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Interview with Jeff Bezos of Amazon
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."
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.
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"
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.
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?
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.