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Comment by Keverw | Hacker News Reader

Pretty amazing you can go from being a little tiny online bookstore to owning your own fleet of planes, trucks and vans. Very inspiring story.

Also like when they are close to you, it tells you how many stops away they are in the app. So useful if you ordered something and excited to get it. However it seems when they used UPS packages would get here earlier like noon to 2PM, while Amazon own drivers seem to be a little later... but I guess that depends on where they started their day, maybe I'm closer to a UPS hub or something.

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Oh, Amazon does not own all of the delivery infrastructure, though they certainly own some of it.

https://logistics.amazon.com - you too can work 7 days a week for whatever peanuts Amazon decides to throw at you, all while 'owning your own business' that is totally and completely dependent on Amazon and the success of Amazon.

And doing and performing exactly as Amazon demands.

That's the biggest middle finger in workers' faces I've seen: the re-appropriation of "be your own boss" rhetoric where in actuality you are under a very specific contract and "flexibility" is replaced by race-to-the-bottom exploitation.

Rideshare and food delivery gig companies are the worst offenders.

Yeah, I remember when they were just a bookstore. My account is older than some kids I know.

When you read their story though, what it is today was always the plan. Bezos just thought books was a good place to start.

It's really odd seeing Amazon brick and mortar books store now, lol.

I am just amazed they determined buying the thousands, if not tens of thousands of trucks, recruiting and training drivers, and the logistics of it all, was better for them than what they could negotiate from the delivery giants and USPS.

I would assume they considered shipping items for others including pickup and delivery from customer homes. I just cannot believe it is only for delivery of their own goods

they're not buying the trucks and recruiting the contractors, it is more gig-economy bullshit. You are a 1099 worker who rents your own truck and whatever is left over is what you get.

Amazon sent out 3.3 billion packages in 2017, and saves $2-$4 per package shipped if they handle it themselves. USPS, UPS and Fedex are all raising their rates. You do the math...

They also have 50 Boeing 767's, btw.

//little tiny online bookstore//

Well, it at least called itself "Earth's Biggest Bookstore" at that time.

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