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Interview with Jeff Bezos of Amazon

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the hey-jeff-let-us-interview-you dept.

slakdrgn writes "Wired has an interview with Jeff Bezos (CEO of Amazon.com) with some interesting information on how he approaches the market, why they stopped doing TV advertising three years ago and hints at what might be coming in the future."

9 of 116 comments (clear)

  1. Is it just me.. by sjwt · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Or dose that interview seem to be rather empty?

    but its nice to see the adversisting budget went to free shiping, I think there right, if companys focused more on the product and less on the hype, we'd all be happyer.

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    1. Re:Is it just me.. by jmcmunn · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Yeah, it did seem a little short on content. Although it does show an important side of Bezos, in that he know what the customer wants and what will drive his (amazon's) sales. The free shipping on Amazon is one reason I keep coming back there to buy stuff. When I need to order a DVD or book, or even electronics occasionally I will check Amazon first. Sometimes they just don't have the best price, so I go somewhere else, but often times the free shipping makes the difference in where I order from.

      What they need to do is get more competitive on certain products, such as video games or whatever. Right now, it seems to me that all of the video games are actually sold through third party stores. Like Toys R Us for example. And they don't offer free shipping on games because of that. So when I need a game, I go somewhere else. That's a huge loss in business if there are a few thousand people like me who do the same, and all because they aren't following the sales model that gets me in the door for everything else I buy there at Amazon.

  2. It shows by holiggan · · Score: 5, Interesting
    I've been an Amazon (both .com and .co.uk) for a couple of years now and it shows that they really care about customer service, as Jeff mentions.

    Just an example, I ordered an old PC game some time ago, and when I got it, I noticed that it was lacking a CD (it was one of those 4 CD games of old age). I write to Amazon, not knowing what to expect from them. But, to my surprise, they wrote back, saying that they would ship another package, no charge, and that I could keep the first one and do with it whatever I chose to! (they sugested giving it to charity)

    It was really a surprise to me, I'm not used to this kind of service, not even on "live" stores, let alone on online ones!

    Anyway, I'm prety happy with my relationship with Amazon and I'll continue to buy from them whenever I can.

    Keep up the good work, guys!

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  3. Test does not support your claim by bstadil · · Score: 5, Interesting
    I just tried 3 titles from my wish list at Amazon comparing prices found at Bookfinder.

    Two were 50% more expensive for Used version and one about the same.

    So why should I care about Amazon's share of the sales if it provides me a better overall price in addition to dealing with a known entity?

    By the way having a long Wish List at Amazon and checking Usd Prices from time to time is an excellent way of getting good deals. New books drops to 1/3 or so often less than two mothn after release.

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  4. That's easy... by Weaselmancer · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ...hints at what might be coming in the future.

    I can tell you that right now. More stupid strangle patents, like the infamous one click patent.

    Bezos is a tool.

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    Weaselmancer
    rediculous.
  5. Profit? by ClosedSource · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Has Amazon made a profit yet? I'm not talking about profitable quarters. Has Amazon made more in revenue over its lifetime than the money invested?

  6. Amazon's growth... by Lord_Scrumptious · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Do physical bookstores have anything to offer that Amazon doesn't?

    Actually, one thing I find easier (and more enjoyable) in a physical bookstore is actually browsing for different titles along a shelf (or shelves). You might be looking for a particular title, but it's always interesting to see what other titles are stacked up next to it. Yes, you can "browse" online, but it feels more cumbersome to me and doesn't match the pleasure of browsing in a real bookstore (or library). What's more, Amazon's website has quite a cluttered feel to it. There are so many bits of information on a single page (including adverts from other vendors), it sometimes feels as if you're being bombarded with the hard sell.

    I've ordered many times from Amazon and have no complaints about their customer service. However, they've grown so large (and continue to grow), I do worry about their influence and how they might exert it over other vendors, publishers, writers etc.

    And speaking of the hard sell, is the recent "Amazon Theater" a foretaste of things to come? Product-placement taken to a new level i.e. films designed primarily to sell products. Not something to look forward to. How long before we see weblinks on a DVD that take you direct to an Amazon page where you can buy product X as featured in the movie you just watched?

    What about videos? Netflix says it believes you're going to enter their rental-by-mail business.

    Amazon UK have already started a DVD rental service. Perhaps it's a way for Amazon to test the waters before launching the service in the US?

  7. Theres less choice on amazon now by happyhippy · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Its all recent 'popular' stuff now on offer, and less and less old rare or cult items.
    For instance a year or two ago they had a good selection of chinese and japanese action films. Hell, from every country. Now its just a couple of 'popular' ones that made it so US cinemas alredy.

    And where the hell is Von Triers The Kingdom series 2 Amazon? You have the woefully bad Stephen Kings abortion, yet dont have the second part of the original.

  8. RIAA, are you listening? by Dachannien · · Score: 5, Interesting

    We wondered about things like cookbooks and reference titles - would people just take the snippet they need and not buy the book? In fact, by letting people search inside, sales of these types of books have gone up more than average.