More packages from Amazon will stay at Amazon!

[anonymous23456]

Amazon plans to tap thousands of U.S. small businesses, from bodegas to florists, to deliver its packages by the end of the year, Axios is first to report.

Driving the news: Amazon on Monday will start actively recruiting existing small businesses in 23 states including Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, South Dakota, and Washington.

• At least 20 dense cities across the country, including Boston, New York, Los Angeles and Seattle, will be targeted by the program.
• The company is interested in working with a wide range of businesses such as florists, coffee shops, clothing stores, among others. Amazon notes they don't need delivery experience to make the partnership work.

Why it matters: Dubbed Amazon Hub Delivery, this is the tech and logistics giant's latest attempt to expand its "last mile" network — the last stage in logistics where packages are ultimately delivered to customers — through external workforces.

How it works: Participating businesses deliver an average of 30 packages a day for seven days a week, excluding major holidays.

• Meanwhile, drivers from Amazon's Delivery Service Partner network drop off the packages to local businesses, which are required to have a secure area for storage.
• Amazon wouldn't state exactly how much it pays per package; but based on earnings of $27,000 a year, the rate would be about $2.50 a package.

What they’re saying: Beryl Tomay, vice president of Amazon Last Mile Delivery and Technology, tells Axios in an email interview that the new program will help "create opportunities for delivery partners interested in growing a business ... and supplementing their income.”

Flashback: Amazon's concept originated in India, with a model called “I Have Space” in 2015.

• Since then, the program has launched in Japan and Spain, and a U.S. pilot focused on rural parts of the country began toward the end of 2020.

The big picture: With Hub, Amazon wants businesses to see the opportunity for new streams of revenue. What they each end up making will likely vary based on geography and the number of businesses that have signed up.

• Amazon says it's looking to partner with 2,500 small business drivers by the end of 2023.

 

[anonymous23456]

Twice now I bought two separate things from Amazon for next day delivery at 10 buck per delivery.

 

[anonymous23456]

Interesting story out of Europe about this:

A friend of mine in Belgium runs a small gas station-cum-convenience store. He was approached by Amazon years ago - I'm talking maybe 6 or 7 years ago, possibly more - to be a drop point for Amazon packages.

He told me he tried it for 2 weeks, then gave up and told the Amazon rep in no uncertain terms what he thought of them over the phone.

The issue, he said, was that he was paid a miser for a high volume of really heavy packages that literally filled up his convenience store. Like big screen Tvs, furnitures and all kinds of oversize people can buy on Amazon.

The truck would come, dump a dozen such boxes, which he then had to drag inside the store and store in the middle of the aisles. Then he had to deal with angry customers who had waited for their delivery for too long, returns of the same size boxes but poorly patched up with tape and barely holding together, etc... for a few cents per package.

He said the whole deal was really rotten and utterly ridiculous, and that he had enough going on running a convenience store that's open 24/7 without the Amazon aggravation on top of it.

He does act as a drop point for other shippers like DPD, Mondial Relay and such, and apparently he's happy enough with them that he keeps doing it. He had hoped to draw more business with Amazon, but he sure didn't try it for long.

 

[I have NOT been lurking]

The IL ones won't make their destination

 

[Maggot87]

A local small grocery store just put in an amazon drop/lock box...shall see if they keep only small packages for them.

 

[DOK]

Twice now I bought two separate things from Amazon for next day delivery at 10 buck per delivery.

They don’t offer the next day delivery option anymore when I order, they used to.