Quote:
Originally Posted by qasdfdsaq
How exactly is cost going to be huge?
It'll be most likely one of the cheapest options available from Amazon's perspective.
The drones cost a few hundred bucks each, far less than even annual vehicle tax on a delivery van, let alone a van itself, and cost a few pence in electricity to make a delivery. Only drawback is it'll only be available within a limited radius around their depots and won't be available in adverse weather.
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Have you factored in that the van can take many parcels at once, including those larger than the copter can handle? The purchase and running costs of the average van are quite low if you factor in the fact that the purchase cost is divided by the number of parcels the van will take in it's lifetime (which will be in the tens of thousands). Maintenance and tax can be divided by the amount of parcels taken in a year (which can still be thousands), as can the salary of the driver. The cost of fuel can be divided by the amount of parcels the van can carry on one tank. It also does not need to return to the depot after every journey, which will reduce fuel consumption and in the long term, maintenance costs.
Personally, I think Amazon did it for one reason, and one reason only. Publicity. Think about it. They've got the media all over the US and UK talking about it, and all they had to shell out is a few bucks for a copter and a few cents for an Amazon PrimeAir sticker..