Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)

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  • commenter
    powertothepe
    ople
    Oct 14 06:46 AM
    eBay Caps Shipping Rates: What Is the CEO Thinking? [view article]
    Firstly, Ebay does not negotiate with its customers, in fact there is no table at which to negotiate. Secondly, there are many other auction sites out there and one is offering lifetime memberships (free listings for life) for £49.99. Wouldn't the best tactic be that we all take our business elsewhere. The people control the market - it's in our hands. Without us eBay is nothing. If we make a concerted stand we can all trade happily elsewhere. It can happen but it needs everyone onboard. We need to stop, think and jump ship. There are better ones out there. Reply
  • commenter
    Jeff Jarvis
    Oct 14 06:31 AM
    My Website
    Welcome to the Google Economy [view article]
    Bruce Timmons,
    I like how you said that: "Manufacturers should shift into a view of selling the utility of the stuff rather than the stuff itself."
    When I interviewed VC Fred Wilson for the book and asked him about a Googley car company, he thought for a second and said it was Zipcar. Right: utility over stuff itself.
    I then riffed on that with a new vision for a car company as a getting-you-places company.
    That, indeed, is a network as you describe it.

    Reply
  • commenter
    jonbob
    Oct 13 10:34 PM
    Welcome to the Google Economy [view article]
    While reading your comments on the credit mess I was reminded of my own decision to sell my stocks and remain in cash. I did it about a year ago.

    I started receiving spam mails inviting me to be a signer upper for loans. Everybody and his brother was handing out money over the Internet and getting folks like me to get the papers signed for a fee.

    That reminded me of an old saw about a business man who sold all his stock on the eve of the great crash of '29 because his boot black touted stocks to him while polishing his shoes.

    The correlation was all too scary. Like all those folks who bought stocks in the twenties, rocketing their prices to extreme multiples, there were just too many people handing out credit and things were gettng crazy. Taking into account that credit and interest rates rule the market, my stomach knotted up and I bailed out.

    For all the complexity of the credit problem, the decision to sell stocks was based upon really simple reasoning. In the market, finance rules and finance was heading for trouble.

    Reply
  • commenter
    User 198873
    Oct 13 06:50 PM
    Welcome to the Google Economy [view article]
    why cant people see that goog is still the best co. of its kind. I think it is about to reach new highs any day now. Do not be suprised to see it go up 50 points in the next session.jerry w. Reply
  • commenter
    Talin
    Oct 13 06:01 PM
    Welcome to the Google Economy [view article]
    Good post, full of suggestions, but very dangerous idea. If America Googles-up, as suggested it should, things will deteriorate sharply. "Atoms are a drag" "Stuff stinks" and things like that are old currency in current strategic thinking in America. Faced to increased competition in world markets, the only plausible strategy that American business strategists have developed -and that nobody contradicts- is to follow the "mental", "intellectual property" road. We do the "thinking", sell the thinking, and with that we buy the "stuff" the not so clever people in the rest of the world needs to supply. That´s the general idea. Now, improving on that, the "networks" will also do the "thinking".

    To sell profitably intellectual property not attached to specific goods is not a very good business proposition. You do not get much money out of it, perhaps in a few of the successful projects, but taking the losses in the unsuccessful ones. Biotechnological companies that do not develop final products are discovering that.

    At the national level is, obviously, worse. You cannot survive selling 20 billions of car "technology" and importing 200 billions of cars. And nobody pays for Google (final consumption); as at now the income of Google in intermediate consumption (companies’ money). This difference is vital, but nobody see it.

    We have to network, invest in "technology" and make good use of it, which means creating something that (mainly) final consumers will really pay, which means they really value. And to keep the value added in America.

    Reply
  • commenter
    slick deals
    4 u
    Oct 13 05:19 PM
    My Website
    Welcome to the Google Economy [view article]
    Nice article. But may be it is more better if we say as 'Internet Economy" instead of google economy.

    Definitely web 2.0 has made significant impact to form platforms you have listed. If one thinks carefully, the DOT COM burst we had in 2000 to 2003, the over hype of internet technology, actually has become a reality in last 2 years!!

    Reply
  • commenter
    leapingcat
    Oct 13 04:52 PM
    My Website
    eBay Caps Shipping Rates: What Is the CEO Thinking? [view article]
    An update, this nonsense is now spreading to the UK. The cap on postage for books is the most stupid thing of the lot, as it will be the equivalent of about $4.70 regardless of size. The UK postage rates are based on a combination of weight and size, so a comic will cost about $1.10 plus packing to post, which is OK, but a larger hardback book, such as a textbook costs about $7.00 on postage alone. The only books it will practicable to sell will be thin paperbacks or expensive books where the loss on postage can be absorbed. The result will be less choice for buyers; I can't see how this will improve their 'experience'.
    It is obvious that Ebay mangement have never even picked up a book, let alone opened one and read it.     Reply
  • commenter
    Brice
    Timmons
    Oct 13 02:50 PM
    My Website
    Welcome to the Google Economy [view article]
    Good analysis, but not entirely correct with regard to "stuff" being bad. The problem with manufacturing, real estate, etc. is the paradigm for viewing what is being sold. Manufacturers should shift into a view of selling the utility of the stuff rather than the stuff itself. Large networks are in a better position to extract residual value from an asset (car, computer, etc.) than individuals. Not to mention, owning stuff doesn't always guarantee you the utility that you need. A car, for example, is generally useful, but many individuals have periodic need of an SUV, truck, van, or some other vehicle that they probably decided to forgo buying when they bought a car. The car retailer that solves this problem by leasing an electric car that comes with the periodic use of an SUV, van, truck, etc. shared among a large network, will boost their sales numbers and be in a position to extract residual value from the car after the lease is up.

    Networks of pure information have the bonus of being exceptionally flexible, but there is still a hardware infrastructure underlying every scrap of code in the world. "Stuff" isn't bad, but the centralized, unwieldy networks that disseminate its true value (utility) are inefficient monsters. Franchising everything, possibly even down to manufacturing, (like the note on "linking" above) is the way to go.

    Making networks that are able to shed parts and extract residual value after the consumer gets his maximum utility from a product, that's the future of "stuff."     Reply
  • commenter
    svosavvy
    Oct 13 02:09 PM
    Netflix May Dominate The Online Video World, But With What Business Model? [view article]
    aapl tv has more in common with the on demand programming offered by cable. They are both pay per view. If you like paying four bucks just to watch a movie then the previous is fine, but, my family watches a lot of movies and this would bankrupt me, long nflx. Also, cost of aapl box $229 I believe, you don't need the roku box unless you want it, I stream off my pc. I agree the content is an expensive gamble, but, the library has grown exponentially. I think big content will mean a lot to the likes of microsoft, I see the past actions of msft as flirtation, possibly we will see consummation? It would give a viable platform to compete with apple in a new emerging battlefield. Reply
  • commenter
    Brewer
    Oct 13 01:08 AM
    Amazon, Rhapsody Gain in Digital Music Market ; iTunes Still Top Dog [view article]
    Sure, Amazon MP3s work great on iPods, but you still have to manually drag them them into iTunes. Not that difficult, but it's not anywhere near the seamless experience of iTunes. It's far easier to use iTunes than to use Amazon. Also, iTunes files have better sound quality and smaller files because they use the advanced ACC file format. Not only are files smaller and sound quality higher with (open standard) ACC files, but the format also allow more meta data and remembers your position in the podcast, audio book, etc... MP3's can't do that! Reply
  • commenter
    Dan Rayburn
    Oct 12 11:26 PM
    My Website
    Netflix May Dominate The Online Video World, But With What Business Model? [view article]
    Again, Apple and iPods have nothing to do with Netflix. iPods don't stream content, it plays content that has been downloaded. And all Netflix has said is that their streaming service for the PC will support Mac's at some point. Nothing Netflix offers has to do with downloads to an iPod. Reply
  • commenter
    Network
    Effect
    Oct 12 03:00 PM
    Good News For Google Investors: YouTube Click-To-Buy Feature [view article]
    It makes sense to me that this is the way that you monetize it, but it's all in the numbers. If Google reports numbers regarding this feature then they will be good and they will have another potential home run on their hands. But if they don't report numbers on it (like Amazon has not reported numbers for Kindle, and Google will probably not report numbers for Android), then the numbers are not compelling. Every time another attempt at making money fails, Google slides further and further into yesterday's news. Google is a lot like Mike Tyson - Tyson was percieved to be unstoppable early on, until Buster Douglas knocked him out. He hasn't won a lot of fights since the Douglas knock out, and each loss since then has continued to deteriorate his reputation as unstoppable. Google was percieved to be unstoppable early on too, until they tried to make money at other things. They haven't won a lot of fights since that first knock out either. And if Android and this attempt to monetize YouTube don't work, Google's reputation will continue to deteriorate as anything more than a one-trick-pony. Reply
  • commenter
    slick deals
    4 u
    Oct 12 02:55 PM
    My Website
    Online Consumers to Spend Less Money, Use More Coupons, This Holiday Season [view article]
    There is no question that economic downturn is going to affect everybody from corporate to retail stores to consumers. Consumer is going to spend less and less. They will buy only necessary items ! So I am sure it is going to affect all online advertisers from Google to CJ.com to Fatwallet sites to retailmont to small deal sites like www.slickdeals4u.com.

    Now being said that on other side people going to try to save money as much as possible by finding bargain deals. There will be more people researching on web, finding bargain, coupons, slick deals etc. So online business will benefit compared to physical stores.. This fact of finding bargain weighs equivalent or more than fact of economic downturn!

    So this is great opportunity to all those bargain deal sites, coupon sites to provide smart & intelligent service to consumer!! And social networking built into these sweetens the spot.

    -Slick Deals 4 U
    www.slickdeals4u.com/d...     Reply
  • commenter
    katej80
    Oct 12 11:36 AM
    My Website
    Online Consumers to Spend Less Money, Use More Coupons, This Holiday Season [view article]
    I use www.searchalldeals.com in addition to retailmenot when deals don't necessarily come in the form of coupon codes. Reply
  • commenter
    User 198873
    Oct 12 10:55 AM
    Good News For Google Investors: YouTube Click-To-Buy Feature [view article]
    Its about time. goog is about to break out. Watch it climb to new hieghts. jerry w. Reply
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