What a fascinating modern age we live in

7 stops away

Alexa just told me a delivery is imminent.

So I checked to see what it might be. And when I clicked to track the package, it gave me more specific information than I have ever seen.

The truck is in my neighborhood, and “7 stops away” from my house.

I admit, I’m impressed.

What a fascinating modern age we live in…

7 thoughts on “What a fascinating modern age we live in

  1. Bryan Caskey

    Amazing. Also helpful, because it might help you pick up your package before it sits on the front porch too long and gets rained on, or worse, stolen.

    1. Brad Warthen Post author

      Actually, in this case they actually brought it to the door and rang the bell.

      I don’t know why that happens sometimes, and other times they leave it on the steps in the rain. Or put it just inside the storm door. Or, if the garage door is open, leave it just inside. Or put it in the mailbox, if it’s small enough.

      And sometimes they take a picture of it where they left it, and email it to me, and other times they don’t.

      It seems there would be a standard procedure, especially in an activity so carefully coordinated as to be able to tell me it’s “7 stops away.” But near as I can tell, it’s kind of random.

  2. Mark Stewart

    This has the side benefit of also reinforcing that your neighbors are doing lots of online shopping as well.

    Nikki Haley had no idea (yeah, she did) how badly she screwed up the state when she gave Amazon all of those tax breaks. Retailers were always right that that wasn’t fair. Amazon IS a retail store, not an intermediate warehouse.

    1. Doug Ross

      SC got a $300 million dollar windfall in sales taxes from Amazon sales last year.

      “From November 2019 through Oct. 31, remote sellers and online marketplace facilitators collected more than $311.5 million in sales tax.

      The increase in revenue collections is a result of the Marketplace Facilitator Act, which was passed by the South Carolina Legislature and signed by Gov. Henry McMaster in 2019. The law requires individuals and businesses that facilitate sales on behalf of other businesses to remit sales tax to the state.

      “The SCDOR’s remote sellers policy and the marketplace facilitator law now ensure that all online retailers collect and remit Sales and Use Tax on all sales, just like brick-and-mortar stores, helping level the playing field and bringing more tax dollars into the state,” SCDOR Director Hartley Powell said in a statement.

      The number of new remote sellers registered with the SCDOR during 2020 increased significantly. More than 1,600 new merchants registered with the department over the course of the year – a 43% increase over 2019.

      The majority of South Carolina sales tax revenue goes to the state’s general fund. Equal portions go toward education and a fund that covers a portion of property taxes for the elderly, blind or disabled. The rest is distributed to cities and counties”

      We should do end everything possible to support Amazon, which has hired more people this year than any company in history, and paying $15 an hour or more.

      Jeff Bezos deserves our admiration..

    2. Brad Warthen Post author

      Not so sure you’re right, Mark, when you say “Amazon IS a retail store, not an intermediate warehouse.”

      It’s not a retail store. It’s a completely different way of selling and delivering that has almost destroyed businesses that ARE retail stores. Retail stores are the old thing; Amazon is the new…

  3. Norm Ivey

    That happened to me recently. As I was marveling that my new large metal scoop was just a block away, it was delivered.

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