I dont buy things based on what I need... if that were the case i wouldnt be buying a game or fancy shirt in the first place I dont NEED those at all. I can wear a potato sack for a shit and it would meet my **needs**. But I do usually WANT it overnight, because i get excited and I dont enjoy waiting for something im excited about.. may not be a need, but it is what i want, and im the one with the money. Business is all about giving people what they want, if people want it overnight (which is clear they do) and you dont provide it, expect all the business to go to amazon (as it tends to).
@freemo @realcaseyrollins @thenewoil Another ethical issue with the overnight shipping: that usually means UPS or FedEx. FedEx ships shark fins, slave dolphins, and hunting trophies, which is abusive to animals and the environment. FedEx is only limited by what they can get away with, whereas FedEx competitors are relatively more ethical. So I favor USPS. If shipping method is undisclosed, I add a note to the order.
While I am against trophy hunting I also dont feel that is the place or the right of the shipping company to get involved in. In fact in my view there should be legal protection and privacy over the content of my package.
@freemo @thenewoil @realcaseyrollins Is this what you envision: (courier) Is that a dolphin in that box of water sir? (seaworld) No, that's just a heavy box of water, don't worry about it.
@realcaseyrollins @thenewoil @freemo I've seen photos of hundreds of sharkfins getting ready to ship in open crates. When the shark finning happens in a 3rd world country of orgin, they have no need to hide them. FedEx knows they're shipping #sharkfins.
The onus in that case is on the 3rd world country to step up and make it illegal, not on FedEx, thats not their purview nor should it be.
@freemo @thenewoil @realcaseyrollins whether it's banned or not, ethical consumers have a duty too. It's our duty as ethical consumers to boycott wrongdoing.
Sure, I agree. But FedEx are not the ones doing wrong in my view. In fact to ban shipping items that are otherwise legal to ship would be fedex engaging in wrong doing in my view...
So yea by all means boycott shark fins, ill support you, but do it where you should be, at the consumer level and at the government level. Its not the place of a package shipper to do that sort of level of investigation or enforcement.
@freemo @realcaseyrollins @thenewoil "to ban shipping items that are otherwise legal to ship would be fedex engaging in wrong doing" <= absolutely profoundly absurd. FedEx has a right to control their own business. They can refuse service. That's how business works. They choose to engage in what's profitable.
Of course they have a right to do it. But as you already pointed out simply having the right to do a thing doesnt make it ethical to do it. It is, in my view, unethical for fedex to play that role regardless of if they have the legal right to do so or not.
@freemo @thenewoil @realcaseyrollins now you've contradicted yourself. First you said FedEx would be "in the wrong" if they don't ship shark fins, now you're back peddling.
How so? I am still saying they are in the wrong if they didnt ship shark fins (assuming they were legal to ship).
"in the wrong" = unethical, and I stand by that..
They have a **right** (they legally can do so) not to ship them, but they are **in the wrong** (it is unethical) not to do so
@freemo @realcaseyrollins @thenewoil "I am still saying they are in the wrong if they didnt ship shark fins" <= that's a serious claim.. to claim that a business must not refuse business. It's neither ethical nor is it capitalistic to demand that a business engage in a certain trade. The right to refuse service is important, especially if the service is ethically dubious enough to risk losing business due to boycotts.
@thenewoil @realcaseyrollins @freemo Suppose I have a bicycle shop and I sell Brompton's and Schwin bikes, and I choose not to sell Mongoose bikes. Who are you to say I have some kind of duty to sell Mongoose?
Thats not even remotely related to my claim here is.
It would be more akin to a shop owner demanding they strip search every customer that comes in the door and then decide if he likes you or not, and thus will sell to you, based on the contents of your pockets.
While a store owner would have a right to do this, I'd find it unethical as well..
The issue here with the shipping and with the analogy is one of a right for the customers privacy, nothing else.
@freemo @realcaseyrollins @thenewoil right, but you're just guessing. You don't know how UPS and USPS are refusing shark fins. Maybe they refuse shippers with the name "Shark Fin Soup Inc."
Good, as i said its not their place to do diligence on the contents of your package. That is why we have laws and police officers.