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Amazon Wants To Curb Selling 'CRaP' Items it Can't Profit On, Like Bottled Water and Snacks: Report (wsj.com)
Amazon is rethinking its strategy around some items it sells which it calls internally "Can't realize a profit" -- or "CRaP" for short, according to the Wall Street Journal. From the report: Inside Amazon, the items are known as CRaP, short for "Can't Realize a Profit." Think bottled beverages or snack foods [Editor's note: the link may be paywalled; alternative source]. The products tend to be priced at $15 or less, are sold directly by Amazon, and are heavy or bulky and therefore costly to ship -- characteristics that make for thin or nonexistent margins. Now, as Amazon focuses more on its bottom line in addition to its rapid growth, it is increasingly taking aim at CRaP products, according to major brand executives and people familiar with the company's thinking.
In recent months, it has been eliminating unprofitable items and pressing manufacturers to change their packaging to better sell online, according to brands that sell on Amazon and consultants who work with them. One example: bottled water from Coca-Cola Co. Amazon used to have a $6.99 six-pack of Smartwater as the default order on some of its Dash buttons, a small device that allows for automatic reordering with a single press. But in August, after working with Coca-Cola to change how it ships and sells the water, Amazon notified Dash customers it was changing that default item to a 24-pack for $37.20.
In recent months, it has been eliminating unprofitable items and pressing manufacturers to change their packaging to better sell online, according to brands that sell on Amazon and consultants who work with them. One example: bottled water from Coca-Cola Co. Amazon used to have a $6.99 six-pack of Smartwater as the default order on some of its Dash buttons, a small device that allows for automatic reordering with a single press. But in August, after working with Coca-Cola to change how it ships and sells the water, Amazon notified Dash customers it was changing that default item to a 24-pack for $37.20.
Lando Calrissian: That wasn't part of the deal! You said the $6.99 six-pack of Smartwater was the default order on my Dash button!
Darth Bezos: I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further.
Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
Sounds like you, alone, maybe the sole reason for this change! LOL.
Spent $400 to get 1200 cans of grape soda? And Amazon is the sucker in the story?
I think it’s been pretty obvious for years that a lot of what Amazon sells is crap.
#DeleteChrome
If I’m driving to a brick and mortar grocery store, I’m going to the Winco that’s 4 minutes away - and a lot cheaper than Whole Paycheck.
#DeleteChrome
It's a class marker. People do it to distinguish themselves from the flyover morons. Drinking tapwater marks you as deplorable. You really make so little you can't afford Evian? Bet you drive a pickup truck, too.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
My cat was very picky, wouldn't use the cat box unless the litter was unscented. Our local stores didn't carry any decent unscented litter, so we bought it on Amazon, for $7 for a 40 pound bucket, delivered free in two days.
Amazon eventually figured out that this wasn't working for them, so they changed it to an "add-on item," requiring you to buy $35-worth of stuff for it to qualify for Prime. So I bought 5 buckets. The delivery guy wasn't too happy, but I got my cat litter!