I suppose I'm just too content

[LCHIEN]

I find Amazon to have the breadth of selection, adequate information to make the pruchase, reasonable prices - often but not always lowest, and the ease of delivery to the door beats fighting traffic.

[jussi]

When comparing prices I find the products sold by Amazon to often be one of the least expensive. So much so, that I often go to them first to see if a product on sale or a used product on craigslist is a good buy. Just make sure it's actually sold by Amazon and not a third party vendor. I check other places as well, but more often than not, Amazon has one (if not the) best price.

[lrr]

I shop Amazon a lot. You do have to watch pricing, but it typically is third party selling where I see higher prices (or a decent price and crazy shipping charges).. I shop for the convenience, price, free shipping, and no sales tax.

And sometimes I shop Amazon because I cannot find what I want locally. I went to both Home Depot and Lowe's looking for a paper towel dispenser. No longer carried in the store. Was told to check their website! If I am going to check a website, it is not going to be the website for the big box store. I'll go to Amazon and buy several items on my want list.

By the way, Amazon has lots of paper towel dispensers -- from cheap ones to designer ones. I like having choices.

[vaking]

It's not that they are complicated or anything, it's just that it replaces someone's job. I grew up in a time when those kinds of jobs were "starters"; a good place to learn the ropes of working, earn a work history of sorts.


I won't support doing away with people by replacing them with a self-serve robot.

CWS

Chris,
Let me offer another point of view at these things.
About a hundred years ago the first excavator was created. Before that all ditch digging was manual. Since that time a lot of things got automated and a lot of jobs were outsourced to machines. What effects did it have on our society?
Huge effects. A hundred years ago typical work week lasted 60 hours - that is 6 days a week, 10 hours a day. Now typical work week is 35-40 hours. Hundred years ago people had neither money nor time for anything but work. Today we have a lot more time and some money to spend so there is now something called "Entertainment industry". Let's look at it closer:
It begins with obvious Hollywood and Broadway - traditional providers of entertainment content. Add Disney with its amusement parks. Travel agents make a living selling cruise lines and other vacation packages - that is all also a part of entertainment. Nintendo, Xbox - all sorts of games are more recent additions to entertainment. We subscribe to cable TV and buy large screens for our homes - all that is for our entertainment. All of these jobs did not exist a hundred years ago and were not needed. The same process that put out of work ditch diggers created a lot of new jobs.
I would not worry about jobs like store clerks and cashiers - majority of work involving mundane manual labor had already been automated - there isn't much left to do in this field. Computers and robots had come a long way - we are looking at a new frontier now. Computers can now play chess better than the world champion. What else can computers do better than people?
When you come to see a doctor - you tell him your symptoms and he gives you a prescription. But before giving you prescription - doctor will type the information into a computer and computer will verify that the new prescription does not have any interactions with other medications you are already taking. In other words - doctor uses computer to verify his actions. In effect big part of doctors work is being an interactive database - computers are very good at it. In the near future I expect number of doctors to shrink a lot.
Law schools in America keep producing a lot of lawyers but I already hear getting a job as lawyer is getting harder - people with law degrees are beginning to accept paralegal jobs. Sounds like another profession is about to be hit hard.
Microsoft Office has a feature called "Office assistant" - it is that annoying paper clip that pops on your screen when you click help. I am willing to bet that the next generation of paper clip will put out of work a lot of office secretaries. Microsoft Office is now smart enough to recognize regular operations you do with your computer and do most of it for you.
I am sure the next round of computer automations will again have profound effect on our society. What will be results? May be we are looking at 20 hour work week instead of 40. May be we are looking at creation of a whole new array of industries and jobs. I am not sure yet what will happen, but something will. If not - we will have unemployment in the range of 40%-70% in the next 20 years.

[Cochese]

You know, I don't understand the attraction of 'Amazon'. No, I don't use it at all, but on occasion I do go and check out their prices. While I know there are bargains to be had on used stuff, when it comes to New, I just don't get it... Amazon is most always higher priced than local or even the mail-order originator.

For example, last year we went to buy a rather large Lego set for my neice's little guy. I couldn't find it locally, but did leave our name and number with the local "Toys-R-Us", just in case. My son said to buy it on Amazon, and I looked it up and it was over $50 more! Thankfully, Toys-R-Us called a couple of days later as they received new stock.

Just a month ago, I went on Amazon to look at a Grizzly wet grinder, which they wanted almost $300 for... yet Grizzly sells it for $200, and their anniversary addition was $259.

HOW or Why does Amazon sell the same thing for appreciatively more money, and why would anyone buy stuff like that from them?

Regarding the "self-service" at Home Depot, I do understand why many people like them, but that still doesn't excuse the fact that it cost jobs... AND they certainly don't just turn those jobs back into the store for providing better service in other areas. Service at Home Depot is getting less and less.

Happy New Year everyone

CWS

Many different things going on with Amazon.

First, they use dynamic pricing. That means the price will change hour to hour, day to day depending on a convoluted formula.

Second, there are Amazon prices, Third party prices shipped by Amazon, and Third party complete pricing and I'm sure a few more. Have to look on who is actually selling it.

There are items that Amazon sells that don't make sense price-wise. However in my many years of being a Prime member I can tell you that it is a minority by a mile. Most purchases I make are through Amazon, and it's not because I want to pay a higher price.

I can honestly state I've saved well over a couple thousand dollars by buying through Amazon. Easily, with some of the larger purchases I've made like the planer and a mattress.

[cwsmith]

You know, I don't understand the attraction of 'Amazon'. No, I don't use it at all, but on occasion I do go and check out their prices. While I know there are bargains to be had on used stuff, when it comes to New, I just don't get it... Amazon is most always higher priced than local or even the mail-order originator.

For example, last year we went to buy a rather large Lego set for my neice's little guy. I couldn't find it locally, but did leave our name and number with the local "Toys-R-Us", just in case. My son said to buy it on Amazon, and I looked it up and it was over $50 more! Thankfully, Toys-R-Us called a couple of days later as they received new stock.

Just a month ago, I went on Amazon to look at a Grizzly wet grinder, which they wanted almost $300 for... yet Grizzly sells it for $200, and their anniversary addition was $259.

HOW or Why does Amazon sell the same thing for appreciatively more money, and why would anyone buy stuff like that from them?

Regarding the "self-service" at Home Depot, I do understand why many people like them, but that still doesn't excuse the fact that it cost jobs... AND they certainly don't just turn those jobs back into the store for providing better service in other areas. Service at Home Depot is getting less and less.

Happy New Year everyone

CWS

[LCHIEN]

I will not use the self service check out under any conditions. The big box stores have laid off a lot of full time workers and have dumped their responsabilities on their suppliers. Now we have a store full of shelf stockers that do not know anything about the store except their racks.
capncarl

So these are things Amazon has done, too. The box stores are just trying to compete?

Or maybe we use Amazon because the don't provide any real services anymore?

Do you use Amazon at all? There's no full service there - all self service. Just stockers and shipping-packers

[capncarl]

I will not use the self service check out under any conditions. The big box stores have laid off a lot of full time workers and have dumped their responsabilities on their suppliers. Now we have a store full of shelf stockers that do not know anything about the store except their racks.
capncarl

[Cochese]

I know a lot of folks like the "robot" self-serve checkouts. For me, not so much... er, actually NOT at all.

It's not that they are complicated or anything, it's just that it replaces someone's job. I grew up in a time when those kinds of jobs were "starters"; a good place to learn the ropes of working, earn a work history of sorts.

(Actually, Thomas J. Watson [IBM's creator] started out as a part-time clerk in the little hardware store in Painted Post... I wonder what would have happened if that job wasn't available because of a self-serve machine?)

We used to do that (starter jobs) with pumping gas at the local station, or bagging groceries, etc. Too much of that has gone by the way side in my opinion. I like service, I like dealing with people and I rarely mind the wait as you can always strike up a conversation, even a short one, with someone new.

I won't support doing away with people by replacing them with a self-serve robot.

CWS

The more people they have at the front end, the less they have out on the floor. There is only so much money for payroll, no need to waste it on people to be bored in one place all day.

That's where I started too, and I don't wish that job on anyone.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

[LCHIEN]

Maybe he would have founded IBM five years sooner...
and its market value would be twice as much now.


one day soon, its almost possible today, the robot cashiers may be androids, carry on a casual conversation while checking you out and might pass the Turing test (can't tell a live person from an android).

They may even check you out and make a pass at you!

[greenacres2]

Snip...
(Actually, Thomas J. Watson [IBM's creator] started out as a part-time clerk in the little hardware store in Painted Post... I wonder what would have happened if that job wasn't available because of a self-serve machine?)
...Snip

CWS

Perhaps he would not have been able to pay for the education that led him to found one of the companies that made self-serve check-out possible?? Imagine the irony...

earl

[cwsmith]

I know a lot of folks like the "robot" self-serve checkouts. For me, not so much... er, actually NOT at all.

It's not that they are complicated or anything, it's just that it replaces someone's job. I grew up in a time when those kinds of jobs were "starters"; a good place to learn the ropes of working, earn a work history of sorts.

(Actually, Thomas J. Watson [IBM's creator] started out as a part-time clerk in the little hardware store in Painted Post... I wonder what would have happened if that job wasn't available because of a self-serve machine?)

We used to do that (starter jobs) with pumping gas at the local station, or bagging groceries, etc. Too much of that has gone by the way side in my opinion. I like service, I like dealing with people and I rarely mind the wait as you can always strike up a conversation, even a short one, with someone new.

I won't support doing away with people by replacing them with a self-serve robot.

CWS

[dbhost]

What I wanted to buy from Home Depot woodworking tools wise, they quit selling. I have gotten to be a HUGE fan of the Hitachi KM12VC, which of the box stores, Lowes carried, the items I really wanted from Home Depot?

Most notable, the Ryobi DP121L 12" drill press.

They did brign the Ridgid 6" jointer back, although in my current shop config, a floor model jointer is going to be tough to pull off... I think it is an online only item though...

Yeah, I can honestly say I no longer go to Home Depot to drool. Now it is Woodcraft, or Rockler...

[durango dude]

Local HD must have nailed their inventory for Christmas.

There's almost nothing left over from Black Friday ----- all the "special" crates are gone - and replaced by storage offerings (Rubbermaid, tool boxes, etc).

There's a couple of gun safes left over - and that's pretty much it.

Way I figure - some dude with a computer figured almost exactly what they'd sell --- and shipped it. So what did my store sell? Almost nothing of value to a woodworker! (that's not what sells).

[jussi]

I feel the same way as well. I think it's because when I first started woodworking I didn't really know anything so when I saw a tool in real life I would be like a kid in a candy store. I would go up to a ridgid router and read the description printed and be like oooh this thing has a soft start, 6 speeds, and comes with 2 bases. Well after a while you realize most modern routers all have those features and some have features the ridgid is lacking. Or you would see a buck brothers plane all nice and shiny and think it was a great plane for the price. Then you read reviews in mags or comments on forums about how it's not such a great deal and you will have to do alot of fiddling with it to work properly. Of course for me, drinking the green kool aid certainly didn't help. And neither did learning about the existence of companies like Lie Nielsen, Lee Valley, and Bridge city.

That and after some time you probably have equivalent tools of everything they have on the isles. And it's either better or you're content with what you have and have no need to upgrade.