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Comment by gardaani | Hacker News Reader

There have been rumors that Amazon will start free next day deliveries in Sweden, Finland and Denmark [1], but it hasn't happened, yet.

That was actually a wake-up call for local web shops and the post office in Finland. The post office is now starting same-day deliveries so that local web stores would have an advantage over Amazon and other foreign web stores. Simply having a threat of Amazon is improving the situation here.

[1] https://metropolitan.fi/entry/amazon-finland-denmark-sweden-...

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Meanwhile, in Italy...

https://www.reuters.com/article/italy-poste-italiane-amazon/...

Wouldn't amazon just use the Swedish post office like they use the USPS in the US?

At least where I live in the US, Amazon same and next day deliveries are usually through their in-house logistics service

Amazon Germany delivers with DPD (for 1-2 day delivery) or Hermes (for 1-∞ days delivery)

Sure, where available, but if the Swedish postal service already offers 1 day delivery, it's not a competitive advantage to Swedish companies, assuming Amazon isn't barred from using it too.

The swedish postal service is not known to be reliable, and is often joked about here in Sweden.

As an American who has come here, I gained an all new appreciation for USPS after dealing with PostNord. They really are infuriatingly bad sometimes.

Stunning to see what a little outside motivation can do, isn't it?

Would be nice if it motivated Amazon in the states. I have Prime, and I get 2-day delivery times at best. Sometimes longer. I will not be renewing when it expires at the end of the year.

Peak US consumerism. Can't wait 2-3 days for a product that would've taken a week not 10-15 years ago, or maybe you had to drive/walk to the store.

I cancelled because I started to realize Amazon is hardly ever the cheapest price anymore, and most other companies now offer 2-3 day shipping for free. I order direct and support the actual company making the product instead of giving money to a monopoly with terrible ethics.

Peak US consumerism.

It's not consumerism when when I pay US$119/year for the privilege. Then it becomes, "meet your SLA that I'm paying money for, assholes."

They are meeting what you'll get for $119.

I'll probably cancel as well. I don't use amazon for its music, tv shows, groceries, rentals, or any of the other stuff I never asked for when I signed up for prime. Two day delivery used to be a thing without prime, all you had to do was spend over a minimum on certain items. Then prime came and was always 2-day. Then it got more expensive and more lax about deliver windows, and then it did that a few more times. Meanwhile I have pretty much no faith in buying staples from amazon anymore because of fake reviews, fake listings, and counterfeit products. Even when buying more expensive or niche gear, you have to keep a careful eye on what you receive, as some suppliers will send an outdated model of the thing you're buying at the new model's price.

I think the logistics get a bit more difficult when dealing with 4m sq miles of the US vs the 200k sq miles of sweden.

Wow, it's like capitalism actually works.

Yeah, all these people acting like Amazon is just some giant company that didn't earn its size due to customer service and convenience are just ridiculous.

Amazon entering a market is a huge deal and a net good for the consumer. I live in a city and between Amazon Prime, Amazon Fresh (I never have to go grocery shopping anymore), and Amazon Restaurants, Amazon is quickly becoming the only place I need to do all my shopping. All of this for a low price. They even have Wal-Mart looking at offering same to 2-day shipping.

It's ridiculous to say Amazon isn't some net good for a market.

...or Amazon will operate without a profit until it captures the entire market and then things won't be so rose tinted.

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