Current Events > I tried Amazon Flex again

(+) Yeah! (+)

My first route was pretty shitty. The pay was $94 for 4 hours, which sounded good. Until I ended up driving 117 miles, and $40 in gas was used. So the $23/hr I thought I was making was much, much lower.

Picked up at a different station today. Pay was $98 for 3.5 hours. Pay wasnt much different, but I only had to drive 51 miles lol. Less than half of the first block. Used under a quarter tank of gas

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/2/8/AASrCoAAD6CA.jpg

and I saw some cool houses

Geodesic domes. Friend of mine lived on one in high school.

cool house. is the image from your dashcam? if so, what kind?

Na just my iPhone. Took it on my way back to my car

aha, cool thx. something seemed a little unusual, suppose i've just never seen a domestic structure like that before

flex seems like something i would consider doing tbh
i recently applied with the post office for an assistant rural carrier position, which in practice entails working on sundays and holidays mostly doing amazon stuff (using your personal vehicle)
haven't heard anything yet

Yeah it was definitely an eye catcher!

If you end up trying Flex- The regular rate is $18-$25 an hour. But you can catch surges when routes havent been picked up close to their scheduled time, or if someone cancels it kinda last minute.

They get snatched up quickly, but Ive seen some routes that pay up to $39/hr

I wont take anything under $25/hr after seeing how far I got sent on the first route, since I have to get premium gas in my car. But the 2nd route was much much better.

Funnily enough, I had applied and got finger printed for a full time position with USPS about a year ago, and then they lost my paperwork lol.

Yo I'm pretty sure that's King Kai's house

Cool house, what kind of gas mileage do you get?

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/6/9/AASrCoAAD6Cp.jpg

lww99 posted...

Pay was $98 for 3.5 hours. Pay wasnt much different, but I only had to drive 51 miles

damn gasoline, cutting into his profits.
if only car ran on french fry oil or electric.

Kombucha posted...

Cool house, what kind of gas mileage do you get?

Around 20mpg or so, depending on how I drive. AWD problems lol. Im sure it would be much more lucrative in newer Honda.

kingdrake2 posted...

damn gasoline, cutting into his profits.
if only car ran on french fry oil or electric.

tbf I knew gas would be a factor, but didnt expect to use a half a tank on my first route lol

damn
they really got flex drivers going 100+ miles on a 4 hr route? im pretty sure when i was a van driver it was like 25 miles for a 10 hr route

Im trying to see if its a problem with that station, or maybe I just got unlucky the first time/lucky this time.

2 routes isnt much evidence for either case unfortunately.

maybe the average is around 70-80 or so? If my first route was like 120 and this one was 50

Gas is only half your expense. Theres also wear and tear on your car.

My full time job is only 2 miles from my house, so I dont get much from that thankfully.

But yeah this will add up over time.

how many stops do they give you?
we had like idk 120-150 which is a stop every 4-5 minutes, but they wanted you to do a stop in 3 minutes or less

Oh damn!

Both of mine were around 40. This time I had 2-3 stops with multiple packages which was cool. I was never driving for more than a couple minutes in between stops.

I dont time myself- but Id say 3 minutes is pretty accurate to locate the package in my vehicle, walk and scan it, take my pic, and then walk back

I dont think Ill take anything above 4 hours. My car was FULL lol

My trunk is deep, but not super tall. My ass was playing Tetris with those boxes lol. Sucks when you have to pull stuff out to get to a package in the back of the trunk.

Oubliettes posted...

how many stops do they give you?
we had like idk 120-150 which is a stop every 4-5 minutes, but they wanted you to do a stop in 3 minutes or less

Wtf getting in and out of your car takes 3 minutes, and wtf about speed limits Amazon is crazy

One cool part of flex is the cool houses, yards and areas you wouldn't otherwise get to see.

Eramir posted...

Wtf getting in and out of your car takes 3 minutes, and wtf about speed limits Amazon is crazy

Flex doesnt give a damn about speeds. You dont get paid for time you go over, so I was flying in between stops lmao

Also sounds like you have to keep you car running which is also suspect

kawalimus posted...

One cool part of flex is the cool houses, yards and areas you wouldn't otherwise get to see.

And yeah, this is one of the perks for me. Im a homebody, and my FT job is super close to home.

so this forces me out of my comfort zone, and allows me to see some cool/interesting stuff

Eramir posted...

Also sounds like you have to keep you car running which is also suspect

You arent supposed to. But if its a nice enough area, and Im parking in your driveway, Ill leave it running. Not turning my car off every 2 minutes if I can avoid it

i tried taking my extra key fob with me to see if I could lock it from the outside, but no luck

If I have to leave the immediate area of my vehicle(apartments mainly), Ill turn it off and lock it.

RIP to your tires, struts, shocks, brakes and motor mounts.

There was a recent story about a Amazon worker mauled to death by dogs too, so be prepared for that scenario when youre delivering

Yeah definitely something to keep an eye out for. Ive been carrying a knife, but I may switch to a collapsible baton. They cant bite through steel.

lww99 posted...

Yeah definitely something to keep an eye out for. Ive been carrying a knife, but I may switch to a collapsible baton. They cant bite through steel.

Just get a gun

I actually carry for my full time job, but something tells me people dont want me walking to their door with a big ol revolver on my hip. Especially because youre delivering without a uniform/identifying markers.

I just bought a blue vest, but it doesnt say Amazon or anything lol

unfortunately its not meant to be carried concealed.
but maybe a cheap Taurus g2 would be warranted.

Also, up until the recent WFH era, basically every job would put wear and tear on your vehicle.

hell, my fiance has an hour commute to her job lol

You actually make more when you write off gas as a business expense on your tax return

Yeah Ive been tracking my mileage for that

I guess you only need to file a 1099 if you make more than $600 though. So if I only do a couple more, I probably just wont file. I dont wanna mess up my return for my ft job

Flauros posted...

Just get a gun

protection in the valley of darkness.

lww99 posted...

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/6/9/AASrCoAAD6Cp.jpg

I wanna know more about this, lol

Yeah that one was eerie. Very dilapidated lol

lww99 posted...

Flex doesnt give a damn about speeds. You dont get paid for time you go over, so I was flying in between stops lmao

You actually can get overtime if the route took you longer than it was supposed to. Go to the earnings tab and select the route in question, then hit "report a problem" or whatever, and give a brief note that you went over and why. Some people have had issues getting it but they've always given it to me no problem. I think they check to see if you were obviously stalling for time or making extra stops but who knows.

Ill give it a shot if I go over again. Like my first route I finished that up basically right at the end of my scheduled time, but then I had a 45 min drive back home. Could I get compensated in that kind of situation?

lww99 posted...

Ill give it a shot if I go over again. Like my first route I finished that up basically right at the end of my scheduled time, but then I had a 45 min drive back home. Could I get compensated in that kind of situation?

Only while deliveries are being made unfortunately. Those shitty long drives home you can't get paid for. However if you have to return something to the warehouse you can get the overtime pay for that driving.

But yeah one time earlier this year they gave me a shitty route at like 3 or 4 that was like all closed or closing businesses and I had to return a package and I finished that 30 mins past the original route end time, and got the full hour's extra pay. Still sucked but made it a little better lol

Wonder if there will be any good holiday surges