Same with us. Now that they charge sales tax in Texas and pricing is competitive elsewhere, I am ordering things from other vendors. Plus, free shipping went to only after $35 in orders (and not all goods).
I was just discussing the advertising video with a family member who works with an outfit that develops the multirotor craft and other UAVs. According to him, autonomous delivery multirotors have been in use for quite some time, but the aircraft are quite a bit larger. He added that the drone in the video would (in his estimate) have a range of about 5 miles round trip, carrying a payload of ~5 lbs. And that would be taking it's batteries to the limits.
He suggested that the video drone was for advertisement mainly, and that a much larger version would be needed to accomplish what Amazon is proposing.
I live not too far from you (not the Woodlands, but same county) and I still order from Amazon all the time. The vast majority of the times their prices are competitive and almost always when you consider delivery. I'm an Amazon prime member (have made that cost up over and over) and it isn't just that delivery is part of the membership it is that you get your item in 2 days. So, let's say that another online vendor has the same item for a $1 less than Amazon and the shipping is free but they send it UPS ground and I'll get it in a week. I'm going to buy from Amazon.
I also from experience know that the things I order from Amazon arrive and I don't have problems returning things.
I will sometimes buy something locally if I can get it right then, but not if the price difference is a lot. I thought about buying a mouse at Best Buy the other day but I checked prices online and Best Buy was charging $30 more for the mouse. I was happy to wait a couple of days for the mouse from Amazon to save that $30.
That said, if the difference between Amazon and another reputable vendor is substantial then I'll buy it elsewhere.
I should look into Prime though since my DW orders from them routinely.
The only real problem I have had with Amazon was on an item that ended being shipped from China as it took about two months to show up.
For people who order from Amazon a lot, Prime really makes a lot of sense (well, it did for us). The thing to watch out for is that some things are sold and/or fulfilled by Amazon and others you are really buying from some vendor who is doing the actually shipping. The first is eligible for Prime shipping and is subject to their normal shipping times. Stuff you buy from other vendors isn't and can be slow to arrive. I rarely buy things that aren't fulfilled through Amazon. Really only do it for things that aren't easy to find otherwise and which I don't mind waiting for.
I do like Newegg also and sometimes buy things from them. Their prices are usually pretty good as well.
The thing should be able to deliver a couple of kilos...
Frankly, I agree. There's something to be said for a little down time, and for a society that has a little patience. Instant gratification can be a rush, but IMO it comes at a fairly high social cost when it's expected as the norm. Not everything needs to be open 24/7/365.Actually, I don't like Sunday delivery. When I was young just about everybody had Sunday off except for people in certain jobs like police, firemen, medical, and the occasional gas station attendant. We could ALL get together for a Sunday picnic in the park or other event. Today, to many people are scattered on various jobs. Opening on Thanksgiving to sell stuff is another example of lack of respect for our culture and traditions. Very sad.
Same with items ordered using a Mac are higher in price than items ordered using a Windows machine. I wonder how low the price would be if I ordered using a Linus machine?
Browsers send meta information to the server which identifies the operating system being used. That said, many browsers have settings and preferences that allow you to "lie" (for example, a Mac or Linux user could set the preferences to tell the world they are running, say, Windows 7). You don't see it as much today, but a lot of web sites used to *only* run with a Windows client, and accessing them with a Mac would give an error message to the effect of "this site requires Windows". They used this meta information to know what OS you were using.Explain how Amazon figures out what OS you are using and changes prices on their website instantaneously? That's a new one on me....
Actually, I don't like Sunday delivery. When I was young just about everybody had Sunday off except for people in certain jobs like police, firemen, medical, and the occasional gas station attendant. We could ALL get together for a Sunday picnic in the park or other event. Today, to many people are scattered on various jobs. Opening on Thanksgiving to sell stuff is another example of lack of respect for our culture and traditions. Very sad.
I understand the POV, but for those who think Sunday and/or holidays should be a down day, just don't patronize stores on those days. I've never shopped on Black Friday or Thanksgiving, and I think it's crazy - but stores are just responding to the real feedback they get from shoppers. Why do you care what stores or other people do on Sunday?Frankly, I agree. There's something to be said for a little down time, and for a society that has a little patience. Instant gratification can be a rush, but IMO it comes at a fairly high social cost when it's expected as the norm. Not everything needs to be open 24/7/365.
DW and I have personally decided we will not buy anything for the rest of the year from anyone who was open on Thanksgiving Day.
Because I care about the increasingly raw deal the American worker is getting and that the balance of power between labor and employer is out of whack, skewed way too far in favor of employer these days. If many workers realistically had much of a say about whether they accepted a job that required them to work on Sundays and holidays, I'd shrug and say, "whatever." But many of them went to work for places that always used to close on major holidays, so when they accepted the job they had that as a reasonable expectation. But now the rules have changed and it's not easy to respond by simply quitting and finding another comparable (or better) job that won't make them work on major holidays. There aren't many.Why do you care what stores or other people do on Sunday?
We get what we deserve? Macy's CEO: Thanksgiving Shifts Were Employees' Choice - Daily GlobeBecause I care about the increasingly raw deal the American worker is getting and that the balance of power between labor and employer is skewed way too far in favor of employer these days. If many workers realistically had much of a say about whether they accepted a job that required them to work on Sundays and holidays, I'd shrug and say, "whatever." But many of them went to work for places that always used to close on major holidays, so when they accepted the job they had that as a reasonable expectation. But now the rules have changed and it's not easy to respond by simply quitting and finding another comparable (or better) job that won't make them work on major holidays.
People can say that "you choose to work there", and that is technically true... but these days too many people work where they can find work and have very little leverage to find something else. Employers know that and they are (mostly) exploiting the hell out of it. I don't want to be part of encouraging that trend.
That said, I'm not criticizing others who shop on Thanksgiving Day, just that I disagree with it and I am free to vote with my dollars just as everyone else is.
Maybe, maybe not. But is it, really? Again, the balance of power is so skewed in favor of management these days that employees may be afraid to say they aren't willing to work 24x365. There may be a fear -- and a rational, reasonable one IMO -- that saying they don't want to work on a major holiday is going to be a black mark in their personnel file. It certainly would limit their chances for promotion.We get what we deserve? Macy's CEO: Thanksgiving Shifts Were Employees' Choice - Daily Globe
I was an employer for 35 years. Other than Christmas, with very few exceptions (maybe 10%), my folks fought to work holidays for the premium pay, and most were outraged if they missed an opportunity. We had to negotiate the holiday schedule in advance annually to make sure there was absolute parity across shifts for holiday work opportunities. The desire may be more acute now, but it was always that way over my career...it was by no means "some people" - it was an overwhelming majority with the possible exception of Christmas. Christmas was about 50/50 for those who wanted to work for the premium, but I shut the plant down for Christmas Eve & Day every year because I thought they should be with their families one holiday each year. And you guessed it, half my employees were mad at me...Maybe, maybe not. But is it, really? Again, the balance of power is so skewed in favor of management these days that employees may be afraid to say they aren't willing to work 24x365. There may be a fear -- and a rational, reasonable one IMO -- that saying they don't want to work on a major holiday is going to be a black mark in their personnel file. It certainly would limit their chances for promotion.
I do agree that some people -- especially those without family close by and can use the extra money -- would understandably jump at the chance to work a major holiday for (say) time and a half. But is that the norm? Are there enough people like that to fully staff a big box retailer that no one who would rather have the day off has to work that day? I'd like to think so, but I have a hard time believing that.
If someone said they didn't want to work holidays, would that have made them less promotable in your eyes? If you had to choose between laying off one of two employees, would the unwillingness of one of them to work holidays be a "tie breaker", all else being relatively equal?I was an employer for 35 years. Other than Christmas, with very few exceptions (maybe 10%), my folks fought to work holidays for the premium pay, and most were outraged if they missed an opportunity. We had to negotiate the holiday schedule in advance to make sure there was absolute parity across shifts for holiday work opportunities. The desire may be more acute now, but it was always that way over my career...it was by no means "some people" - it was an overwhelming majority with the possible exception of Christmas.
Absolutely not in both cases believe it or not, and my track record would show that without exception. Again aside from Christmas, 90% of my employees, in four different states over my career would have been very upset if I didn't let them work holidays with premium pay.If someone said they didn't want to work holidays, would that have made them less promotable in your eyes? If you had to choose between laying off one of two employees, would the unwillingness of one of them to work holidays be a "tie breaker", all else being relatively equal?
Flash... News...
Jeff Bezos, just played the biggest April Fool's Joke in history. A one minute interview, a toy helicopter,and a hundred million dollars woth of advertising...
on Cyber Monday!
Again aside from Christmas, 90% of my employees, in four different states over my career would have been very upset if I didn't let them work holidays with premium pay.