Amazon shipping

[piratex]

Does anyone here know anything about buying into amazon shipping as a contractor? because i do not.

Ran into a old friend who is doing this and said you basiclly deliver door ta door for amazone while making well over six figuers a year.

He's already purchased him a amazone van to use saying the van would be paidfore in a few years depending on his payment plan.

Decided to ask here because you guys are from different parts of the globe so I'm sure someone on here can educate me about this.

I do know that you've got to buy into this so I'm sure their asking a lot but then again I look back and think to myself.....this dude doesn't have a lot of money.

Amazone is building a distribution center less then five miles from my house so I'm curious.

[Bouncer]

buying in as a contractor?

i was under the impression they are just delivery people hired by amazon and the vanns are owned by amazon. no?

[piratex]

buying in as a contractor?

i was under the impression they are just delivery people hired by amazon and the vanns are owned by amazon. no?

That's what I've always thought but fixing to read more into it soon.

[chuckz28]

One of the guys I work with does it on the side. He is not making anywhere near that nor does he use Amazon's vehicle. He said you can average mid $20's an hour if you have a decent route and stage the packages in your car to move quickly so you're not searching for packages or searching for addresses.

Tapatalk sucks balls

[piratex]

One of the guys I work with does it on the side. He is not making anywhere near that nor does he use Amazon's vehicle. He said you can average mid $20's an hour if you have a decent route and stage the packages in your car to move quickly so you're not searching for packages or searching for addresses.

Tapatalk sucks balls

Yeah now that I've done more research and talked to a couple of guys it doesn't look all that great.

Now I'm thinking ole boy was just trying to make himself look successful.

There's just no way he was missinformed THAT MUCH on salary

Thanks.

[Bouncer]

it's possible your friend could have been talking about something like this. but this isn't just a matter of having your own van and delivering packages. this takes significant investment and management of a fleet of vans and employees.

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Owning an Amazon delivery business: The risks, rewards and economic realities of the tech giant’s new program for entrepreneurs

https://www.geekwire.com/2018/owning...entrepreneurs/

Amazon has a new idea for anyone who has ever dreamed of owning and running a small business, but was daunted by the hurdles, or didn’t know where to start: Launch and run an independent company of your own to deliver its packages.

Intrigued? As with any new business, it won’t be easy. That’s why Amazon promises to help you get started, and provide a steady source of revenue once your company is up and running. It’s a rare opportunity to hitch your entrepreneurial fortunes to one of the fastest-moving companies in the world.

But even with Amazon’s help, it will take an immense amount of work and effort to make your new package delivery business even modestly profitable.

That is a key takeaway from GeekWire’s analysis of the Amazon Delivery Service Partner program. This program is a new effort by the tech giant to spark the creation of hundreds of small businesses across the country. Launched with its help, Amazon hopes these businesses will ultimately employ tens of thousands of delivery drivers in Prime-branded blue vans and uniforms.

In the weeks following Amazon’s June 27 announcement, we’ve been examining the economics of the program. We’ve talked with logistics and delivery experts, peppered the company with questions, read the fine print in the application materials, and compared the new program to similar delivery businesses.

Our goal was a deeper understanding of Amazon’s strategy, and the potential risks and rewards for these new delivery business owners.



For Amazon, the need to expand its delivery capacity will be illustrated again this week. Prime Day, now in its fourth year, creates another peak shopping season for the company. Prime Day has already surpassed Black Friday and Cyber Monday as Amazon’s busiest shopping day, requiring even more from the company’s delivery infrastructure.

Here are the major pros and cons we found in the Amazon Delivery Service Partner program.

*The financial barriers to entry in the Amazon program will be significantly lower than for other contract delivery businesses. That makes it more accessible to a wider range of entrepreneurs.

*The profit potential appears lower than for similar delivery businesses, according to logistics industry experts who have analyzed Amazon’s initial public projections.

*Amazon’s help promises to reduce or remove many of the traditional hurdles to starting and operating a small business.

*That help comes with strings attached, including a requirement that Amazon-branded vans can only be used to deliver Amazon packages.

*Businesses that participate in the Amazon program will benefit from the company’s massive negotiating power with third-party vendors.

*Limitations on fleet size will likely prevent any one Delivery Service Partner from gaining too much negotiating power against Amazon.

*These are hands-on businesses, not passive investments to be operated from across the country.

Owning an Amazon delivery business

Amazon “DSP” business owners will build and manage a team of 40 to 100 of their own employees, with fleets of 20 to 40 vans delivering packages seven days a week, 365 days a year, serving thousands of customers.

The company describes the job in a “day in the life of an owner” timeline in its Delivery Service Partner application materials. Daily duties will include scheduling drivers, setting up routes, rallying the team in a morning huddle, tracking progress throughout the day, working with Amazon to troubleshoot problems, debriefing drivers upon their return, and making sure vans are properly fueled and parked at the end of the day.

But first comes the nitty-gritty work of building and launching the business: securing the required licenses; vetting and hiring employees; lining up key business services; setting up a pay structure and benefits; working with legal and corporate advisers; building a “customer-obsessed culture” and coaching your team to “exceed expectations on every delivery.”

All of this will sound familiar to anyone who knows the company’s legendary leadership principles. Amazon says a key trait of successful delivery partners will be resilience and the ability to handle “the ambiguity of a fast-paced, ever-changing business,” while delivering results with a “can-do attitude.”

The company says many people who served in the military will have the traits required for success as Delivery Service Partner business owners. Amazon is committing $1 million to reimbursing up to $10,000 in startup costs for qualified U.S. military veterans.

“Serving thousands of customers daily isn’t easy, but the smiles are incredibly rewarding,” the company says in its application materials.

And there will be little time to waste after launching. “Successful owners add five additional routes in their 5th, 9th, and 11th week, bringing their business to 20 or more routes after three months,” Amazon says.

Sure, it may sound exhausting. But look at the upsides.

Amazon has negotiated special deals on van leases; data plans; mobile devices; insurance, HR, legal and accounting services; vehicle maintenance; and other programs for new delivery business owners. The company will provide technology, tools and a comprehensive playbook to run a delivery business, a three-week training program for new owners, driver assistance on the road, ongoing support from an account manager, and the ability to benefit from its decades of experience putting brown boxes on doorsteps.

Delivery Service Partners will also get the benefit of operating out of an Amazon delivery station, reducing or eliminating the need to operate their own facilities.

It’s the business equivalent of a meal kit — providing not just the recipe but also the ingredients to cook up a new company, plus a customer service line to call when you get stuck on the first course.

All of the deals and assistance will reduce the cost of launching the business to as little as $10,000, Amazon says.

But perhaps most importantly, Amazon will remove one of the biggest hurdles facing any new business: revenue.

The company promises its delivery partners a fixed monthly payment based on the number of vehicles they operate with Amazon, a separate rate based on the length of their routes, and a per-package rate based on the number of packages they deliver successfully.

A steady stream of work

Amazon says the total revenue potential will be $1 million to $4.5 million once a company reaches critical mass.

One early Delivery Service Partner business owner, who took part in an Amazon pilot program, says the impact of that revenue has been meaningful. Olaoluwa Abimbola, an immigrant from Nigeria who previously drove in the Amazon Flex delivery program for individual contractors, has hired 40 people in the first five months at his package delivery company in Aurora, Colo.

“We don’t have to make sales pitches for loads every day, or go to a job board and start nit-picking on what to do. There is constant, constant work. Every day. All we have to do is show up,” Abimbola said at the Amazon Delivery Service Partners unveiling. “There is always work to do. Great, steady income. It’s been fantastic.”