How do they do it?

[ArcticDriver]

Originally Posted By: Malo83
Originally Posted By: sleddriver
Amazing, isn't it?

Even WM is shaking in its boots. They put many out-of-business a few decades ago. Now an even bigger dog has showed up and regularly marking all of WM's trees, fence posts and flower pots.

They don't like that...at all.

Sure they are!


When Amazon purchased Whole Foods last month and moved into the reaiil grocery business, you can bet everybody took notice.

Actually the Waltons will have been alert to Amazon before America placed its first Amazon order. I have also mail-ordered from WM but it is not 2-day.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: HerrStig
If you live in a state where Amazon is in collusion with the tax Nazis to collect "sales" tax on something you buy on line, buying the goods from one of their "associate" businesses which does not have a physical presence in your state can help you avoid it. Sometimes they are just a few cents more expensive, far less than the 6 to 8% tax you avoid. Amazon gets a "cut" of the taxes they collect. I am shifting as much of my business as possible to Ebay.


Those were voluntary agreements with the various states. None of them ever reported that Amazon gets a cut of any of the tax they collect. There were a few states that required out of state retailers to collect sales tax and they lost the case in New York so it was just a matter of time til the rest of the states did the same. Supreme court refused the hear the case.

I find it amusing that it's considered collusion to comply with the law.

Also in terms of sales, Walmart had about 489 billion in revenue in 2016 and Amazon had 136 billion. They don't make money on every single order. They have a pretty small profit margin in the 1-2% range, Walmart is more in the 3-3.5% range. With numbers that narrow, some orders probably make a little money and others lose money. The greatest fallacy on here is how people assume business make money on every deal, yet big business like Circuit City, and soon Sears go out of business all the time.

 

[Oregoonian]

In general....I love Amazon and order from them 6 to 10 times a year. Shipping is always as stated.

BUT.....I found out it is always good to shop around as AZ does not always have the cheapest price. I usually check with WalMart and e-Bay as well as AZ.... to find the best deal.

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
I just ordered some Cat 7 cable with a guaranteed delivery of this afternoon. Its 9:48AM here and it is being delivered to the Amazon Locker in Isla Vista.


So as an update, I was driving around after dinner and got a notification that my package arrived at the Amazon Locker. This was around 7:40PM. I spent more time looking for a parking spot and watching the scenery in Isla Vista than I did picking up my box.

 

[JustinH]

When Prime Now comes to your location, it is an absolute game changer.

For prime members, 2 hour shipping free, just pay tip.

1 hour shipping is a few bucks plus tip.

Amazon put a massive warehouse in North Austin, and I use prime now all the time.

I needed a cheapo home router, they had it to my door in 2 hours, and I didn't have to leave the house.

Wife wanted to drag me to bath/bed/beyond. I denied, and put the prime now app on her tablet.

Bed sheets/blankets, etc showed up in 90 minutes to the door in the exact color she wanted for 50 percent cheaper than the store.

I sometimes walk around the local mall on my lunch during work, because its 100 degrees outside. I wonder how much longer these stores will exist. Absolutely zero people walking around Sears at noon on a Wednesday.

Another game changer for us is HEB online grocery ordering. We did not like the delivery service apps that rip us off.

HEB now does all of our grocery shopping, and I schedule to pick it up on my way home for $4.95. I text them when I pull into a parking space, and they come out 5 minutes later with all my groceries, and offer me animal crackers and cold water.

Have not had a single problem with the service. We are spending $50 a week LESS on groceries, because we stick to the list and buy nothing on impulse.

I get my grocery shopping done in 5 minutes, instead of wasting a saturday morning at the store.

We both work so much, its nice to be able to sit in the pool on a saturday morning instead of running around the town.

 

[aquariuscsm]

As much as I hate online shopping,the problem I've been running into lately like clockwork at brick and mortars is they're always out of everything.

 

[jimbrewer]

Originally Posted By: sleddriver
Amazing, isn't it?

Even WM is shaking in its boots. They put many out-of-business a few decades ago. Now an even bigger dog has showed up and regularly marking all of WM's trees, fence posts and flower pots.

They don't like that...at all.


Sadly, I think it's more that Walmart is feeling the heat from the Dollar stores. Their traditional customers can't afford them anymore.

There was a.minimum wage fight here. Walmart tacitly supported the increase.

 

[Bambam]

Fast & Cheap = Death of the retail stores and how many jobs?

 

[NGRhodes]

Some shops are slowly moving towards being online order collection points...

Went to Euro car parts which is one of UKs biggest car parts retailers for some car cleaning gear, only to be told one of the items I wanted can only be ordered online for in store collection. Some shops now offer online order discounts, even for items to be collected in store, that are in stock.
With cheap/free delivery these kind of shops are making me less and less want to visit and stick to online only.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: NGRhodes
Some shops are slowly moving towards being online order collection points...

Went to Euro car parts which is one of UKs biggest car parts retailers for some car cleaning gear, only to be told one of the items I wanted can only be ordered online for in store collection. Some shops now offer online order discounts, even for items to be collected in store, that are in stock.
With cheap/free delivery these kind of shops are making me less and less want to visit and stick to online only.


That's kinda true in the US. Advance auto typically offered 40% off online, but lately they've cut that down to 30%. So sometimes I'd just go the store and end up ordering the right part on my phone for store pickup because they wouldn't honor the 30% off code while you're at the counter. Easier and faster than waiting for it to be delivered especially if your car isn't running.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: jimbrewer
Originally Posted By: sleddriver
Amazing, isn't it?

Even WM is shaking in its boots. They put many out-of-business a few decades ago. Now an even bigger dog has showed up and regularly marking all of WM's trees, fence posts and flower pots.

They don't like that...at all.


Sadly, I think it's more that Walmart is feeling the heat from the Dollar stores. Their traditional customers can't afford them anymore.

There was a.minimum wage fight here. Walmart tacitly supported the increase.


I've been in Dollar General, and they're too cheap for me. Didn't think I'd find someplace that'd make Walmart look like quality. Seeing a lot of them pop up though. Different topic though.

Did general stores "kill" the open marketplace? Did mailorder "kill" general stores? Seems like B&M stores made a comeback, once people obtained cars and malls could combine stores under one roof; or at least various stores could be clumped together.

I feel bad for those in retail, and for the shakeup that this is; but the reality is, sales models come and go. Who knows--in a few years, once most B&M stores are gone, people will decide that the waste of individual packaging (and shipping boxes) is too much to stomach, and will demand... local stores to shop from.

 

[JustinH]

I was in a Big Lots the other day, nearly every item is more expensive than Walmart, or old stock stuff.

Dollar General may be cheaper but their sizes are half the size on many products to meet a price point.

Also their stores look like a prison, they choose to lock up every item in a lockbox if its over five dollars in value, also they have alarm systems beeping as people walk down the aisle. No thanks.