Sunday delivery from Amazon

[MillCreek]

http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2024114127_amazonkentxml.html

I ordered a Victorinox multi-tool late Friday night on Amazon and Prime said that it would be coming on Sunday.  I thought at the time it was some sort of typo and it would show up on Monday or Tuesday.  I received a text message this morning saying that my package was on a delivery vehicle and would be delivered today. 

Serendipitously, there was an article in today's Seattle Times about this very service.  Three weeks ago, Amazon opened a 'sortation center' in south King County, and they have signed a contract with the USPS to do Amazon Prime Sunday package delivery for a big swatch of the Pacific NW.  This is supposed to be a win-win for Amazon and the USPS: it helps Amazon move toward their goal of next-day delivery, it reduces the burden on the USPS with the deluge of packages that came in over the weekend to be delivered on Monday, and it earns revenue for the USPS.

[Ben]

I've been getting Sunday deliveries for about a half year now. I too thought it was a mistake on my account page when I saw it the first time. I was actually surprised it was with USPS, because I figured their union would have nixed working on Sundays.

I have to say, I'm quite impressed with the USPS/Amazon partnership. Amazon has been using USPS for a lot of my home deliveries lately, and stuff always seems to show up as fast or faster than with the commercial carriers. It's a thousand times better than when they were using OnTrac to save money shipping stuff. I had about a 50% failure rate with shipments from them being late or delivered to a neighbor, especially around the holidays.

It looks like the USPS Sunday option is only available around the larger USPS hubs. I've never seen it happen for deliveries to my folks place, in fact the default is usually UPS to their address.

[Fly320s]

I saw an Amazon Delivery truck, not USPS, in San Francisco last month.  The side of the truck said they deliver groceries, too.

[HankB]

The last month or so, I've been seeing those white USPS delivery trucks on the road on Sunday in the Austin, TX area . . . wonder if these are Amazon related?

[onions!]

I wonder how much more the USPS pays everyone working Sundays.

I don't care for the idea of Sunday delivery.Probably because of how and where I was raised.

Sundays are for golf and football.For everyone.

YMMV.

[Boomhauer]

Amazon Prime is great, saves me a huge amount of money- I have the tools in hand within two days, and very reasonable next day shipping if I need it badly, vs. waiting a week for the overpriced tool trucks to come to our shop.

The fact they are implementing Sunday delivery is just icing on the cake.

[SADShooter]

I got text notice that a delivery was coming today. Then got notice delivery was unsuccessfully attempted and would repeat tomorrow. I'm certain no one showed up or knocked on my door. This is typical of my USPS Amazon deliveries. I'd pay Amazon more to avoid dealing with USPS.

[wmenorr67]

USPS had to do something to try and not to go under.

[TommyGunn]

Interestingly I also got a Amazon delivery today.  No ide who delivered it; my doorbell rang but by the time I got there there was only the box, no truck. 
  It was SUPPOSED to have been delivered yesterday -- by 8:00PM.   Hey, I probably shouldn't complain.

[Jamisjockey]

3 packages from Amazon yesterday ourselves. 

[TechMan]

I ordered an item from Amazon on 7/18 at 6:41 am and was suppose to get it on Sunday 7/20, but I got it on 7/19.  Got to love it.

[brimic]

I wonder how much more the USPS pays everyone working Sundays.

I don't care for the idea of Sunday delivery.Probably because of how and where I was raised.

Sundays are for golf and football.For everyone.

YMMV.

That.
I never need anything badly enough that I need it Sunday.

[KD5NRH]

I never need anything badly enough that I need it Sunday.

Toilet paper?

[MillCreek]

I wonder how much more the USPS pays everyone working Sundays.

I don't care for the idea of Sunday delivery.Probably because of how and where I was raised.

Sundays are for golf and football.For everyone.

YMMV.

This is what I said when I first started working in healthcare at age 16 at the Catholic hospital, but the nuns told me Jesus wanted me to work on Sunday!

[onions!]

This is what I said when I first started working in healthcare at age 16 at the Catholic hospital, but the nuns told me Jesus wanted me to work on Sunday!

Nuns are all kinds of fiendish wrapped up in a pleasant penguin package.
I'd of done what they told me to too.And I'm not even Catholic!

[KD5NRH]

This is what I said when I first started working in healthcare at age 16 at the Catholic hospital, but the nuns told me Jesus wanted me to work on Sunday!

Hospitals are a little different; even Christ healed on the Sabbath, but you can bet he didn't deliver mail then.

[cordex]

Hospitals are a little different; even Christ healed on the Sabbath, but you can bet he didn't deliver mail then.

And as it says in Genesis, before creating the universe God rested on the first day.

[brimic]

And as it says in Genesis, before creating the universe God rested on the first day.

 

[RevDisk]

First time I got a sunday package was a bit odd. USPS guy was nice enough, said they had just started and Amazon packages only. He didn't seem to mind the work, I didn't mind getting the package, so all's right in the world.

I wonder how much more the USPS pays everyone working Sundays.

I don't care for the idea of Sunday delivery.Probably because of how and where I was raised.

Sundays are for golf and football.For everyone.

YMMV.

Eh, not all of us are into golf or football. I'm quite happy that more and more stores are open on Sunday, took forever to get the state owned monopoly on wine/liquor to be open on Sunday. PA is a nice place, but it took too long to get the worst of the blue laws repealed.

[KD5NRH]

First time I got a sunday package was a bit odd. USPS guy was nice enough, said they had just started and Amazon packages only.

That just seems impractical; if Amazon really generates enough business to keep them going on a day with no other work, wouldn't it be even more cost effective for Amazon to just hire their own delivery crew?

[onions!]

That just seems impractical; if Amazon really generates enough business to keep them going on a day with no other work, wouldn't it be even more cost effective for Amazon to just hire their own delivery crew?

I thought that Amazon was basically a bunch of robots and conveyors?
Might not even need anything organic to open the doors.

[cordex]

That just seems impractical; if Amazon really generates enough business to keep them going on a day with no other work, wouldn't it be even more cost effective for Amazon to just hire their own delivery crew?

Long term maybe.  For a test of service, no.  Probably only really saturates a small percentage of USPS trucks and drivers, so USPS retains the economies of scale for much of their logistics that Amazon wouldn't realize with their own delivery operation.

[wmenorr67]

That just seems impractical; if Amazon really generates enough business to keep them going on a day with no other work, wouldn't it be even more cost effective for Amazon to just hire their own delivery crew?

You would then have to have a distribution center in every major city.  As it is Amazon does a lot of drop shipping from the factory and doesn't always stock what you are buying.

[KD5NRH]

You would then have to have a distribution center in every major city.

Sounds like pretty much what they're planning anyway.  They already have fulfillment centers scattered all over the US.  Smaller distribution centers would be a relatively easy addition, especially if they partnered with existing businesses for the fixed facilities; all they really need is a dock and some limited storage.  The delivery vehicles shouldn't be leaving anything stored for 24 hours.

As it is Amazon does a lot of drop shipping from the factory and doesn't always stock what you are buying.

I've bought some fairly odd stuff from them, and anything that was an Amazon-fulfilled item always came in an Amazon box from one of their addresses.  Even still, drop ship to a commercial location is usually a lot cheaper than having it hauled straight to a residential address, and would probably be even cheaper, or at least more reliable with moderate to large volume all going to one regional center chosen for easy big rig access.  (After all, that's why UPS and FedEx put their distro centers in industrial zones near freeways on the edges of metro areas.)

[RevDisk]

That just seems impractical; if Amazon really generates enough business to keep them going on a day with no other work, wouldn't it be even more cost effective for Amazon to just hire their own delivery crew?

It's not "all hands on deck". Small skeleton crew delivering Amazon packages. No, it wouldn't be more cost effective at this point.

I thought that Amazon was basically a bunch of robots and conveyors?
Might not even need anything organic to open the doors.

Amazon employs a large number of people at their distribution centers. Temps and people starting off are pickers. Apparently worst job. A handheld scanner thingie tells them where to go, they go to the bins, drop all the collected items in another bin, repeat. Extremely high level of surveillance and optimization. Imagine someone looking over your shoulder every second of every day worked, docking you points for literally seconds lost at any particular task.

It's apparently much better than it once was.