Amazon - Rant

[BroadAmbition]

We at this hovel often use Amazon (Prime) - Other on line retailers are available

Thursday I somehow managed to break the claw end off my crowbar or wrecking bar as some would describe it.  I was giving it plenty of welly, pulling out 6" nails that are proper thick out of cls into breeze block.  So, late Friday evening I ordered a new un via Amazon.

This morning I did not have to leave the house until 0820, delivery from Amazon arrived before I departed.  Large box addressed to me.  Strange, what's in here I thought as it is far too big to be the crowbar I ordered.  It was.  The size of the cardboard box was ridiculous, then paper packing, then bubble wrap, then a plastic sleeve, all  for a crowbar?  There is no wonder our blue recycle wheely bin gets full proper quick.  What a waste of resources / overkill not to mention the amount having to be recycled.

Griff

 

 

[Londonlad1985]

I ordered a foldable bicycle tyre, it arrived unfolded and packaged in a similar manner. I imagine it's all computer generated box sizes. I expect the picker (a robot i expect) gets a shelf number and predetermined box size and the packer just tapes them up. No room for common sense in computers sadly. That's why they keep getting smaller. 

[MauriceMynah]

Thinks...

Just how much danger would the human race be in if we developed a computer that had common sense?

[BroadAmbition]

Not as dangerous as you MM  

Griff

[ScrumpyCheddar]

The reason it’s packed that way is ?.

1. To protect it from getting damaged and having the paint scrape  off the bar. Because Mr Jones from Azerbaijan complained to the damage department 

2 .Its to confuse the buyer when it’s delivered to the house thinking oh yes what’s in this big box can’t wait to rip it open and shouting going oh **** it’s that  bloody crow bar...

3. Is why is it in this big box..

[MauriceMynah]

Am I being accused of having common sense??? I shall refute this in the highest court.

[ChrisB]

I click and collect things like that at Screwfix. Best thing to happen to Cromer, Screwfix. Half the price of the useless Homebase.

[Hylander]

We at this hovel often use Amazon (Prime) - Other on line retailers are available
Thursday I somehow managed to break the claw end off my crowbar or wrecking bar as some would describe it.  I was giving it plenty of welly, pulling out 6" nails that are proper thick out of cls into breeze block.  So, late Friday evening I ordered a new un via Amazon.
This morning I did not have to leave the house until 0820, delivery from Amazon arrived before I departed.  Large box addressed to me.  Strange, what's in here I thought as it is far too big to be the crowbar I ordered.  It was.  The size of the cardboard box was ridiculous, then paper packing, then bubble wrap, then a plastic sleeve, all  for a crowbar?  There is no wonder our blue recycle wheely bin gets full proper quick.  What a waste of resources / overkill not to mention the amount having to be recycled.
Griff
 
 

My beef is Royal Mail who send texts stating the time of arrival and turn up 2 hrs before. Why bother.



Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

[ChrisB]

4 minutes ago, Hylander said:

My beef is Royal Mail who send texts stating the time of arrival and turn up 2 hrs before. Why bother.



Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app
 

Because that gives them a 100% service level, it's a fiddle.

When Amazon fail to deliver I have found reasons like customer requested a day later. NO I did not, it is so it does not go down on the service level report as a "Fail" had it about five times. Normally I find the carriers very good except in Nov/Dec when it is busy and the short days mean if you do not know where I am, down my track, you will struggle to find me in the dark.

[grendel]

Amazon also use the packagev size to control how many packages the drivers can load into their vans, this stops them loading more parcels than they can deliver in their shift, this ensures they actually deliver them, rather than just stuffing every address with a sorry you werent in card.

[Wyndham]

I do agree, the packaging was OTT and could have made better use of resources but why have you got a kettle and a 1970's pillow on your floor!!

That aside though Amazon is great isn't it? Order something Fri. late, get it Sat. early. That's quite freaky when you think back to the days of the Freemans catalogue.

On the contrary Mrs W and I were looking for some non essential gardening items on amazon today and after a while we agreed to not buy today and have a look in the Garden Centres over the coming week. How radical are we, woop woop.

Old s cool.

 

[Smoggy]

Amazon rant part two.

River runs too fast.

Full of piranhas.

Women in loincloths shouldn't look that scary.

Oh not that amazon.....

[JanetAnne]

2 hours ago, Wyndham said:

... why have you got a kettle and a 1970's pillow on your floor!!

 

 

One of them belongs to Macie dog I reckon. She's a wizard with the teapot I believe...

[Seagypsy]

15 hours ago, BroadAmbition said:

We at this hovel often use Amazon (Prime) - Other on line retailers are available

Thursday I somehow managed to break the claw end off my crowbar or wrecking bar as some would describe it.  I was giving it plenty of welly, pulling out 6" nails that are proper thick out of cls into breeze block.  So, late Friday evening I ordered a new un via Amazon.

This morning I did not have to leave the house until 0820, delivery from Amazon arrived before I departed.  Large box addressed to me.  Strange, what's in here I thought as it is far too big to be the crowbar I ordered.  It was.  The size of the cardboard box was ridiculous, then paper packing, then bubble wrap, then a plastic sleeve, all  for a crowbar?  There is no wonder our blue recycle wheely bin gets full proper quick.  What a waste of resources / overkill not to mention the amount having to be recycled.

Griff

 

 

If you keep using Amazon Griff you'll have to be like my neighbour and get two blue bins

[johnm]

Talking of those  lovely bins, how confusing do they get?

Our 'green - save the world one object at a time' recycling bin is grey and our 'horrible old landfill general waste bin is ...

...

you've guessed it 

...

green 

 

[grendel]

we have green for garden waste, blue for recycleables - red for paper, and grey for landfill, we also have no space left in our front garden, plus need a degree in mathematics to work out which bins to put out this week.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

I have NEVER EVER bought anything off of Amazon, and only ever bought 1 yes, that`s ONE thing from e-bay. I like to go to shops, look at what i want and see if it`s up to standard i`m after. I also NEVER EVER use self service check outs, prefering to use staffed check outs. How would people feel if they sat in an aircraft and flying abroad knowing the interior was built by robots?. I would be bloody livid, because i`d be out of work, and probably homeless because i could`nt pay the motgage and the bills, so would be evicted and on the streets.

Please everybody, before you buy from the likes of Amazon and co, think how many people could be unemployed and living on insufficient benefits because people want something 10% cheaper.

PS, i also like and shop at Screwfix, at least i can deal with a person, and be polite to them.

[Londonlad1985]

2 hours ago, SPEEDTRIPLE said:

i`d be out of work, and probably homeless because i could`nt pay the motgage and the bills, so would be evicted and on the streets.

Interesting point that, I'm on a TfL working group for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs).. driverless cars to you and me. When I raised the point about jobs, the answer that seems to have been accepted is that "The economy will find a way" and other jobs will take the places of those that are lost. The example given was the early 20th century and all the jobs lost around horses being the main mode of transport, i.e. Blacksmiths, farriers, grooms, stable boys, feed and bedding suppliers.... and probably lots more. That argument seems to stack up historically, however I can't see the 45000 ish Uber drivers in London finding alternative jobs quickly. And knowing Uber those CAVs will be on the steet in shory order. There are already CAVs on the public highway every day. They are testing systems and mapping roads. At the moment all they require is a human chaperone and an MOT.

[Seagypsy]

5 hours ago, grendel said:

we have green for garden waste, blue for recycleables - red for paper, and grey for landfill, we also have no space left in our front garden, plus need a degree in mathematics to work out which bins to put out this week.

Blue recycle. Brown garden and food waste. Green landfill and a calendar with brown green and blue squares when they go out

[BroadAmbition]

Green - Garden waste,   Blue - Plastic, cardboard, paper, tins etc - the recycle one,  Grey - Landfill,  small green plastic box with black lid - Glass only.

MrsG to put stuff into various bins ably assisted by her assistant who tends to do it all the time,  assistant also puts them out on the correct day for emptying too,  woe betide if he forgets - That's happened but rarely and results in increased volume assaulting my Port and Stbd listen outs

Griff

[SwanR]

We have been recycling on a grand scale for many years in our area.

Black bin collected fortnightly for ordinary household waste

Brown bin collected fortnightly for garden waste

Little green bin collected weekly for food waste

One sack for cardboard

A different sack for paper

Other sacks for plastics including tetra packs and plastic bottles and lids and bags and everything else they take

Green bin for tins, glass and clothes

[SteveO]

Green with purple lid - recyclable bottles, cans, plastic containers. Green with green lid - Landfill waste. Green with brown lid - garden waste. Black tote bin - paper and cardboard. Small green bin with "lockable" lid - food waste. What really annoys me is that when we go to different parts of the country to visit relatives or house-sit, everywhere seems to have different rules about what can be recycled, what can go together and what needs to be segregated.

 

[TheQ]

The advantage of North Norfolk,  green recycling,  black rubbish,  brown garden if you need one. 

And that's it. 

 

Amazon and eBay Regularly used,  often for stuff that's difficult to obtain locally.

 I've lived from the outer hebridies,  to coastal Somerset to Norfolk,  finding shops and obtaining things can be difficult. Even  From here on the coast of Norfolk to buy stuff is often a 45 mile round trip either to GY or norwich so add 2gallons of petrol to the higher price in the shops.  It's just not economic. 

 

[KaptinKev]

On ‎16‎/‎03‎/‎2019 at 16:56, BroadAmbition said:

We at this hovel often use Amazon (Prime) - Other on line retailers are available

Thursday I somehow managed to break the claw end off my crowbar or wrecking bar as some would describe it.  I was giving it plenty of welly, pulling out 6" nails that are proper thick out of cls into breeze block.  So, late Friday evening I ordered a new un via Amazon.

This morning I did not have to leave the house until 0820, delivery from Amazon arrived before I departed.  Large box addressed to me.  Strange, what's in here I thought as it is far too big to be the crowbar I ordered.  It was.  The size of the cardboard box was ridiculous, then paper packing, then bubble wrap, then a plastic sleeve, all  for a crowbar?  There is no wonder our blue recycle wheely bin gets full proper quick.  What a waste of resources / overkill not to mention the amount having to be recycled.

Griff

 

 

Unfortunately the packaging outweighs the people who would send it back if the paint was scratched. Also does anyone else think the Amazon emblem looks like the underside of something else!

[LondonRascal]

14 hours ago, SPEEDTRIPLE said:

I have NEVER EVER bought anything off of Amazon, and only ever bought 1 yes, that`s ONE thing from e-bay. I like to go to shops, look at what i want and see if it`s up to standard i`m after. I also NEVER EVER use self service check outs, prefering to use staffed check outs. How would people feel if they sat in an aircraft and flying abroad knowing the interior was built by robots?. I would be bloody livid, because i`d be out of work, and probably homeless because i could`nt pay the motgage and the bills, so would be evicted and on the streets.

Please everybody, before you buy from the likes of Amazon and co, think how many people could be unemployed and living on insufficient benefits because people want something 10% cheaper.

I always buy from Amazon. Because of the choice and the value. I'm sorry but it is as simple as that..

I used to adore Argos, I got excited by their new catalogues and grew up using them as the go to cheap place for anything. Yet now, I have no idea how Argos still is going, even with Salisbury now owning them and having small stores in larger Sainsbury'.

I have been to three of these in store concessions, two in London one in Norwich and they were empty of any customers. Today I had to go to a 'proper' Argos in Norwich itself, it felt like a soulless shed. I still had to use a pencil and a bit of paper to put down my item number, despite there being a terminal at the table with the laminated book of dreams - I could only check stock or reserve. Over to the self service terminal, tap in the code, throw paper in pin below it - it served all of 20 feet and I guess I could have save it and time if used some memory capacity. Paid and got receipt stood around for a bit and then my order was handed over, receipt stamped and that was that. It feels like they are trying to mix old and new and I wish they would embrace all new or keep it all old fashion but the two just don't work.

It was a Remington shaver I wanted, £24.99. It is on Amazon, for £21.99. I could have it delivered for nothing to a Post Office, Amazon Locker or home - and save £3.00.  Pretty much anything form anywhere you can replicate that, new telly in John Lewis, £54.00 less on Amazon. Teak and Brass interior light fitting, Norfolk Marine £45.00 each, Amazon £19.99 and so it goes on. If you wish to go to a shop and pay over the odds for the precise same thing be my guest.

Yes, self service check outs cost jobs, but I choose them over the manned till because save for the 'unexpected item in bagging area' that might crop up, its fast and easy and no small talk is needed. Increasingly we are seeing pay by App in pubs - the Whetherspoon App has stopped me and countless others going to the bar! - we just sit down, order and wait. It is great.

Self pay petrol pumps - why can't they all be like this!  Even McDonald's is doing  all it can to remove people from interacting with staff through their new self order terminals, and 'Order & Collect App' based model. They also do home delivery now through Uber Eats. A disruptive ride hailing company who branched into home food delivery - and yet once you've tried it, it hard not to bash it.

It is not so much that we are being forced to do this, it is that so many of use have chosen to do this and now it is fast becoming the new norm. The reality of course is, that a large amount of people out there are not happy with it, and do not like to use it - I read recently at currently levels and if we do not do something it about it, cash will stop being used. It is harder for smaller shops to get their takings to banks because so few use them and so many are closing. But I have not personally needed to actually go to a bank for, well goodness ages it was only a refund processed as a cheque that got me into one and even then I used the self service pay in machine.

As for those who want something cheaper that is life, if it costs others jobs it won't stop people thinking 'oh wait a moment' in all honesty, neither will I. It is not just about the cost saving, its the ease to be on the go and order through their App and the next day it has arrived, increasingly you are finding many products now available for same day delivery too. There is no way traditional shops can compete and this is why so many are in such trouble it is a spiral that begun and has built such momentum I cannot see it stopping.