When Amazon Prime isn't Amazon Prime

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jinjuku

jinjuku

Moderator
everettT said:
One day shipping has turned into 4... just had 3 orders refunded wo a re return
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I'm getting there. I wonder if you call too much about 'Prime' deliveries being late if they just bin your account.

** I took your advice and just had $22 refunded to me for a late order. I've never bothered in the past, and lord knows there has been plenty of them.

I'll probably start doing this more. We spend about $20,000 a year ordering from Amazon.
 
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BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
Irvrobinson said:
Amazon retail really isn't that profitable; they've been accepting a lower return on investment than normal market rates to build demand. I'm expecting these increases to continue. Free shipping, free videos, free music, free books... Amazon Prime is still a good buy (to me), but I think it will be less of a bargain over time.

The big Amazon profits come from Amazon Web Services, and AWS is not cheap. Not even a little, it is just really convenient, super-reliable, and has a rich set of proprietary services.
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Not exactly accurate information. True that AWS margins are indeed very high, significantly higher than retails sales, but do consider that across entire Amazon, AWS is only 10% of net sales. That said, the Operating income of AWS is almost half of total income. Keep in mind that Amazon is now bleeding money out of their international divisions.
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4166667-amazon-com-inc-2018-q1-results-earnings-call-slides
 
Irvrobinson

Irvrobinson

Audioholic Spartan
BoredSysAdmin said:
Not exactly accurate information. True that AWS margins are indeed very high, significantly higher than retails sales, but do consider that across entire Amazon, AWS is only 10% of net sales. That said, the Operating income of AWS is almost half of total income. Keep in mind that Amazon is now bleeding money out of their international divisions.
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4166667-amazon-com-inc-2018-q1-results-earnings-call-slides
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I'm confused... how is your point different the mine? Amazon retail is accepting a lower return on investment to build volume, and "The big Amazon profits come from Amazon Web Services..."
 
everettT

everettT

Audioholic Spartan
lovinthehd said:
Different than what I was thinking. Then again never knew there was a business prime thing....
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The business prime adds additional products and supposedly more 1 day shipping. I've been using it for 2 years now and dont really notice much benefit other than "6 months same as cash" offerings are lower purchase prices.
 
Forsooth

Forsooth

Audioholic
I don't have 'prime' but always get free shipping anyway because either the item(s) come with free shipping or I wait until there are enough items in the basket to qualify for free shipping.

I always check to see if there is another source for the items I need at a relatively similar price and, if so, I won't order the items from Amazon.
 
P

pewternhrata

Audioholic Chief
I've noticed the same item at various prices, usually within a few dollars of each other, all with different ship windows. Makes it confusing at times. I just bought 3 barstools and saved $20 each vs the ones with 2 day bc the shipping was out up to 2 weeks. I ordered them Sunday night got them Friday so not bad for a $60 savings.
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
My van's Service Engine Soon light came on and none of the auto parts stores could/would scan it and my friends were either out of town or didn't have a scanner with them, so I looked for something that would do what I want (I want data, not just codes) and ordered one with a "Want it today?" option. I ordered it before 10AM and it was at my house before 6:30PM, free shipping and a $3.50 discount. I ordered a pair of shoes and a UV flashlight last week and they were here in 2 days, max, with free shipping.

On a related note, I saw that USPS lost $1.3B in the last quarter, but the Postmaster said the package shipping covers their infrastructure, which lets them do other things. Like lose money, apparently.

I wonder if they would still lose money if they raised their flat rate price by 5%.
 
mtrycrafts

mtrycrafts

Seriously, I have no life.
highfigh said:
......
On a related note, I saw that USPS lost $1.3B in the last quarter, but the Postmaster said the package shipping covers their infrastructure, which lets them do other things. Like lose money, apparently.

I wonder if they would still lose money if they raised their flat rate price by 5%.
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That may be because the most stringent requirement law to fully fund their retirement fund mandates catching up. No other agency or company or whoever has to do this, only the post office.
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
Irvrobinson said:
I'm confused... how is your point different the mine? Amazon retail is accepting a lower return on investment to build volume, and "The big Amazon profits come from Amazon Web Services..."
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I wasn't arguing you entirely, just trying to give accurate info:
"Amazon retail really isn't that profitable;" - They have made well over a billion in net profit in the USA alone in one first quarter of 2018.
 
Irvrobinson

Irvrobinson

Audioholic Spartan
BoredSysAdmin said:
I wasn't arguing you entirely, just trying to give accurate info:
"Amazon retail really isn't that profitable;" - They have made well over a billion in net profit in the USA alone in one first quarter of 2018.
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And that is low as a percentage of sales. Amazon revenue was $178B for their last fiscal year, while net profit was $3B. By comparison, Walmart's revenue was about $500B, but its net profit was about $10B. Walmart's net profit margin is about 20% higher than Amazon's, and Walmart doesn't have anything like AWS pumping up margins. Amazon retail is not especially profitable by industry standards.
 
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BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
Irvrobinson said:
And that is low as a percentage of sales. Amazon revenue was $178B for their last fiscal year, while net profit was $3B. By comparison, Walmart's revenue was about $500B, but its net profit was about $10B. Walmart's net profit margin is about 20% higher than Amazon's, and Walmart doesn't have the anything like AWS pumping up margins. Amazon retail is not especially profitable by industry standards.
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Ok, fair point. I think the biggest difference would be at buying side. Walmart has vast control over whole prices, while Amazon is more restricted to making money on efficiencies of logistics.
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
jinjuku said:
I ordered 5 of a relatively mundane item...It only put 3 in my cart and said I had hit the limit.
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I also have an Amazon Business account and have run into this "limit" situation as well.
 
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