Amazon and USPS team up to offer Sunday delivery

[Russ Boswell]

Living in the mountains, I do a lot of my shopping online. We don't have any big box stores up here, so it's either drive sixty miles to the nearest Wal-Mart or scope Amazon for deals on whatever it is I'm looking for. But even with a world of items right at my finger tips, I still find myself frustrated from time to time with the online shopping experience. My biggest peeve? Waiting for packages in the mail. When you need something, and you need it sooner rather than later, it can be an agonizing experience waiting for your purchased goods to ship. 

Amazon is aiming to ease that pain, and they're partnering with an unlikely ally to do so. Starting on November 17th, Amazon will officially offer Sunday delivery, in partnership with the United States Postal Service. This won't encompass the entire United States though. Sunday delivery will be limited to Los Angeles and New York initially, with plans to expand the service to Dallas, Phoenix, Houston, New Orleans, and a few others next year. 

Sunday delivery is definitely something that affects the purchase of products, according to Forrester Research analyst Sucharita Mulpuru. "Delivery on a Sunday would be very compelling for consumers. There are certainly people who decide not to make an order on a Friday because it won't get there until Monday."

I'm one of those people, and I'm sure there are many of you out there that have skipped ordering a product on Friday because you knew you'd be at a brick-and-mortar retail location on Sunday. Availability of products and immediacy is the main focus here, and according to Amazon it is one of the main things that keeps online shopping from being on a level playing field with physical retail stores. 

This sales-boost attempt may come with some struggles though. According to Mulpuru, Sunday devliery "has to be much more expensive than other days." Neither Amazon nor the USPS commented about potential rate hikes, or the length in which their partnership is in effect. This move may come with a small amount of scrutiny for Amazon as well. After all, it isn't exactly new news that that USPS is struggling to stay afloat financially. 

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/54648-amazon-and-usps-team-up-to-offer-sunday-delivery.html

 

[Prosercunus]

Between Amazon Prime (I receive a discount on it) and the cheaper more convenient shopping I almost always choose to buy online unless it is something I need to be fitted in. I have a Target and Walmart within a mile.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

I will always shop the old fashioned way, brick & mortar stores. I like to see the product in the flesh before I drop cash on it.

 

[insect]

Between Amazon Prime (I receive a discount on it) and the cheaper more convenient shopping I almost always choose to buy online unless it is something I need to be fitted in. I have a Target and Walmart within a mile.

^ This

Bought some jeans last weekend at Kohls. Last time I was at a store before that was last March to buy a dehumidifier at BestBuy which I had price-matched at Amazon (Was $70 cheaper) and just didn't want to risk the shipping because you can't turn them on their sides (like refrigerators).

Either my wife or I order near daily from Amazon and we have Prime. Stuff arrives in 1 day sometimes. Our UPS guy almost knows us like close friends.

 

[psycros]

I'd like to know how someone doesn't live within 60 miles of a Wal-Mart but (presumably) still has broadband. I have three of them within 40 minutes of me and I can't get any terrestrial internet here. Maybe the author blogs by dish. However, I definitely understand some of his plight, because Wal-Mart is ALL we have within 60 miles and the only decent one is in a direction that I never have reason to travel.

 

[Jad Chaar]

Wow, this is great. Lets see how it works out.

 

[Russ Boswell]

I'd like to know how someone doesn't live within 60 miles of a Wal-Mart but (presumably) still has broadband. I have three of them within 40 minutes of me and I can't get any terrestrial internet here. Maybe the author blogs by dish. However, I definitely understand some of his plight, because Wal-Mart is ALL we have within 60 miles and the only decent one is in a direction that I never have reason to travel.

I wish it wasn't true! The closest Wal-Mart (that is easily accessible) is in Evergreen, CO and that is around 50-60 miles from my doorstep, and over a 12,000 foot mountain no less! We do have a place up here called "Alco" which is like a tiny Wal-Mart spinoff, but unfortunately it comes with "spinoff" prices and most of the stuff they sell is discontinued or overstock items they get from other stores or distributors. We do have a Wal-Mart that is around 30-40 miles from our town but it lies along a notoriously dangerous highway so we don't really like heading that direction! One of the downsides of living in a ski-town is all the crazy high prices so it's actually much cheaper to order online than frequent Alco.

On the internet front, that's actually really crazy for me to hear! We have Comcast here, so we do get cable broadband. I live in town though, if you travel a mile or so outside of town you don't get any cable service and are forced to use dish. Do you live way out in the country? That was an issue for me when I lived in Indiana. We were about five miles from a very populous city and couldn't even get cable there!

Honestly, Amazon has saved me quite a few times in that regard. With no game stores and stuff here (closest being in Denver) they let me pre-order games and get them to my door the day they come out. I'm pretty impressed with their shipping department. Hopefully this new Sunday shipping craze will actually work, it would be nice to not have to worry about weekends when ordering stuff. The USPS around my area is anything but reliable though so I'm still a little skeptical.

 

[platinumsteel]

What about florida?lol

 

[cliffordcooley]

The way I see it; anyone that can't seem to wait through Saturday and Sunday, should be willing to travel 200 miles to get it themselves. I order things on-line, but if I need them immediately I will go get them myself. And if the items are not available locally, then what difference does it make if waiting an extra day? People are so impatient and continually show disregard for others. Everyone wants a day off, but expect others to work around the damn clock.

 

[captaincranky]

Yeah well, all the major Etailers have had overnight shipping for quite some time.

Unfortunately, the price of that shipping, can go from zero to sixty in just a a few seconds. (If you'll forgive the car performance metaphor).

I'm fortunate enough to live in the New York City, Northern New Jersey, Philadelphia shipping corridor.

Which means, I can order from Newegg up til about 2:00PM one day, and have the package in my greedy little hands by noon the next day..........(wait for it).......with free shipping!

(Actually Newegg has moved some of its shipping to "LaserShip"). However, UPS brought me a new 27" monitor from "the Egg" last week, and it cost me all of .99 cents for their service).

Many of the Camera and electronics retailers in NYC still do use UPS as a matter of course, and in the case of "Adorama Camera", I can order up until 8:00PM and still have my new toy(s), the next day by noon!

So, while I used to work for the US Post Office, I'm a trifle ambivalent about its survival.

So no, I don't need to have a $20.00 spindle of DVD blanks delivered to me on a Sunday, for maybe $40.00 or so......period!

 

[Guest]

I think this already started then. I was wondering why I received a package this past Sunday, seemed strange with (supposedly) no postal service or normal UPS deliveries. Long Island, NY here.