http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/01/amazon-prime-air-delivery-drones_n_4369685.html?ref=topbar (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/01/amazon-prime-air-delivery-drones_n_4369685.html?ref=topbar)
Now I'm really sad that distribution center isn't coming to Jacksonville
Its not? I thought it was still a go?
I still don't see how this will work well. What if the blades hit a child or what if it mistakenly lands in the middle of a busy road causing an accident. Just seems like a lot of liability here. It does completely bypass shipping charges through normal carriers, however.
Thieves will shoot them down for the booty.
Have a drone deliver your books & watch unemployment rise!! Fantastic! :o
How would that make unemployment rise? I guess you could say Amazon in general makes unemployment rise some, but they stepped in and filled a need. I would say we all have used their service probably and people continue to use it at a record pace. Being able to order and get something the same day could be a game changer.
I think the delivery issue is simple enough. If you're ordering from the Amazon app on a phone/tablet it just grabs the GPS coordinates if you allow it.
Quote from: ben says on December 02, 2013, 08:01:27 AM
Have a drone deliver your books & watch unemployment rise!! Fantastic! :o
And people liked to poke fun when I kept saying the majority of traditional retail's days were numbered. This is going to be the final nail in that coffin.
Grab some popcorn, folks.
Isn't there some federal law that prohibits the use of drones? I seem to remember a story not long ago about how law enforcement wanted to use them and were informed no.
I mean, sure it's in the future, but I think it's more publicity hype than immediate reality ... didn't everyone in 1950 guarantee we'd be flying cars by now?
Quote from: JayBird on December 02, 2013, 10:32:16 AM
Isn't there some federal law that prohibits the use of drones? I seem to remember a story not long ago about how law enforcement wanted to use them and were informed no.
I mean, sure it's in the future, but I think it's more publicity hype than immediate reality ... didn't everyone in 1950 guarantee we'd be flying cars by now?
The Feds will allow your drones if you allow them to mount an FBI camera and microphone on them. ( Ok, not a fact. Just a prediction.)
(http://i.imgur.com/2hpcbBK.jpg)
If Amazon can pull this off in a few years, it will almost ensure that Jacksonville will get a "coveted" distribution center. Not likely that they would be flying 5,000 drones a day all the way from Tampa to Jax to make 5 pound deliveries.
Did anyone watch the 60 Minutes piece? The technology they use to sort items and maximize storage space in the distribution centers is impressive. Makes me think they have the capability to pull drones and other unique delivery methods off. The distribution center jobs don't look like they require any skill or knowledge...and according to this link pay $11.71 an hour. http://www.glassdoor.com/Hourly-Pay/Amazon-com-Warehouse-Associate-Hourly-Pay-E6036_D_KO11,30.htm
Bezos also pretty much admitted that Amazon is intentionally reducing their profit margins as part of a long term strategy. He says its to build customer loyalty, but Rose sort of called him out that its more of a strategy to completely own the market.
Amazon is to the 21st century what Sears was to the 20th.
Taking advantage of new markets and the growth of railroads for distribution across the country, Sears and their catalog became a retail sales force and caused a disruption in the dry goods business which was at the time a very local affair.
Amazon takes advantage of Internet and GPS technologies (along with some analytics) to create disruption in the post Sears retail world.
Before long, someone will emulate or exceed Amazon in this due to another distribution breakthrough (Bezos admitted as such on 60 Minutes last night).
A human or a truck can still deliver in a thunderstorm, a snowstorm or in high winds. Many of these primitive drones cannot. So I wouldn't paint the world Black just yet.
The FAA is still working on a ruling on domestic drone use.
http://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/uas/uas_faq/
Until they finish their work and have public hearings on UAS rules, they will remain experimental.
Quote from: CityLife on December 02, 2013, 12:21:42 PMBezos also pretty much admitted that Amazon is intentionally reducing their profit margins as part of a long term strategy. He says its to build customer loyalty, but Rose sort of called him out that its more of a strategy to completely own the market.
One reason I've hesitated to invest in the stock. I predict Amazon will run into antitrust problems before they are able to realize the profits baked into the current stock price. Then again, AMZN is up 58% since May, so what do I know?
^What is interesting is that the stock is down today after opening up about 1 percent. My guess is a lot of average joes had pre market orders in (after watching the piece) which drove it up early and now some institutional investors and fund managers are dumping based on skepticism.
I've seen stock prices get driven up pretty well by 60 Minutes profiles, so its interesting that this is actually down now.
PR stunt right before 'Cyber Monday'?
Not trying to sound negative ( I am ignorant of Amazon's business performance), but have they actually ever turned a profit?
All I ever hear about are Amazon's new ventures and how they intend to reduce margins, or take a loss on what they sell to build more loyalty.
Quote from: chipwich on December 02, 2013, 02:21:48 PM
Not trying to sound negative ( I am ignorant of Amazon's business performance), but have they actually ever turned a profit?
All I ever hear about are Amazon's new ventures and how they intend to reduce margins, or take a loss on what they sell to build more loyalty.
Having next to no margin doesn't mean no margin. Just look at their Kindle tablets. They sell the tablets at cost because you have millions buying e-books from Amazon where you have plenty of margin.
Quote from: Lunican on December 02, 2013, 01:52:03 PM
PR stunt right before 'Cyber Monday'?
Yeah, pretty much. Seems like it worked though, so good on their marketing team.
Drones won't happen in his timeframe. Here's the real deal:
1) The drones require a 10-mile radius, which is out of reach of nearly all of Amazon's customers from their distribution centers on the outskirts of major metros (20-30 miles out in many cases).
2) FAA won't give clearance
3) Like others have said, it's a PR grand slam for Cyber Monday
Here's what Amazon is ACTUALLY doing:
1) Building an INSANE distribution network (58 million sf currently, trying to get that to 90 million sf by 2016 - the drone timeframe per se, each one about the size of 20 football fields or greater)
2) Using this distribution network, insiders/analysts believe that Amazon will attempt to directly compete with FedEx and UPS
3) Streaming television (I already use...but they have serious competition here with Sony Television [I also have], Netflix, Hulu, and others)
4) Third-party data centers on the cloud (AWS - Amazon Web Services)
Anyway, the drones are yet another example of the tech elite out here on the west coast ushering in a new world for us all. This will be a world where some get left behind, and others continue to be a part of a certain "class" of "haves". Watch out - big tech and Washington are on the same side now. There [are already] could be civil liberties all but erased in the near future and fewer and fewer jobs available to middle class (i.e. there will still likely be tons of lower class jobs available, though not enough for the population as more and more middle class fall back into lower class rungs of society, and of course there will always be jobs for the elite...).
^Amazon is also trying to get in the grocery delivery business. Already located in Seattle and LA.
http://fresh.amazon.com/welcome;jsessionid=745A03742BB50959CD6EDEC7A1881E00