well hopefully with all that additional business they will be able, and do lower their prices or at least keep them steady :)

I'm gonna give them the benefit of the doubt and opportunity to do the right thing, because online shopping is much more efficient, enjoyable, and a step in the right direction imo. And retail has been ripping off customers for as long as I can remember.

And if prices do go up, and hope its only because their employees are treated better than a lot of them are in retail. And there could be other reasons for price increases besides greed. Really a lot to consider...

yeah. Personally i like the idea of a one stop shop, and places like amazon make it relatively easy for producers of goods to get their goods to market, so hopefully the transition away from the traditional retail market will go smoothly.

They will start to become more predatory to merchants once they get more leverage over the market. I.e. banning merchants, giving their items the buy box over other merchants, hiding the link to see other buyers, putting their items at the top of search results etc...

They are already doing some of these things and it will only get worse.

Well as i said in my edit of the previous comment, other chains have to get it together and start competing with amazon. There is no reason why amazon should have a monopoly on their business model. There is still time for other retailers/investors to give amazon a run for their money, which should curb the amount of shady practices being implemented.

Amazon treats their employees terribly. Their warehouses have to have ambulances parked outside permanently because they force the workers to do hard physical labor in 100+ degree temps without air conditioning. https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/19/inside-amazons-very-hot-warehouse/

Except when Amazon raises their prices too far. Businesses will reopen and sell their products cheaper. Do you even free market?

And ruin the reputation of the company? Only Trump gets away with the flippy floppy.

Except when Amazon raises their prices too far businesses will reopen and sell their products cheaper. Do you even free market?

That's what regulations are for.

Not gonna happen. Good luck trying to force Walmart out of buisness.

Yeah it's easy to order shit online sometimes, but most of the time it's a lot easier to drive 5 minutes and pick it up, rather than waiting 2-4 days for it to show up.

Easier for now...that's why Amazon wants drone delivery

Millions of drones constantly in the sky, somehow not bashing into each other, somehow making sure it gets the right drop every time. That's too much clutter and upkeep.

Yea it's be fantastic for them business wise, but the financial upkeep would be too much.

I really dont think drone delivery will take off. The technology isnt nearly that reliable yet. but there are plenty of people willing to be delivery drivers. Walmart is even starting a grocery delivery service.

im sure the MIC will chip in to help develop the software for these drones. Then the CIA / NSA can add cameras to them so boom. Deliver things to people and at same time free chance to get upclose video recording / photos of their rooms etc

I dont know...i just dont see it happening. Don't think the tech is anywhere close enough for drone delivery to be safe or efficient. And i really haven't ruled out the idea that Amazon just suggested it to fuck with their competition.

"Hated in the Nation (Black Mirror)"

really good tv show and this is exactly on topic. potential look at where we might end up in the future. really interesting.

Yeah, i actually power watched all the black mirror episodes available on netflix the other day. Really enjoyed it. Like a techno twilight zones or something. Cant wait for new episodes. s2e4 White Christmas was my favorite so far i think. Not sure season 3 is available yet on netflicks....didnt see it if it was, will keep an eye out for that episode you mention though.

should have been since october 2016

Ill check again next time I veg out with netflix

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/every-episode-of-black-mirror

and a follow up to that episode - its already happening

http://mashable.com/2017/02/09/bee-drones-pollination/#pyJ_SWDKaOqZ

It sounds like a complicated problem, but keep in mind that we already have self driving cars and missiles that can target a cave from the other side of the world. We would just need to combine the two algorithms and we can have a reliable drone "highway" in the sky.

Walmart is trying desperately to catch up to Amazon in the online market place, even going so far to offer free shipping on orders over $35 thus forcing Amazon to back down off their $50 dollar orders for free shipping down to 35 to match Walmart.

Who will win? well.. Walmart has the infrastructure and storefronts, if Walmart can get it together, they'll end up being top dog.

Walmart also has free store to store shipping now, so if your local shitty Walmart doesn't have what you need/want, chances are the exotic shitty Walmart 20 miles from where you live has it.

I thought Amazon originally had the $35 free shipping and they upped it to $50? I could be wrong.

And I think Walmart will get in on the drone delivery deal as well...

You're right, and also Amazon originally did have the 35 free shipping, and then I think for prime members it was 2 day for 25? but then Amazon got greedy or thought they could so they bumped up the shipping to 50 for free, that went on till walmart started offering 35$ free shipping thus getting amazon to back down to $35 again lol

Amazon will do same-day free shipping on items in the closest warehouse, if you order before 12pm... It's crazy.

Don't you have to be a prime member for that though?

Yup you do. But if you are ordering from amazon and aren't a prime member, you probably aren' the target consumer by amazon. I also get same day delivery of groceries with prime fresh and 1 hour delivers of convenience items with prime now. I know I sound like a poster boy for amazon, but for a membership cost of 10$ a month, it's hard to beat the convenience of ordering from amazon services.

it's hard to beat the convenience of ordering from amazon services, specially if your area has these premium offerings.

Most areas don't.

Especially not the areas Walmart has a strong presence.

Yup!! Agreed! Not sure what you are trying to say? Do you have a point or argument to make?

Not sure what you are trying to say? Do you have a point or argument to make?

I've trimmed the quote for clarity.

Those conveniences are really only achievable in areas of an appropriate population density. Too dense or not dense enough and they aren't sustainable.

I agree with everything you are saying. I am really fucking confused. My OC only had arguments around shipping prices and times... So I assume retail stores will thrive any where else. I seriously don't know if you are agreeing, arguing or just commenting for whatever reason...

I agree with everything you are saying.

Then I'm only commenting.

They're already kind of killing it without it. There are like three Amazon warehouses within 100 or so miles of where I live, and you can get a lot of stuff same day, and thats free with prime membership bullshit. It's pretty crazy when you step back and see how they evolved from a bookstore.

Yup, my area qualifies for prime now. Where I can get some items within 2 hours of ordering.

You can actually order something from amazon and get it within like 2 hours. And as the number of distribution centers grow, that number and the amount of items available for that fast of delivery will increase.

I remember the Christmas before last, my sister had got my mom a blue ray disc, but my mom didn't have a blue ray player, so my sister ordered one on amazon, and it was there, on Christmas day, in a few hours. Ordered, shipped and delivered, on Christmas day, in a span of a few hours....that's a pretty convenient service that the masses will gobble up as it grows.

I'll admit that'd be pretty fucking convenient. Maybe it's just slow as shit where I am.

But again, Walmart is a fucking Titan. I don't see Amazon being able to strong arm them out.

Yeah, i think walmart will eventually catch up and compete, but i see a lot of thier stores closing as a result to make way for distribution centers.

One will probably buy the other and no one would win.

In a free market, everyone wins...what we have is NOT a free market.

A free market tolerates neither Monopolies nor Oligopolies. We obviously do not have a free market.

While I understand what /u/Longtimelurker859 is saying, amazon will be hard pressed to replace ALL retail. The biggest hurdle online retailers have is that case is still king. And while visa gift cards to exists, if you are running out to convert cash to a medium that can be used to purchase online you probably will just go some where to buy with cash. I live where I get 2 hours delivers with amazon, but mind you it's a limited inventory, so if you are looking for a specialty item you either will end up waiting for it to be delivered or go find it at a store around you.

Excellent point. But I really don't expect cash to retain its crown for much longer.

And to be clear, i don't think the death of retail will happen overnight, or entirely, but i do think it will reach its bare minimum within this century...possibly half century.

Unless we blow ourselves up and have to start from scratch of course...

Agreed!

There are many products not conducive to purchasing online. If I want to buy guitars, or tools, or lumber, or food from the grocery store, I need to pick it up and inspect it. I don't trust Amazon to do that, and I'm sure many others do as well.

free returns though...

idk....you are probably right, but i will be surprised to see a guitar center in 30 years....especially with all the custom tech coming out...like 3d printing and what not

True. But people can't just manufacture a guitar. The industry is extremely conservative and traditionalist, and almost all companies refuse to mass manufacture beyond what they can do with wood, like CNC milling. People pay thousands of dollars for Gibsons manufactured with historical methods, for example.

The few companies that have tried making guitars of easier/quicker to manufacture guitars, like Switch Vibracell, have almost all completely failed. I don't foresee retail stores for musical instruments like guitars, drums, brass, or other string instruments failing any time soon, or at least until sufficiently advanced rapid manufacturing technology gets here.

I personally hope we reach the point were mass manufacturing isnt the standard. There is so much waste involved, and so many shitty products that have no bushiness being on the market at all.

And there are companies like this....and this

Bro online groceries is HUGE business. Probably the fastest growing segment of online.

plus Amazon sells so many counterfeit items.. it has become a joke.

but who doesnt like 4k cams for 89.00

people said the same thing about Blockbuster

At its peak Blockbuster had a networth of $5 Billion. Walmart is sitting comfortably around $230 billion.

While Amazon is worth slightly more at $250 billion, they don't nearly have the infrastructure in place that Walmart already does.

Then again, I'm not an economic so who the fuck knows what'll happen.

Walmart goes out of business when they finally get us all to move into their ghettos.. Er, I mean "cities".

Seems like you dont know amazon is planning to open retail stores. No cashiers, just grab what you want and walk out of store. you then get charged on your amazon account once you leave via a phone app

That's absolutely never going to happen.

Right.

I work in distribution. Closures include: Macy's, The sports authority, sport chalet, JC Penny, to name a few. Amazon is stronger than ever.

Wal-Mart has adopted the Amazon model online as well as pick up in store.

There have already been thousands of retail stores that have closed due to Amazon.com

And there have been hundreds of thousands of people like me who have used Amazon.com to become a successful retailer despite not being a gigantic corporation. I will shed no tears for big retail megacorporations losing money.

Amazon is a CIA front, so the joke is on you. Not that I have any love for Walmart or other giant corporations, but let's not pretend Amazon is benevolent retailer that "won" through fair business practices.

This isn't even a conspiracy theory. According to the official narrative, Amazon makes it profit of its hosting business, not retail. It hosts everything from Netflix and Reddit (propaganda) to the CIA's actual servers.

It also owns CIA mouthpiece The Washington Post.

You're being played if you believe Amazon is any more ethical or different than any more corporation. If anything, they're worse, but they're better at hiding it because "free shipping."

I never thought about Amazon this way until their recent round of book censorship, but yes, you are correct.

When they literally pullec 1984 off of kindles from people who literally purchased it?

Nah this time: http://www.veteranstoday.com/2017/03/08/bezos-denial/

Netflix may utilize some AWS boxes, but for the most part install local boxes at actual ISP hubs around the world.

You mean exactly what Walmart was trying to do? lol

isnt that just capitalism 101?

It amazes me that many in /r/conspiracy continue to support Amazon despite its direct connections to the CIA and The Washington Post.

I doubt Amazon's end game is to raise prices (although they certainly will when the time is right). I think the goal is to turn into a Google-like monopoly over retail, book selling, and hosting.

I don't think it's necessarily to raise prices either.

Amazon knows what books you're reading, the items you're buying and what you are saying in the privacy of your home...

That's not how Amazon works. At all.

If this were to happen (which it won't) guess what happens when Amazon raises its prices? Stores become the place to shop again.

Do you even economics?

That's what people used to say in town squares in the 80's about Walmarts. I'd say go back and ask them how it went, but they're almost all ghost towns now.

Walmart never raised its prices.

Which is why this model has never succeeded ever, except throughout history

Wrong

It's called the race to the bottom. You lose if your prices are ever not at the bottom.

I've stopped using Amazon. I let my Prime renewal lapse because I've been sent similar but wrong items a few times in the past year and I usually just bought dumb shit that I don't need anyway.

Amazon is an overpriced stock, while WalMart is a good investment. In the long run, WalMart will give Amazon a run for its money in online retail. Walmart knows distribution very well.

I don't buy stuff retail because I want to know if the product is garbage.

this is the same business practice as Walmart in the 80s and 90s

Amazon is Walmart 2.0

People want physical stores, too, and you can only drives the price point so low or so high. If someone wants to go shipping with a friend, they don't sign on to twitch.

Other online retailers will keep competition going thus keeping prices down. At some point 3d printing will eat away at online retail.

Online retail is nearing its high water mark now. This is just like the dot com bubble of the 90s all over again. The real future will be in 3d printing and replicators.

And then someone will step in with lower prices and shut Amazon down. The beauty of capitalism. Free and open markets combined with strong anti Monopoly laws is the best economic policy

The "Amazon is killing retail" narrative that teevee has been spewing is getting old. Read Amazon's financials and you'll quickly realize that their annual revenue growth doesn't come close to accounting for the revenue losses experienced by the brick/mortar retailers. Wall Street doesn't want you to realize that the store closures and bankruptcies are due to the significant spending cuts by the American consumer. God forbid that Main Street actually get out in front of a market crash and not have their 401(k)s incinerated.

Don't we have laws against monopolies?

OP your post is assuming everyone's shopping habits are the same. Not everyone is into ordering stuff online and it will remain that way for a LONG time to come.

The low-income shoppers of Walmart arent gonna be ordering stuff online for a long while.

said people in egypt bout paper too ... this damn paper books will kill our stone business!

Didn't Walmart already do that?

Yes.

Almost every thing sold on Amazon is from indepeNant sellers who set the prices.

Source I sell thousands of dollars a week in goods through their marketplace.

90% of the stuff I get off Amazon, I can't even find in retail stores.

If you are smart you price check all of amazon.. and will find amazon is more expensive and takes longer to ship that most other places.

Well as i said in my edit of the previous comment, other chains have to get it together and start competing with amazon. There is no reason why amazon should have a monopoly on their business model. There is still time for other retailers/investors to give amazon a run for their money, which should curb the amount of shady practices being implemented.

Walmart also has free store to store shipping now, so if your local shitty Walmart doesn't have what you need/want, chances are the exotic shitty Walmart 20 miles from where you live has it.

I thought Amazon originally had the $35 free shipping and they upped it to $50? I could be wrong.

And I think Walmart will get in on the drone delivery deal as well...

isnt that just capitalism 101?

Yup!! Agreed! Not sure what you are trying to say? Do you have a point or argument to make?