Frequently Asked Questions About Warehouse Deals
What is Amazon Warehouse Deals?
We offer deep discounts on open-box items like TVs, laptops, tablets, home audio, kitchen & dining, home goods, outdoors, and more.
How do we fit in with Amazon?
Amazon Warehouse Deals is a part of Amazon.com that specializes in offering great deals on returned, warehouse-damaged, used, or refurbished products that are in good condition but do not meet Amazon.com rigorous standards as “new.” We also offer products in new and open-box condition.
Do Amazon Warehouse Deals’ products qualify for Prime or FREE Shipping?
Yes. Eligible items sold by Amazon Warehouse Deals qualify for Prime or FREE Shipping.
Do products come with a warranty?
No. Used products generally do not come with a manufacturer’s warranty but all of our items are backed by Amazons return policy. If you would like additional protection, you can purchase a warranty from Square Trade to cover certain items.
How do you evaluate a product’s condition?
We thoroughly test the functional and physical condition of each item and give the product a specific grade before selling it.
Your inventory keeps changing, is this normal?
Yes. Since we specialize in returned, warehouse damaged, used or refurbished products, we can’t predict future availability for any item, so check back often and order quickly.
What Does An Amazon Warehouse Associate Do
An Amazon warehouse associate is responsible for overseeing virtually all of the daily tasks that are needed to keep the activities of a warehouse running smoothly and efficiently.
His/her job description entails carrying out an array of functions which may include receiving and processing incoming stock and materials, picking and filling orders from stock, and gathering and shipping others.
It also involves managing, organizing, and/or retrieving stock in the warehouse, and carrying out other relevant duties as assigned by Amazon.
In other words, an Amazon warehouse associate refers to one whose profession is to support Amazons warehouse operations by receiving, carrying out inputs, sorting, loading, unloading products, and executing other necessary warehouse activities as required.
One of the core tasks that is carried out by a warehouse associate at Amazon is to ensure adequate organization and maintenance of the inventory.
He/she is also saddled with the responsibility of tracking inventory as products, merchandise, and/or goods are transported through the warehouse and also inspecting for defects or damages and documenting any instances for submission to the warehouse manager or relevant personnel.
Warehouse associates at Amazon may also be required to move heavy products and/or merchandise around the warehouse by operating forklifts and other heavy machinery that make the transportation of merchandise easier and faster.
Amazon Warehouse Employees Hear Some Japanese
According to Robert, Amazon has embraced certain tenets of Japanese logisticsso much so that words like andon and gemba are utilized in the fulfillment centers. Its part of their management philosophy, Robert says. It was new to me. I looked up the terms. They were from Japanese logistics ideas When youre new, none of it gets explained.
Don’t Miss: Can You Buy Food On Amazon With Ebt
Do Amazon Delivery Drivers Take Breaks
Amazon delivery drivers have allotted meal and bathroom breaks, just like warehouse employees.
Most drivers do 10-hour shifts with a 30-minute lunch break and two 15 minute breaks that can be taken at any time.
However, drivers also have a long list of packages to deliver every day, and there are stories of drivers working through their breaks just to get through their list of deliveries.
Although there is break time built into delivery routes, drivers often want to get through traffic and delays and may eat and drink water on the go.
Amazon Warehouse Employees Have Some Complaints About Break Times
Because Amazon monitors activity, employees tend to adhere pretty strictly to the allotted 30-minute and 15-minute break periods. The problem, according to Kyle, is that these windows dont account for the fact that it takes time to navigate the massive facility to get to a break room, bathroom, or to the parking lot.
When you take a break, you log out and are supposed to come back within 30 minutes, so theres no more than 30 minutes between the last time you scanned an item and the next item, Kyle says. But the problem is it takes five to seven minutes to walk to your car or to the break room, so its not really a full 30-minute break.
Taking a load off at your workstation, at least in Kyles warehouse, is off-limits. Youre not allowed to sit on things at a station. There are no chairs provided. You can make chairs with totes or sit on the steps. I usually choose to go to my car.
Also Check: Link Twitch Amazon Prime
Amazon Fight With Workers: ‘you’re A Cog In The System’
Joseph Jones doesn’t find the gruelling physical demands of his job at Amazon particularly troubling – he can walk as many as 17 miles per shift. The firm’s attitude towards his work, however, is something else.
“It’s a very adversarial relationship with the supervisors and the staff,” says the 35-year-old, who started working part-time at the company’s warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama in October. “You’re a cog in the system… and it’s very obvious.”
During the busy season between Thanksgiving and Christmas, for example, he says Amazon required staff to extend their shifts – typically with little notice. Once, he says he didn’t even know he had been asked to put in extra time until he arrived for work and the company app informed him he was an hour late.
Last year, the treatment prompted him to join a petition that sought an official vote on creating a union at the warehouse.
In December, state labour officials ruled the request had garnered enough support to warrant an election – the first such vote Amazon has faced in the US since 2014. Ballots were mailed this week.
If the campaign succeeds, the Bessemer facility, which opened in March, would become the only unionised Amazon location in the US.
Commerce Secretary: Chip Shortage Will Impact Holiday Shopping
For much of the past 16 months, Amazon’s warehouse workers have faced grueling pressure to keep up with the demand from households for online goods during the pandemic. Now, workers must endure the stress of meeting a spike in orders from Amazon’s summer shopping holiday, which kicks off Monday.
Don’t Miss: How To Reset Amazon Kindle
Will The Campaign Succeed
The Birmingham area has a rich history of civil rights activism and unionisation, tied to its past as a coal mining and steel centre.
But unionisation rates have plunged in the US and in southern states, like Alabama, suspicion of organised labour runs deep. In Bessemer, a city of 27,000 hit hard by the departure of major manufacturers in the 1980s, Amazon’s arrival was welcomed as a source of employment.
“The educated folks will tell you money’s not a motivator. Well I guarantee you⦠money is a motivator and the biggest difference with Amazon is they pay,” says labour leader Bren Riley, president of the Alabama AFL-CIO, of which the RWDSU is an affiliate. “They don’t have problems getting people to come to work.”
Alan Draper, the Ranger professor of government at St Lawrence University, says unions lose votes like the one facing Amazon much more than they did in the past.
“The sense of fear that employers are able to create is tremendous. That the union has been successful enough to get workers past that fear in order to get to an election is remarkable today,” he says. “Unfortunately it’s very episodic.”
If the union wins, Amazon would be forced to negotiate over a contract, which could address anything from pay and holidays, to discipline and production expectations.
In Alabama, however, many politicians have steered clear of the fight.
“Obviously it’s a great company and we’re looking to a strong partnership with them for many years to come.”
Burning Through The Work Force
On Oct. 13, the bus stop outside JFK8 was flooded with workers hired in a surge without parallel in American corporate history. It was Prime Day, the invented Amazon shopping holiday that kicked off the Christmas season. To meet the moment, the warehouse was absorbing entire friend and family units without job interviews, and in most cases, little to no conversation between employer and applicants.
As dusk settled and trucks rolled by, Tiara Mangroo, a high school student just off her shift, embraced her boyfriend. He worked for Amazon on Staten Island too, as did her father, uncle, cousins and best friend. Keanu Bushell, a college student, worked days, and his father nights, sharing one car that made four daily trips between Brooklyn and JFK8. A mother and daughter organized containers of meals for their middle-of-the-night breaks others packed Red Bull or Starbucks Frappuccinos in the clear theft-prevention bags that workers carried. Most said they were grateful just to be employed.
Kevin Michelus, 60, and retired after a lifetime of odd jobs, had been drawn in by a postcard advertising work. No résumé, no job experience required, he said. Ive never heard of a job like that. He and the other newcomers had been hired after only a quick online screening. Internally, some describe the companys automated employment process as lights-out hiring, with algorithms making decisions, and limited sense on Amazons part of whom it is bringing in.
Also Check: What Are The Requirements To Sell On Amazon
Amazon Warehouse Associate Job Description For Resume
If you are writing a new resume or CV and have had some experience working as a warehouse associate at Amazon, or are presently working in that role, you can make your resume/CV stronger by having the professional experience section in it.
This part of your resume/CV helps you to show that you have been successful performing the duties and responsibilities of a warehouse associate, which can influence the recruiter/employer to give you an interview, especially if having the warehouse associate work experience is important to the new job that you are applying for.
You can create a compelling professional experience section for your resume/CV by applying the Amazon warehouse associate job description example provided above.
Continuing In Treacherous Weather
According to three former employees, fulfillment centers often don’t want employees missing work even during dangerous weather conditions. Like Oates, who was asked to report for duty during a storm in Kansas, Ahmed said she was asked to work at her Minnesota warehouse in severely snowy conditions.
“They say they will give a day off if the weather is really bad, but they never did, actually,” Ahmed said. “There was one day that I called in and I said that I could not see the road. For my safety, I told them that I am not going to come in today. So they took hours from my UPT.”
Norris said of his warehouse: “The building’s not going to shut down. If enough employees come to work late because of weather, they’ll excuse time. But Amazon doesn’t stop.”
“The safety of our associates is our top priority and we closely monitor weather conditions to assess if Amazon facilities should temporarily close in areas affected by freezing temperatures and other adverse conditions,” a spokeswoman said.
One way Amazon workers can get time off during peak is by getting sent home. If there’s not enough work to go around, managers will sometimes offer unpaid voluntary time off, or VTO.
Amazon emphasized to Business Insider that VTO is entirely voluntary. “We offer associates voluntary time off to provide additional flexibility and associates choose whether to take this time off, or to work their regular schedule,” a spokeswoman said.
Read Also: How To Link Your Amazon Prime To Twitch
Secrets Of Amazon Warehouse Employees
When we last checked in with Amazon warehouse workers in November 2015, the consensus was that life as an employee at one of the companys 110 domestic fulfillment centers was physically challenging but financially rewarding. On their feet for most of the day, these Amazonians receive, stock, sort, pick, pack, ship, and problem-solve the hundreds of thousands of items carried by the e-tailer in massive facilities between 600,000 and 800,000 square feet in size. Each can employ over 1500 full-time associates.
These days, the pay is going up. Amazon recently announced hourly raises between 50 cents and $3 for 500,000 warehouse workers and other fulfillment jobs, adding to the existing minimum starting wage of $15. Employees generally agree that if you dont mind some manual labor, you can find benefitsjust not Prime benefitsinside these massive buildings.
For more on the job, Mental Floss reached out to several current and former employees. Heres what they had to say about working with robots, finding time to pee, and the overall experience of what social media has dubbed Amazon vest life.
What Are The Shifts At Amazon
4.2/5Amazon shiftsshiftsshiftsshiftsshifts
What are the full time hours at Amazon. 40 hours a week and sometimes even 50 hours a week during busy seasons. In sort centers you usually work 4/10’s. For newer buildings they start out as 5/8’s but will eventually transitions to 4/10’s.
Also Know, what are the hours for 1st 2nd and 3rd shift? 1st shift usually takes place between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. 2nd shift is worked between 5 p.m. and 1 a.m. 3rd shift typically takes place between the hours of 12 a.m. and 8 a.m.
Regarding this, can you change your schedule at Amazon?
2 answers. Yes, you can put in a transfer request for a change of shift.
What is a shift premium at Amazon?
Shift premium is additional pay provided for working split shifts or evening and night shifts or a split shift.
Don’t Miss: Can You Use Food Stamps On Amazon
How To Get A Job At Amazon In The United States
Not everyone will be lucky enough to be able to get a job working at one of Amazon’s warehouses in the United States. Almost everyone can get at least one shot to see if they can physically handle the job because it is physically and mentally demanding. A quick online search or by simply watching your evening news will let you know if the online giant retailer is currently looking for new employees.
In the area of the country that I live in, in order to get your shot at working in one of the Amazon warehouses, you have to first apply to a temporary service. There are a few guidelines that you will have to follow and these are important. Just like many jobs out there, being able to follow simple directions can make or break you in your job retention chances.
In order to be hired to work as a temporary associate at Amazon, you have to:
- Be able to pass a mouth swab drug test.
- Not been convicted of a violent felony.
- Pass a simple screening test for reading comprehension.
- Be available to work one of the four day on, three day off shifts that are available.
Amazon Lost Market Share Early In The Pandemic
Competitors cut into Amazons substantial market share in the U.S., in part because the company was showing customers long delivery times.
Amazon
Mr. Stroup worried how Amazon would summon workers back. The company needed to know who didnt intend to return so that it could replace them. But forcing employees too abruptly could result in firing tens of thousands of people. Mr. Stroup knew the work offered a lifeline: The cleanliness, the procedure, the pay, the benefits all of that is very competitive, he said.
He prepared surveys and data for Mr. Clark, the operations chief, who would make the final decision. Id heard Dave was saying: Lets just move faster. This isnt helping people not knowing if they are coming back to work or not. Weve created a safe place to work weve proven that people arent getting Covid at work so lets just find out if they want to come back or not, he said.
In a virtual meeting, Mr. Stroup told Mr. Clark that if employees were brought back gradually, over a month or two, only 5 to 10 percent were projected to stay home and lose their jobs. Under the faster plan, many more were likely to be fired for not showing up. The cold-turkey example was pretty bad, Mr. Stroup said, like it was 20 to 30 percent of people would be let go in the month.
You May Like: Is The Good Fight On Amazon Prime
Looking For Signs Of Change
A few weeks into the new year, Derrick Palmer took a 16-hour road trip with Mr. Smalls to Bessemer to witness the most serious push workers had ever made to challenge their status at Amazon. The employees galvanizing Amazons first-ever unionization vote framed their treatment as an issue of racial justice. Above all, they objected to the time off task system and other productivity monitoring, and called their campaign a quest for respect in the workplace.
Amazon waged a ground war, warning through posted signs, texts and mandatory meetings that union negotiations could risk the good jobs and benefits workers already had. In the end, the election was not even close: The retail union lost by more than 2 to 1.
Back on Staten Island, Mr. Palmer and Mr. Smalls embarked on a new mission anyway. As legal fights continued over whether JFK8 was safe during the virus and how Amazon handled the March 2020 protests, they began collecting hundreds of workers signatures in a quest to unionize JFK8. Amazon pulled out its Bessemer playbook and fought back, posting discouraging signs in bathrooms and at the buildings entrance. Mr. Palmer, still packing boxes as the company countered his efforts, felt the pressure on him grow.
Mr. Bezos commitment in April to become Earths best employer raised questions about what exactly that meant, and how far he and his successors would go.
Now, he said, lets see if they can innovate their way out of this.