Amazon is offering Prime members $10 to pick up a delivery instead of having it delivered

[midian182]

WTF?! Like many tech giants, Amazon is trying to cut costs in these times of economic uncertainty. Its latest exercise targets the millions of Prime subscribers who take advantage of the free shipping option, offering a few testers $10 to pick up a purchase rather than having it shipped to their home.

The free next/same-day shipping option is often the main reason why people subscribe to Amazon Prime. But it seems the perk is costing the retail giant more money than it's comfortable with. Reuters reports that an unknown number of Prime members have been offered $10 if they choose to collect orders that cost more than $25 from Amazon pickup locations such as Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods, or Kohl's.

New York-based shipping consultant Dean Maciuba was one of the customers who received the $10 offer (bribe?). He told Reuters that it's "a huge opportunity for Amazon to reduce the cost of delivery," helping the company avoid costly package drop-offs. It could also train customers in the habit of returning items directly to company locations rather than by mail, said Maciuba.

Another sign of Amazon's search for more income comes from The Information, which reports that it has also started charging some customers a $1 fee if they return packages via a United Parcel Service store when there is an Amazon pickup/return location closer to their delivery address.

Amazon would rather see fewer customers opt for deliveries

Amazon had its worst-ever fourth quarter in 2022 and experienced its first annual net loss since 2014. As such, it is joining the slew of firms laying off workers, though it's letting go more than anyone else: around 27,000. The company has also been shuttering more Amazon Go stores, closing and abandoning plans for dozens of US warehouses, and pausing construction on its second headquarters in Virginia.

The impact on its customers included a $20 price increase for Amazon Prime last year, bringing the total annual cost to $139. Furthermore, a delivery fee of up to $10 has been added to grocery orders under $150, and buyers are now encouraged to have all their purchases delivered on the same day of the week to reduce the number of home visits.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/98620-amazon-offering-prime-members-10-pick-up-delivery.html

 

[TheBigT42]

As long as my pickup location isn't more the 10 miles....I am game.

 

[Neatfeatguy]

What is wrong with you people!?!?!?

Amazon only made billions of dollars this quarter instead of billio.....

They're doing okay. Screw Amazon.

 

[nnguy2]

Hey I'm not paying $25/yr on prime membership to go pick up my own overnight/same day delivery. If I did, I'd go to the brick and mortar store instead.

/endsarcasm

 

[kira setsu]

I'm okay with this.

in my case I hope its an option for everything, I dont order food through amazon(thats lazy, and maybe unsafe imo) but I do build alot of pc's and since I dont live near a microcenter or any best buys who are worth their name, then if I could order parts online and then hop in my truck and grab it an hr later or something, great idea.

 

[Neatfeatguy]

I'm okay with this.

in my case I hope its an option for everything, I dont order food through amazon(thats lazy, and maybe unsafe imo) but I do build alot of pc's and since I dont live near a microcenter or any best buys who are worth their name, then if I could order parts online and then hop in my truck and grab it an hr later or something, great idea.

I live about 3 miles from a large Amazon fulfillment center, orders are packed and shipped out of there. Over the past few years when I've ordered something from Amazon, not once has it shipped from that facility, they all ship from out of state locations.

I wouldn't hold your breath on expecting to be able to pick up stuff locally in a timely fashion.

I wish the Amazon fulfillment center by me had a spot to pick up in person. It would have easily saved me a few days and also hoping that Amazon doesn't F-up the packing of the item I'm ordering (most of the time they can't pack stuff worth a damn and it gets ruined in transit).

 

[kira setsu]

I live about 3 miles from a large Amazon fulfillment center, orders are packed and shipped out of there. Over the past few years when I've ordered something from Amazon, not once has it shipped from that facility, they all ship from out of state locations.

I wouldn't hold your breath on expecting to be able to pick up stuff locally in a timely fashion.

I wish the Amazon fulfillment center by me had a spot to pick up in person. It would have easily saved me a few days and also hoping that Amazon doesn't F-up the packing of the item I'm ordering (most of the time they can't pack stuff worth a damn and it gets ruined in transit).

Its seems I must have a stocked fulfillment center by me then, I order things constantly and get them within a day, just this past friday I ordered an external drive bay at like 2am and it was on my steps by 8am.

but I also live in a very big tech focused city/area.

 

[p51d007]

I send all of my Prime stuff to work. No porch pirates and they typically deliver to
businesses quicker.

 

[NicktheWVAHick]

Is it $10 every time I order something to pickup myself, or just $10 once to pickup items for the rest of my life? If it’s the latter, it makes no sense. If it’s the former, sign me up.

 

[Babbel13]

My Amazon deliveries usually take four to five business days by UPS. I think they are going cheap already.

 

[mcnabney]

As long as my pickup location isn't more the 10 miles....I am game.

The current mileage rate is 65.5 cents per mile. Driving 10 miles there and back effectively costs you $13 in gas, maintenance, repairs, and depreciation. I suspect your time might be worth something too.

 

[ET3D]

The current mileage rate is 65.5 cents per mile. Driving 10 miles there and back effectively costs you $13 in gas, maintenance, repairs, and depreciation. I suspect your time might be worth something too.

The mileage rate is not really relevant to this. It includes fixed costs such as insurance, taxes and road tolls, and driving 10 miles there and back won't affect this. The 22 cents per mile medical/moving rate would seem more relevant.

So in terms of cost the $10 offer could be worth it. Whether that's worth the hassle is up to the individual.

 

[OortCloud]

They are massively profitable, just not getting any' more profitable which is not ok with greedy shareholders.

I rarely buy from Amazon these days because I find their search so awful that I can't bear wading through page after page of sponsored links, dodgy knock-offs and general tatt to try and find the product I asked for.

Another reason I avoid them is they are way too big and anti-competitive and unfortunately Jeff hasn't yet been launched on a one way mission on his ****-rocket.

 

[ET3D]

unfortunately Jeff hasn't yet been launched on a one way mission on his ****-rocket.

Bezos is no longer involved in the day to day management of Amazon. The current CEO is Andrew Jassy.

Interestingly, Amazon wasn't really into massive profits until 2018. Rather it put most of the money it earned towards building itself. It's only the past few years that it started hoarding money, which I'd attribute to Bezos getting tired of running it, as he'd been the major force behind the idea of spending the profits.

 

[zulu53]

Hey I'm not paying $25/yr on prime membership to go pick up my own overnight/same day delivery. If I did, I'd go to the brick and mortar store instead.

/endsarcasm

I doubt it - it would cost you more in time (unless you value your time as $0) and effort (transportation cost) to go to brick and mortar. Its the way the model works; and why Amazon have dominated the retail market.

 

[zulu53]

If Amazon has enough dropoff/pickup locations this will work in the cities just fine - and if they have market share in the area will cost them less than using humans. The pickup/dropoff just gets included in the route to work of leisure. But it is all about market share of the retail purchases in a neighbourhood. Is called the "hub and spoke" model of supply chain management.

 

[tommygunz]

I feel like It's a good option considering most of the population needs more socializing after spending all day playing video games, not moving around, and not needing to go outside to get food even, because door dash delivers it. That being said I would only do it if I had time to go outside and get my package.

 

[Neojt]

I think a low hanging fruit would be to bundle multiple orders on the same delivery, so often I get multiple deliveries the same day or couple days in a row, sometimes its just because I forgot an item on my order and cant edit so make a new order