
Ask HN: Why hasn't any company implemented free 1-day shipping? - pgeorgep
It seems like in the cut throat world of retail; Amazon is killing it. I can&#x27;t help but think it has almost everything to do with their free two-day shipping. If this is the case, why hasn&#x27;t a giant like Walmart (or Jet), Target, or other company embraced free 1-day shipping?<p>I know the obvious answer would be &#x27;it costs too much&#x27;. If that&#x27;s the case why don&#x27;t they try to Amazon it? (Amazon it - Have a great idea, lose a ton of cash, gain traction, figure out how to monetize it.)
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shanecleveland
Technically, it is not "free two-day shipping" at Amazon. First, you pay
$100/yr to get it for _most_ items if you are a Prime member. Otherwise, like
many online retailers, you get free shipping (not sure if it's two-day) only
if you reach a certain dollar threshold.

So, yes, "it costs too much" is the obvious answer, but it is true. Unless the
recipient is in the same "zone" as the shipper, the cost of next-day air
shipping is likely still anywhere between $20 and $50 (dependent on many
factors), which is heavily discounted from retail rates. That would cut into
margins quite a bit.

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pgeorgep
I get what you're saying, but here's my mindset. Walmart has a subscription
service with free 2-day shipping (I get it's not free, but stay with me). They
also have Jet which does the same thing. They aren't going to beat Amazon by
playing the same game, so why don't they take the next step forward? It wasn't
logistically possible when Amazon started doing it, but they figured it out.

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shanecleveland
And it wouldn't be logistically possible for most others starting out, either.
Amazon has built out the capability over time, and I believe it now includes
its own planes, trucks, warehouses and delivery staff.

I agree that promising and delivering on universal 1-day shipping may be one
of the last ways to differentiate an online offering, but it either requires
loosing a lot of money on individual sales or significant capital to build out
the logistics/infrastructure yourself and hope the customers follow.

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onion2k
Amazon do free 1 day shipping here in the UK.

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pgeorgep
Only in big cities?

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onion2k
Everywhere, with the exception of some small islands off the coast of Scotland
that get their post by boat. Large cities get same day delivery (eg if I
ordered something before midday I'd get it delivered by 10pm tonight) -
[https://www.amazon.co.uk/b?ie=UTF8&node=12615376031](https://www.amazon.co.uk/b?ie=UTF8&node=12615376031)

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pgeorgep
Dang, why don't they do that everywhere then?

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gt565k
because cost and logistics?

you can'd just do 1 day shipping everywhere... there isn't a warehouse near
every remote area

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pgeorgep
Lose money now, pass Amazon, and figure it out later?

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onion2k
jet.com tried that. They didn't crack Amazon, but they did build a startup
that had a $3b exit.

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e59d134d
Amazon has free same day shipping for many items with Prime in the US.

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shanecleveland
Only _free_ if you _pay_ for Prime. And it likely means it is in a nearby
warehouse to you.

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pgeorgep
Right, so why doesn't anyone do universal 1-day shipping??

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shanecleveland
Amazon appears to be intent on attempting to do so, and may even make it
pencil out. But it only makes sense if your logistics/warehouse network allows
you to be within a day of all/most customers by a "ground" delivery method.
Not too many retailers can offer that.

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olegious
Zappos has had free one day shipping for years now.

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sjg007
A subsidiary of Amazon.

