Amazon Reveals It Wants To Deploy Delivery Drones.

[FSBA]

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

[Dapperdan]

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.

[spuwho]

Thieves will shoot them down for the booty.

[ben says]

Have a drone deliver your books & watch unemployment rise!! Fantastic! 

[Dapperdan]

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.

[FSBA]

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.

[peestandingup]

Have a drone deliver your books & watch unemployment rise!! Fantastic! 

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.

[JayBird]

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?

[urbanlibertarian]

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.)

[RiversideLoki]

[CityLife]

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.

[spuwho]

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.

[spuwho]

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.

[Traveller]

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.

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?

[CityLife]

^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.