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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."

30 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. Re:Is it just me.. by bulkmailforyou · · Score: 4, Informative
      It does seem to be an empty interview, but it is from Wired, so it seems to be part of the slashdot-wired subscription service. Amazon was great when they first started, you could get textbooks and other hard to find in regular bookstore books. From the interview, that appears to still be their strategy.

      I do find it difficult to find out if an item is really in stock or may be in stock though. More than a few times I have ordered books that were "usually shipped in 24 hours" that were not going to be available for weeks. Technically it does not say in stock, but I assumed that it would be. Where I first used to order from amazon a hard to find book, since I may not get it for weeks now, I first try the local bookstores that may have it (SoftPro for software books). Stores like that also have great people working there who know a lot about the subjects in the store.

    3. Re:Is it just me.. by Blakey+Rat · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I hate those third party stores.

      Amazon, at least for people in Washington State, usually ships with plain ol' US Mail. This is great for me because it means that I can recieve packages during the day when I'm at work and not able to sign-- US Mail doesn't require a signature and I've instructed my postal carrier on where to leave it.

      Then one day I bought a video game from Amazon. I didn't realize it at the time, but I wasn't buying *from* Amazon, I was buying from J&B Computer Crap or some company like that I've never ever heard of before. Amazon did not provide sufficient warning that I wasn't buying a product from them. And when J&B shipped it, they shipped it FedEx. Great!

      So I come home and instead of my game, there's a damned Post-It on my door that says that the game requires a signature. I can't sign for it, because I'm at work when it gets delivered, so I have to drive to the local FedEx office, about 25 miles away, wait in their crappy-ass waiting room for a half-hour until the truck on my route comes back, then finally sign and get my package. What a huge waste of my time!

      I wrote Amazon a really angry letter after that. They seem to do a better job now of telling you when you're ordering from a company other than Amazon, but screw that... if I'm at Amazon.com, the product I buy should come from Amazon.com. And if they allow other companies, they should at LEAST make sure that the other companies use the same type of shipping. There wasn't (and still isn't, as far as I know) any warning whatsoever that the shipping was going to be from FedEx and not US Mail.

      Amazon, when making this business decision, utterly ignored the fact that some people (myself, at least) choose who they order from by what type of shipping they use. If they use US Mail shipping, I'll order... if not, I'll just get in my car and drive somewhere because it's quicker than waiting to sign for FedEx or UPS. I hope they get rid of those non-Amazon stores and just sell their own products again.

      --
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  2. 20 million products by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The interview states that Amazon sells 20 million different articles. What I'd like to know, is this the number of articles in their catalogue or is this the number they really sell? Because when I search for something usually only the first two pages of results are available from Amazon while the bulk of results aren't available from them!

    1. Re:20 million products by ikea5 · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Amazon's becoming too difficult for people like my grandma to buy things.

      Want to buy this coffee maker? You can get it from Amazon directly for X amount plus free shipping if your total purchase is over Z amount with other qulified items(look for yellow truck symbol!!), otherwise the standard shipping is X for this one item plus X for each item from our kitchenware store. Or if you prefer, you can also purchase it from one of our associsated stores, the shipping is X if you buy it from A store(ships free for $100+ order!!), X from B store(different set of shipping price base on weight and some magical fomulas), or you can choose in-store pick up from C and D store(price may be higher or lower). Not confused enough? You can also buy it from one of our 100s Amazon sellers(New or Almost New or Used or Collectible!!), and no, the price does not count towards the free shipping, yes you can use a gift code, but only if it's not a promo code(count the digits!), oh and be sure to check out the seller's reputation, see all those stars? more is better!! and it's coverd under Amazon's A-Z warranty(link leds to a two page fine print)...

  3. Amazon and othe stores by northcat · · Score: 4, Informative

    He just tells about the advantages of online bookstores over conventional bookstores. He doesn't say much about what advantages Amazon can offer over other online bookstores. I guess there aren't many.

    1. Re:Amazon and othe stores by dabigpaybackski · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Other than the free shipping for orders over $25, you're probably correct, IF you are insisting upon getting the book new and don't want to go shopping in the physical realm. A good used book store has a mountain of good books at low prices, including new best-sellers, and is staffed by enthusiasts who will bend over backwards to get you the title you want. This is still a potentially lucrative category of small business.

      There are several good used book stores in my town, and I've had to cut myself off from visiting any until I've read through all the impulse buys of the last couple years. Needless to say, it will take a while. For all of online shopping's convenience, there is no substitute for a chance encounter with some obscure tome on a musty shelf.

      --
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  4. Why you should never by used books through Amazon by Nova+Express · · Score: 2, Informative
    Hopefully, everyone who buys used books as well as new ones should know about Bookfinder, which searches tens of thousands of dealers on various listings sites (including, if you want, Amazon and Barnes & Noble). When you buy a used book through Amazon, what you're usually buying a book that's already listed through one the multiple listing sites that Amazon adds their own percetange (usually 100%) on top of.

    And I know, because I sell science fiction first editions in my spare time.

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  5. My experience by LewsTherinKinslayer · · Score: 5, Informative

    I've used a few different online retailers for various products. The best two I have ever dealt with is amazon and newegg.

    Not once has either screwed up my order: always on time, with the correct contents, and well packaged. Which is why I keep coming back. They both have ease of use, with reliability. Perhaps they don't offer any unique in and of themselves. Perhaps their prices are the same as elsewhere. But the fact is, if I know I can trust them to not send me the wrong damn fan, or that my dvd will arrive and they case won't be cracked, then I'll always go with them.

    1. Re:My experience by DrEldarion · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I think you missed the real reason Amazon and Newegg are both so great - their customer service. In my experience, both of them will go out of their way to make you happy, whether it be Newegg making returns hassle-free or Amazon giving you a $20 credit because the price of an item has dropped since you bought it two weeks ago.

  6. 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!

    --
    "A sysadmin is a cross between a detective, a police officer, a gardener, a doctor and a fireman"
    1. Re:It shows by fartmasterB · · Score: 2, Funny

      And I'm sure the charity really appreciated the incomplete version of Hexen.

  7. 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.

    --
    Help fight continental drift.
  8. 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.

    --
    Weaselmancer
    rediculous.
  9. Re:now the really interesting story is.. by daviddennis · · Score: 2, Interesting

    People come to Slashdot to get coverage of non-Microsoft platforms, with a special focus on open source.

    Therefore, it should not be at all surprising that anti-Microsoft news is covered, nor that most of the stories are about, well, non-Microsoft platforms.

    Wired happens to be a publication which reports on issues dear to Slashdot readers, including "your rights online" stuff and online business. Since these are subjects of interest to Slashdot readers, I'm not at all surprised or disappointed that these articles are posted.

    Slashdot is, in my opinion, biased in the same way its readers are biased. I'm actually surprised at how balanced it is; positive Microsoft news, for example, is still covered. Even if we don't like Longhorn, we find out about it here.

    There is too much technical news to not have some kind of bias or focus. If you really want pro-Microsoft news, well, read one of millions of sites devoted to Windows.

    D

  10. 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?

    1. Re:Profit? by LaCosaNostradamus · · Score: 2, Funny

      Fiscal Luddite! Profit is so Old Economy. Your tired and dated irrationalities are very restricting for the new pursuit-of-wealth methodology (namely: make business plan, take it public, cash out, retire). Now go out and sink more of your retirement funds into www.GreenWhalesForSale.com and www.NicheServiceOffering.com ... and W*I*N B*I*G!

      --
      [You have a stable society when some nut guns down a schoolyard and the law doesn't change.]
    2. Re:Profit? by kaedemichi255 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      No, I do not belive they have. But on the same topic, why is that important? I guess it could be important to you, judging by your username ;). Here is a quote from a about Amazon.com's "undeserved kudos" for innovation:

      The author or co-author of 11 books about branding and marketing thinks the man behind Amazon.com does not deserve the kudos of Business Week magazine. Al Ries said Jeff Bezos should not be touted as one of the greatest innovators of the past 75 years because ... Amazon.com doesn't make money. Writing on AdAge.com, Ries says at the rate Amazon.com is going it will take the online retailer 85 years to break even from its accumulated $3 billion in losses. "Amazon.com pioneered a number of Internet innovations like one-click shopping," Ries concedes. But "Bezos went off the track" by adding dozens of other product categories to the business." Bezos should emulate Nintendo, Ries said. "If you want to make money, keep your brand focused. If you want to make the pages of Business Week, be our guest and get into everything."

      How does making money and being profitable have anything to do with being innovative? His argument is blatantly weak, and highlights some ideologies that I personally find troublesome. Namely, the idea that innovation goes hand-in-hand with money. Granted, a fundamental principle of capitalism and the free market is that competition will spur innovation, and lead to new, cutting-edge ideas that will improve the quality of life and generate massive revenue. But to me, it seems counter-intuitive for a company to stop expansion into unconquered frontiers simply because the actions may not necessarily result in profits. In the article, Ries claims that Amazon.com should emulate Nintendo and maintain a focused approach. But how has Nintendo been doing? I'm not a big console gaming fan, but it seems like their grip on the market has been slipping to Sony and Microsoft. It wasn't until the recent release of the revolutionary, innovative (gasp) Nintendo DS system that they have seemingly regained some momentum. So why play it safe and stray from exploring new ideas and concepts just to make money? Then again, it is also possible to have the best of both worlds, and make money while coming up with new ideas. This is something Microsoft is quite good at, and I admire its business model and its ability to utilize such a business approach. Being a gigantic corporation with deep, deep pockets, Microsoft is able to take challenges on multiple fronts and try to come up with the next big thing in various sectors of technology. In contrast, companies like Electronic Arts take advantage of their big share of their respective markets and seem to be just slowly milking their successful products (ie. the endless lines of sports titles that are released every year with little improvement), hoping to make big money with quick, uninspired, non-creative tweaks to existing "brand name" products. But Microsoft is different. Just because they have money (and lots of it) and are consistently profitable and extremely stable, the company is still willing to innovate. I think such a mentality is extremely important for both the corporation and the individual. Atleast, this is the stance I personally take. Whenever I hear someone making a comment about a company's inability to "break even" or "make a profit," I cringe and chuckle at the same time. Why should that be the criteria for judgement? Personally, I would much rather work on something that has the potential to drastically change the way we live our lives than work on something that is guaranteed to make money, but is tried-and-done and mundane. It's just way more fun being creative, coming up with wild, crazy ideas, and having the opportunity to manifest these thoughts and transform them into real, practical goods and services. After all that, money is just an added bonus.

  11. Netflix by Stephen · · Score: 4, Informative

    On the Netflix question, what he didn't say was that amazon.co.uk is already offering that service. I didn't realise that the US branch wasn't, actually. I'm sure they will do it in the US soon.

    He's probably right that Amazon wouldn't need to market it, and in the UK, it's much cheaper than the competing services (£7.99 per month for up to four rentals, two at a time; or £9.99/six/three).

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  12. 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?

    1. Re:Amazon's growth... by paulbd · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I was the 2nd programmer at amazon.com, back before it was even called amazon.com. When we started, I desperately wanted to offer a browsing technique that would model "dialing down" a search in a huge library - being able to browse the "gardening" section, then realize you were interested in "flower gardening", then "flower gardening, pacific northwest" and then focusing on "history of flower gardening, pacific northwest".

      I was therefore very upset to find that there was no way to do this. The Library of Congress could not or would not provide us with their complete category lists, and the company that distributes Books in Print provides the LoC classification data in a format that has been garbaged to the point that you can longer reconstruct heirarchies.

      I struggled on with the idea for a while, but we just had to give up. Its been a long term regret of mine.

    2. Re:Amazon's growth... by great+om · · Score: 2, Informative

      go to oclc http://www.oclc.org/ (they have all the library class classification you need)

      they sell their data. This is where librarians actually get the data we use for public access catalogs

      - a librarian

      --
      ------- Oh damn.... the Sigfile escaped... -Great OM
    3. Re:Amazon's growth... by Lord_Scrumptious · · Score: 2, Informative

      When we started, I desperately wanted to offer a browsing technique that would model "dialing down" a search in a huge library

      Barnes and Noble offer a "Book Browser" feature at their website - they even have a flash demo that demonstrates how to use the feature. It's not a perfect browsing tool, but it does offer you the option of drilling down to a more granular level as you mention. Browsing for books at the Barnes and Noble website is certainly easier than browsing at Amazon.
  13. 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.

  14. search-inside-the-book by Mordibity · · Score: 3, Informative

    What I thought was most interesting was his comment about search-inside-the book. When that feature debuted, I remember reading a highly-rated comment here on /. by someone who's spouse was in the book biz who thought that it would be death for cookbooks and reference works since people could get the info piecemeal instead of buying the book. And yet Bezos says they were worried a little about that, too, but relative sales in those categories increased the most!

  15. Re:Why you should never by used books through Amaz by popo · · Score: 2, Insightful


    Bookfinder:

    1) is slow
    2) has a terrible ui
    3) doesn't sort results well
    4) doesn't find the best prices
    5) has no seller ratings
    6) has no reader reviews

    All in all I'm not sure who would ever use this service. On every level it seems second rate.

    Half.com (owned by eBay) is a much, much better service and includes reader reviews, and seller ratings.

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  16. 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.

  17. Jeff Bezos at Web 2.0 by Grassferry49 · · Score: 2, Informative

    If you're interested in Jeff Bezos and the interview has left you wondering more still, check out the conversation with him posted at ITConversations from the Web 2.0 Conference. Jeff talks about Amazon and entertains questions from the audience.

    IT Conversations - Jeff Bezos

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  18. Re:now the really interesting story is.. by Moofie · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Hmm...so an online media outlet has an editorial slant? WOW. Stop the presses.

    It's silly to think you're going to get unbiased, evenhanded info from ANY single source.

    --
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