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Cyber Monday and Amazon's Online Dominance

Posted by samzenpus on from the king-of-the-cyber-hill dept.

sturgeon writes "A report out this morning pegs Amazon with a whopping 14% share of all daily Internet users — almost twice the nearest competitor (Ebay). And this number does not include all shopping sites absorbed by the growing Amazon empire. The original report has interesting graphics comparing Amazon to other retailers like Best Buy."

174 comments

  1. Amazon's getting a little bloated by CRCulver · · Score: 0

    Amazon.com must have incredible infrastructure, as not only do they have an increasing amount of views, especially on Cyber Monday, but they are serving out more data than ever. The amount of Javascript on Amazon these days is insane: every listing has product image galleries, recommendation galleries, recently viewed galleries, etc. Sure, maybe they've calculated that all those dynamic features make for better sales, but as an individual using a netbook, I find it a frustrating experience to shop when browsing is so sluggish.

    1. Re:Amazon's getting a little bloated by rtaylor · · Score: 4, Insightful

      but as an individual using a netbook

      You might not be the big spender they're targetting. They maximize for revenue, not for # of shoppers.

      --
      Rod Taylor
    2. Re:Amazon's getting a little bloated by WillAdams · · Score: 2

      Not only that, but there're little bits of Flash in various places for some reason or other.

      The wish list interface is quite nice though, and I'm finding that a lot of what I'm managing (in private lists) is from other vendors using Amazon's Universal Wish List feature (which isn't making them any money).

      --
      Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
    3. Re:Amazon's getting a little bloated by ziggit · · Score: 1

      Last time I checked, yeah, Amazon does have incredible infrastructure, I mean, when they go down, half the internet goes down. I can only imagine that they eat their own AWS dog food.

    4. Re:Amazon's getting a little bloated by jedidiah · · Score: 3, Insightful

      They aren't snobs. They cater to a wide range of tastes and budgets. Your money is green enough for them even if you are running a netbook.

      This likely explains their dominance.

      It's Amazon, not Apple.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    5. Re:Amazon's getting a little bloated by NatasRevol · · Score: 2

      Oddly, they also seem to target their profit at 0%.

      --
      There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
    6. Re:Amazon's getting a little bloated by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Oh, you had to turn this into a class war. While most companies would love to sell just a few high priced items, most cannot do that and instead sell as much of anything that they can. If you can't tell by the huge selection, amazon is on the other end of the spectrum from those high priced vendors. They are volume movers.

      You may not know it, but there are settings to filter results by stuff like discounted by 90%, 50%, etc. I just bought a car charger for my iPhone for 90 cents. You can sell 300000 of these things, or one lamborghini. Amazon would like to sell you both.

    7. Re:Amazon's getting a little bloated by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But they sell netbooks.

    8. Re:Amazon's getting a little bloated by davester666 · · Score: 2

      They make it up on volume.

      I guess they are going for the home run, get every other retailer to go out of business, then jack up the prices.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    9. Re:Amazon's getting a little bloated by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I guess they are going for the home run, get every other retailer to go out of business, then jack up the prices.

      At least in the UK Amazon are seldom the cheapest for anything, except silly offers like the current Kindle Fire for 99 quid.

      In general people here use them for their convenience and no-quibble customer services.

    10. Re:Amazon's getting a little bloated by dumcob · · Score: 1

      I think it was the other way round. Amazon back in the day while building their data centers had to provision for peak load (i.e. thanksgiving). So for the rest of the year they have all this infrastructure sitting around doing nothing. This is a problem faced by a lot of companies which have seasonal demand. Amazon solved it best by renting out that excess compute/storage capacity as AWS.

    11. Re:Amazon's getting a little bloated by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      but as an individual using a netbook

      You might not be the big spender they're targetting. They maximize for revenue, not for # of shoppers.

      What rubbish. Amazon are a high volume, low cost seller if ever there was one. They don't get 14% of internet traffic by selling custom painted Lamborghinis and Rolex watches crafted from unobtanium.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    12. Re:Amazon's getting a little bloated by tehcyder · · Score: 1
      If you put up a publicly accessible wishlist, don't even think of complaining about privacy issues with Amazon in the future.

      Seriously, do people have that many casual so-called friends who buy them presents regularly that they need to maintain an online database of stuff they'd like because it's too much trouble to actually talk to them about it?

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    13. Re:Amazon's getting a little bloated by heefeneet · · Score: 1

      I guess they are going for the home run, get every other retailer to go out of business, then jack up the prices.

      At least in the UK Amazon are seldom the cheapest for anything, except silly offers like the current Kindle Fire for 99 quid.

      In general people here use them for their convenience and no-quibble customer services.

      Amazon UK are cheapest for games usually. COD:Black Ops 2 is on Amazon for £37, Game are selling it for £45.

  2. It's not surprising by mandark1967 · · Score: 3

    They generally have better prices or, if not "the" lowest prices, they have better shipping options. Combine that with the lack of Sales Tax collected in the state I live in and the argument can be fairly made that you'd be dumb to go anywhere else.

    They've been great for me and have helped me save much over the last year or so just in shipping costs. Places like Newegg are adapting and "trying" to match Amazon but, at least in Newegg's case, they seem to be failing.

    --
    Sig Follows: "Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself." -- Mark Twain
    1. Re:It's not surprising by Cinder6 · · Score: 1

      Indeed. I saved $150 by buying my computer (parts) from Amazon instead of Newegg. Shipping + tax was the killer, even if Newegg had one or two components that were $3 less.

      --
      If you can't convince them, convict them.
    2. Re:It's not surprising by blueg3 · · Score: 5, Informative

      I've started buying components from Amazon instead of Newegg. For my state, almost every online retailer charges sales tax. As a Prime member, the shipping is of course way better.

      The major difference for me, though, is that Amazon's return policy is so much better. I've gotten both a drive and memory from Newegg that arrived DOA. The return procedure is a bit of a pain, they don't cross-ship (last I knew), and you're charged for shipping. You also have to get a replacement, rather than a refund, or pay a 15% restocking fee. If an item from Amazon is DOA, they'll ship you a new one immediately (second-day, generally) and pay for shipping the old one back. Return or refund, no fee.

      I just don't feel like paying someone to send me broken items, especially when better options are available.

    3. Re:It's not surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It just depends on exactly what you're buying. The last two things I bought from Newegg (RAM and display port cable) were cheaper there, and Newegg had free shipping. And when you're looking for computer components, Newegg's site is way easier to find what you're looking for. Amazon always gives so many crap results, like when you search for 204-pin SO-DIMMs and the results are mixed with 240-pin desktop SDRAM. I go to Newegg first to find what I'm looking for, and then price check with Amazon.

    4. Re:It's not surprising by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      I started buying drives from Amazon after I ordered a shipment from Newegg that didn't seem sufficiently robust in the packaging department.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    5. Re:It's not surprising by at_slashdot · · Score: 3, Informative

      I'm doing the same thing, but the search on Amazon is atrocious.

      --
      "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." -- Prof. Dumbledore
    6. Re:It's not surprising by _UnderTow_ · · Score: 5, Informative

      Yeah, the search and presentation of results is really horrible on Amazon. What I've been doing lately is using Newegg to find the exact mix of features that I want and then searching Amazon for that model number to get free shipping via Prime.

    7. Re:It's not surprising by nabsltd · · Score: 1

      I've started buying components from Amazon instead of Newegg.

      One thing about Newegg that is much better is the search. Newegg has a much better computer-item-specific directed search.

      Also, if you just type something like "radeon hd 7950" then click on "desktop graphics cards", Newegg returns nothing but video cards that have that chip, while doing the same at Amazon and clicking "Computer Graphics Cards" results in many other cards, most of which show up first if you sort by ascending price.

    8. Re:It's not surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't count Newegg out. Don't want all Amazon competiton shriveling up & withering away. I did get better deals from newegg on gaming keyboards & and memory recently, even after shipping & tax.

    9. Re:It's not surprising by crazyjj · · Score: 3

      On some things, you'd be fucking insane to go anywhere else. When I pass kids going into the bookstore at my university I almost want to slap their dumb asses sometimes. They pay 2-3 times what Amazon charges for books, and then bitch and moan about some $25 lab fee.

      Online generation my ass.

      --
      What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
    10. Re:It's not surprising by djhertz · · Score: 1

      You saved me from having to write the same thing. :)

      --
      Modest doubt is called the beacon of the wise - William Shakespeare
    11. Re:It's not surprising by kaatochacha · · Score: 0

      And people wonder why businesses go under, when someone uses the resources of one to buy from another.
      Except now it's online eating online, instead of online eating bricks and mortar.

    12. Re:It's not surprising by Maltheus · · Score: 1

      I used buy all my computer parts at NewEgg and still would be, had it not been for their atrocious shipping department. And it was hardly just me, as their comment boards are filled with complaints about it. At one point, they shipped me an OEM drive, thrown into a 1.5'x1.5' box, with basically a 18" sheet of packing paper (looked like it came out of the bathroom dispenser). The next time, I tried paying extra for their better FedEx shipping, and they sent it UPS anyway (which is not an option for hard drives, IMO).

      Either way, after spending thousands of dollars a year there, every year, I finally moved on. They lost me for want of a handful of bubble wrap. Now that I'm hooked on Amazon Prime Shipping (as well as their stellar returns service), I can't see myself ever going back.

    13. Re:It's not surprising by Rich0 · · Score: 1

      I've noticed the same thing, though not all items on Amazon qualify for free return shipping (as far as I'm aware - unless this is a Prime thing).

      Newegg is much better for product locating - they do a WAY better job with their keywords and search, though not a perfect job. If I want 7200 RPM SATA 3 1TB drives I can get an accurate list from Newegg in a few clicks, and with Amazon if I'm not lucky I'll end up going through 14 pages of cables unless I do a price filter.

      Now, Newegg could stand to do better with their motherboards - that is the one product category where it is really painful to find things by desired feature set. If I want 2 PCI slots, a PCIEx1 slot, and a PCIEx16 slot I end up having to go into power search and check about 30 bazillion permutations of the above. Their job isn't made easier by the huge diversity of products, of course. I'm happy they at least try - Amazon usually is limited to keyword searching only.

    14. Re:It's not surprising by IndustrialComplex · · Score: 1

      Internet sales were somewhat new when I was in college. Back then, you didn't have the shipping like you do now, and many online stores would list 2-4 weeks for delivery. That's not much of an excuse now, but this is:

      Revisions, versions, Online Codes, alternate versions, etc...

      My school had an option where I could send them my courselist over the summer, and come the start of the semester I could walk to the bookstore, pickup a box of books which consisted of all the books I needed for my classes. They would even use up the 'used' inventory first. (which gave me first pick over most people actually shopping in the store).

      However the biggest killer for me for online stores, was that I had to WAIT until class started and sit in the first lecture before I would find out exactly which books were required, which were mostly required, and which ones were just something the professor thought was a kind of neat read and while listed as required, really isn't. That saved me money, the problem was that shipping on the online books was then too long for me to take advantage of, or risk the company emailing me in 2 weeks telling me they ran out of stock.

      Of course, now, it's all online codes. Or if it isn't, it soon will be. I'm just glad that except for my matrices book, my professors seemed to go with 'Just grab the Haliday Resnick and Walker version whatever. Just make sure to check that you are working on the same homework problems as version xyz'

      --
      Out of modpoints but really liked a post? 1BDkF6TtmmeZ3yqXbz9yhdYVqRYnwFoXDj
    15. Re:It's not surprising by adolf · · Score: 3, Insightful

      So?

      If Newegg doesn't like it, they can do the right thing and address their customer service and shipping issues.

      The mere fact that they have a useful search engine does not somehow automatically entitle them to my money, especially if they're going to be ball-dropping assholes about the rest of the process.

      --
      Kid-proof tablet..
    16. Re:It's not surprising by blueg3 · · Score: 1

      I'll be honest -- I often use Newegg to find the product, then buy it off of Amazon.

      As far as I know, all items fulfilled by Amazon (the seller line says "Amazon") qualify for free return shipping. However, free return shipping only applies if the problem is Amazon's -- it didn't arrive in time, it arrived broken, it was the wrong product, etc. Returns where the problem is yours (bought the wrong thing, changed my mind) don't get free shipping but have no restocking fee.

      The situation with third parties selling through Amazon is a bit more complicated, though in theory they are supposed to provide a return policy that is at least as good as Amazon's.

    17. Re:It's not surprising by blueg3 · · Score: 2

      Absolutely. Searching Amazon for a set of particular features is nearly impossible. (It's not so bad if you are searching a small space or searching for "oh hell, anything cheap that roughly fits the bill".) Newegg's search feature is great. It's not great enough to make me overlook the fact that I've been burned twice after actually buying from them.

    18. Re:It's not surprising by CowTipperGore · · Score: 1

      I stopped using Newegg altogether after last year's Black Friday purchase. My laptop arrived DOA (and later reviews indicated that this was an issue with most of the units). The initial RMA request process was simple but it quickly went downhill. They received my laptop then days later claimed they didn't and told me I'd need to file a claim with the shipper. During the next two months I spoke to various levels of customer service, traded emails with them, and used their online chat option. Across the board, they were unhelpful and often dishonest about the process and my options. They refused to cooperate with the shipper in processing my claim but lied and told me that the shipper wasn't contacting them. They agreed to send me pictures of the damaged box but wouldn't follow through. I eventually had to file a claim with my credit card company to get my money refunded. It was, without exaggeration, one of the most unpleasant experiences ever dealing with a retailer of any sort.

    19. Re:It's not surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Exactly. Other online retail sites that I frequent (not for PC equipment, though) seem to have handled the amazon juggernaut by bumping up their customer service and shipping capabilities. One site that gets my business gives free shipping (albeit 7 day service) to compete with Prime shipping on pretty much everything, and has really notched up their purchase experience to the point that I can live chat with a rep to help figure out what I want/need or ask specific questions about a product. I used to order from Newegg a lot, but was drawn away due to the fact that there never seemed to be free shipping on the items I was looking at buying; I could get the same item with free shipping (and 2-day shipping at that!) from Amazon, for the same price. I like Newegg, but they're just not keeping up on customer service or shipping.

    20. Re:It's not surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's probably one of the reasons Amazon was offering Prime for free, and then discounted for students. Two day shipping isn't bad, most students can suffer a day or two without the book.

    21. Re:It's not surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it's the real world well rounded education, there are just some intelligent decisions no uni will produce

    22. Re:It's not surprising by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Combine that with the lack of Sales Tax collected in the state I live in

      Isn't that tax evasion? If not, it should be.

      Over here in the UK, you pay VAT regardless, and it's 20%.

      I don't see why one type of business should be penalised over another through their inability to wriggle out of taxes. I'm fairly sure that a 20% increase on my gross margin would give me a huge and unfair advantage over my competitors.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    23. Re:It's not surprising by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Yeah, the search and presentation of results is really horrible on Amazon. What I've been doing lately is using Newegg to find the exact mix of features that I want and then searching Amazon for that model number to get free shipping via Prime.

      Hope you're happy when Newegg go out of business and you're left with Amazon, a shitty search function, and no competitors.

      Now try saying that in a free market the consumer always ends up best off.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    24. Re:It's not surprising by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      On some things, you'd be fucking insane to go anywhere else. When I pass kids going into the bookstore at my university I almost want to slap their dumb asses sometimes. They pay 2-3 times what Amazon charges for books, and then bitch and moan about some $25 lab fee.

      Online generation my ass.

      Some of us oldies like to read real paper books, and also like to have real bookshops to go to.

      I think it's a good sign that at least some young kids feel the same.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  3. I used Amazon for most of my shopping by garcia · · Score: 4, Informative

    I needed to get a few items this holiday season:

    1. LEDTV
    2. Digital camera and accessories
    3. Kindle (original)
    4. Clothes
    5. Toys
    6. Books
    7. Misc

    I got 6/7 items on Amazon. Why? A few reasons: I'm already an Amazon Prime member (as a student it was just stupid cheap and I like the streaming options for kids shows) and the very few times I've had a problem with what was shipped to me they have been nothing but spectacular in dealing with it; usually just immediately shipping out a new item without me having to send what I already received back before they'd send a new item.

    I also personally believe the shopping experience is far superior to the other online options I looked through (NewEgg, Target and Walmart). Target's site was slow, cumbersome and confusing. Walmart was somewhat similar to Target but at least their site loaded and Amazon's prices were lower for the same or very similar product and next-day option at $3.99 or free at 2 day killed anything I saw elsewhere.

    Overall Amazon has been a winner for me for years for bigger purchases and if they keep it up, they'll continue to get my business. While I don't consider myself a HUGE buyer at the holidays, aside from the clothing I bought for my wife where I needed a very specific item that wasn't available anywhere but where I purchased it from.

    YMMV.

    1. Re:I used Amazon for most of my shopping by alphatel · · Score: 5, Funny

      Fine, but your best bet for Twinkies is still ebay.

      --
      When the foot seeks the place of the head, the line is crossed. Know your place. Keep your place. Be a shoe.
    2. Re:I used Amazon for most of my shopping by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Often I use amazon over other sites even if it costs me a buck or three more just to avoid having yet another login to create, manage and remember. I can replace dozens of sites ranging from Sears to itunes to babys-r-us with them. Most the time.

    3. Re:I used Amazon for most of my shopping by invalid-access · · Score: 1

      Someone is selling used Twinkies?

    4. Re:I used Amazon for most of my shopping by vlm · · Score: 4, Funny

      Someone is selling used Twinkies?

      Yeah, two girls. Order now and get one cup. There's a promotional internet video you could google for.

      --
      "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
    5. Re:I used Amazon for most of my shopping by flimflammer · · Score: 2

      I only ever purchase from Newegg or Amazon anymore. While I have Amazon prime, many times Newegg has something cheaper, and oddly, I always seem to find the items that have free 2-3 day shipping baseline. Theirs and Amazons RMA process are both spot on in my opinion.

    6. Re:I used Amazon for most of my shopping by csumpi · · Score: 1

      Just get it fast before the new owners change the recipe to make it more healthy.

    7. Re:I used Amazon for most of my shopping by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Damn, I was hoping Bimbo would start making Ho Hos...

    8. Re:I used Amazon for most of my shopping by crazyjj · · Score: 1

      Not only is Amazon Prime a no-brainer, but they also have used items too. That's great for buying older stuff, when a little wear-and-tear isn't so important.

      --
      What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
    9. Re:I used Amazon for most of my shopping by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fine, but your best bet for Twinkies is still ebay.

      16 pages worth of results on Amazon for Twinkies.

      http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=twinkies

        http://amzn.com/B002Q46EH6

      Amazon is where ebay sellers are getting thier supply. You can buy them in cases.

    10. Re:I used Amazon for most of my shopping by na1led · · Score: 1

      Amazon doesn't always provide free shipping, even with a prime account. I've purchased things that didn't qualify for free shipping because the item was provided by another vender, even though it's listed on Amazon. I say, if your going to list anything on Amazon, then you should eat the shipping, or Amazon should compensate prime users for shipping costs.

      --
      -- By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.
    11. Re:I used Amazon for most of my shopping by geminidomino · · Score: 1

      I don't know about you guys, but 19 bucks for one box of Twinkies?

      There ain't enough weed in the world.

    12. Re:I used Amazon for most of my shopping by mcgrew · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Please don't link to paywalled sites, especially when so many others aren't yet have the same content.

      --
      Free Martian Whores!
    13. Re:I used Amazon for most of my shopping by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Eh, I've been a Prime Member since they started it and its still an amazing value if you buy enough.

      And even on the items that Amazon doesn't sell directly, they do limit the amount that the seller can charge for shipping. Yes, there are sometimes that it annoys me having to pay shipping even with prime; but generally it is an item that wouldn't be worth it for Amazon to keep in stock and even then at least the shipping price is limited.
      If Amazon tried to get the sellers to eat the shipping, they'd all just raise the prices.

    14. Re:I used Amazon for most of my shopping by evilviper · · Score: 1

      Walmart was somewhat similar to Target but at least their site loaded and Amazon's prices were lower for the same or very similar product and next-day option at $3.99 or free at 2 day killed anything I saw elsewhere.

      I don't see how you can possibly prefer Amazon's site to Walmart's. Walmart actually has everything categorized, and not the same item in 15 different categories. You can browse their site, and see EVERYTHING in that category. When you sort by price, it damn-well works, not randomly scattering the results. And finally, they've got tons of reviews, and right at the top there's a percentage of reviewers who would choose to buy the item again. And I'm not even getting into how Amazon chooses to splatter junk all over every otherwise empty square inch of every page.

      It's a choice between organized information, and wide open chaos, ala eBay.

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    15. Re:I used Amazon for most of my shopping by helix2301 · · Score: 1

      And Craiglist if you need gas after a hurricane.

      --
      http://www.thetechnologygeek.org
    16. Re:I used Amazon for most of my shopping by mattack2 · · Score: 1

      But your link does NOT have the same content. Your article doesn't mention anything regarding "chang[ing] the recipe to make it more healthy". The original article (at least the article I read after googling the headline, which presumably is the same article) only VAGUELY mentions that, but at the very least, it's different content than your article.

    17. Re:I used Amazon for most of my shopping by csumpi · · Score: 1

      Sorry about the link. When I posted it, the article was free. I can't believe they made it subscription only.

    18. Re:I used Amazon for most of my shopping by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      I also personally believe the shopping experience is far superior to the other online options I looked through (NewEgg, Target and Walmart).

      Walmart's site is pure garbage, their flash app won't even correctly display the local ad for me. Target's site is like Kmart's, it works but it's crap. NewEgg, though, their site is actually decent. If only you could make it not show discontinued items. They actually had a list of everything they had discounted for black friday, which sets them apart from your other two examples, and Amazon as well.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    19. Re:I used Amazon for most of my shopping by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      Yours was firewalled off here, so I googled.

      --
      Free Martian Whores!
  4. Original report slashdotted by guruevi · · Score: 1

    So if someone can find a mirror.

    Amazon is huge because it has great customer service. I rather work with Amazon than even Wal-Mart (which has a very liberal return policy) or any of the big-box retailers and I rather go through Amazon than any other local retailer simply because their returns and shipping policies.

    --
    Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
    1. Re:Original report slashdotted by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It wasn't that interesting anyway, just a couple bar graphs

  5. Other retailers like Best Buy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I thought Best Buy was Amazon's brick and mortar showroom?!?

    1. Re:Other retailers like Best Buy by vlm · · Score: 2

      I thought Best Buy was Amazon's brick and mortar showroom?!?

      I tried something like that and it doesn't work as a strategy anymore. They don't stock enough stuff anymore.

      Long back story, but I recently needed an ethernet card. BB does not sell those anymore.

      Also they only sell like 2 models of power supply, only about 3 models of bluetooth earpieces.

      For some odd reason they have a whole aisle of dozens of external hard drive enclosures. They're identical except for styling.

      They do have massive numbers of overpriced cables, but all you need on amazon is what are the connector ends and how far apart are they?

      I don't even go there as a showroom anymore. Basically its a really tiny Target/Walmart without the clothes aisles. Office depot has a better selection of computer gear, which is crazy because I always think of them as "the binder store"

      --
      "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
    2. Re:Other retailers like Best Buy by crazyjj · · Score: 2

      Long back story, but I recently needed an ethernet card. BB does not sell those anymore.

      Went in there recently, and the entire place is basically one big TV/home theater showroom now. About the only other things they have are laptops, cellphones, and videogames. Music and appliances basically gone, DVD section shrunk down. Almost no computer components. Just TV's, laptops, cellphones, and videogames.

      --
      What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
    3. Re:Other retailers like Best Buy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And why would they, if all you're doing is going in, looking at it, then buying off amazon.
      I'm completely amazed at how everyone thinks things will continue to roll along with this as the normal.
      Essentially, my rule is: If I use a service/store/place to primarily research a product, I buy it from them.
      Look it up online on Amazon, buy from Amazon. Look it up at a store, buy it from the store.

      It's fair and honest.

    4. Re:Other retailers like Best Buy by vlm · · Score: 1

      And why would they, if all you're doing is going in, looking at it, then buying off amazon.

      Ah but I had a day off and would pay anything to walk out that door with an ethernet card. Local whitebox small dealer types are closed on Sunday. Its the "convenience store" model. If I wanted to pay $3 for a gallon of milk I'd go to the megamart 3 miles away and wait in line for 10 minutes, but I'll pay $4 to stop at the gas station convenience store 1/2 mile from home on the main road if I'm in a hurry

      Ditto when I destroyed my bluetooth earpiece and I needed one for the next day, how will I listen to audiobooks and podcasts and music? Work in silence? Unthinkable!

      Ditto when my cell phone charger broke during vacation 500 miles from home. I don't care if it costs 2x as much as amazon I need that %$&* charger right now! Not 2-day "prime" shipping or whatever. My battery doesn't last that long....

      Several times I grin and bear it when I need a HDMI cable and order a $5 one from amazon because there is no way I can stomach paying $75 at best buy for the same cable. However if they were not so greedy, they could get maybe $15 from me if I was in a huge hurry, and 150% profit in the cash register beats a theoretical profit of 15000% on a sale that isn't going to happen.

      They can stay in business a long time with that model, basically a really big "radio shack" with more items... This business of stocking 500 external hard drives and no ethernet cards isn't going to work.

      Also, if I walk in, pick up the ethernet card of my dreams, and in a fit of happiness I might grab a DVD for my family. But now I know not to bother going there to buy "computer stuff" anymore, so they'll never get another chance to toss an extra thing in my basket. Now amazon gets a chance to tell me that people who buy a pci-e broadcom ethernet card often also buy a DVD of the movie "Brave" or WTF. Too bad so sad best buy, bye bye.

      --
      "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
  6. Fluff? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Why not post interesting stuff. Amazon excels at what it does. If you don't want to buy from them, there is a whole world out there from which you can choose. They seem to play well with small businesses from what I see from their search engine. I hate talking to folks from India when I have a problem, but it does get resolved for the most part. They always seem to issue refunds and returns with me. A 'good' company.

    Yawn.

  7. 2005 called.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    ....they want your netbook back.

    1. Re:2005 called.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Obama, is that you?

    2. Re:2005 called.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, tell them they're gonna have to wait another couple of years for them to be invented.

      Also tell them they're idiots for not asking for something useful like their next weeks lottery numbers.

  8. What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I thought the riaa/mpaa assholes had told us that 90% of all internet traffic was piracy related...

    This implys they lied.... thats unpossible!

  9. screw "cyber monday" by Trepidity · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Cyber Monday is about as much of a scam as Black Friday, and furthermore, using the prefix "cyber" in this sense is annoying unless you are in a 1980s novel.

    --
    10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
    1. Re:screw "cyber monday" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Cyber Monday, on the internet. Patent pending.

    2. Re:screw "cyber monday" by slashmydots · · Score: 4, Informative

      Damn right! This year is 2x as bad as last year which was 2x as bad as the year before it. Here's ever single company's MO for black friday:
      1. buy a ton of something straight from Asia that's way below your normal quality standards from brands nobody's heard of
      2. put it on sale near cost but understock it so it runs out quickly
      3. mark up things people actually want

      Even newegg got into it. I put in a newegg order about 1 in 3 days during my shop's busy season so I know what things cost and they are outright lying about the discounts. Like I ordered two Vertex 4 128GB SSDs while they were on sale for $79. They claimed it was "50% off of an original price of $149." Bullshit! It's been $110 for months. Maybe $150 was launch price or MSRP or something but either way, they're lying to their customers. And even they got into 2012: The Year of the Crappy Sub-$100 Android Tablet.

    3. Re:screw "cyber monday" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You aren't kidding. Here's the refurb special of the day - only $99,999.00.

    4. Re:screw "cyber monday" by Jonathan+A · · Score: 1

      Cyber Monday is about as much of a scam as Black Friday, and furthermore, using the prefix "cyber" in this sense is annoying unless you are in a 1980s novel.

      I remember the first web based store I ever saw. It was called Cyberian Outpost. At the time it was a clever play on words. But now, it seems so overused.

    5. Re:screw "cyber monday" by interkin3tic · · Score: 3, Insightful

      My love of steam has, if possible, increased because of this. They didn't call it cyber monday, they just had an autumn sale. And their sales are always real sales.

    6. Re:screw "cyber monday" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're pretty funny, but the 9's should have been moved up a couple pixels higher.

    7. Re:screw "cyber monday" by retchdog · · Score: 3, Insightful

      yeah, and? it's the "original price," not the "usual price." the original price is always the list price; that's normal, and list prices have been inflated so that they can be "discounted" for about a century now. nothing new here.

      --
      "They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky
    8. Re:screw "cyber monday" by Algae_94 · · Score: 1

      Thanks for this. I always wondered why Fry's electronics was using the Outpost.com domain.

    9. Re:screw "cyber monday" by na1led · · Score: 1

      Yea, I haven't found any deals worthwhile this year. The TV I purchased last December is still cheaper than the best deals out so far. And what's up with Black Friday lasting a whole damn month. I've seen Black Month, Black Week, Black Weekend, After Black Friday, on and on. Your best sales is usually end of year, and clearance items.

      --
      -- By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.
    10. Re:screw "cyber monday" by olau · · Score: 2

      In Denmark, as a part of consumer protection efforts, this has actually been banned recently. You can't write a discount like that unless you've actually sold the item at the original price for real. There are some rules regarding the precise definition of the latter to leave ase little wiggle room as possible.

    11. Re:screw "cyber monday" by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 1

      There have been such laws in the U.S. for years. As a matter of fact in the U.S., something can only be on sale for a maximum number of days out of the month. Years ago when I was in high school I worked at Sears. They introduced a new product that retailed at $99.99. It had terrible sales. So, they raised the price to $159.99. Then they put it on sale for $99.99 the maximum number of days a month they were allowed. We were constantly selling through our inventory when it went on sale, even though we could not sell it for that price when that was the original price.

      --
      The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
    12. Re:screw "cyber monday" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Real" sales? Eh?

      Yeah, until they lock your account because of some random reason and you lose 100's of dollars of software.

      You don't own shit when you use Steam, you have no media, you have no recourse.

    13. Re:screw "cyber monday" by interkin3tic · · Score: 1

      Yeah, until they lock your account because of some random reason...

      Kind of like how Toyota is great, until for some random reason they decide to hire hitmen to kill you?

      Stop spreading FUD. Steam doesn't just ban people for random reasons.

    14. Re:screw "cyber monday" by toddestan · · Score: 1

      My favorite from Newegg this year was the Core i7-2600K for $269 on the top of their black friday e-blast email. I paid $10 less for that processor 9 months ago.

  10. That is incorrect by slashmydots · · Score: 1, Informative

    They made a severe mistake in that summary. The actual, 2012 rankings of highest gross sales are:
    Amazon
    Newegg
    Ebay

    1. Re:That is incorrect by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      [citation needed]

    2. Re:That is incorrect by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They made a severe mistake in that summary. The actual, 2012 rankings of highest gross sales are:

      Amazon

      Newegg

      Ebay

      And what exactly makes you correct over them? Because you read some other survey that said something else? Which one is wrong exactly? Oh thats right, you dont know and more importantly why does it matter?

    3. Re:That is incorrect by slashmydots · · Score: 1

      Slashdot said it like a month ago. Just search "newegg"

  11. Not accurate report by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The report claims that the cyber Monday sale is the largest ever. This is incorrect for online sales. Although this year's cyber Monday is expected to bring in 1.5 Billion in sales, this is far less than the 3.1 Billion record established on 11/11 this year by Taobao, the largest online retailer in China. Amazon is clearly lagging even far behind Taobao in terms of sales.

    1. Re:Not accurate report by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree that this report is somewhat inaccurate, but I believe it's merely a scope issue (probably just within the states). With China's population and economic growth it's hard to compare them and us.

  12. Ebay Bytes by sdinfoserv · · Score: 3, Interesting

    As a "former" ebay power seller I can say Ebay Sucks! It's overridden with drop shipped crap that can be found for 30% less on pricewatch, they nickle and dime sellers to death, and there zero chance of calling to get a live body for customer support. Just look at the difference in CEO behavior - Ebay CEO's make millions in pay, Bezos salary is (c) $80K. When I quite selling on ebay, I quite buying there too. If there's anything I need to sell around the house, craigslist does for me.

    1. Re:Ebay Bytes by larry+bagina · · Score: 1

      You're about 1.6 million short on Bezo's pay. And ebay had 5 times the profit in 2011. Even more this year since Amazon's last two quarters sucked as bad as, well, ebay.

      --
      Do you even lift?

      These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.

    2. Re:Ebay Bytes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      What was the main reason you finally gave up on eBay? If you were a power seller, you received the visibility, presence, and reach that comes with eBay. Were your profit margins miniscule and terrible? I sold a few things on eBay, mainly used computers, routers & switches and such. It was not a bad experience, even after they removed buyer's ratings. I'm asking because I was going to see if I could build great gaming PCs and sell them on eBay for a worthwhile profit margin, as long as its increasing my Paypal balance, it'll be worth it to me. You make it sound like that's not possible with eBay anymore. You might be right. I'd like to hear your opinion.

    3. Re:Ebay Bytes by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      There are an almost infinite number of people on here who think that eBay owes them a fucking living.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  13. Why Amazon? by rossdee · · Score: 1

    Because the other big online retailers (Best Buy, Target, Walmart ) have a physical presence in every state, so they charge sales tax.
    Amazon only has physical presence in CA and IN and maybe KY so most customers don't havr yo pay sales tax.
    And thats the main reason people shop online instead of locally.

    1. Re:Why Amazon? by Trepidity · · Score: 3, Informative

      Amazon actually now charges sales tax in the following states: California, Kansas, Kentucky, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington. That's about 1/3 of the U.S. population there.

      --
      10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
    2. Re:Why Amazon? by jpstanle · · Score: 1

      Being able to avoid sales tax in many cases is certainly beneficial to online retailers, but anybody who believes that sales tax is the primary force moving retail transactions online simply has not been paying attention. If all 50 states suddenly started collecting sales tax on Amazon sales today, Amazon would take a hit, but they would not suddenly collapse.

    3. Re:Why Amazon? by MetalliQaZ · · Score: 1

      That advantage is going away and Amazon knows it. There have been several Slashdot articles on the topic. States want a cut of that business. To compensate, I understand that Amazon will be adding warehouses around every metropolitan area in the country so that they can implement same day shipping. They will have to start charging sales tax but they will be able to compete with the instant gratification advantage that B&M stores have.

      --
      "Here Lies Philip J. Fry, named for his uncle, to carry on his spirit"
    4. Re:Why Amazon? by Dan667 · · Score: 1

      brick and mortar companies are trying to force online companies to pay sales tax in the believe people will return to their stores. Well, that is not going to happen and if there is an alternative online that does not charge sales tax that is something I consider as well when making a purchase.

    5. Re:Why Amazon? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Three words: Sold Out Online. That's what it said on bestbuy.com for every good deal that I saw on Amazon. With Amazon, I know that I'll actually be able to buy things at the prices they advertise.

    6. Re:Why Amazon? by rlwhite · · Score: 1

      ...because having more selection than any physical store could possibly carry couldn't be the main reason. Nor could economies of scale that physical specialty stores can't reach in most areas. No, people are so cheap that they have to scrimp on 5-10% and wait days for the product.

      I just bought a mid-range camcorder through Amazon this weekend. I looked at physical stores, and no major chain carried anything more than the cheapest low end products.

    7. Re:Why Amazon? by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      Being able to avoid sales tax in many cases is certainly beneficial to online retailers, but anybody who believes that sales tax is the primary force moving retail transactions online simply has not been paying attention. If all 50 states suddenly started collecting sales tax on Amazon sales today, Amazon would take a hit, but they would not suddenly collapse.

      brick and mortar companies are trying to force online companies to pay sales tax in the believe people will return to their stores. Well, that is not going to happen and if there is an alternative online that does not charge sales tax that is something I consider as well when making a purchase.

      Well, today it won't, but it can certain stem the growth of online shopping.

      Take Canada, for example. Online shopping hasn't grown as fast, nor is it as prevalent as in the US. In fact, many B&M retailers often have more stuff in the retail stores because increasingly larger numbers of people still visit the store.

      It doesn't help that "free shipping" didn't come until recently, so the fact you had to pay tax AND shipping meant that the prices were often equivalent to retail, so you might as well just buy it locally and get the benefit of immediate satisfaction and cheaper returns.

      Hell, even Amazon.ca isn't that great - the discounts are awful and you can find stuff cheaper at a B&M than Amazon. Quite commonly, too.

      Hell, the retailers are the ones trying ot push online shopping.

    8. Re:Why Amazon? by _UnderTow_ · · Score: 1

      I live in a state (Washington) that requires Amazon to charge me sales tax, and I still shop there. The main reason is free 2-day shipping (Prime only). I couldn't care less about sales tax when I can order something and have on my porch the next day for $3.99 or the day after for free.

    9. Re:Why Amazon? by nabsltd · · Score: 1

      And thats the main reason people shop online instead of locally.

      When everyday prices at Amazon are 20-50% off compared to B&M regular prices, saving the 5-10% sales tax is just an extra bonus.

      Add in the fact that you can get a wide variety of used items in very good condition, and that you can buy shoes, video games, gardening tools, and food all without leaving your chair, and that is the main reason people shop online instead of locally. I purchased 20 Blu-Ray movies this past week for a grand total of $130 (including shipping), all without leaving my house, so I didn't have to fight any crowds. Some of what I bought was Amazon price matching B&M stores, and I'm sure Amazon had a lot more than 3 copies in stock at that price, but the 4 films from the "Marvel Cinematic Universe" that I got for $28.90 when Best Buy wanted to charge $89 certainly weren't a price match.

    10. Re:Why Amazon? by mattack2 · · Score: 1

      It doesn't help that "free shipping" didn't come until recently, so the fact you had to pay tax AND shipping meant that the prices were often equivalent to retail, so you might as well just buy it locally and get the benefit of immediate satisfaction and cheaper returns.

      Even if the total prices were equivalent, aren't there times when you DON'T need it right away, where getting it shipped directly to you for the same price is more convenient?

      In other words, people often pay MORE for more convenience. In this case, it seems to me that you're paying the same for more convenience, unless you need it NOW, so you're in effect getting a better value.

    11. Re:Why Amazon? by drkoemans · · Score: 1

      You are joking of course. I've been shopping at amazon almost exclusively for the past 4 years and I'm a Washington resident; been paying my sales tax all along. The main reason why I don't shop locally is because I don't want to deal with people/traffic/time wasting looking for something when I can do it from my couch. I never use local shops as try before you buy, I never get that far, amazon's return policy is such I don't feel like there is any risk. I don't even buy my clothes locally anymore. While I may sound like a shill (or shut in) I am in no way affiliated with amazon, I just prefer to shop somewhere that has earned my business and works with my lifestyle. Driving anywhere in seattle sucks.

  14. If You Didn't... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Then you did it wrong!

  15. Amazon is not without fault by dehole · · Score: 1

    I think Amazon's search and sorting functionality is intentionally crippled. Try sorting by price and you will see a range of products at a range of prices. Is it sorted by new price, used price, price + shipping? Who knows.

    Often I have to go to another online store to find the product I want, to then see if it is on amazon. When it comes to books, I usually find the books cheaper on EBay than Amazon (and without tax :) ). The free shipping is a gimmick to get people to accept their higher prices.

    1. Re:Amazon is not without fault by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes I have to agree. Amazon has cheap stuff, but they generally aren't the cheapest. If you make some more effort, you'll generally find them cheaper on ebay or other sites.

    2. Re:Amazon is not without fault by Quirkz · · Score: 1

      Used price, I think. I tried a filter that was supposed to show me DVD's for under $3, thinking I'd get a lot of nice Monday specials. All the results were coming up in the $6 - $8 range. It took a while to catch on that they were sorted low because of the $0.01 used DVDs. Which of course come with $2.99 shipping, making them much less of a deal, and probably not acceptable holiday presents.

      --
      The Quirkz Handbook of Self-Improvement for People Who Are Already Pretty Okay
  16. Amazon vs Ebay by EmperorOfCanada · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I love the comparison of Amazon to Ebay's sales. The biggest complaint I regularly see about amazon is when they ship some tiny object in a giant box. (Which is can also be interpreted as Amazon trying really hard to make sure things aren't broken) whereas I read at least one complaint about ebay and or Paypal every day. Ebay has managed to anger the sellers by being totally one sided in disputes while at the same time they do little to clean up the listings to make ebay easy to use. If I want a part for an iPhone (say a new glass screen) I have to scroll through page after page of the same crap like cases and screen protectors. I want a raspberry pi yet it is just page after page of cases. They have no easy mechanism to clear out the crap. Basically all those cases are spam. I suspect that for any search that results in 1000 results that people are buying 4 or 5 of those results over and over and that they other 996 are just making people angry.

    The only thing that ebay has improved as far as I am concerned was when they allowed you to sort by lowest price plus shipping. This then eliminated those people who were selling the $20 item for $1 plus $19 shipping.

    Amazon has stumbled on a super secret business formula: treat the customer the way you would want to be treated. At least it seems to be secret as few other businesses appear to know about it especially ebay.

    1. Re:Amazon vs Ebay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The outrageous shipping scam was sellers trying to reduce their ebay fees, nothing to do with looking for the cheapest items. ebay now take fees from your shipping costs too, even when you use their USPS preprinted shipping forms using their own figures.

    2. Re:Amazon vs Ebay by crazyjj · · Score: 1

      Who the hell BUYS on ebay?!? Ebay is the place to SELL. They have a seemingly never-ending supply of crazy suckers willing to over-bid for items. Just look at how much people are paying for Wii U's over there right now.

      --
      What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
    3. Re:Amazon vs Ebay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It goes without saying that if it's the place to sell, then there are people buying on ebay.

    4. Re:Amazon vs Ebay by LBt1st · · Score: 2

      Ebay actually has some great search features. You can exclude words and do OR searches as well.
      If you simply add "-case -protector -shell" Or even just specify a minimum dollar amount of $25 you would eliminate most of the crap.

    5. Re:Amazon vs Ebay by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      The biggest complaint I regularly see about amazon is when they ship some tiny object in a giant box. (Which is can also be interpreted as Amazon trying really hard to make sure things aren't broken)

      No, no it cannot. It could if they filled up the interstices with packing material, but they don't do that. They just grab the "smallest" box all your stuff will fit in, and throw it in the box, and they don't have very small boxes.

      Ebay has managed to anger the sellers by being totally one sided in disputes while at the same time they do little to clean up the listings to make ebay easy to use. If I want a part for an iPhone (say a new glass screen) I have to scroll through page after page of the same crap like cases and screen protectors

      The same thing happens on Amazon, and further they are rude enough to not permit you to sort by price until you select a department, which is bullshit because many items in their catalog are miscategorized (just like eBay's) and you have to click into multiple categories and select price sorting and flip between tabs to comparison shop. Amazon is better than eBay in some ways, but it is pure shit in others. Also, I frankly don't know how anyone did any black friday shopping on Amazon. There was no centralization whatsoever so finding the good bargains was basically impossible. I imagine that most people were led to amazon by external links. If I do three almost-identical searches on Amazon I'll get massively different results with items that clearly were better matches for the keywords for my other searches only appearing in an apparently less-applicable search. Amazon's interface is inexplicably cluttered and useless for how complicated it is.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    6. Re:Amazon vs Ebay by Raenex · · Score: 1

      Who the hell BUYS on ebay?!?

      I don't regularly shop on eBay, but I've bought a fair number of items at good prices over the years. You just have to be a smart bidder.

      Ebay is the place to SELL.

      I agree. It's worked great for me when selling used stuff.

  17. stopped buying from amazon for sales tax by Dan667 · · Score: 1

    why would I continue to buy from amazon and pay sales tax and some times shipping when I can buy else where and pay no sales tax? They should have fought harder to stop that.

    1. Re:stopped buying from amazon for sales tax by Radak · · Score: 3, Informative

      Enjoy it while you can. Federal sales tax is probably coming in the next year or two and every online retailer will be collecting it.

      For a long time, Amazon was against a federal sales tax, for obvious reasons. But now they've done an about face, again for obvious reasons. They know it's coming, so it's now to their benefit to get it as soon as possible, since they're already forced to collect sales tax in some states. They've lost that small advantage in a few states, and they want to make sure everyone else loses it, too. Got to admit it's sound business sense on their part.

    2. Re:stopped buying from amazon for sales tax by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why should I hire a US-based talent and pay all those payroll taxes, when I can buy overseas and avoid them?

    3. Re:stopped buying from amazon for sales tax by Maltheus · · Score: 2

      Are you suggesting that they'd be able to get an amendment passed on this? Because it ain't covered under the 16th.

    4. Re:stopped buying from amazon for sales tax by Radak · · Score: 1

      I think we'll find that despite the phrase "federal sales tax" being bandied about, what we'll eventually see is a redefinition of state sales tax to be based on the location of the purchaser instead of the seller. The 16th amendment wouldn't have anything to do with it.

    5. Re:stopped buying from amazon for sales tax by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Interstate Commerce is pretty clearly in the Federal Balliwick.

      Setting up sales tax collection would be easy.

  18. Ebay that high? I don't trust ebay by Shivetya · · Score: 1

    I do not trust EBAY as far as I can throw Paypal.

    I cannot imagine buying anything over impulse purchase prices on ebay.

    --
    * Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
  19. Re:amazon's immense size by Beyond_GoodandEvil · · Score: 4, Insightful

    YOU OWE USE TAX TO YOUR STATE even if sales tax was not collected at time of purchase -- so pay 'em already you fucking tax deadbeats.
    Why, b/c so govt. asshole decided to put his hand in my pocket? If I purchased an item that may have been subject to a tax(and let's get real there's plenty of tax holiday shenanigans an individual could run afoul of), why does the locality get any extra tax? The fuel that powered the truck that made the delivery was taxed, the income used to pay for the item was taxed(Assuming not living in NH, Florida etc). The land on which I will use the item was taxed, so why does the govt get another slice of the pie? Nevermind, the silliness of paying a use tax on a digital download. that has contributed to budget messes for many states?
    Sorry, you were looking for unsustainable pension funds and failure to recognize the conflict of interest inherent in collective bargaining of public sector unions. Just ask that rabid union buster FDR. "All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service."

    --
    I laughed at the weak who considered themselves good because they lacked claws.
  20. Re:amazon's immense size by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    lol

  21. 1994 Called.... by Radak · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ....they want that joke back.

    1. Re:1994 Called.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Obligitory http://xkcd.com/875/

    2. Re:1994 Called.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh yeah!!??? Well, the jerk store called and said they're running out of you!

    3. Re:1994 Called.... by Radak · · Score: 1

      I just exchanged a few words with your refrigerator and, well, you guys need to talk.

    4. Re:1994 Called.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://goatkcd.com/875/

  22. Re:amazon's immense size by jedidiah · · Score: 1

    > is the direct result of their exploitation of greedy customers who ignore their home state's sales and use tax laws.

    Nope. It's lame local stores. They can't compete even if price is completely taken out of the equation. This is the real disadvantage that any store with a finite location suffers from.

    It's harder to have EVERYTHING.

    ANY e-commerce site can cater to the entire planet while being in a single physical location. The same used to be true of Sears. Amazon is just a very successful successor to Sears.

    They will even refer you to 3rd parties when you want something even they don't have.

    Plus Amazon is still cheaper (even with sales tax) on those things for which a direct comparison can even be made.

    --
    A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
  23. Not surprising. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why the hell you would put up with driving someplace, wasting gas, wasting, to go to a store and put up with terrible customer service from kids who try and shove stuff down your throat, then to stand in line and over pay for the exact same thing you can order from amazon from the comfort of your own home and have delivered the majority of the time for free to your door. Granted sometimes you need a new router right now because yours took a crap and so on and amazon cant do that but for the most part I buy everything from amazon.

    Bestbuy, sears, jc penny, kmart and gamestop in paticullar I cant see how they stay in business. I can buy just about everything they sell from amazon at the very least for the exact same price, but more often than not for much less and I dont have to go anywhere or be annoyed with crap customer service.

  24. Amazon is used ... by blahplusplus · · Score: 1

    ... to lookup product information and prices. Usually when searching for any given product amazon will have reviews/info on said product.

    1. Re:Amazon is used ... by wiedzmin · · Score: 1

      That is definitely what I use it for, since they don't ship to Canada so I have to find other places to buy the products that have good reviews/photos/details on Amazon.

      --
      Bow before me, for I am root.
    2. Re:Amazon is used ... by Mad+Leper · · Score: 1

      Amazon does ship to Canada, in fact Amazon.ca specifically caters to Canadian shoppers.

      Perhaps what you meant to say was that there were items you were interested in on Amazon.com and they could not be shipped to Canada.

    3. Re:Amazon is used ... by blahplusplus · · Score: 1

      They do but they tend to be more expensive and/or amazon.ca doesn't have as wide range of selection as the US site. I had to order books that I couldn't get elsewhere from the US in the early days and the tariffs/border tax was insane.

    4. Re:Amazon is used ... by wiedzmin · · Score: 1

      As blahplusplus pointed out, Amazon.ca has but a fraction of the product selection of Amazon.com and charges more for the same products it does have. Even the review systems are different for identical products. It also doesn't honor Amazon.com gift cards. They may as well be different companies.

      --
      Bow before me, for I am root.
    5. Re:Amazon is used ... by mattack2 · · Score: 1

      Isn't that true for all companies that have regional versions?

    6. Re:Amazon is used ... by wiedzmin · · Score: 1

      Not sure, I don't have the same problem with Canadian BestBuy, for example. We'll see what happens when Target finally converts all the Zellers stores they bought up in Canada.

      --
      Bow before me, for I am root.
  25. Operates like sweets at the checkout. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Amazon won't do everything, and if you can keep people on your webpage you may be able to get them to buy on it too.

  26. Re:amazon's immense size by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You pay sales taxes so that we can pass the tax burden to the middle class. Now pay up!

  27. Not in Canada by wiedzmin · · Score: 5, Informative

    They could do even better if 9 out of 10 products they sell didn't spit out "We are unable to ship to your address" for Canadian buyers. I am all but given up shopping on Amazon for that reason... they can't even provide a way to filter out items they can't ship to you!

    --
    Bow before me, for I am root.
    1. Re:Not in Canada by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you using amazon.com or amazon.ca?

    2. Re:Not in Canada by Algae_94 · · Score: 1

      I have a similar problem. Countless items (generally larger items) can't be shipped to my location. Apparently, Amazon treats Alaska the same as Canada.

    3. Re:Not in Canada by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You realize there's a whole site for Canadian users? Do your shopping on amazon.ca and you'll see only the items that can be shipped to you (from a Canadian warehouse so you're not paying international shipping or duties).

    4. Re:Not in Canada by hodet · · Score: 1

      You can browse .com from Canada but good luck getting things shipped. Amazon.ca is even worse. Everything I have searched for is way more expensive on .ca, ridiculously so. Their .ca and .com sites may as well be two different companies all together. The only thing that is similar is the look and feel. Selection, price, shipping...you name it, it's a whole different experience.

    5. Re:Not in Canada by neminem · · Score: 1

      Oddly, the one time I've tried to use Amazon to purchase something from out of country (a new cd by a moderately obscure British folk musician), I had no problem buying it from amazon.co.uk and shipping it to the US... maybe Canada just sucks. (The cd was also available from amazon.com, but oddly, was more expensive there even when you factored in international shipping cost.)

    6. Re:Not in Canada by wiedzmin · · Score: 1

      Try finding the same products on Amazon.ca - it's mostly just books and maybe a 1-2% fraction of other products offered on .com site. And it's way more expensive. I've shopped on both and, frankly, Amazon.ca sucks.

      --
      Bow before me, for I am root.
    7. Re:Not in Canada by twakar · · Score: 1

      If you happen to live in southern BC, try www.myshiphappens.com. Costs $5 and works wonders. I believe there are similar services across the country. This won't work though if not relatively close to the border to make it worthwhile.

      Cheers,

      --
      Progress is man's ability to complicate simplicity!
    8. Re:Not in Canada by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It depends on the item and the seller. Look around Amazon, and you'll see sellers that offer "Domestic shipping options" and some that offer "Domestic and International Shipping Options"; as far as I know, there are no "Domestic and everywhere except Canada". Same on the .co.uk site.

    9. Re:Not in Canada by rdnetto · · Score: 1

      Same goes for us down in Australia. I've had great experiences with Amazon and bought a bunch of books from them recently, but it's virtually impossible to find electronics that ship outside the US on there.

      --
      Most human behaviour can be explained in terms of identity.
    10. Re:Not in Canada by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They could do even better if 9 out of 10 products they sell didn't spit out "We are unable to ship to your address" for Canadian buyers. I am all but given up shopping on Amazon for that reason... they can't even provide a way to filter out items they can't ship to you!

      Because I live pretty close to the Canada/US border I can have things shipped to an enterprising business that provides a US address (not a box number). Not only does this solve the "We cannot ship .." problem but it usually saves 2/3 of the shipping cost for those who will ship to Canada.

  28. Consider the Economics of Online Shopping by sandysnowbeard · · Score: 1

    To their folly, hitherto many states have let Amazon and other online sites sell things tax free. While making a consumer's dollar go farther, it sucked tax money away from said states (although perhaps those states got kick-backs from Amazon) and cannibalized competing local businesses. (Granted, local business might include not-locally-based chains or franchises like Best Buy, but that's its own problem. Regardless, local business = local jobs.) Then you've got the issue of strip-mall USA where a person has to use a couple of gallons worth of gas to get to a store in the first place, which is another thing in Amazon's favor. All that said, I live in Seattle (Amazon's home), in the areas where you can walk everywhere and don't need a car. Things are dense, and there are lots of cool local stores, including a book store I like (Elliott Bay Books, which conveniently sells Google Play Books online and also has its own, independent cafe) and a couple of record stores. I would rather pay more for goods from these stores because they give Seattle the feel of a neighborhood (or a collection of neighborhoods, as it were). I can accept that bookstores and record stores are on their way out (as are the physical mediums of books and CDs), but I'm uncomfortable with the concentrating of SOOOOOOO much business through one supplier's gateway. Thus, it's always a bit weird to hear of people BUYING BUYING BUYING. Chill out, consume less, and think about where your dollar is going, rather than just trying to amass shit for you and yours. At least this is the mantra I tell myself.

    1. Re:Consider the Economics of Online Shopping by tompaulco · · Score: 1

      To their folly, hitherto many states have let Amazon and other online sites sell things tax free.
      No they have not let Amazon do anything. They require the citizens of their state to pay Use tax. They just do a poor job of enforcement and collection. This has nothing to do with Amazon or any other online retailer, cataloger or telephone sales. It is not the responsibility of some out-of-state business to do a state's dirty work for them.
      perhaps those states got kick-backs from Amazon
      Yeah, right.

      --
      If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
    2. Re:Consider the Economics of Online Shopping by sandysnowbeard · · Score: 1

      perhaps those states got kick-backs from Amazon

      Yeah, right.

      While I misspoke about kickbacks, here's an example of what I was referring to, which is Amazon attempting to get out of paying taxes (in this case it should arguably be exempt from retroactively paying them) by creating jobs in the state and investing capital. Again, arguably a fair trade for the state, but this sucks if Amazon is your competition, because it doesn't undo the damage of Amazon cutting into your sales:

      "The settlement resolves the online retailer's ongoing dispute with [Texas], which claimed that Amazon owed $269 million in back taxes. In addition to taking up collection, Amazon has agreed to create at least 2,500 jobs and invest a minimum of $200 million in capital investments, though it admits no fault, ..."

    3. Re:Consider the Economics of Online Shopping by tompaulco · · Score: 1

      "The settlement resolves the online retailer's ongoing dispute with [Texas], which claimed that Amazon owed $269 million in back taxes. In addition to taking up collection, Amazon has agreed to create at least 2,500 jobs and invest a minimum of $200 million in capital investments, though it admits no fault, ..."
      Of course they admit no fault. They didn't do anything wrong. A state cannot force an outside entity to collect the state's taxes for them. They can only force businesses in their own state to do that, and they shouldn't even do that. If you want your money, go get it yourself. Amazon basically caved in to nothing and now has to invest money and jobs where they have no legal requirement to do so.
      But that aside, special deals for businesses is nothing new. A Wal-Mart moved into my town instead of the town next door because my town offered them a better deal, plain and simple. And in a ceremony at City Hall, Wal-Mart gave the city a $5,000 check for some project that the city was wanting to do. It's definitely "scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" in the world of big business. And the loser is the small business (which, by the way, employs 80% of America's workforce).

      --
      If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
  29. Re:amazon's immense size by Rich0 · · Score: 0

    Yup, use taxes are unconsitutional and regressive besides. They've also been upheld by the supreme court, so you can be punished if anybody bothers to catch you not paying them, though most likely you'd be sent a bill penalty-free since the folks in charge don't want to be tarred and feathered.

    And yes, I'm using a definition of unconstitutional that is not equal to the state of being ruled as unconstitutional by the supreme court. And yes, I realize that the state can punish you even if the supreme court didn't support it, though in that case the punishment is limited to doing whatever they want to you until you manage to get in your appeals and bankrupt yourself in the process.

  30. Try Amazon.ca by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does that help?

    1. Re:Try Amazon.ca by wiedzmin · · Score: 1

      It does not. It's more expensive and has about 1% of the products that are available on Amazon.com, the difference is even worse than it is between US and Canadian Netflix-es.

      --
      Bow before me, for I am root.
  31. Re:amazon's immense size by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yup, use taxes are unconsitutional and regressive besides. They've also been upheld by the supreme court, so you can be punished if anybody bothers to catch you not paying them, though most likely you'd be sent a bill penalty-free since the folks in charge don't want to be tarred and feathered.

    I must slightly disagree with you here. If the Use Tax really is a Use Tax, ie you're charged $1/hour you use a chainsaw within the state, then that doesn't seem to violate the US Constitution. When the "Use Tax" is merely implementing Sales Tax on items that were purchased out of state (ie, you don't have to pay if you've paid Sales Tax), that certainly interferes with interstate commerce.

    Meanwhile Sales Tax is a quagmire of paperwork. Do you know how much you pay in Sales Tax? Unless you've got a big pile of receipts, likely not, then you have to go through that giant pile. Meanwhile, the paperwork for income tax takes time, but nothing like the time to go through a giant pile of paper and the time to generate that giant pile of paper. I may pay more money in income tax, but sales tax costs far more valuable time.

  32. Re:amazon's immense size by na1led · · Score: 1

    Must be another one of those "Tax the Rich" concepts. Only, it's the middle class that pays it.

    --
    -- By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.
  33. Anything built to withstand DDoS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    During holidays (just a side effect on security really for them, it's MORE "uptime" under load stress & duration)? Is done right!

    However, it looks like they did some reboots recently (as far as "uptime checking"):

    http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=amazon.com

    Is it me? Did I misread that?? Thanks for correcting me if I'm seeing things. Could have been upgrade/update reboots though in prep for the shopping season.

    * Anyhow - There's no questions asked, that for taking loads of usage @ once simultaneously like nearly probably very little does out there to the same extent & durations that's not scripted/automated, but rather dealing with people? They're a good example of solid design.

    APK

    P.S.=> Probably costs them in bandwidth to NO end, as well as facilities cooling etc./et al, but they built well (especially bandwidth & monitoring vs. DDoS, & not really the malicious kind initially, like I remember "anonymous" tried & failed in... As again - they did it from what I understand, MOSTLY to deal with huge "holiday rushes" from customers - the security benefit is more stability, but a nice side effect of overbuilding your network infrastructure!)...

    ... apk

  34. How is Newegg not on that list? by Bruinwar · · Score: 1

    Last I heard Newegg was 1.4 billion in sales & that was a few years ago. What is Shopzilla doing on that list?

    --
    SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT
  35. RMS on Amazon by storkus · · Score: 1

    Maybe it was just buried, but its hard to believe not ONE of you remembered Stallman's comments on Amazon:

    http://stallman.org/amazon.html

  36. Watch those prices! by reboot246 · · Score: 1

    I bought an item from Amazon two weeks ago and today, on "Cyber Monday", the price is two dollars higher than I paid. Glad I bought it earlier!

    Know your prices and start shopping way before Cyber Monday. You just may be paying higher than every day prices.

  37. Re:Ebay that high? I don't trust ebay by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    I do not trust EBAY as far as I can throw Paypal.

    Many of us have never had a problem with paypal. Maybe we're just lucky, or maybe we're just scrupulous and so we don't run afoul of them. In fact, Paypal has been considerably better to me than my credit card company. My bank refused to process a denial of funds for me in a case of fraud. Paypal, not so much.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  38. "Almost twice" by Mattlistener · · Score: 1

    Both the summary and the article refer to amazon's 14% as being nearly 2x ebay's 8.8%. Can we expect a little more numeracy here please? Especially when the numbers in question are the *primary focus* of the article? 14 is 59% greater than 8.8. Imagine: "Wow, you got it for $100? I paid almost twice that, $159!"