How does amazon stay in business?!

[Dirtman]

I buy alot of parts on amazon since they are usually 40% or more cheaper than the parts store and about 200% cheaper than the dealer.

Yesterday I ordered new KYB shocks, moog sway bar links, and motorcraft o2 sensors. Great deal on everything but then I look at the shipping info...

Instead of one big box I'm getting one shock in one package, one shock in another, one end link with one o2 sensor in another box, and the rest in a a fourth box. So they have been to my house 3 times today and still waiting for them to come back again... wtf?! And it's free shipping! How!!!! Why???? How did they make any money on this?

And this isn't unusual at all, almost all my orders come like this.

 

[zake]

I've always wondered this.. at least since they started prime.. I order more than my share from amazon to get back my monthly fee on free shipping. plus they have all of the movies, shows, and music for you to stream.. I think it's just one of those mysteries that we'll never be able to answer.

 

[Ranger850]

shipping is pretty cut throat, as a business. Amozon has wharehouses all over and probably get deals from the shipping companies and USPS, by sheer volume, they make enough to cover the cost of shipping. Sam Walton mastered this approach.

 

[Ozwynn]

Working in the Parcel Delivery Industry.... Amazon pays a flat monthly fee for their shipping at least through FedEx Ground.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

I ordered a fuel tank, sender/pump and straps thru amazon for 175 bucks.

Autovalue wanted 325.

 

[Dirtman]

Around here amazon does not use fedex or ups. Everything is delivered by actual amazon weirdos. They have a warehouse 5 miles from my house, but when things get shipped they leave that warehouse to go to one 40 miles away then get delivered. Absolutely baffling.

 

[Ranger850]

Working in the Parcel Delivery Industry.... Amazon pays a flat monthly fee for their shipping at least through FedEx Ground.

i work in a mailroom for the state child support program, we get a deal with USPS because of the volume of paper mail that we do.

 

[Ozwynn]

I ordered a fuel tank, sender/pump and straps thru amazon for 175 bucks.

Autovalue wanted 325.

Dude, I ordered 2 of those spectre fuel pumps for my F150.... one lasted 3 days and the other died last night after 2 months. Apparently the spectre pumps have a 50% failure rate in the first year. Good luck. I just ordered Denzo pumps.

 

[Dirtman]

Amazon sells alot of garbage but if you weed through all that crap they also sell motorcraft and other high quality brands that are still insanely cheap. My o2 sensors were 30 a peice, they are 70 a peice for the same motorcraft sensors at advance.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Dude, I ordered 2 of those spectre fuel pumps for my F150.... one lasted 3 days and the other died last night after 2 months. Apparently the spectre pumps have a 50% failure rate in the first year. Good luck. I just ordered Denzo pumps.

Shit. Its the intank one to. Ill keep my fingers crossed.

 

[Shran]

I've had literally every brand of pump in my tank including junkyard Ford pumps. They all fail, mostly within a year.

Ironically, the most reliable one I've had cost me $16 and came with a sending unit...was on clearance on RockAuto. Going on 4 years and 30k without even a hiccup.

 

[91stranger]

Have you ever talked to truck drivers for amazon? They get sent random places and pick up random things so that things get to you house within 2 days. Seems very sketchy and easy to get a pallet dropped on a box. We see a full size semi on a weekly basis and every so often they have one little box from amazon that they have to drop off to another retailer for another truck to pick up.

 

[GT350HR]

IIRC the parts are preboxed in Amazon boxes . Extreme automated lines "pull" them via bar codes and label them for shipping all without human contact . IF they were boxed into one box , a "person" more time would be involved , a bigger box , more packing material and probably a higher ( to them I know they "eat" shipping) shipping cost because of package size. It is an amazing operation.

 

[Dirtman]

Around here they are so desperate for drivers they were offering something like a 10k just to quit your old job.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Around here they are so desperate for drivers they were offering something like a 10k just to quit your old job.

Around here they just use the mail which is handy. When you finally get the email it shipped it is a good warning it will be showing up in a day or two.