Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)

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  • commenter
    MetzyMom
    Oct 15 02:32 AM
    My Website
    Online Consumers to Spend Less Money, Use More Coupons, This Holiday Season [view article]
    The 'ideology' of buying fewer gifts or spending less on gifts is awesome, but the reality is something else altogether. My mother has been saying 'No more big Christmas Mornings' for years, but when push comes to shove, it's always more than she intended.

    I think savvy shoppers will search out all avenues to try and get the best deal, including online auctions... and I don't see eBay doing any better than the alternative sites percentage-wise. It's going to be who offers the best deal for the money. Sellers at OnlineAuction.com sell their items for much less than most eBay sellers because they have no fees. I think that alone is going to make a difference, just the same as Free Shipping is going to make a difference this year. Perks and freebie gifts are also going to be incentives. For example, I include a free guest soap with every order... the bigger the order, the more freebies included. Those freebies translate into extra 'no cost' gifts.

    Now, the REALLY savvy shopper starts buying the day after Christmas, not only for next years Christmas gifts, but for birthdays, anniversaries, graduation, etc. as well.

    Reply
  • commenter
    Roger
    Knights
    Oct 14 04:04 PM
    Newsweek Kindle and the New "Have It Your Way" Publishing [view article]
    The syndicators of daily cartoons, and the publishers of smart, up-market (poor-selling) comic books, should consider packaging their content this way. Many Kindle owners might be glad to pay a dime a day for a daily feed of their favorite comics, chosen from a large menu. Ditto for a monthly feed for those persons who enjoy the sort of smart cartoons found in <i>Funny Times</i> or published by Fantagraphics. Cartoons are the most creative branch of popular art nowadays, but cartoonists are very poorly paid compared to rock stars, etc. This could help them. (Maybe a collective could syndicate their work for the Kindle.) Reply
  • commenter
    momomiester
    Oct 14 03:15 PM
    My Website
    Welcome to the Google Economy [view article]
    Well two things. One is that human nature doesn't change so neither does fear or greed. And two, I have tried to get google to mow my yard but it just doesn't happen. All this virtual crap is just that; crap. Google is built almost like a ponzi scheme of links and advertising and while it is quiet amazing, it is still just a tool. Myspace and Youtube are amazing also but really they are just enterntainment and a huge waste of time and productivity unless your actually watching training videos.

    The last 6yrs was about the illusion of wealth through debt and asset appreciation. We inflated housing to the moon, inflation soared but the government did nothing but keep rates low. People felt rich as their jobs went to China and as more jobs were created to build up China. Of course China bought our debt and funded our fantasy. Now the gig is up and the bill has arrived in the mail.     Reply
  • commenter
    momomiester
    Oct 14 03:06 PM
    My Website
    Welcome to the Google Economy [view article]
    hery Reply
  • commenter
    blisterchick
    en
    Oct 14 01:12 PM
    Welcome to the Google Economy [view article]
    Well, this is good research to support the theory of the changing landscape. I said it before and I'll say it again, the internet will change the world the way Johanus Guttenberg's movable type changed Europe.

    We are going through a money reformation. Wow imagine that bring ethics to the business world.

    I'm still doing well because I've always practiced the Golden Rule. Treat others the way you want to be treated.     Reply
  • commenter
    Joyful
    Alternative
    Oct 14 09:25 AM
    My Website
    Welcome to the Google Economy [view article]
    jonbob, I got a mortgage earlier this year, and 3 months later, the same bank solicited me for a HELOC! There's been way too much credit floating around. Reply
  • commenter
    Joyful
    Alternative
    Oct 14 09:22 AM
    My Website
    Welcome to the Google Economy [view article]
    For a Googy car company based on utility, try Philly CarShare. Parking lots all over the city and suburbs, with various sorts of cars for members to rent by the hour; no need to own or store your own car, and a nice well-maintained car always available nearby for grocery shopping or a trip to Grandmas.

    And then there's the whole category of social/professional networking. I like LinkedIn, but there are many, depending on what you're looking for.     Reply
  • 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
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