything back.
>Try to walk in the normal door to the Amazon shop
>An Amazon employee stops me
>"Sorry little guy, you'll have to enter through this way"
>He directs me to the BETA ONLY doorway
>People saw this and some roasties laughed
FUCK YOU AMAZON
UPS moddle management here, Teamsters has us in a stranglehold.
I've worked for both usps and amazon. You're honestly lucky you even get packages at all.
Elaborate please. Give us the dirty deets on the Amazonian beast. Or UPS beast, whatever.
juicy stories pls.
imagine humans fucking up shit that should be automated.
So the maon problem area os the drivers. They make $34 an hour, always get overtime, and we het penalized whenever they get too much OT. The problem is that shipping volume changes day to day because peime 2 day always get rushed processing. This results in us always having to violate that ridiculous union agreement. Not to mention all of our package handlers are unionized. They are free to work slowly, and any chastizement by floor-level supervisors gets called 'harassment'.
>open up Amazon
>order something with my Amazon credit card for 5% back
>it arrives on the day it says it will without the box being bashed in
literally never had a problem with them in 10 years of ordering stuff
sounds like a no-win situation for the manager.
I thought I was the only one who realized this. I bitched because shit was taking 3 days on prime and quit it
I already paid the abhorrent $100 for the year a couple months back, so I may as well ride it out, but honestly if shit doesn't change I'm going to quit it too. It's beginning to feel like a sunk cost and I'd barely be getting anything marginally better than standard.
Amazon got rid of tons of lockers
I've ordered like 30-40 packages the past 2 months. They all take 1.5-2 days. The only time it takes 3 is if I order late at night on like Friday - then it arrives Monday
>mfw usps just installed a parcel locker on my street
t. jeff bezos
It cant happen overnight, either
1) a local service grows outward
2) several businesses unite (newegg combining with cabelas combining with microcenter, macy’s etc etc) to rival amazon.
AND Amazon has to get expensive/crappy enough to give that hypothetical competitor room to slide in.
>prime member for 2+ years
>have ordered things as small as microsd card and a pack of combs to 100lb+ jeep bumpers and 5 35" tires
>never once have a missed delivery
>not once order not fulfilled
i guess i'm pretty lucky
Ive found usps to be the least consistent since I live in a complex that nigger likes to play hookie with my delivery and rather leave it un delivered at the usps for me to pick up than bring it to my door if the complex lockers are full
Free shipping used to take a week. Now with prime some random milenial is doi g the delivery in their personal car. It's very weird.
When I was living in central London the difference between Prime and standard was 1 day if anything.
newegg's free shipping actually beats amazon prime's shipping for me. It's fucking god tier. Too bad newegg doesn't accept returns on tons of shit anymore.
i got a lightly used tv from amazon recently, it came to me the WRONG VERSION and the WRONG SIZE.
their customer service is excellent though, they gave me the one i wanted to get for free and gave me free installation whereas last time i picked it up from the warehouse
im sorry i forgot to mention that the screen was also broken as fuck
broken, wrong version, wrong size
>and gave me free installation
>for a TV
yup, wasnt home and my wife is semi tech illiterate so they took it out of the box, put it on my stand, and plugged in the hdmi/power cord for me while i was gone. she was there though
Amazon Stores don't have any employees nor any people inside except for customers
now that gives chick fil a a run for its money. And you don't even have to worry about gay people
USPS is fucking trash. UPS might not knock, but they'll at least leave the package in front of my apartment door. With USPS I go the check my mail and ge tthe fucking slip saying they couldnt deliver the package. Fuck you, I was home. I was home all day every day. Lazy piece of shit walk to my apartment door damn you.
AMZL was a mistake. Retards actually managed to put somebody else's box with my box in a fucking Amazon locker
I’m pretty sure their minimal packaging policies are why I’ve had to return two VR headsets.
>Buy new Rift headset from Oculus
>It ships in a huge, thick box stuffed with bubble wrap... inside of which is another box containing the headset.
>Works flawlessly
>Buy new from Amazon
>Ships in a regular Amazon box with minimal bubble wrap... inside of which is another box with the headset inside
>First one had three dead pixels, and the Oculus remote inside the package had been knocked loose
>Return it, get a second one shipped the same way
>The Oculus controller and the top half of the sensor camera are knocked loose
>Return again, get refund
>Just buy from Oculus next time
be sure to pick USPS as your delivery method, all the rest use subcontractors now and they suck ass
the only thing you can rely on is the US Postal Service
>relying on a government agency for anything.
USPS is the most bloated, inefficient agency in government. They lose BILLIONS of dollars a year. Yeah, the internet killed it, etc., but I'd rely on FedEx/UPS before USPS every time.
>get free amazon prime because i can just cycle a new .edu email every 6 months for the trial
If you're in a metropolitan area amazon lockers are GOAT. Fucking delivery people do weird shit with my packages when they discover I'm at work like not deliver. :^)
I don't care about shipping speed, but I don't like there is a lot of fake chinese shit from 3rd party sellers right now and it can be mixed with legit items at amazon warehouses. Does anyone know about same problem with walmart?