# Amazon, just put a reCAPCHA.



## Placebo17 (Jan 20, 2017)

That will solve everything. I knew people were using bots but didn't realize the majority of the people doing Flex were using them even the logistics. Sigh...


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## Chicago-uber (Jun 18, 2014)




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## Cynergie (Apr 10, 2017)

^^
Yesh! Nirvana! And this is a close second!


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## Randompanzy (Dec 18, 2015)

Placebo17 said:


> That will solve everything. I knew people were using bots but didn't realize the majority of the people doing Flex were using them even the logistics. Sigh...


God no I freaking hate those things captchas are the worst


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## Tippyshot (Aug 3, 2017)

ok they put a limit if to many ReQs are sent to pop up a captcha what stops you from finding out the rate limit and making you bot fall right under this limit captcha would be useless


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## jester121 (Sep 6, 2016)

Requiring manual intervention with a recaptcha after a block is grabbed but before the acceptance is completed, is what they're talking about here. Surprised they haven't done that a long time ago...


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## Tippyshot (Aug 3, 2017)

jester121 said:


> Requiring manual intervention with a recaptcha after a block is grabbed but before the acceptance is completed, is what they're talking about here. Surprised they haven't done that a long time ago...


yup this would work


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## soupergloo (Jul 24, 2015)

maybe they like drivers using bots ..


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## Movaldriver (Feb 20, 2017)

I think enough drivers complained and asked for this feature that they finally got around to it.


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## soupergloo (Jul 24, 2015)

Movaldriver said:


> I think enough drivers complained and asked for this feature that they finally got around to it.


I think they made a pathetic attempt to getting around to it .. they clearly just sent out a mass email to random drivers including those who are using bots (but not all of them) and those not using bots.


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## Movaldriver (Feb 20, 2017)

Totally possible. I didn't get it but who knows they might eventually send it to everyone. I'm just hoping more blocks are available and not gone in a half second. It's too bad it's gotten to this point. Flex was a great idea but there's always people who get greedy. When I first started I was able to get almost every block I saw. Now it's just frustrating.


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## soupergloo (Jul 24, 2015)

Movaldriver said:


> Totally possible. I didn't get it but who knows they might eventually send it to everyone. I'm just hoping more blocks are available and not gone in a half second. It's too bad it's gotten to this point. Flex was a great idea but there's always people who get greedy. When I first started I was able to get almost every block I saw. Now it's just frustrating.


I think they're only hurting themselves .. just like dkcs said, they don't want a mass amount of deactivations right before the holidays ESPECIALLY ones that know what they're doing.


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## Movaldriver (Feb 20, 2017)

That's true that they need experienced drivers for the holidays. Yes it's easy but the stuff we run across people can't even imagine! I've really learned a lot since I started. I'm hoping this will make things fair to everyone. We should all get a fair shot at getting blocks.


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## jester121 (Sep 6, 2016)

Also keep in mind, this is the same Amazon that sends out emails to the wrong people, emails with survey links that don't go anywhere, and weekly summary emails that have no basis in reality (sorry Amazon, the weekly summary email you sent today? I haven't worked for 2 weeks.... but thanks for not getting the correct data even so.) They also publish app updates that obviously didn't get even 30 seconds of QA/testing, they're so obviously broken in multiple areas.

Why would they get the warnings and suspensions figured out correctly the first time?


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## Amsoil Uber Connect (Jan 14, 2015)

What is really sad is changing your home delivery station to some 30 miles away from where one should be, which is 2.3 miles to the nearest station..

The good part so far is that I have a block secured for tomorrow morning. So no phishing.


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## Movaldriver (Feb 20, 2017)

No captcha in Riverside and blocks disappear tight away still


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## Placebo17 (Jan 20, 2017)

I've been fishing for 2 hours. I saw 3 blocks this morning, all gone in less than a second. LOL... It's harder to get blocks now than before the email. WTF? It's obvious bots are still being used.


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## Flex89 (Jun 12, 2016)

I have noticed it extremely hard to get blocks since the email.


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## Movaldriver (Feb 20, 2017)

Last night saw several then 6 or 7 this morning. If they would release multiple at a time it's easier to get one but one at a time forget it


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## dkcs (Aug 27, 2014)

The big time bot sellers are upping their game since the email as they now have a high demand product and can ask any price they want for it. The only way to beat them is with bigger and faster proxies but at some point it becomes a money loosing proposition paying to rent expensive servers.

People are desperate and willing to pay crazy amounts of $$$ to get their steady Flex income. Since the warning email went out I've been offered $1000 up front to install the proxy server (turned it down), been offered personal favors from female Flexer's and have had people telling me they won't be able to pay their rent or feed their kids if I don't install the proxy for them because they can't use Frep or Repitouch anymore.. 

Once Amazon takes out a big chunk of the income bot sellers are making using proxy methods I forsee someone reverse engineering the Flex app and taking control of the market. There is big money to be made for bot sellers based on the desperation I've seen. The sellers aren't going to just go away. They will simply evolve to the next level and the game will go on. I'd be really surprised if someone isn't working on reverse engineering the Flex app at this moment to be ready to cash in when the axe drops on the current proxy methods.


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## Brandon Wilson (Aug 13, 2017)

dkcs said:


> The big time bot sellers are upping their game since the email as they now have a high demand product and can ask any price they want for it. The only way to beat them is with bigger and faster proxies but at some point it becomes a money loosing proposition paying to rent expensive servers.
> 
> People are desperate and willing to pay crazy amounts of $$$ to get their steady Flex income. Since the warning email went out I've been offered $1000 up front to install the proxy server (turned it down), been offered personal favors from female Flexer's and have had people telling me they won't be able to pay their rent or feed their kids if I don't install the proxy for them because they can't use Frep or Repitouch anymore..
> 
> Once Amazon takes out a big chunk of the income bot sellers are making using proxy methods I forsee someone reverse engineering the Flex app and taking control of the market. There is big money to be made for bot sellers based on the desperation I've seen. The sellers aren't going to just go away. They will simply evolve to the next level and the game will go on. I'd be really surprised if someone isn't working on reverse engineering the Flex app at this moment to be ready to cash in when the axe drops on the current proxy methods.


Has Flex become that bad? I haven't been scheduling blocks since the semester started but when I was I was highly active and could get 3 blocks a day with little effort.


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## dkcs (Aug 27, 2014)

It depends on the city. Some are easier than others...


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## jester121 (Sep 6, 2016)

Not that everyone is smart enough to realize it, but people have to realize that there's a clear cap on the financial incentive to pay someone to find you work, right? Meaning, if you're never going to earn more than $18/hr, as you pay more and more for the right to earn that money, the benefit is diminished and approaches zero. This is like watching a 19th century coal mining company town....


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## dkcs (Aug 27, 2014)

It all depends on what the minimum wage for the area is. For low minimum wage areas the ability to earn up to $25 an hour is like winning the lottery and in other areas where high minimum wages and tons of jobs paying more than that just to get someone to stay Amazon isn't quite as sought after. Uber and Lyft still manage to find drivers out here and often you end up making below $12 an hour when everything is said and done but people still do it.


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## Placebo17 (Jan 20, 2017)

dkcs said:


> The big time bot sellers are upping their game since the email as they now have a high demand product and can ask any price they want for it. The only way to beat them is with bigger and faster proxies but at some point it becomes a money losing proposition paying to rent expensive servers.
> 
> People are desperate and willing to pay crazy amounts of $$$ to get their steady Flex income. Since the warning email went out I've been offered $1000 up front to install the proxy server (turned it down), been offered personal favors from female Flexer's and have had people telling me they won't be able to pay their rent or feed their kids if I don't install the proxy for them because they can't use Frep or Repitouch anymore..
> 
> Once Amazon takes out a big chunk of the income bot sellers are making using proxy methods I forsee someone reverse engineering the Flex app and taking control of the market. There is big money to be made for bot sellers based on the desperation I've seen. The sellers aren't going to just go away. They will simply evolve to the next level and the game will go on. I'd be really surprised if someone isn't working on reverse engineering the Flex app at this moment to be ready to cash in when the axe drops on the current proxy methods.


Personal favors from female flexers? If you choose this route make sure they send you a pic before the deal. I mean ladies at my warehouse are nice but not many lookers... Lol


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## jester121 (Sep 6, 2016)

Placebo17 said:


> I mean ladies at my warehouse are nice but not many lookers... Lol


Generally true far and wide, though there's a young lady who wears sports bras and painted-on yoga pants at DCH4 -- very nearly made me drop my phone every time she leaned into her Prius.

(no, that's not code for anything)


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## dkcs (Aug 27, 2014)

Placebo17 said:


> Personal favors from female flexers? If you choose this route make sure they send you a pic before the deal. I mean ladies at my warehouse are nice but not many lookers... Lol


Not even considered, in a 25 year relationship.


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## UberPasco (Oct 18, 2015)

dkcs said:


> It all depends on what the minimum wage for the area is. For low minimum wage areas the ability to earn up to $25 an hour is like winning the lottery and in other areas where high minimum wages and tons of jobs paying more than that just to get someone to stay Amazon isn't quite as sought after. Uber and Lyft still manage to find drivers out here and often you end up making below $12 an hour when everything is said and done but people still do it.


Most people don't realize that "after everything is said and done" you need to be making $14/hr full time to bring home $12, not accounting for local income taxes. So for everyone who says that a minimum wage job (currently $7.25 Fed to a high of $11 in two states and $12.50 in DC, with the mean being around $8.15) is better than Amazon Flex is either very poor at math or insane.


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## dkcs (Aug 27, 2014)

I was speaking of Uber and Lyft when saying you often end up making less than $12 an hour (Los Angeles minimum wage) after you account for mileage, gas, wear and tear and self employment taxes. Yes, Amazon pays much better than what most people can get but it still isn't life changing money in LA due to our high costs of living. In some places Amazon is a goldmine and worth spending huge amounts of money to fight over and do whatever it takes to keep Flex and work 8 hours a day.

I just wonder how long Amazon can continue to subsidize the Flex business at the current hourly rate they pay. There is no way in hell that they are making any money out here on restaurant deliveries when it averages 45 minutes to an hour to do one delivery due to LA traffic and the order is only $25 vs the $5 bucks Uber pays (if you are lucky) for an Eats delivery.


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## UberPasco (Oct 18, 2015)

dkcs said:


> I was speaking of Uber and Lyft when saying you often end up making less than $12 an hour (Los Angeles minimum wage) after you account for mileage, gas, wear and tear and self employment taxes. Yes, Amazon pays much better than what most people can get but it still isn't life changing money in LA due to our high costs of living. In some places Amazon is a goldmine and worth spending huge amounts of money to fight over and do whatever it takes to keep Flex and work 8 hours a day.


Yes but many others on here claim the same about Flex. ( Didn't mean to imply you.)


dkcs said:


> I just wonder how long Amazon can continue to subsidize the Flex business at the current hourly rate they pay. There is no way in hell that they are making any money out here on restaurant deliveries when it averages 45 minutes to an hour to do one delivery due to LA traffic and the order is only $25 vs the $5 bucks Uber pays (if you are lucky) for an Eats delivery.


No one knows this answer. The general consensus seems to be that they have a completely different service (apparently alluded to in a Wall Street conference call) that they would like to introduce, but there is some issue that is preventing them from moving forward.
It is a massive money loser here, and I can't imagine it being more than a break-even situation anywhere else.


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## jade88 (Oct 6, 2016)

dkcs said:


> I was speaking of Uber and Lyft when saying you often end up making less than $12 an hour (Los Angeles minimum wage) after you account for mileage, gas, wear and tear and self employment taxes. Yes, Amazon pays much better than what most people can get but it still isn't life changing money in LA due to our high costs of living. In some places Amazon is a goldmine and worth spending huge amounts of money to fight over and do whatever it takes to keep Flex and work 8 hours a day.
> 
> I just wonder how long Amazon can continue to subsidize the Flex business at the current hourly rate they pay. There is no way in hell that they are making any money out here on restaurant deliveries when it averages 45 minutes to an hour to do one delivery due to LA traffic and the order is only $25 vs the $5 bucks Uber pays (if you are lucky) for an Eats delivery.


Amazon is now a 500 billion dollar company. And if they want to pay me this money to do restaurant deliveries at the rate of one per hour, I'll take it. Haha. But no seriously, I think it's all about giving their customers every option possible. Being the go to for everything. So I think they're willing to take the losses because they make it up with other things. But I love restaurants, easiest job I've ever had.


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## Basmati (Sep 14, 2014)

I always thought Amazon was using restaurants as just a way to bring in more Prime members. And once they get somebody to sign onto Prime there are many different ways for Amazon to make capitalize off it.


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## jade88 (Oct 6, 2016)

Basmati said:


> I always thought Amazon was using restaurants as just a way to bring in more Prime members. And once they get somebody to sign onto Prime there are many different ways for Amazon to make capitalize off it.


Yes that's what I meant. It's to get everyone in the world to become a prime member, and buy all of their needs and wants from Amazon. World domination. Kind of scary actually.


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## poopyhead (Jul 8, 2016)

Movaldriver said:


> No captcha in Riverside and blocks disappear tight away still


I don't have recaptcha here. And no email about bots either.


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## Cynergie (Apr 10, 2017)

jade88 said:


> Yes that's what I meant. It's to get everyone in the world to become a prime member, and buy all of their needs and wants from Amazon. World domination. Kind of scary actually.


We're already living in these times per benevolence of do no wrong Google. The new wunderkind for the once omnipotent M$.

The rate at which Amazon has facilitated the ability for customers to conduct commerce in the logistics world is mind boggling. From Amazon Fresh delivering a bottle of milk and fresh groceries, to Prime/Flex delivery of toilet paper/retail goods through Amazon's global IC network.

Per Revelations in the King James Bible (I paraphrase):
One omnipotent global leader. One global government. One global religeon. One global currency.
^^
One global logistics company (that could subsidize and make that all possible)....

So IMO, this implies the day when all humankind must submit to a 666 QR code embedded in their foreheads, may be fast approaching.....


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## Randompanzy (Dec 18, 2015)

poopyhead said:


> I don't have recaptcha here. And no email about bots either.


There is no recapcha this thread is just saying there should be one


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## rozz (Sep 7, 2016)

poopyhead said:


> I don't have recaptcha here. And no email about bots either.


The title should read 'Amazon, just put a recapcha.' I was confused at first too.


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## Placebo17 (Jan 20, 2017)

If you read my OP, you'd know what I meant. I guess people just read the title and reply...

LOL I was confused at some of the replies.


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## Movaldriver (Feb 20, 2017)

Until they put one the bots will still be getting the majority of blocks


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## grams777 (Jun 13, 2014)

Randompanzy said:


> There is no recapcha this thread is just saying there should be one


Agreed - comma added.


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