Re:Why Amazon is eating the world
by bobthepanda on Monday May 15, 2017 @01:15PM
(#14343270)
I mean, there are plenty of products that you can get at both Amazon and Walmart today, and you could get those at Walmart instantly. Prime just allows you to get that product from Amazon in two days, without worrying about the cost of extra shipping, the hassle of actually getting to a Walmart (traffic, parking, weather, etc.), having to wait for someone to go get it, etc. Amazon just pushes all those unpleasant 'wait' factors to the experience of the deliverer, not the receiver.
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But "the cost of extra shipping" has to be offset against the annual Prime fee, and all the perks you list apply just as much to vanilla (non-Prime) Amazon.
In recent years I've found myself swinging back towards buying things in brick-and-mortar shops, mostly because the delivery experience can be so horrible. Maybe things are better in the US, but in the UK getting things delivered is non-trivial when you work during the day, and even if you're at home, it's very common for UK postmen to not bother even bringing your parcel with them; they just leave a "while you were out" card forcing you to arrange redelivery. Delivery woes of various kinds have been a staple of /r/britishproblems since the start.
I like to buy big/heavy items from Walmart.com. Buying a full weight set from Amazon would not have free shipping. I can have the heavy stuff sent to any Walmart store for free and go pick it up. And yes, Walmart.com has a huge amount of stuff that isn't sold in their stores.