Amazon Wants You To Start a Business To Deliver Its Packages (cnn.com)

If you have $10,000 and want to be your own boss, Amazon has a deal for you. From a report: Starting Thursday, you can apply to start your very own small business, delivering Amazon Prime packages in Amazon branded vans and uniforms. The company wants to help launch small businesses in the United States dedicated to taking its packages on the last step of their journey: from local Amazon sorting centers to the customers who ordered them. It announced the new program on Wednesday at a press event in Seattle.

It's the latest attempt by Amazon to gain greater control of the delivery network at the core of its Prime business, which ships 5 billion packages a year globally. [...] Amazon's new "Delivery Service Partners" and their staff members won't be employed by the tech company. The initial $10,000 costs will go to helping them start an independent business that has to begin with at least five delivery vans and ramp up to 20 vans over an undisclosed period of time.

Comments

It can't be any worse than what they do now

[greenwow]

I've ordered several things with promised same day delivery in downtown Seattle for work, and none of made it even next day. The worst was a microwave that took seven days. I talked to the Uber driver that delivered it, and he said it had been in the back of his Jeep since the day we ordered it. My boss was so pissed off about people getting angry with him since we didn't have a microwave that we stopped buying from Amazon completely.

Now, we pay employees mileage to drive to local stores if you can buy locally. We're spending a lot more time and money because of Amazon's terrible local delivery.

Re:It can't be any worse than what they do now

[Anonymous Coward]

I bought a small convection oven, and that took three days for delivery even though I live about 400 yards from their HQ in South Lake Union. Package was abused and two of the three knobs were broken. I tried to return it, but gave-up after a huge hassle since it was just $60. The Amazon driver also parked on top of flowers and a bush infront of my condo building. I got charged by the COA for that damage.

Re:Amazon wants you to go broke

[barc0001]

> Make no mistake about it, Amazon will dole packages out to the lowest bidder

No they won't. That would require additional analysis and work on Amazon's part. What they will do instead is pay per piece at a set rate, and it's up to the companies to figure out how to make money on that. Much easier for Amazon.

Re:mmmmNNooo....

[stephenmac7]

No, he's complaining about the shift in usage of the world itself: liberalism. From an article on the matter:

Liberalism has become one of the most widely misused and abused words in the American political lexicon. It represents, some say, politically “progressive thought,” based on the goal of “social justice” through greater “distributive justice” for all. Others declare it represents moral relativism, political paternalism, governmental license, and just another word for “socialism.” Lost in all of this is that fact that historically “liberalism” originally meant, and continues to mean for some, individual freedom, private property, free enterprise and impartial rule of law under constitutionally limited government.

Re:Transfering risk, not mitigating

[Altus]

Aren't most franchises based on areas. Like I cant start a McDonalds franchise across the street from your established store because they don't allow that. Will Amazon provide any protection to people who buy into this franchise like limiting the number of them in a given metro area?