Amazon now charges fees for UPS Store returns, forcing Whole Foods dropoffs | Hacker News Reader

Amazon now charges fees for UPS Store returns, forcing Whole Foods dropoffs

twitter.com

38 pointsilamont12 comments

Unethical pro tip: if you pick a return reason that Amazon considers to be its own fault, there's no fee for UPS dropoffs (or even pickups) and no repercussions for doing so

The Information story in the first reply might be a better link.[1] Either way, this is like sending up the Bezos Signal.[2]

[1]: https://www.theinformation.com/articles/amazon-starts-chargi...

[2]: https://abovethecrowd.com/2015/01/30/ubers-new-bhag-uberpool...

Is that really all that bad? Whole Foods are everywhere and sure some small population might be inconvenienced but companies have to reduce cost and I’m sure UPS wasn’t a small cost.

Or you know stop baiting and switching, when they know they have to charge some day. If their value proposition is gone as soon as they killed their competition, they are most unethical and don't deserve that money. Regulations must be passed to combat this BS. In my country, Amazon returns are picked up from individual homes for now, the day they stop free returns is the day, Amazon will start their exit from my country for sure, it's literal suicide for them.

Bait and switch? Changes in a business aren't always a bait and switch.

It's simple math even my non business brain can comprehend, you are selling a product, if the customer is not bringing it back himself, and drops it off at UPS or if you have to send your rep to pickup it costs money. But you decided against charging for that, as your value proposition, now that you have the market covered/cornered, you plan to go back on the value proposition. How is that not baiting and then switching. If Amazon never offered free drop off and increased the price it's a business change. But free returns is one of the main value propositions, customers fell for over other players.

No reason to be aggressive about disagreeing. I used to not charge for french fries with meal at my restaurant, now I do. Bait and switch? Or a business raises their annual subscription, is that a bait and switch. When is a business changing prices or pricing for services given not a bait and switch in your non business brain?

> Whole Foods are everywhere

Whole Foods target a rich clientele and thus exist only in areas with a sufficient concentration of wealth. In NYC, for example, there are a dozen Whole Foods in Manhattan, four in the fashionable parts of Brooklyn, zero in the Bronx, zero in Queens, and of course zero in Staten Island.

UPS stores, by contrast, truly are everywhere.

My nearest Whole Foods is 56 miles away. 1h 5m with no traffic. At 4pm, it's about 2 hours away.

Nearest UPS Store is 12 mins away. Next one is 16 mins away.

Yes. I can take the bus directly to a UPS store. There is only a single Whole Foods in my city and it's deep in car territory. This means it'll take me significantly longer if I wanted to do this, I'd have to drive, and I'd still not be near anything else but a parking lot while the UPS store has a nice little strip mall.

Then perhaps it’s worth it to pay one dollar for the convenience?

I bet Amazon is still losing money on this, but it’s just losing less money now.

If they had introduced the service at one dollar everyone would be cheering.

Exactly the bus or gas for a car and time to drive farther isn’t free.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com