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Google Base Retail Rumours Confirmed
kaufmanmoore writes "According to an MSNBC report, the head of Google's European arm has said that Google wants to use Google Base for brick and mortar stores to submit lists of goods and prices in order to create an online presence." From the article: "Google would index and package the information into a consumer-friendly search engine, giving its users a virtual supermarket across a number of retail brands. Mr Arora said: 'Google Base is going to have a huge impact on retailers," adding that the move reflected internal research, which found many leading European retailers did not feel they were competitive enough online.'
But.. isn't this exactly what Froogle is?
Google Base
Slightly used; usage will increase quickly over time.
Will provide a wealth of information on your competitors and other individuals.
Image:
|insert snapshot of googlebase information here|
Asking Price: $G,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,gle
Proof by very large bribes. QED.
All your base are belong to Google... Really!
Check it out, at least, at aws.typepad.com
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Could this be the first step before the EU puts sanctions on Google along with Microsoft? Maybe not soon, maybe not to the same extent, but the EU seems to be hellbent on preventing monopolies.
What's the matter, James? No glib remark? No pithy comeback?
Am I the only one who (for a second) thought that google were actually beginning construction of their other base
Seems like there should be a joke that I could make about Google Base... and how everything will belong to them...
Google: All the retail is ours.... No that's not right...
Something really obvious...
Google: We own you... No...
Oh well. Maybe someone can set me up the joke...
No? OK....
I get the feeling that this is going to be Froogle+. A step beyound what they're presently doing. The more important question which the story raises is how well this new Google initive compares against what's already out there?
So they will index deals submitted by stores.
Who is going to collect the funds?
Who is going to deal with the fraud?
Who is going to be responsible for the accuracy of the information presented?
Will google police stores that advertise one price but sell at another (or just bury more profit in S&H?)
Sounds like a high tech flea market. Without any guarantees this could devolve quickly into a disaster. Is Google prepared to vouch for the information, if not how will they convince people to use a service they won't stand behind?
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
And the Google Countdown to Evil continues... Don't get me wrong, I love Google, but they really need to make sure that they're using their powers for Awesome.
After all this time I still have to spend a lot of time just looking for the best prices for things like replacement computer parts to feed my hobby.
Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
FYI, Google Base is still under development. Most likely the service will give retailers access to hundreds of millions of Google users. You can visit it at base.google.com.
When I'm searching for something online, I'm usually looking for a single item or a set of related items. This usually makes Froogle a good starting point; I search for arcade pushbuttons, and I get links to stores that sell them along with other arcade console items. Poking around a few sites usually leads to one with good prices on the things I want, and I make a purchase.
Really, I don't see the benefit of aggregating content across stores. How often does someone go looking for a doorknob, a picture frame, and a KVM all at once? Online shopping is fundamentally different than shopping at a physical store, but it's not that different: I want to find a competent supplier of each thing, not a one-stop-shop where I have to wonder about the quality of service and related issues. And if they're just showing me info from three different places in a single search, but I am actually making three orders, what's the advantage?
Color me unimpressed
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I was invited to use Google Base using the Google Payment Corp. Google has a payment service that people can pay me with, and it is better than PayPal.
someone had to say it..........
I wonder if Google will? :o)
Interested in a Flash-based MAME front end? Visit mame.danzbb.com
Oh February 4th in the year 2015 The Google super somputer became self aware and launched a nuclear attack on Europe.
Where I'd like to see this most are for things that aren't easily shipped. TV's, Appliances, etc. The problem is will google be able to pester the businesses enough to keep their inventories updated. I'd be pissed if I drove out somewhere only to find that they're OOS. And no, calling first defeats the purpose of this product IMO.
There *is* a reason that these stores don't have a good online presence. It's probably not a web programmer's fault, but more of the stores not being able to integrate the needs of an online store into their B&M's daily processes.
then you have the ultimate in Mom-and-Pop competitive advantage to big corporate box retailers. I'd love to be able to find just the right product at a shop down the street than have to go to Best Buy or Amazon.com. Increasing the ability to find their inventories will help immensely.
This is where the moronic book publishers get things wrong - by Google helping consumers actually FIND the crap they sell, they DRIVE business TOWARDS your stupid company. Oh, and ISPs get it wrong too. The only reason we pay monthly fees to get IP service is because companies like Google provide compelling reasons to do so. Otherwise, I'd take up windsurfing or something...
There exists no way of exchanging information without making judgments. --Bene Gesserit Axiom
People will probably consider this trolling, but I can't stand that expression brick and mortar.
Why can't it just be called a physical store? What if my store is made of wood and sheetrock? Who comes up with these obnoxious, self-important business terms?
And with that, I have to go pull the trigger on something...
What does "wot" mean?
Seriously. is it an acronym? new slang? what is it?
Who comes up with these obnoxious, self-important business terms?
Google is unleashing a long tail, soup-to-nuts integrated solution that satisfies pent-up demand and synergizes efficiencies. It's a slam-dunk no-brainer!
Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
All your base are... oh, nevermind.
"GoogleBase?" Just wait a minute, I invented that and I've got the sketches on a napkin to prove it. You owe me big time and until you pay up I'm going to have a judge slap on a restraining order.
Sincerely yours,
Al Gore-Rhythm
Typical Retail Executive: "Yes, thank you, Google, for offering me an easy way to redefine the retail brand I've been building for years as just another price player. Would you like me to send over demographics of my key customers and how we reach them via advertising too? Yes? OK, I'll get right on that. (click)"
Did anyone else really hope they meant Google Moon Base? I was so going to apply.
What I say does not represent the views of my employers, my friends, my cats, or myself.
No one likes paying for shipping.
With the increasing popularity of onlines sales, Google
would become an instant hero by providing free shipping services.
I can dream can't I?
I can see it now... "Google suceedes from the US to form its own country... Matt Cutts is elected President of the UN."
This just in! 3 out of 4 people make up 75% of the population.
I can't wait to shop with Google Base at PriceRitePhoto!
Dude, unfortunate? Over the years they've let me borrow all sorts for goodies to try out and then return after I figured out they didn't work for me/I didn't need them/I didn't like the color, or whatever.
I like Fry's.
Being a SF Bay longtime resident, I gotta second this... man, I love to read their sunday paper adverts.. it's so dumb of them that they don't just publish this via pdf or something (probably to avoid other stores from "gaming" with their prices).
They're also quite dumb in that up until 1999 or somthing they didn't even have a website... ironically, the only hits you'd get on altavista/yahoo/google would be "anti-Fry's" or "Fry's sucks" websites :-)
Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
Google will be teh suxorz. We will be fondly remembering the good old Windows/Linux golden age, when you had apps and data on your own machine instead of hotnetting on your rights-managed, government monitored Googlepod cranial implant.