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Read on Kindle

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  Read on Kindle RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2016-09-10 12:56 -0400
    Re: Read on Kindle Larry Sheldon <lfsheldon@gmail.com> - 2016-09-10 18:54 -0500
      Re: Read on Kindle Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2016-09-10 21:57 -0400
        Re: Read on Kindle Larry Sheldon <lfsheldon@gmail.com> - 2016-09-10 22:38 -0500
          Re: Read on Kindle Jerry Peters <jerry@example.invalid> - 2016-09-11 20:18 +0000
          Re: Read on Kindle Adrian Caspersz <email@here.invalid> - 2016-09-13 09:32 +0100
            Re: Read on Kindle Larry Sheldon <lfsheldon@gmail.com> - 2016-09-13 19:34 -0500
        Re: Read on Kindle Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> - 2016-09-11 01:48 -0300
          Re: Read on Kindle Larry Sheldon <lfsheldon@gmail.com> - 2016-09-10 23:57 -0500
          Re: Read on Kindle scott@alfter.diespammersdie.us (Scott Alfter) - 2016-09-12 15:28 +0000
            USPS providing last-mile delivery for UPS and FedEx (was: Read on Kindle) "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> - 2016-09-12 17:50 +0000
        Re: Read on Kindle Spiros Bousbouras <spibou@gmail.com> - 2016-09-13 05:57 +0000
          Re: Read on Kindle Bob Eager <news0006@eager.cx> - 2016-09-13 07:10 +0000
            Re: Read on Kindle Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> - 2016-09-13 10:08 +0000
              Re: Read on Kindle Bob Eager <news0006@eager.cx> - 2016-09-13 10:21 +0000

#11961 — Read on Kindle

Saw this site linked at Hacker News, and it seems interesting.  Choose a
bunch of RSS feeds and it will accumulate them for you and send a
document to the email address associated with your Kindle so you can
read it off line.

That seems useful and good.

http://readonkindle.com

Still want to root for anyone other than Amazon but unfortunately the
competitors don't give me much to root for, leaving Amazon the behemoth
in the room.

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#11962

On 9/10/2016 11:56, RS Wood wrote:
>
> Saw this site linked at Hacker News, and it seems interesting.  Choose a
> bunch of RSS feeds and it will accumulate them for you and send a
> document to the email address associated with your Kindle so you can
> read it off line.
>
> That seems useful and good.
>
> http://readonkindle.com
>
> Still want to root for anyone other than Amazon but unfortunately the
> competitors don't give me much to root for, leaving Amazon the behemoth
> in the room.


When I was a kid, my Mother's mother and my Grandmother's brother lived 
on a farm in central Mississippi, and everything they bought (which 
wasn't all that much) they bought from the "store truck" that came 
around once a week.  (If he didn't have it, he would get it and bring it 
out the next week.  Milk was picked up by a milk truck every day.  Every 
now and again, my uncle would shell and bag two bags of corn and give it 
to the store-truck man, who would bring back a bag's worth of cornmeal 
the following week--keeping a bag's worth as payment.)

My Father's Father and Mother lived is a smallish town in California's 
Central Valley and they bough a lot of what they bought in stores in 
town, but lots of stuff got ordered out of the Montgomery Ward catalogue.

My parents lived in suburban Los Angeles and of course a lot got in 
stores locally, but they bought a lot of stuff ordered out of the Sears, 
Roebuck catalog.  A lot was ordered out of the catalog at the catalog 
desk in the store, where it was picked up in due time later.  Never have 
understood the advantage except reduced shipping, I guess.

In my high school years and a little later, my "toys" came from a number 
of electronics parts stores in the area, and by mail order from Allied 
Radio, World Radio, Henry Radio, Radio Shack and probably some others.

Then Sears announced that there was no market in mail order and they all 
disappeared, overnight, it seemed like.

But nature abhors a vacuum and Whatzisname invented Amazon.  I do 
exercise due diligence and start a general search for something, but it 
almost always turns out that Amazon has what I want (exactly) at a price 
I am willing to pay and will deliver it to my door, in good condition in 
a few days (depending on how much I am willing to pay for shipping).

Not MY fault they don't have any meaningful competition and I do not see 
why I should pay more to have Big Government interfere to make it look 
like they do.


-- 
quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
-- Juvenal

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#11963

On Sat, 10 Sep 2016, Larry Sheldon wrote:

> On 9/10/2016 11:56, RS Wood wrote:
>> 
>> Saw this site linked at Hacker News, and it seems interesting.  Choose a
>> bunch of RSS feeds and it will accumulate them for you and send a
>> document to the email address associated with your Kindle so you can
>> read it off line.
>> 
>> That seems useful and good.
>> 
>> http://readonkindle.com
>> 
>> Still want to root for anyone other than Amazon but unfortunately the
>> competitors don't give me much to root for, leaving Amazon the behemoth
>> in the room.
>
>
> When I was a kid, my Mother's mother and my Grandmother's brother lived on a 
> farm in central Mississippi, and everything they bought (which wasn't all 
> that much) they bought from the "store truck" that came around once a week. 
> (If he didn't have it, he would get it and bring it out the next week.  Milk 
> was picked up by a milk truck every day.  Every now and again, my uncle would 
> shell and bag two bags of corn and give it to the store-truck man, who would 
> bring back a bag's worth of cornmeal the following week--keeping a bag's 
> worth as payment.)
>
> My Father's Father and Mother lived is a smallish town in California's 
> Central Valley and they bough a lot of what they bought in stores in town, 
> but lots of stuff got ordered out of the Montgomery Ward catalogue.
>
> My parents lived in suburban Los Angeles and of course a lot got in stores 
> locally, but they bought a lot of stuff ordered out of the Sears, Roebuck 
> catalog.  A lot was ordered out of the catalog at the catalog desk in the 
> store, where it was picked up in due time later.  Never have understood the 
> advantage except reduced shipping, I guess.
>
> In my high school years and a little later, my "toys" came from a number of 
> electronics parts stores in the area, and by mail order from Allied Radio, 
> World Radio, Henry Radio, Radio Shack and probably some others.
>
> Then Sears announced that there was no market in mail order and they all 
> disappeared, overnight, it seemed like.
>
> But nature abhors a vacuum and Whatzisname invented Amazon.  I do exercise 
> due diligence and start a general search for something, but it almost always 
> turns out that Amazon has what I want (exactly) at a price I am willing to 
> pay and will deliver it to my door, in good condition in a few days 
> (depending on how much I am willing to pay for shipping).
>
> Not MY fault they don't have any meaningful competition and I do not see why 
> I should pay more to have Big Government interfere to make it look like they 
> do.
>
Yes, I like the acknowledgement that Amazon is just a new generation of 
what came before.  The internet allows for some change , but 
it's just an incremental change from that old Sears catalog.  It really is 
still "mail order".

I'm not sure how Amazon can ship for so little.  Or maybe why do more 
traditional outlets cost so much for shipping?  I am going to buy a book 
when it comes out in October, and I plan to get it from Amazon, because 
buying it from the publisher (they do "mail order" too) will cost a lot in 
terms of "shipping and handling".

   Michael

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#11964

On 9/10/2016 20:57, Michael Black wrote:

> Yes, I like the acknowledgement that Amazon is just a new generation of
> what came before.  The internet allows for some change , but it's just
> an incremental change from that old Sears catalog.  It really is still
> "mail order".
>
> I'm not sure how Amazon can ship for so little.  Or maybe why do more
> traditional outlets cost so much for shipping?  I am going to buy a book
> when it comes out in October, and I plan to get it from Amazon, because
> buying it from the publisher (they do "mail order" too) will cost a lot
> in terms of "shipping and handling".

I have a hunch (but have made NO effort to prove--being "bottom line" 
oriented--that the price of the item is low-balled, and the "shipping 
and handling: is padded to make up the profit.

I also suspect (and have made no effort to prove) that Amazon has 
contracts with "logistics" companies that five them low costs in the 
path.  I sometimes wonder if they have DCs we don't know about, and 
maybe warehouses (on FEDEX and UPS property?) stocked with currently 
popular items.
-- 
quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
-- Juvenal

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#11967

Larry Sheldon <lfsheldon@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 9/10/2016 20:57, Michael Black wrote:
> 
>> Yes, I like the acknowledgement that Amazon is just a new generation of
>> what came before.  The internet allows for some change , but it's just
>> an incremental change from that old Sears catalog.  It really is still
>> "mail order".
>>
>> I'm not sure how Amazon can ship for so little.  Or maybe why do more
>> traditional outlets cost so much for shipping?  I am going to buy a book
>> when it comes out in October, and I plan to get it from Amazon, because
>> buying it from the publisher (they do "mail order" too) will cost a lot
>> in terms of "shipping and handling".
> 
> I have a hunch (but have made NO effort to prove--being "bottom line" 
> oriented--that the price of the item is low-balled, and the "shipping 
> and handling: is padded to make up the profit.
> 
> I also suspect (and have made no effort to prove) that Amazon has 
> contracts with "logistics" companies that five them low costs in the 
> path.  I sometimes wonder if they have DCs we don't know about, and 
> maybe warehouses (on FEDEX and UPS property?) stocked with currently 
> popular items.

They *do*. There was an article in the local paper and a news item on
the tv news about Amazon stocking high popularity items locally. In
addition I've been seeing small Amazon trucks making deliveries. They
now have their own DC here in SW PA, again from the TV news.

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#11992

On 11/09/16 04:38, Larry Sheldon wrote:
> On 9/10/2016 20:57, Michael Black wrote:
>
>> Yes, I like the acknowledgement that Amazon is just a new generation of
>> what came before.  The internet allows for some change , but it's just
>> an incremental change from that old Sears catalog.  It really is still
>> "mail order".
>>
>> I'm not sure how Amazon can ship for so little.  Or maybe why do more
>> traditional outlets cost so much for shipping?  I am going to buy a book
>> when it comes out in October, and I plan to get it from Amazon, because
>> buying it from the publisher (they do "mail order" too) will cost a lot
>> in terms of "shipping and handling".
>
> I have a hunch (but have made NO effort to prove--being "bottom line"
> oriented--that the price of the item is low-balled, and the "shipping
> and handling: is padded to make up the profit.
>
> I also suspect (and have made no effort to prove) that Amazon has
> contracts with "logistics" companies that five them low costs in the
> path.  I sometimes wonder if they have DCs we don't know about, and
> maybe warehouses (on FEDEX and UPS property?) stocked with currently
> popular items.

Amazon also largely offsets their store running costs using the profits 
made from selling use of their AWS web platform to other businesses.

No one else, apart from maybe oil sheiks, has that source of subsidy ...

-- 
Adrian C

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#12001

On 9/13/2016 03:32, Adrian Caspersz wrote:

> Amazon also largely offsets their store running costs using the profits
> made from selling use of their AWS web platform to other businesses.
>
> No one else, apart from maybe oil sheiks, has that source of subsidy ...

Really?  I've never really studied the matter, but it seems to me that 
anybody with an old-fashioned notion of how to build a business (does 
NOT involve cashing out the profits at the end of every quarter) can 
(and I think there others that do) reinvest and expand the capital into 
areas apart from the initial effort.

They used to call it "diversification".  When "diversity" meant something.



-- 
quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
-- Juvenal

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#11965

Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> writes:

> I'm not sure how Amazon can ship for so little.  Or maybe why do more 
> traditional outlets cost so much for shipping?  I am going to buy a book 
> when it comes out in October, and I plan to get it from Amazon, because 
> buying it from the publisher (they do "mail order" too) will cost a lot in 
> terms of "shipping and handling".

How does Amazon ship? Always UPS, Fedex or similar?  Beware shipping
into Canada from the US via such services.  Your package is likely to
stall at a "border broker" where you will have to do protocol and
paperwork and pay fees.  I know of a case where a laptop, sent as a
gift to a writer in Canada, was eventually returned to sender because
the hassle with the "broker" didn't get un-snarled.

USPS and Canada Post have to follow the agreements of the
International Postal Union so such mare's nests are unlikely to occur.
Just guessing here, Amazon likes Fedex but not USPS.

-- 
Mike Spencer                  Nova Scotia, Canada

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#11966

On 9/10/2016 23:48, Mike Spencer wrote:
> Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> writes:
>
>> I'm not sure how Amazon can ship for so little.  Or maybe why do more
>> traditional outlets cost so much for shipping?  I am going to buy a book
>> when it comes out in October, and I plan to get it from Amazon, because
>> buying it from the publisher (they do "mail order" too) will cost a lot in
>> terms of "shipping and handling".
>
> How does Amazon ship? Always UPS, Fedex or similar?  Beware shipping
> into Canada from the US via such services.  Your package is likely to
> stall at a "border broker" where you will have to do protocol and
> paperwork and pay fees.  I know of a case where a laptop, sent as a
> gift to a writer in Canada, was eventually returned to sender because
> the hassle with the "broker" didn't get un-snarled.
>
> USPS and Canada Post have to follow the agreements of the
> International Postal Union so such mare's nests are unlikely to occur.
> Just guessing here, Amazon likes Fedex but not USPS.

I THINK most of the stuff I get (and I get quite a lot) comes to my 
Post Office by UPS (believe it or not).

Well.  I still have two empty boxes at hand and both came by "USPS Ground"!

I'll bet that Amazon has a DC in Canada now.

India has a separate web site.


-- 
quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
-- Juvenal

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#11980

In article <87y42znisa.fsf@bogus.nodomain.nowhere>,
Mike Spencer  <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:
>How does Amazon ship? Always UPS, Fedex or similar?

A fair bit of the time, deliveries start with UPS (or is it FedEx?), but
once the package arrives in town, it's handed off to USPS for final
delivery.  I think this mostly happens with small packages that don't weigh
much; larger packages stay with one carrier all the way through.  Next-day
and second-day deliveries might also stay with one carrier, but I rarely pay
extra for faster delivery and I don't do Amazon Prime.

  _/_
 / v \ Scott Alfter (remove the obvious to send mail)
(IIGS( https://alfter.us/           Top-posting!
 \_^_/                              >What's the most annoying thing on Usenet?

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#11982 — USPS providing last-mile delivery for UPS and FedEx (was: Read on Kindle)

Scott Alfter <scott@alfter.diespammersdie.us> wrote:
>Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:

>>How does Amazon ship? Always UPS, Fedex or similar?

>A fair bit of the time, deliveries start with UPS (or is it FedEx?), but
>once the package arrives in town, it's handed off to USPS for final
>delivery.  I think this mostly happens with small packages that don't weigh
>much; larger packages stay with one carrier all the way through.  Next-day
>and second-day deliveries might also stay with one carrier, but I rarely pay
>extra for faster delivery and I don't do Amazon Prime.

Both UPS and FedEx, and even small package consolidator and jobbers,
can and do use the post office for final delivery. Decades ago, the way
UPS was able to claim that it had achieved 100% domestic delivery coverage
was by contracting with the post office for delivery in Alaska and other
very remote areas.

Because Congress never funded the post office's numerous requests to buy
a fleet of cargo aircraft, the post office finally made a deal with FedEx
to use their air distribution network, which is how FedEx collection boxes
ended up in front of every post office, usually with later final pickups.
The post office has never been brilliant about marketing.

Because I am aware of how often the post office is likely to perform
final delivery, if I have a choice of carrier, I chose the lowest priced
option, which can often be the post office. To me, it makes no sense to
pay the higher price for UPS or FedEx if I don't believe their drivers
will make final delivery.

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#11989

On Sat, 10 Sep 2016 21:57:30 -0400
Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> wrote:
> I'm not sure how Amazon can ship for so little.  Or maybe why do more 
> traditional outlets cost so much for shipping?  I am going to buy a book 
> when it comes out in October, and I plan to get it from Amazon, because 
> buying it from the publisher (they do "mail order" too) will cost a lot in 
> terms of "shipping and handling".

It's not as if amazon or the publisher are your only options. Have you ever
used  biblio.com ? Since years ago , whenever I have ordered a new book
directly from amazon (amazon.co.uk to be precise) , as opposed to an
"independent seller" selling through amazon.co.uk , the book came in poor
condition and I had to return it. So I've made it a point that if I order
books through an amazon* site , it's always from an independent seller. But I
always try  biblio.com  because after the initial order , you deal directly
with the seller rather than through the  biblio.com  site.

On the other hand , I was most impressed with amazon when I was able to order
from their site in 2013 using the lynx text browser ! (I haven't tried the
same more recently but it might still work) For contrast , I've been to other
sites where you can't even navigate through search results without having
javascript. I've even been to company websites where you get a blank page if
you don't have Flash installed but that's just laughable.

-- 
Should array indices start at 0 or 1 ? My compromise of 0.5 was
rejected without, I thought, proper consideration.
  Stan Kelly-Bootle

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#11991

On Tue, 13 Sep 2016 05:57:34 +0000, Spiros Bousbouras wrote:

> On Sat, 10 Sep 2016 21:57:30 -0400 Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> wrote:
>> I'm not sure how Amazon can ship for so little.  Or maybe why do more
>> traditional outlets cost so much for shipping?  I am going to buy a
>> book when it comes out in October, and I plan to get it from Amazon,
>> because buying it from the publisher (they do "mail order" too) will
>> cost a lot in terms of "shipping and handling".
> 
> It's not as if amazon or the publisher are your only options. Have you
> ever used  biblio.com ? Since years ago , whenever I have ordered a new
> book directly from amazon (amazon.co.uk to be precise) , as opposed to
> an "independent seller" selling through amazon.co.uk , the book came in
> poor condition and I had to return it. So I've made it a point that if I
> order books through an amazon* site , it's always from an independent
> seller. But I always try  biblio.com  because after the initial order ,
> you deal directly with the seller rather than through the  biblio.com 
> site.

I haven't used Amazon since they jacked up the Prime subscription.

It's worth using bookfinder.com - it searches for a book and presents you 
with the available options.



-- 
Using UNIX since v6 (1975)...

Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
 http://www.mirrorservice.org

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#11994

On 2016-09-13, Bob Eager <news0006@eager.cx> wrote:
> On Tue, 13 Sep 2016 05:57:34 +0000, Spiros Bousbouras wrote:

[snippage]

>
> I haven't used Amazon since they jacked up the Prime subscription.

I buy a lot of s/h books on Amazon Marketplace. Many of them are only a penny, plus P&P.

-- 
I don't have an attitude problem.  If you have a problem with my
              attitude, that's your problem.

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#11995

On Tue, 13 Sep 2016 10:08:03 +0000, Huge wrote:

> On 2016-09-13, Bob Eager <news0006@eager.cx> wrote:
>> On Tue, 13 Sep 2016 05:57:34 +0000, Spiros Bousbouras wrote:
> 
> [snippage]
> 
> 
>> I haven't used Amazon since they jacked up the Prime subscription.
> 
> I buy a lot of s/h books on Amazon Marketplace. Many of them are only a
> penny, plus P&P.

I never found many I wanted at that price. And you'd be surprised at some 
of the 'independent' prices and how low they are even with P&P.



-- 
Using UNIX since v6 (1975)...

Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
 http://www.mirrorservice.org

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