Jump to content

Because Jeff Bezos doesn't have all the money in the world

Horn Under a Bad Sign

By Horn Under a Bad Sign
in Daily Texan

 Share

Recommended Posts

DonkeyCigars

DonkeyCigars 143

Posted
Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, Lobo said:

If you have a chance, read Brad Stone's "The Everything Store:  The Story of Jeff Bezos."  It forecasted most of this and the threats to staff safety go back a long ways.  I was looking back through my Amazon order history.  I've made 12 purchases in 14 years.  But as a logistics junkie and in the trucking business, I am fascinated with their systems.   

 

Hey, Kroger!  My son says your store stinks!  /frankcostanza  

Really does make you appreciate everything HEB does for its partners and its communities.  HEB has been amazing during Covid-19.  

Great book.

I read this interesting tidbit today about ole JB which I wasn't sure to post here or UPS/USPS sucks thread:

 

 

 

  • AWS has massive fixed costs but benefits tremendously from economies of scale.
  • The cost to build AWS was justified because the first and best customer is Amazon’s e-commerce business.
  • AWS’s focus on “primitives” meant it could be sold as-is to developers beyond Amazon, increasing the returns to scale and, by extension, deepening AWS’ moat.

This last point was a win-win: developers would have access to enterprise-level computing resources with zero up-front investment; Amazon, meanwhile, would get that much more scale for a set of products for which they would be the first and best customer.

As I noted in that article, this exact same approach increasingly applied to the e-commerce side of the business:

Prime is a super experience with superior prices and superior selection, and it too feeds into a scale play. The result is a business that looks like this:

That is, of course, the same structure as AWS — and it shares similar characteristics:

  • E-commerce distribution has massive fixed costs but benefits tremendously from economies of scale.
  • The cost to build-out Amazon’s fulfillment centers was justified because the first and best customer is Amazon’s e-commerce business.
  • That last bullet point may seem odd, but in fact 40% of Amazon’s sales (on a unit basis) are sold by 3rd-party merchants; most of these merchants leverage Fulfilled-by-Amazon, which means their goods are stored in Amazon’s fulfillment centers and covered by Prime. This increases the return to scale for Amazon’s fulfillment centers, increases the value of Prime, and deepens Amazon’s moat.

Over the last five years Amazon’s investment in fulfillment has ballooned into a multitude of new distribution centers, sortation centers, an Air Hub for Amazon’s growing fleet of airplanes, trucking, and a massive delivery operation that largely bypasses UPS and Fedex (while leveraging USPS for far-flung deliveries). At the same time the number of products sold by third-party merchants is now over 50% on a unit basis, and last quarter third-party seller services — where Amazon charges a merchant to stock and ship their goods — accounted for $27.3 billion in revenue.

 

Edited by DonkeyCigars
  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
MaybeACoordinator

MaybeACoordinator 8349

Posted
Posted

 

1 hour ago, bolverk said:

A wise man once said something to the effect of "Behind every great fortune, a great crime was committed."

And another one said "One great crime is a felony. Millions and millions of them are a GDP."

Or something like that. 

 

 

7 minutes ago, JerrysJheriCurl said:

What is this Kroger, you fine gentlemen speak of?
HEB FTW.

How does Kroger even stay in business? They are the Arby’s of the grocery world to me. 
Who shops at Kroger? I would assume the same people who put beans in their chili. 

And the slop that "chili" on spaghetti. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
NorthTexasCougar

NorthTexasCougar 54

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, Lobo said:

If you have a chance, read Brad Stone's "The Everything Store:  The Story of Jeff Bezos."  It forecasted most of this and the threats to staff safety go back a long ways.  I was looking back through my Amazon order history.  I've made 12 purchases in 14 years.  But as a logistics junkie and in the trucking business, I am fascinated with their systems.   

 

Hey, Kroger!  My son says your store stinks!  /frankcostanza  

Really does make you appreciate everything HEB does for its partners and its communities.  HEB has been amazing during Covid-19.  

also makes you appreciate Costco and how they treat their employees.   

Link to comment
Share on other sites
atomheartbevo

atomheartbevo 89799

Posted
Posted
15 hours ago, BradInATX said:

 obviously the heart of the point was that people are fucking pissing in bottles because they aren't allowed breaks. Dude just latched on to the minimum wage thing because he's on the wrong side of a stupid argument but doesn't want to admit it. My wife does the same thing so it's nothing I'm not used to.

You don't allow your wife breaks and so she pisses in bottles?

Got any pics?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest Lobo

Guest Lobo

Posted
Posted

It's also something like 4th largest privately held company in the United States.  So guess who doesn't really give a shit about what shareholders think of their labor practices?  Kroger.  I could believe the Top 10 e-commerce company in America easily given how they flipped on online shopping during pandemic. 

The knock on them has been their attempt to saturate secondary real estate markets with stores which has led to a bloated real asset side of ledger and nearly a half million poorly-treated employees.  they are incredibly over-levered on real estate, two years of good BOPIS numbers isn't gonna change that fact.  Their physical footprints are too big for how the industry is pivoting right now.  I'm not the HEB worshipper many Texans are, but their real estate model is like the Honzo Sword of efficiency.  Kroger makes no attempt to scale their stores to the footprint available, they just plop it down without any regard.  And as stated above, every store sells pretty much the same shit no matter where in the 35 states they occupy, you find one of their stores.  They're trying for ALDI like precision in buying power and supply chain with the 1970's model of real estate presence.  They'll be fine with so much cash and credit on hand, but net earnings/store and certainly per foot...they're walking dead.  Their buying spree has long since come to an end as they continue to mothership regional chains that don't operate well under the Kroger back-office/private model.  They are better than Wal-Mart, I'll give them that.  But they have been a subject of much discussion in grocery freight/logistics since I got involved 20 years ago.  They have just enough time, just enough cash, and just enough credit to make a proper pivot to course-correct their 50-year burn to the top. 

Plus, they let people write checks for a single can of coffee.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites
clapclapclap

clapclapclap 9000

Posted
Posted (edited)
5 hours ago, JerrysJheriCurl said:

What is this Kroger, you fine gentlemen speak of?
HEB FTW.

How does Kroger even stay in business? They are the Arby’s of the grocery world to me. 
Who shops at Kroger? I would assume the same people who put beans in their chili. 

Kroger is ok, better than Tom Thumb/Albertsons/Randalls (which are overpriced Safeways in disguise).  Need competition to keep HEB on their toes.

They often have a larger selection, especially if your neighborhood HEB is one of the tiny/crappy ones.  There's some surprisingly lousy HEB's compared to the reputation.  Was in one today in a smaller exurb and they didn't even have a bakery department.  2 tables of pies/cookies/etc. and 1 measly rack of supposedly fresh bread (French and something else.)  Pathetic.  And on the main bread aisle didn't even offer (not out of) Orowheat 100% whole wheat.) 

Kroger's Oops We Baked Too Much rack is often a gold mine for the genetically programmed bargain shoppers.    

And HEB pies/cakes/goodies are usually way overpriced in comparison, without being much better.  Also, Kroger tends to have a lot of stuff on sale, frequently good deals.

DFW, except for the southern and western fringe, doesn't have HEB.  Central Market is awesome, but doesn't have a lot of HEB's brand goodies.

Edited by clapclapclap
  • Hook 'Em 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Brothahorn

Brothahorn 10087

Posted
Posted
27 minutes ago, clapclapclap said:

Kroger is ok, better than Tom Thumb/Albertsons/Randalls (which are overpriced Safeways in disguise).  Need competition to keep HEB on their toes.

They often have a larger selection, especially if your neighborhood HEB is one of the tiny/crappy ones.  There's some surprisingly lousy HEB's compared to the reputation.  Was in one today in a smaller exurb and they didn't even have a bakery department.  2 tables of pies/cookies/etc. and 1 measly rack of supposedly fresh bread (French and something else.)  Pathetic.  And on the main bread aisle didn't even offer (not out of) Orowheat 100% whole wheat.) 

Kroger's Oops We Baked Too Much rack is often a gold mine for the genetically programmed bargain shoppers.    

And HEB pies/cakes/goodies are usually way overpriced in comparison, without being much better.  Also, Kroger tends to have a lot of stuff on sale, frequently good deals.

DFW, except for the southern and western fringe, doesn't have HEB.  Central Market is awesome, but doesn't have a lot of HEB's brand goodies.

Plus their fuel points bonus kicks ass.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
XYZ

XYZ 2154

Posted
Posted
20 minutes ago, BBQ2Bayou said:

I've got a cousin who recently went to work for one of the Amazon warehouses. I hate this fucker. Will he still be sufficiently treated like shit or will all of this change now? 

I’m pretty sure that Amazon will continue its predatory practices.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest Lobo

Guest Lobo

Posted
Posted

Yeah, and if you're day drinking in the office...it's still okay to just walk out and piss in the men's room.  People aren't gonna know if it's a coffee piss, water piss, or vodka piss.  You realize it's more of a knock-off to have piss-filled bottles in your trash than it is to walk out a liquor bottle in your laptop bag at the end of the day, right?  

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Wulaw Horn

Wulaw Horn 19152

Posted
Posted
15 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

A buddy who’s a teacher in New Braunfels worked one summer at the Amazon warehouse. Every shift he covered around 16 miles walking and filling orders.

Holy shit. That’s impressive- 3 marathons a week? Damn that doesn’t seem possible and sure as shit doesn’t seem super efficient. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
CooterBrown

CooterBrown 18029

Posted
Posted
Holy shit. That’s impressive- 3 marathons a week? Damn that doesn’t seem possible and sure as shit doesn’t seem super efficient. 

He lost like 20 pounds and was only 170 to start with. Went through a few pairs of shoes. He said it was the most physically demanding thing he’d ever done. 16 miles a day, 5 days a week for 2 months.

The way I understand how it worked was that there were boxing stations on the perimeter. You got an order to fill on a device. It gave you the bin locations for the items and optimized walking directions. Push your cart on the path as fast as fucking possible, grab your shit and take it to the boxing station at the end of the path. Hit next on the device and go again. Not sure what the quota was but the faster you were, the further they stretched your goal until you quit because there was always fresh meat ready to come on board.
  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
JerrysJheriCurl

JerrysJheriCurl 977

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, gyroprotagonist said:

didn't he already get a divorce that costs about that much per day?

did the math, 25 years of marriage @ $137K per day is 1.25B

the settlement was for $37B, so the actual costs was $4M per day

Undefeated and expensive AF. As the saying goes.... If it flies, floats or fucks... rent it, don’t buy it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
hobbes2702

hobbes2702 13073

Posted
Posted
On 2/3/2021 at 12:04 AM, CDAK said:

 

You two can keep digging this hole. It's stupid. He didn't mean lowest paid employee at Amazon or hourly wage employee of any amount. That's ridiculous. Everybody interprets minimum wage employee as legal minimum wage.

"Hi my name is Bob, I'm a minimum wage employee at Silver Lake Capital."

"What? Silver Lake Capital pays you the legal minimum wage?"

"No, asshole. I make $7,000 per hour. By 'minimum wage,' I obviously meant that I'm paid per hour."

You’re great at not addressing the point and latching onto something completely irrelevant 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
texanbychoice

texanbychoice 354

Posted
Posted
Not just front line either.  When I finished grad school in data science, I was semi-head hunted by Amazon and did a first round interview.  When some of my coworkers heard about it, they told me that work/life balance is something that isn’t a part of the culture and even 20-somethings with no spouse, kids or life outside the office often have a hard time handling. 
 
Ive definitely put my career on pause since 2017 when I graduated and have left money on the table, but at my current employer I have an amazing boss whose motto is ‘family first’ and has backed that up countless times...I’m not micromanaged, I work odd hours sometimes so I can manage my 1st grader during his pointless asynchronous days, check out the moment a kiddo has a fever, take a day off because it’s a holiday with both school and daycares closed, etc.  that’s worth a lot of money to me. 

I’ve worked at Amazon for seven years and your coworkers were completely wrong.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
F250

F250 28818

Posted
Posted
On 2/3/2021 at 12:16 PM, JerrysJheriCurl said:

What is this Kroger, you fine gentlemen speak of?
HEB FTW.

How does Kroger even stay in business? They are the Arby’s of the grocery world to me. 
Who shops at Kroger? I would assume the same people who put beans in their chili. 

People that live in Tomball, basically aggy prefers Kroger.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 11 months later...
bolverk

bolverk 29718

Posted
Posted

tldr: Bezos had a new 415-foot yacht built in Rotterdam. It seems it's too big to pass underneath an historic steel bridge to get out to sea. Locals are pissed  the city might be willing to dismantle a portion of the bridge to allow it to set sail and are signing up to a FB group to pummel the yacht with rotten eggs as it passes.

https://www.npr.org/2022/02/09/1079568745/jeff-bezos-yacht-de-hef-bridge-rotterdam-eggs

 

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Updawg

Updawg 2286

Posted
Posted
tldr: Bezos had a new 415-foot yacht built in Rotterdam. It seems it's too big to pass underneath an historic steel bridge to get out to sea. Locals are pissed  the city might be willing to dismantle a portion of the bridge to allow it to set sail and are signing up to a FB group to pummel the yacht with rotten eggs as it passes.
https://www.npr.org/2022/02/09/1079568745/jeff-bezos-yacht-de-hef-bridge-rotterdam-eggs
 

I think this is clickbait. Apparently they have been doing that to the bridge many times for other boats that were built there.

No way would they build that boat without taking that into account


It probably is true that the citizens hate bezos though and might egg the boat
  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
High Plains Drifter

High Plains Drifter 11052

Posted
Posted
On 2/2/2021 at 4:10 PM, Beau Vine said:

I'm starting to think that I'm literally the only person in the country who doesn't receive tips.

 

you mean other than amazon drivers?

On 2/2/2021 at 5:27 PM, Homercles said:

 

Ive definitely put my career on pause since 2017 when I graduated and have left money on the table, but at my current employer I have an amazing boss whose motto is ‘family first’ and has backed that up countless times...I’m not micromanaged, I work odd hours sometimes so I can manage my 1st grader during his pointless asynchronous days, check out the moment a kiddo has a fever, take a day off because it’s a holiday with both school and daycares closed, etc.  that’s worth a lot of money to me. 

 

Ditto. I leave a lot of money on the table staying at my current job, which is very very flexible on how, when, and where I put in my hours, both day to day and over the course of a year.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
High Plains Drifter

High Plains Drifter 11052

Posted
Posted
On 2/5/2021 at 4:38 PM, gyroprotagonist said:

didn't he already get a divorce that costs about that much per day?

did the math, 25 years of marriage @ $137K per day is 1.25B

the settlement was for $37B, so the actual costs was $4M per day

 

Fuck Bezos. Fuck him in every orifice repeatedly until he dies.

 

having said that, his wife helped him build Amazon. She was supporting his ass when he was mailing shit out of his garage. She helped write addresses on the packages. She drove shit to the post office, she did his laundry, whatever.

She didn't get half (or whatever the fraction is) of his shit because it was hers all along.

 

 

 

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Doc Reeves

Doc Reeves 6434

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, Updawg said:


I think this is clickbait. Apparently they have been doing that to the bridge many times for other boats that were built there.

No way would they build that boat without taking that into account


It probably is true that the citizens hate bezos though and might egg the boat

Yep, happens all the time and they’ve actually had to do that to bridges in Amsterdam every so often since the mid 1600s. Every 3 month you se a yacht that looks like a skyscraper on its side squeezing thru somewhere. People are pissed about that. On the other hand its quintessentially Dutch in that theyre just sorta pissed. It’s similar to looking at your phone while walking on the sidewalk over there, people feel it is important enough to say some shit to you, but not important enough to stop and argue. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
LCHorn

LCHorn 2631

Posted
Posted

I have a friend that worked for Paul Allen and was being recruited to work for Bezos (personal staff, not for Amazon).  The gossip was that Bezos travels with a team designers that re-orient everything wherever he might be staying.  They’ll bring in all new furniture and furnishings to a hotel room and everything has to look poised for a magazine shoot.  I thought that was interesting when I heard it-a man so rich that he decided he no longer need suffer the indignity of an ugly throw pillow.
 

He’s got another team of trainers (not a personal trainer, a team of them) that travel with him wherever he goes.  
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31536

Posted
Posted
13 minutes ago, LCHorn said:

I have a friend that worked for Paul Allen and was being recruited to work for Bezos (personal staff, not for Amazon).  The gossip was that Bezos travels with a team designers that re-orient everything wherever he might be staying.  They’ll bring in all new furniture and furnishings to a hotel room and everything has to look poised for a magazine shoot.  I thought that was interesting when I heard it-a man so rich that he decided he no longer need suffer the indignity of an ugly throw pillow.
 

He’s got another team of trainers (not a personal trainer, a team of them) that travel with him wherever he goes.  
 

If true, he needs to be taxed more just on general principles.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BabaYaga

BabaYaga 15320

Posted
Posted
On 2/3/2021 at 6:01 PM, clapclapclap said:

DFW, except for the southern and western fringe, doesn't have HEB.  Central Market is awesome, but doesn't have a lot of HEB's brand goodies.

We have that Central Market off the George Bush.  The Market Street in Frisco (off Legacy) has a sports bar inside, so you can walk in, grab a cart and a walk around shopping with a beer in your hand.  A little overpriced, but their wine selection is off the charts and their meat/seafood is ridiculous.  You can get dry-aged steaks if you want aged up to 45 days, I think?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
smuggs

smuggs 9353

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, staboner said:

its all about the small dick energy kid. once you get that mastered the bitches come rolling in

- the cyborg

OTAzMDcxZmU0NQ

 

 

Can the fucking guy throw down a few bucks and fix his eye. Busy building penis rockets and dismantling bridges and rearranging furniture...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing


Football ... Basketball ... Baseball ... Other Sports ... Futbol ... 🤫995🤫 ... Gambling ... Movies & TV ... Music ... Hobbies ... Lulz ... Food & Travel ... Daily Texan ... Business and Markets ... Cloak Room ... Help ... For Sale ... Board Discussion ... Subscribe!... Donate!... Advertise... COOKIE MONSTER!

×
×
  • Create New...