Prime Air

[Slamz]

wat

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/b?ref_=tsm_1_fb_s_amzn_mx3eqp&node=8037720011">http://www.amazon.com/b?ref_=tsm_1_fb_s ... 8037720011</a><!-- m -->

Just check the link. I thought it was an April fool's joke come a bit early but apparently they're serious.

[strife]

That drone looked hella slow, so 30 minutes with any packaging time would mean you'd have to be within like 10-20 miles from the warehouse.

I can see this being the future... a very distant future.

[Vanraw]

yea I saw this on 60 mins. Interesting. I wonder if other companies like Fedx or UPS are looking at replacing the last mile fleet....

I could see a flight control space of like 100 feet of air space reserved for drone deliveries.....

[Slamz]

That drone looked hella slow, so 30 minutes with any packaging time would mean you'd have to be within like 10-20 miles from the warehouse.

I can see this being the future... a very distant future.

Amazon says they'll be ready by 2015, when the FAA is expected to roll out regulations for drone flight.

The interesting thing with this concept would be that rather than get packages dropped at your door while you aren't home, you'd just wait until you ARE home and then call the thing up. It could give you updates via automated phone call, smartphone app or text message ("5 minutes out"..."1 minute out"..."package delivered") and you could just go out and get your package as it's dropped off. No more hiding stuff in the bushes or otherwise getting your stuff stolen. Apartment buildings would have a package dropoff point where you can show up when the drone says it's landing.

Amazon could also set up small offices that just collect packages for the local area. Packages get sent there as soon as they're available and then go out to you via drone whenever you say you're ready. Rather than a small number of huge warehouses, there would be a much larger number of small holding areas.


Amazon has been doing a lot of messing around lately trying to solve fundamental delivery problems, like people having to trek out to some distant UPS location to pick up a package or else risk having it stolen, because who's at home at 3pm on a Tuesday to get a package?
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/11/11/amazon-sunday-delivery-usps/3479055/">http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013 ... s/3479055/</a><!-- m --> (Sunday delivery via USPS)
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200689010">http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/ ... =200689010</a><!-- m --> (lockers at convenience stores)

These are in limited areas but basically shows Amazon is busy trying to find better ways to get packages into people's hands.

Drones dropping them off would certainly be the holy grail of shipping if they can make it work.

[TinStar]

I think the whole idea of drones dropping off packages won't work anytime soon. Can you imagine someone waiting around their drop off point and basically stealing the drone when it lands? "How many drones did we lose today? Oh, only 10!"

I could see something along the lines of dropping packages in the air and having them parachute down. But the first thought I had when watching 60 minutes was "Someone is going to steal/break their drones".

[Jakensama]

I think the whole idea of drones dropping off packages won't work anytime soon. Can you imagine someone waiting around their drop off point and basically stealing the drone when it lands? "How many drones did we lose today? Oh, only 10!"

How long before the first person decides to go skeet shooting with a delivery drone?

[Vllad]

I wonder if other companies like Fedx or UPS are looking at replacing the last mile fleet....

We have looked at hundreds of ways to automate deliveries including this.

Too expensive and it doesn't carry enough volume. Dropping one package off at a time doesn't even work for Pizza deliveries let alone package deliveries.

[Jakensama]

Not to mention I can't see how it would work in bigger more densly populated cities (I mean, I have a back yard but that puts me in the minority of people in Brooklyn, let alone Manhattan) - and those are the places where the supply chain would be more viable since everyone could live relatively close to a single distribution center.

[Slamz]

I think the whole idea of drones dropping off packages won't work anytime soon. Can you imagine someone waiting around their drop off point and basically stealing the drone when it lands? "How many drones did we lose today? Oh, only 10!"

I could see something along the lines of dropping packages in the air and having them parachute down. But the first thought I had when watching 60 minutes was "Someone is going to steal/break their drones".

Probably the same risk as someone jacking a UPS truck or slashing its tires. It's probably still a felony. High risk, low reward.

And I'm not sure what the underground market for "stolen drone parts" would be like. [interesting footnote: I forgot to lock my truck a couple week ago and someone went through it. all my glovebox contents were in the passenger seat; all the center console stuff was strewn about. Nothing was stolen, including a compressor/inverter, my CDs, a few tools I had in the back, etc. Apparently criminals are mainly looking for drugs, cash and electronics like iPhones that they can quickly sell. Lugging off compressors and drone parts is apparently not high on the list.]

I'm sure some people would want to steal one for the novelty of it, but "tampering with the mail" is a pretty serious offense to risk just to have to hide it in your basement.



But I think the main advantage is just the ability to get things delivered outside of normal delivery hours, when you're actually home and ready to get your package.

Like I wonder how much business Amazon misses out on purely because people would rather go to the store than deal with the hassle of package delivery.

[Jakensama]

Nothing was stolen, including a compressor/inverter, my CDs, a few tools I had in the back, etc.

Kind of telling how old we are since back in high school leaving your CD case on the seat would be a good way to get your car jacked. Now they are worthless pieces of plastic.

[Grieve]

I really like the concept as a "cool" idea, but I have trouble seeing it as anything other than a rarely used (and high premium) delivery method for urgent (and small!) items, with probably a very limited number of supported locations.

Apart from anything else, I wonder how it would find the right house? I mean GPS generally only gets me to within a fairly general area of particular house or office most of the time. And as Jake said, many people don't have yards to conveniently drop stuff into.

And if it becomes more widespread, what happens when thousands of these little buggers are flying through the air?

Amazon does keep impressing me, though. I ordered a new tv today, and I had a little message saying "Prime members save an additional $10 on this TV" - never seen that before. Plus I caved and got an Amazon credit card - 3% off all Amazon purchases adds up fast (we must spend 10s of thousands a year there), plus you get $50 instantly.

[Slamz]

I mean GPS generally only gets me to within a fairly general area of particular house or office most of the time.

Well, that's because you use Apple, so you probably aren't really up on the state of modern technological innovation.


But yeah, those Amazon credit cards are the bomb. 3% back on Amazon purchases, 2% back on food/gas/i forget, 1% back on everything else and the option to redeem the credit shows up right in your purchase screen as an alternate payment method.

I put everything on that card and just have it set to auto-pay the whole bill every month so I don't incur interest fees and it's basically free Amazon money.

[TinStar]

Evidently redeeming the points on Amazon is wasting money. At least that's what my wife(who is much smarter {and cheaper} than me says). She says you can redeem the points for stuff that is more valuable than the $$$ amount you can use on their website.

[Vanraw]

I wonder if other companies like Fedx or UPS are looking at replacing the last mile fleet....

We have looked at hundreds of ways to automate deliveries including this.

Too expensive and it doesn't carry enough volume. Dropping one package off at a time doesn't even work for Pizza deliveries let alone package deliveries.

The interview I saw said that a large percentage of Amazons shipments are under 5lbs and can be carried.

[Vanraw]

I mean GPS generally only gets me to within a fairly general area of particular house or office most of the time.

Well, that's because you use Apple, so you probably aren't really up on the state of modern technological innovation.

.

Well played Slamz....

On GPS, I use a GPS golfing and it is accurate within a foot. Some are not so accurate. Has to do with what tech is used.

[Slamz]

Depends on who offers the card, maybe. My options are cash back (equal to what I'd get through Amazon), gift cards (also equal, just to different places) or travel stuff (haven't looked into it because you can't do it online and also meh).

Originally they just gave you Amazon gift cards but at some point Amazon integrated it directly into their checkout, which makes it convenient to use the points.

My bank's regular Visa has a whole catalog of shit you can buy. Those might be good deals if you coincidentally need one of the specific items they offer (hmmm.... drinking buddy wine charms! Owl napkin rings! A bamboo cutting board! A pilates ball! An inflatable floating cooler!... It's like a bad episode of Wheel of Fortune in there!)

[TinStar]

What I am told is that if you use your Amazon card on Amazon, you get points that you can redeem for cash, but if you use your amazon points to actually buy stuff on amazon, you don't get the points for the purchase and your actual cash value is the same value as what you can redeem on amazon. So it's pretty marginal but it is better to spend real money on amazon so you can get the points..

[Slamz]

Oh I see.

So...
Buy $1000 of stuff on Amazon
Get $30 in points (3% back)

You need an item that costs $30.

Option a) Take $30 cash back and then buy the item at Amazon on your card so you get 90 cents back. You turned your $30 reward into a $30.90 reward.
Option b) Use the $30 credit and spend it directly at Amazon, effectively giving up that potential 90 cents.

So basically you could re-claim 3% of your 3% if you took the cash option and then bought something on Amazon and used the cash to pay back the card.

You would actually do worse if you took the $30 and spent it at Best Buy, because then you'd only get back 1% of your 3%... ($30.30...)

In summary, I think the extra trouble of getting cash back would outweigh the gain.

[Vllad]

The interview I saw said that a large percentage of Amazons shipments are under 5lbs and can be carried.

Yea, we move the bulk of the Amazon goods. The problem is you lose your shirt if you don't take in bulk the goods to a central point at delivery.

For example we tested the following:

You can take something like this to a hub then distribute everything out of the hub to try and eliminate delivery drivers and trucks. The problem is you need about 100,000 of them for a small city like Buffalo or Tucson.

The logistics alone is stupid and then you can't solve the pick up problem. They have to be able to pick up and process goods not just deliver them.

We tried driving the units to a central point but again the pick-ups aren't addressed and you waste weight by carrying the units rather than freight.

In a nutshell these are a more fancy way of losing money.

[TinStar]

In summary, I think the extra trouble of getting cash back would outweigh the gain.

Yeah I don't disagree with you about it not being worth the trouble, but when you are as much of a penny pincher as my wife is, it's worth it. I am too stubborn to use coupons which drives her insane. Every time I buy something on Amazon(which isn't very often because I feel they are trying to put me out of business!!) my wife will come running in "Don't use the points!!" heh..

[Breand]

I mean GPS generally only gets me to within a fairly general area of particular house or office most of the time.

Well, that's because you use Apple, so you probably aren't really up on the state of modern technological innovation.


But yeah, those Amazon credit cards are the bomb. 3% back on Amazon purchases, 2% back on food/gas/i forget, 1% back on everything else and the option to redeem the credit shows up right in your purchase screen as an alternate payment method.

I put everything on that card and just have it set to auto-pay the whole bill every month so I don't incur interest fees and it's basically free Amazon money.

Chase Freedom is doing 5% cash back on Amazon.com this quarter and you can link it right to Amazon as well. Plus use ebates.com for all purchases and get another 3-6% cash back. =)

[TinStar]

I mean GPS generally only gets me to within a fairly general area of particular house or office most of the time.

Well, that's because you use Apple, so you probably aren't really up on the state of modern technological innovation.


But yeah, those Amazon credit cards are the bomb. 3% back on Amazon purchases, 2% back on food/gas/i forget, 1% back on everything else and the option to redeem the credit shows up right in your purchase screen as an alternate payment method.

I put everything on that card and just have it set to auto-pay the whole bill every month so I don't incur interest fees and it's basically free Amazon money.

Chase Freedom is doing 5% cash back on Amazon.com this quarter and you can link it right to Amazon as well. Plus use ebates.com for all purchases and get another 3-6% cash back. =)

I didn't know about the Chase Freedom but we use ebates (well. I do when my wife yells at me, and my wife does 100% of the time). We also use our discover card and they have businesses that you get specials from if you go through their website. (We pay all of our bills on credit cards and pay them off every month. Just to clarify.. debt is for losers well. non-mortgage debt is for losers...)

[Jakensama]

Just to clarify.. debt is for losers well. non-mortgage debt is for losers...)

Not true. Credit card debt is for losers. In many cases purchasing something with low interest financing is a good idea if your investment money gets a higher return than whatever your interest rate is.

[strife]

Just to clarify.. debt is for losers well. non-mortgage debt is for losers...)

Not remotely true. Credit card debt is for losers. In many cases purchasing something with low interest financing is a good idea if your investment money gets a higher return than whatever your interest rate is.

both statements are vaguely ignorant

[Jakensama]

How so? I can pay $50K for a car up front or with an interest rate lower than my money is making sitting around. If that is the case, it is smarter to not pay for the car in cash.