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blahblah
Gym climber
Boulder
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Mar 30, 2018 - 08:41am PT
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I dumped Amazon Prime when I started price shopping and discovered that Ebay is consistently cheaper than Amazon. Amazon can be quicker but it is rarely necessary to get 2 day delivery.
Well you can get an Amazon Prime credit card that gives you 5% on back onpurchases, and you also get Prime video and music services, which are pretty good.
All in all, it's a good deal--only problem is you're making another super-rich liberal instigator (Bezos) even richer, but you gotta make some compromises in life, so I go with Amazon.
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Norton
climber
The Wastelands
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Mar 30, 2018 - 09:26am PT
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yes, now we finally have it figured out!
it needs to be pointed out that "liberals" that are so successful in business that they make fortunes!
oh the ravages of unbridled capitalism
and when we talk about employees, it is important to also mention the political orientation of the company owner, in this case liberal
example: I am just so mad about the working conditions in a Tyson chicken slaughtering plant, those poor workers, low paid with only moderate healthcare, killing chickens all day long, and it needs to be noted that the owner of Tyson is a "conservative", how dare he make as much money as he can in America
oh the horrors
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Happiegrrrl2
Trad climber
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Mar 30, 2018 - 09:39am PT
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Oh hey we're all for a living wage for a safe wholesome day's work, and having good government and an economy where small businesses can thrive and grow.
Except when it comes to our own pocket books. Then it's screw local government, screw the workers, screw small businesses and get the tax payers to subsidize that 2-day shipping.
THIS.
It makes me so angry when people spout that they either A) Buy at such and such that beats out prices because they cannot afford to pay more(ever heard of "doing without," when it comes to yet another cute tank top, prettified cel phone case, or winter jacket when you have a closet with several already in it?) or B)Why should I NOT pay the least I can?
It's one thing if the person will admit they are a selfish prick/cunt who would/will step on anyone else just to get ahead of them; these people are what they are. But when they spout a "caring attitude," and then the eyes glaze over when reading/hearing something like what DMT just put out, then....I'm not CERTAIN I would use the word "hypocrite;" I reserve that word for things a little more cut and dry, like a pol who preaches anti-abortion, while either paying out for one, or putting pressure on a woman to have one. But I know that I think negatively when I hear/see it.
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Lorenzo
Trad climber
Portland Oregon
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Mar 30, 2018 - 09:39am PT
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I dumped Amazon Prime when I started price shopping and discovered that Ebay is consistently cheaper than Amazon. Amazon can be quicker but it is rarely necessary to get 2 day delivery.
I have looked at the price of an item with and without the Amazon Prime account and sometimes the price without Amazon prime is cheaper, even with shipping.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Mar 30, 2018 - 09:54am PT
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Something is definitely awry.
Classic monopolistic strategy.
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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Mar 30, 2018 - 09:55am PT
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Yeah, I scratch my head on some of the deals. It is not just Amazon/USPS making deals. I had a complete motor ($750) for my Subaru shipped from San Diego to Monticello UT for FREE, go figure. It was UPS so there must have been some kind of special deal cuz UPS is not cheap. The only requirement was that the recipient take the motor off the truck.
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Cragar
climber
MSLA - MT
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Mar 30, 2018 - 10:03am PT
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Nothing is 'free'. When you do hella volume you can offer all kinds of great dealios but somebody is paying for it.
Take those frikkin sky miles c-cards. The card company charge the business a higher percentage on the sale to pay for those miles, thus reducing the business's margin. If it is a Ma and Pa or brick and mortar gig, you take a significant hit. Enough hits make it hard to stay in business. Frikkin cheap humans will end up with what they deserve.
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Norton
climber
The Wastelands
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Mar 30, 2018 - 10:15am PT
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why does it matter that the owner of Amazon prefers Democratic, Dingus?
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August West
Trad climber
Where the wind blows strange
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Mar 30, 2018 - 12:44pm PT
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Amazon is a sweatshop. Their warehouse workers are driven like dogs. They suffer from repetitive stress injury and very poor oversight and the company kicks them to the curb when they get hurt.
Don't worry too much. They won't have repetitive stress injury for much longer. Just as soon they are replaced by robots.
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Moof
Big Wall climber
Orygun
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Mar 30, 2018 - 01:14pm PT
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Oh hey we're all for a living wage for a safe wholesome day's work, and having good government and an economy where small businesses can thrive and grow.
Except when it comes to our own pocket books. Then it's screw local government, screw the workers, screw small businesses and get the tax payers to subsidize that 2-day shipping.
THIS.
It makes me so angry when people spout that they either A) Buy at such and such that beats out prices because they cannot afford to pay more(ever heard of "doing without," when it comes to yet another cute tank top, prettified cel phone case, or winter jacket when you have a closet with several already in it?) or B)Why should I NOT pay the least I can?
It's one thing if the person will admit they are a selfish prick/cunt who would/will step on anyone else just to get ahead of them; these people are what they are. But when they spout a "caring attitude," and then the eyes glaze over when reading/hearing something like what DMT just put out, then....I'm not CERTAIN I would use the word "hypocrite;" I reserve that word for things a little more cut and dry, like a pol who preaches anti-abortion, while either paying out for one, or putting pressure on a woman to have one. But I know that I think negatively when I hear/see it.
Rapacious capitalism is rapacious. Full stop. Expecting different is tilting at windmills, and will result in a slap in the face from the Invisible Hand.
However, capitalists do respond to incentives and laws. Jobs need to pay some decent minimum wage, so an inflation adjusted living wage should be the minimum wage. I believe in modest friction at the borders in the form of tariff's and immigration quotas to keep mega-corps from arbitraging wages to outside the country, free trade has gone too far IMO. Healthcare needs to be a right, and is a terrible fit for the capitalistic model.
So if you want Amazon to be a better company, pass laws that require it to behave in a more societally responsible fashion. If they do it purely voluntarily they leave themselves open for the next outfit (AKA Walmart, Target, etc) to undercut them and do that exact same thing, following the exact same laws.
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Norton
climber
The Wastelands
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Mar 30, 2018 - 01:55pm PT
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The hourly rate of pay for an Amazon warehouse worker is $12.84/hr plus health insurance
I don't think that is bad or taking advantage at all
This is work that any healthy person can do and without college education.
No one has to work such a job, it is clearly their choice. so what exactly is wrong with this?
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Happiegrrrl2
Trad climber
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Mar 30, 2018 - 02:14pm PT
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So if you want Amazon to be a better company, pass laws that require it to behave in a more societally responsible fashion. If they do it purely voluntarily they level themselves open for the next outfit (AKA Walmart, Target, etc) to undercut them and do that exact same thing, following the exact same laws.
I completely agree with what you have written. Interestingly, Patagonia has been able to do what "should" be impossible, if what you say is an absolute. Perhaps it's because Patgonia stuff is pretty much completely non-essential, I guess.
The hourly rate of pay for an Amazon warehouse worker is $12.84/hr plus health insurance
How long do you think you could sustain yourself on $13/hour? I'm not talking about your present situation, whatever it may be. I'm saying - throw out what you have. It's just you, but you do have shelter cost,and transportation costs. Because, you know - those Amazon warehouses generally aren't within walking distance from home, and most people do have shelter cost. What does your life look like, on $13/hour? What can you afford to pay for shelter, transportation, car insurance if you have a vehicle, and how much left over for food and everything else?
I can tell you that in New Paltz, NY where I live, there is no way I could pay rent, my car insurance, and eat, on $13/hour, rent being the dealbreaker. Because I made $12.50/hour last year and will probably make $13 this year. I can do fine, if I am careful, but I have zero cost for shelter. If my car breaks down unexpectedly, that could be a problem.
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seano
Mountain climber
none
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Mar 30, 2018 - 02:37pm PT
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Wandering waaaay off on a tangent...
I have looked at the price of an item with and without the Amazon Prime account and sometimes the price without Amazon prime is cheaper, even with shipping. Interesting -- I knew that Amazon used algorithms to vary prices on an individual basis, but hadn't bothered to experiment with it much. Someone should set up a site to do arbitrage between customers.
I'm not an Amazon fan, and would avoid them more if the local alternatives weren't so terrible. For example, I needed some bubble-mailers the other day, so I walked over to the local Office Depot, and saw that they were almost 3x the price on Amazon. Having worked at a computer shop as a teenager, I'm guessing Office Depot has a 900% markup on office supplies, like we did with cables, to subsidize the 10% markups on big-ticket items.
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Bruce Morris
Trad climber
Soulsbyville, California
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Mar 30, 2018 - 02:40pm PT
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But, advanced technology is not the villain -- capitalism is.
But advanced technology - robotics and automation - are what's going to make work and labor as we have known them since the 19th century industrial revolution, in a word, obsolete.
I'm sure it's alright to work in an Amazon warehouse for low wages if you live at home with your parents in a Prop 13 house in the 'burbs. It's if you're trying to work in an Amazon warehouse and have children and a future, that things rapidly become ugly. The whole point is that unskilled labor has become obsolete for a huge segment of the working population who still harbor unrealistic ambitions carried over from the boom years from 1945 to 1973 when the US standard of living was higher. That's why a huge segment of the population is angry and resentful and looking for a scapegoat to punish.
Like Thomas Carlyle put in during the 1830s, we're living in a age of transition. A whole class of working people in the US is rapidly becoming redundant and will emigrate elsewhere or die off.
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Lorenzo
Trad climber
Portland Oregon
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Mar 30, 2018 - 04:13pm PT
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People becoming disaffected in a time of change is nothing new. It’s arguably been going on since the Middle Ages. The last great wave of disaffection occurred in the 1890’s with the rise of the populist party in response to Henry George’s tome Progess and Poverty written in 1979 after he witnessed extreme destitution amidst great wealth in San Francisco after the civil war.
http://www.henrygeorge.org/pdfs/PandP_Drake.pdf
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Norton
climber
The Wastelands
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Mar 30, 2018 - 05:37pm PT
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my younger brother works for the Amazon warehouse in Duluth, Minnesota
being my brother I am in very close touch with him and he talks frequently about his job
what exactly IS your problem, Dingus?
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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Mar 30, 2018 - 05:48pm PT
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DMT - I looked at one hit on your google search and learned that Amazon provides health insurance, retirement plan from day one. The pay is decent. sure the work sucks, but as noted in the article, it is a job, not a career.
I have friends at UPS, sorting in their hubs is just as F'ed up. Lots of people can not hack it. He stuck it out, has full bennies with a part time job, and makes decent coin.
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Happiegrrrl2
Trad climber
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Mar 30, 2018 - 05:59pm PT
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Norton - What is the job title your brother has, if I may ask? Is he an hourly floor worker? Supervisor? Manager?
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Mar 30, 2018 - 06:08pm PT
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My nephew works for the Big A also, but I think he is over minimum wage.
They gave him an apartment across the street from Emirates Stadium in London.
Before that he was a slave in Luxembourg. They’re heartless.
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