Amazon Is Testing Its Own Delivery Service to Rival FedEx and UPS

Megalith

Megalith

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Amazon is experimenting with a new delivery service intended to make more products available for free two-day delivery and relieve overcrowding in its warehouses, which will push the online retailer deeper into functions handled by longtime partners United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp: the service, dubbed “Seller Flex,” began two years ago in India, and Amazon has been slowly marketing it to US merchants in preparation for a national expansion.

Amazon will oversee pickup of packages from warehouses of third-party merchants selling goods on Amazon.com and their delivery to customers’ homes, the people said -- work that is now often handled by UPS and FedEx. Amazon could still use these couriers for delivery, but the company will decide how a package is sent instead of leaving it up to the seller. Handling more deliveries itself would give Amazon greater flexibility and control over the last mile to shoppers’ doorsteps, let it save money through volume discounts, and help avoid congestion in its own warehouses by keeping merchandise in the outside sellers’ own facilities.
 
The UPS and FedEX are surely terrified at the prospect of Amazon going it alone with their shipping, which seems to be the direction they're working toward.
 
I don't really mind this and I see it now. At my work (restaurant) I've been seeing more and more Amazon logo'ed delivery people.

Only REAL issue I have with this is their reliability and FUCKS these people give. For one their tracking SUCKS. Needs major improvements other than "it's on it's way!". Secondly, my apartment has a locked main entrance and Amazon people have no access sometimes so I straight won't get my shit. USPS, UPS, FedEX...they all have keys and get in no issue but they're also the same people most of the time. Amazon's aren't so I don't see how this could change, really.

Also, when they do get in they sometimes will just leave the packages in the MAIL ROOM! Not in a lock box, not where only USPS can access it, but seriously just out in the open for anyone to come up and just take it. I've had a couple packages go missing because the person refused to drop it off in from my apartment door. I also have Amazon Drop Boxes near me so if it's super important I'll have the item shipped there.

So yeah, ups and downs...I understand Amazon wanting their own shipping but they need to do it right.
 
They already rival UPS/Fedex with their own Prime delivery drivers, this article pretty much just highlights their want or need of not having to store the goods they sell. Amazon will always try to use their own drivers in big metro areas, but they dont have the resources to get goods across the country as fast as the big shippers can in 2 days or get things quickly to rural customers.
 
I thought this was the idea anyway with their drone service experimentation?
 
How is this news?
Amazon has been doing a lot of it's own shipping for a while, they have their own end to end for it and several planes if I recall correctly. I've got a package today that is coming all by Amazon, granted it's probably coming from the warehouse not that far from me, but I have had packages from across the country come via just them for a few years now.
 
Amazon's current delivery service, Amazon Logistics, is just plain horrible. I literally just closed my Amazon account because there's no way to opt out of Amazon Logistics. I'd been a customer since 2009 with over $100,000 in purchases but upwards of 70% of the recent deliveries (or attempts) have been via Amazon Logistics. I've had problems with almost every single one of them, including:

  • Frequently incomplete tracking information.
  • Packages delivered to the wrong address.
  • Packages marked as delivered... that were not actually delivered for another day or two.
  • Packages arriving at the local delivery facility and then sitting there for days past the scheduled delivery date.
  • Packages delivered to an apartment leasing office instead of to the actual apartment door. The packages were marked as "Delivered" with no note that they were left at the leasing office... The girls at the leasing office said that a number of the Amazon drivers never even bother trying the apartments, they go straight to the office and dump all the packages there, telling the girls that none of the residents are home to accept the packages when they often are.
  • Very unprofessional delivery personnel. One time, after hearing the doorbell ring, I noticed a creepy looking dude in a ratty t-shirt and cutoff jeans peering thru one of the front windows with his hands tented over his eyes to block the glare. It was one of the random Amazon Logistics drivers with a package.
  • Packages thrown from the delivery vehicle (usually the driver's personal car) to the middle of the driveway.
  • When I was in an apartment, one of the drivers tried throwing a package from the ground level up to my doorway on the 2nd floor. His first toss his the railing (with a loud GONG!!) and fell to the ground. The package hit the door hard with his second toss.
  • Packages left outside a business door without even ringing the bell or knocking on the door. This is in an area where people drive around looking for packages left outside like this so that they can steal them.
  • Packages marked as "Left in Mail room" when delivered to a house. In each case, those packages were actually left in the mailbox. At first blush, that may not seem too bad... but it's actually illegal.
Amazon's not getting any more business from me until they fix this crap.
 
Good...fuck UPS and FedEx. Since the oil price bubble hit in 2008, they raised their rates as well as instituted a separate "fuel surcharge" to offset he higher gas and diesel prices, only to not drop their rates after the oil price bubble popped. Their rates today are still around 80% higher than what they were in 2007 just before the OPEC monopoly greed machine went full dickhead. Glad they are likely going to get some significant competition in their business segment.
 
I'm not sure why they would want more egg on their face. If you buy something from Amazon, but then USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc take their sweet time bringing it to you, then your rage will likely be directed at USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc while thinking that Amazon did their job correctly. If Amazon is responsible for shipping all the way to your door, then they also get 100% of the blame if it is late, etc. Do they really want this?

I know most of my delivery drivers by name and even give them tips during the holidays sometimes. They always give me great service. Last time Amazon used a carrier aside from USPS/UPS/Fedex, the package got left on the side of the road very far from my house and even got rained on.
 
DejaWiz said:
Good...fuck UPS and FedEx. Since the oil price bubble hit in 2008, they raised their rates as well as instituted a separate "fuel surcharge" to offset he higher gas and diesel prices, only to not drop their rates after the oil price bubble popped. Their rates today are still around 80% higher than what they were in 2007 just before the OPEC monopoly greed machine went full dickhead. Glad they are likely going to get some significant competition in their business segment.
Click to expand...
No one dropped the prices or surcharges... No one, not food, metal, cement, pizza no one.. its jacked.. free market and all pfft.
 
Is this something they want to do? They have planes already for lots of shipping, UPS/USPS/FedEx were doing lots of last mile stuff, but terminal to terminal was lots of Amazon already. Amazon said before it didn't want to do last mile because of cost involved.
 
Uvaman2 said:
No one dropped the prices or surcharges... No one, not food, metal, cement, pizza no one.. its jacked.. free market and all pfft.
Click to expand...

I'm all for the free market, because it allows me to say "fuck UPS and FedEx" by voting with my wallet and going with other (and much cheaper) carriers when I can.
 
DejaWiz said:
Good...fuck UPS and FedEx. Since the oil price bubble hit in 2008, they raised their rates as well as instituted a separate "fuel surcharge" to offset he higher gas and diesel prices, only to not drop their rates after the oil price bubble popped. Their rates today are still around 80% higher than what they were in 2007 just before the OPEC monopoly greed machine went full dickhead. Glad they are likely going to get some significant competition in their business segment.
Click to expand...

You're just plain silly. You do understand that FEDEX and UPS people make decent money. You sound like you deserve free delivery for life..
 
USPS delivers most of our packages. Our USPS guy is good and friendly - I've not had any problems. I know others have so I guess I should consider myself lucky.
If Amazon pulls deliver from the publicly traded companies, their revenues will shrink. Watch the stocks.
 
Iching said:
You're just plain silly. You do understand that FEDEX and UPS people make decent money. You sound like you deserve free delivery for life..
Click to expand...

You've completely missed my point and seem to have resorted to Ad Hominem territory (see my other post about me choosing alternate carriers that are cheaper, as I have no problem PAYING for services I feel are priced in a fair manner). I had a friend in high school back in the early 90s whose dad was retired Air Force and drove truck for UPS...they had money falling out of their asses (he bought a brand new loaded Ford F-350 4x4 460ci, had a boat, and a timeshare cabin in the Ozarks). Of course, this was long before the oil price bubble and resultant rate hikes, so if they could afford to pay their workers very well back then...
 
As time marches on, we're getting closer and closer to the mythical delivery service called FED UP.
 
They use Canada Post out here. Because it's fast and they don't run over your fucking packages with a truck.
 
DejaWiz said:
Since the oil price bubble hit in 2008, they raised their rates as well as instituted a separate "fuel surcharge" to offset he higher gas and diesel prices, only to not drop their rates after the oil price bubble popped.
Click to expand...

hmmm, reminds me of what is happening with GPU card prices after the mining craze ended months ago ...
 
twonunpackmule said:
Anything will be better than USPS.
Click to expand...
^ THIS. I buy a lot from Amazon, with 3-4 deliveries a week and over $1000 a month. I'm ready to leave and buy elsewhere with the incredibly poor USPS service in my area. I blame Amazon, not the crappy USPS (nothing like having to go to the post office and deal with the lazy jerk offs there that take an hour to find a huge package) -- things were great with UPS/FedEx.
 
don't they already have their own delivery service??...here in NYC I get a lot of deliveries which show Amazon as the shipping provider...usually some messenger service
 
Didn't read the article, but i thought they'd been doing that for months. I've gotten packages delivered by Amazon (and I assume there wasn't a UPS/Fedex/USPS leg in the middle).
 
deth said:
Amazon's current delivery service, Amazon Logistics, is just plain horrible. I literally just closed my Amazon account because there's no way to opt out of Amazon Logistics. I'd been a customer since 2009 with over $100,000 in purchases but upwards of 70% of the recent deliveries (or attempts) have been via Amazon Logistics. I've had problems with almost every single one of them, including:

  • Frequently incomplete tracking information.
  • Packages delivered to the wrong address.
  • Packages marked as delivered... that were not actually delivered for another day or two.
  • Packages arriving at the local delivery facility and then sitting there for days past the scheduled delivery date.
  • Packages delivered to an apartment leasing office instead of to the actual apartment door. The packages were marked as "Delivered" with no note that they were left at the leasing office... The girls at the leasing office said that a number of the Amazon drivers never even bother trying the apartments, they go straight to the office and dump all the packages there, telling the girls that none of the residents are home to accept the packages when they often are.
  • Very unprofessional delivery personnel. One time, after hearing the doorbell ring, I noticed a creepy looking dude in a ratty t-shirt and cutoff jeans peering thru one of the front windows with his hands tented over his eyes to block the glare. It was one of the random Amazon Logistics drivers with a package.
  • Packages thrown from the delivery vehicle (usually the driver's personal car) to the middle of the driveway.
  • When I was in an apartment, one of the drivers tried throwing a package from the ground level up to my doorway on the 2nd floor. His first toss his the railing (with a loud GONG!!) and fell to the ground. The package hit the door hard with his second toss.
  • Packages left outside a business door without even ringing the bell or knocking on the door. This is in an area where people drive around looking for packages left outside like this so that they can steal them.
  • Packages marked as "Left in Mail room" when delivered to a house. In each case, those packages were actually left in the mailbox. At first blush, that may not seem too bad... but it's actually illegal.
Amazon's not getting any more business from me until they fix this crap.
Click to expand...

I had a few Amazon packages from their odd delivery service to. Tracking was slow and awkward. Amazon is slow to ship anyways, and I seldom find good deals there. Newegg + ebay discounts are almost always cheaper and quicker.
 
I've experienced this service 4 times. 3 times were great, 1 didn't show up at all. Had to call up Amazon, and it turned into a 30 minute phone call. Annoying.
 
Amazon delivery can be hit or miss. Some of them are great and ring my doorbell. Other times they just toss the package near the front door and don't bother knocking/ringing the doorbell even though there's cars out front.

With that being said, both FedEx and UPS suck when it comes to making claims against package damage. They make it so difficult to make any sort of claim. I haven't had to make a claim with Amazon yet, but their customer service is generally good.

More competition is more better!
 
Cyphorz said:
Amazon delivery can be hit or miss. Some of them are great and ring my doorbell. Other times they just toss the package near the front door and don't bother knocking/ringing the doorbell even though there's cars out front.

With that being said, both FedEx and UPS suck when it comes to making claims against package damage. They make it so difficult to make any sort of claim. I haven't had to make a claim with Amazon yet, but their customer service is generally good.

More competition is more better!
Click to expand...
In fairness, Fedex and UPS are notorious for doing the same thing. I can't count the number of times I've walked out the door to find a package sitting there. i'm not worried about theft, but when I'm waiting for a package, it'd be nice if htey at least try to see if I"m home.
 
Anything AMZL delivers has a 50/50 chance of actually being delivered in my experience. But they are still better than OnTrac, which doesn't even deliver (but marks it all 'delivered' anyway). As much as I'd like some competition for UPS/FedEx, AMZL's performance is definitely bottom-barrel. When it started, AMZL was the best, now their drivers just seem to deliver things simply anywhere to clear their vans as fast as possible.
 
All for this. The fedex drivers near me knock, stick a tag on the door and run away. I chased one in my car and made him give me my package. I report them often.

Ups is another story, they claim they attempted with no door tag. I call their regional manager and they have to come allllllllll the way back to me at night. Also they tend to put my stuff in the lawn instead of near my large undated covered porch with a package drop area.
 
I would happily order on prime, ship it to a nearby locker and pick it up after work and not have to race to the door or wait for ever to get customer service on the phone.
 
I'm in the UK, so it may be different elsewhere, but Amazon Logistics is just a complete lottery, entirely dependent on the individual driver. Some are great, some are fucking dreadful. I've had stuff literally thrown over my fence into my garden, or left sitting on the doorstep. I've also had stuff delivered stupidly late at night.

If I order anything valuable from Amazon then I get it delivered to the nearest Amazon Locker, which is only ten minutes away. But there's a fairly restrictive size limit on the Lockers, which is a pain in the arse.
 
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