every time a company reports weak growth or a drop in revenue they always say something like this to make it seem nice.
"Every Time" - really? Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves with the absolutes shall we? Amazon's 2008 results will be published in January 2009 - so we have until then to determine your predictive accuracy. Amazon issues a post-holiday press release - has done for years. It's reported revenue increases every year in that press release that have been verified in more detail in it's annual report. It's seeming that your "every time" comment may be a little off the mark...
Yes. Q4 and Yearly earnings for 2008 will be published late Jan 2009. Go back to 2002 and you'll see that Amazon's PR release after the holidays was 100% verified in the succeeding 10K for every year since then.
Nope. I subscribe to PR Wire - nothing, zip, zilch, nada from other retailers (brick and mortar / Online or otherwise). Amazon did amazingly well. Due, on at least two counts, to:
1. Price - they consistently beat the prices of competitors (volume gives you that leverage - there is no magic);
2. Customer Service - ever had to return an item to Amazon? Ever had a problem with *anything*? They ship it back, at their cost with a smile on their faces. Don't get satisfaction from customer support? e-mail jeff@amazon.com and CEO Jeff Bezos will ensure that you are taken care of. Amazon defines high quality customer service.
(and yes, I am a *very* satisfied Amazon customer -- that's why I keep going back time and time again.
Are we sure that they measured the distance in KM - what if it was miles, or furlongs, or rods, or perches....?
I understand that this type of mistake has happened in the recent past.
Couple of data points:
1. My kids go to school in the Bay Area. Both have an impressive wardrobe of Sun-logo'd t-shirts (the designs are much better that your average "slap-a-logo-on-a-white-T"). While I'm not complaining, why is Sun clothing my children while laying off 5,000 staff?
2. I've been in the computer business for ~25 years. I've done work with Sun in the past (~15 years ago). I can tell you what business Microsoft is in. I can tell you what business HP is in. Ditto Oracle. Heck I even think I could tell you what business IBM is in these days. I have *no* idea what business Sun is in. Oh I know they own some Open Source apps and once upon a time they made computers around the SPARC processor - but what do they do now? How do they intend to make money and return a profit for their shareholders?
eBay's requirements for takedown notice include the following statement:
"A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed."
So the only "penalty of perjury" clause covers authorization to act. And I don't think in this case the law firm filing the takedown notices was doing it out of the goodness of the own hearts.
Yes - a double standard. About right for eBay...
Re: "Instead, it's illegal for even me to make a receiver for certain channels. That's a load of crap."
and "Also, these frequencies are the publics, not some corporate interest... but that's not how the FCC sees it."
Indeed the frequencies are "owned" by the public. And we have elected our leaders and placed our trust in them to manage said airways in our best interests. So it's not a "load of crap" - it's what we have asked our elected officials to do. If you don't like how the system is run you have a wonderful opportunity this November to select the person you want to look after your needs and interests;-)
Using the Canadian airwaves in Vancouver has nothing to do with the FCC (a fine USA establishment...) and everything to do with the person using the system.
Vancouver, BC service is "Rogers Wireless" if I recall correctly. AT&T may be passing on the bill they received from Rogers, but it's got nothing to do with AT&T. Caveat Emptor, eh?
As someone who has had the misfortune to try to resolve an eBay non-delivery issue with Paypal (never got back to me and then closed the request for support) I'm happy that there will be alternatives to PayPal. Paypal's customer service is *horrible* -- in comparison Amazon's customer service is one of, if not the, best in the world. Good news too is that Amazon already has my information (and millions of other people's) so anyone using the new service doesn't have the huge task of trying to convince buyers to sign up -- they are already signed up with a service they already trust.
Figure the $400 cost of a Kindle is for the device *and* the wireless service in perpetuity. The TCO works out in your favor after about 18 months. Being able to download a book in about a minute is awesome. Show me a bookstore I can drive to, find a book, buy it and be reading it in a minute..... especially if I'm sitting in a plane on the ramp at DFW....
Marketplace items list for free, but a 6 to 15 percent commission, a variable closing fee, and a $0.99 per-transaction fee are applied when a sale occurs. I'm happy to pay this as I'm getting value for money. Buyers pay Amazon; Amazon pays seller. Non of this "PayPal in the middle" nonscense which is far too easy for the unscrupulous to scam.
"But Amazon doesn't carry all of their inventory, only when it is ordered do they "carry" the items."
Amazon carries a *substantial* amount of inventory. Go to Amazon.com and order just about anything -- your ordering options will show you that you can receive it within 2 days (you can also get things overnight or in some cities same-day). You can only do that if you have the goods in stock.
"My cousin used to work for them out in Seattle and said most of the stuff they sell isn't in any of their "warehouses" for more than a day or two."
Well that's just crap. You cousin is clearly misinforming you. Amazon does turn inventory very fast - but slow moving ("long tail") items do sit in the FC's for longer than the high velocity items. In fact if you read the 2007 annual report (http://biz.yahoo.com/e/070216/amzn10-k.html) you'll see that "...Because of our model we are able to turn our inventory quickly and have a cash-generating operating cycle. On average, our high inventory velocity means we generally collect from our customers before our payments to suppliers come due. Inventory turnover3 was 13, 14, and 16 for 2006, 2005, and 2004." So inventory in 2006 turned 13 times. Simple math tells us that items do sit in the FC for more than a day or two.
Re: "It's not like they have an actual warehouse full of books and such."
Nonsense - Amazon has millions of square feet of warehouse space throughout North America, UK, France, Germany, Japan and China.
Example: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2007_July_3/ai_n19331851 - "...The new facility will be approximately 600,000 square feet, making it one of the larger Amazon fulfillment centers in North America. The new facility will create up to 300 full-time positions this year, with an additional 1,000 - 1,300 temporary jobs during the 2007 holiday season." ,
Amazon works like any other retailer. They buy inventory based on forecast demand, and then sell/ship it to meet demand.
Best thing for Amazon to do is stop shipping Jerry Lewis movies to France in retaliation - ha! that'll show 'em!
Bulk baby, bulk. Higher volume == greater discounts. That's why the mega-chains eat the lunch of the smaller outfits (on price at least) they can negotiate volume discounts.
Why even bother selling the Wii's on ebay (and paying ebay fees)? These things are in such great demand why not price them based on what the market will stand. They've proven that a market is there for Wii's at $399 - why not sell them for that in the store?
Oh, and the reason that retailers only make $4 margin of each Wii is that they make it back in other ways (same way car dealers make money even when they sell cars for way under sticker price and will happily show you paperwork that they only make $100 over dealer invoice - facory incentives that are accounted for in many other ways). How - the margin on games is much deeper. Sell the console for cost and then make out like bandits on games (razor and razor blades; printers and cartridges etc)
I received my Kindle two days after launch and have been using it steadily since then. What do I like best? Bottom line it's the "always connected" capability. I use this for downloading books (natch), newspapers, blogs (/. was the first...) and web browsing (lost count of the number of times that a quick check of Wikipedia has settled a breakfast/lunchtime/dinner argument). I've also taken to downloading the first chapters (free) of books in which I may be interested. I'm glad I did in many case - the hype behind books does not always match reality (natch again). I downloaded chapter 1 of Steve Colbert's "I am America" - god knows how that's at the top of the NY Times best seller list, it's *awful*. Glad I could read chapter 1 and realize this was not a book for me. (and no, it wasn't the politics that turned me off - it's just poorly written prose. Mr. Colbert should focus on what's he's good at: TV)
As for the cost: It's fine given that it has bundled always-on wireless access. If I had to pay $25 a month for wireless for the device and if the device was, say, $100 - I'd be out of pocket in 12 months. TCO is good. Look past the $400 price tag and realize what you are getting for the money. A version 1 ebook (it's pretty good - will get better with V2, V3.....) and 24x7x365 wireless access to a huge library. Good value in my book!
Amazon has been doing this for ages - very well I might add. What does Google bring to the party. Advertising? Big whoop. I like the privacy of my data. I don't want Google scanning my data as it scans my email. That's taking things just too far. What next? Google coming around to my house to check my desk draws.....?
| One of the reps told me on the phone that if you choose free shipping, your order goes through a delivery tar pit (Delivery is deliberately delayed).
*utter bullshit* - You'll notice when you place an order on Amazon you are given a delivery promise. If you don't like the promise, you don't have to complete placing your order. Why would delivery be deliberately delayed? Amazon only charges your credit card when the order ships - it's in Amazon's best interest to ship as fast as possible so it can charge your credit card.
"one of the reps told me......" yeah, yeah. Who? When? Let me guess "you forget".....
Have your read the patent? There is *nothing* about slowing orders if you don't order much. Scheese - if you're going to go negative please do so based on actually *reading* what you are complaining about.
To explore this, CIO.com has a big package of articles examining "Black Friday" and its implications.
I see no big package of articles - I find almost content free fluff. There is nothing of substance here.
The only failure I see this year is CIO.com turning out worthless copy.
Slashdot Mirror
every time a company reports weak growth or a drop in revenue they always say something like this to make it seem nice.
"Every Time" - really? Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves with the absolutes shall we? Amazon's 2008 results will be published in January 2009 - so we have until then to determine your predictive accuracy. Amazon issues a post-holiday press release - has done for years. It's reported revenue increases every year in that press release that have been verified in more detail in it's annual report. It's seeming that your "every time" comment may be a little off the mark...
Yes. Q4 and Yearly earnings for 2008 will be published late Jan 2009. Go back to 2002 and you'll see that Amazon's PR release after the holidays was 100% verified in the succeeding 10K for every year since then.
Nope. I subscribe to PR Wire - nothing, zip, zilch, nada from other retailers (brick and mortar / Online or otherwise). Amazon did amazingly well. Due, on at least two counts, to:
1. Price - they consistently beat the prices of competitors (volume gives you that leverage - there is no magic);
2. Customer Service - ever had to return an item to Amazon? Ever had a problem with *anything*? They ship it back, at their cost with a smile on their faces. Don't get satisfaction from customer support? e-mail jeff@amazon.com and CEO Jeff Bezos will ensure that you are taken care of. Amazon defines high quality customer service.
(and yes, I am a *very* satisfied Amazon customer -- that's why I keep going back time and time again.
Are we sure that they measured the distance in KM - what if it was miles, or furlongs, or rods, or perches....? I understand that this type of mistake has happened in the recent past.
Couple of data points:
1. My kids go to school in the Bay Area. Both have an impressive wardrobe of Sun-logo'd t-shirts (the designs are much better that your average "slap-a-logo-on-a-white-T"). While I'm not complaining, why is Sun clothing my children while laying off 5,000 staff?
2. I've been in the computer business for ~25 years. I've done work with Sun in the past (~15 years ago). I can tell you what business Microsoft is in. I can tell you what business HP is in. Ditto Oracle. Heck I even think I could tell you what business IBM is in these days. I have *no* idea what business Sun is in. Oh I know they own some Open Source apps and once upon a time they made computers around the SPARC processor - but what do they do now? How do they intend to make money and return a profit for their shareholders?
Starting November 17 Amazon.com will off the OLPC http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html?ie=UTF8&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&me=A34NLXJLC88VVS. Quite appropriate since it was Jeff Bezos that came up with the buy-two-get-one program.
eBay's requirements for takedown notice include the following statement:
"A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed."
So the only "penalty of perjury" clause covers authorization to act. And I don't think in this case the law firm filing the takedown notices was doing it out of the goodness of the own hearts.
Yes - a double standard. About right for eBay...
Re: "Instead, it's illegal for even me to make a receiver for certain channels. That's a load of crap." and "Also, these frequencies are the publics, not some corporate interest... but that's not how the FCC sees it."
;-)
Indeed the frequencies are "owned" by the public. And we have elected our leaders and placed our trust in them to manage said airways in our best interests. So it's not a "load of crap" - it's what we have asked our elected officials to do. If you don't like how the system is run you have a wonderful opportunity this November to select the person you want to look after your needs and interests
Using the Canadian airwaves in Vancouver has nothing to do with the FCC (a fine USA establishment...) and everything to do with the person using the system.
Vancouver, BC service is "Rogers Wireless" if I recall correctly. AT&T may be passing on the bill they received from Rogers, but it's got nothing to do with AT&T. Caveat Emptor, eh?
As someone who has had the misfortune to try to resolve an eBay non-delivery issue with Paypal (never got back to me and then closed the request for support) I'm happy that there will be alternatives to PayPal. Paypal's customer service is *horrible* -- in comparison Amazon's customer service is one of, if not the, best in the world. Good news too is that Amazon already has my information (and millions of other people's) so anyone using the new service doesn't have the huge task of trying to convince buyers to sign up -- they are already signed up with a service they already trust.
Nice work!
Figure the $400 cost of a Kindle is for the device *and* the wireless service in perpetuity. The TCO works out in your favor after about 18 months. Being able to download a book in about a minute is awesome. Show me a bookstore I can drive to, find a book, buy it and be reading it in a minute..... especially if I'm sitting in a plane on the ramp at DFW....
Amazon Flexible Payments Service (FPS) is what you are thinking of. Link to information: http://www.amazon.com/Flexible-Payments-Service-AWS/b/ref=sc_fe_l_3?ie=UTF8&node=342430011&no=3440661
Amazon has been my choice for selling since I departed eBay: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=1161232
Marketplace items list for free, but a 6 to 15 percent commission, a variable closing fee, and a $0.99 per-transaction fee are applied when a sale occurs. I'm happy to pay this as I'm getting value for money. Buyers pay Amazon; Amazon pays seller. Non of this "PayPal in the middle" nonscense which is far too easy for the unscrupulous to scam.
Don't take my word - go read the annual report :-)
If you want to see what an Amazon FC looks like, try this: http://www.gottadeal.com/media/TIME_com%20Welcome%20to%20Black%20Monday%20--%20Page%201.htm
Here's a Seattle Times report on Amazon's FC strategy: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002125730_amazon21.html
"But Amazon doesn't carry all of their inventory, only when it is ordered do they "carry" the items."
Amazon carries a *substantial* amount of inventory. Go to Amazon.com and order just about anything -- your ordering options will show you that you can receive it within 2 days (you can also get things overnight or in some cities same-day). You can only do that if you have the goods in stock.
"My cousin used to work for them out in Seattle and said most of the stuff they sell isn't in any of their "warehouses" for more than a day or two."
Well that's just crap. You cousin is clearly misinforming you. Amazon does turn inventory very fast - but slow moving ("long tail") items do sit in the FC's for longer than the high velocity items. In fact if you read the 2007 annual report (http://biz.yahoo.com/e/070216/amzn10-k.html) you'll see that "...Because of our model we are able to turn our inventory quickly and have a cash-generating operating cycle. On average, our high inventory velocity means we generally collect from our customers before our payments to suppliers come due. Inventory turnover3 was 13, 14, and 16 for 2006, 2005, and 2004." So inventory in 2006 turned 13 times. Simple math tells us that items do sit in the FC for more than a day or two.
Re: "It's not like they have an actual warehouse full of books and such."
Nonsense - Amazon has millions of square feet of warehouse space throughout North America, UK, France, Germany, Japan and China. Example: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2007_July_3/ai_n19331851 - "...The new facility will be approximately 600,000 square feet, making it one of the larger Amazon fulfillment centers in North America. The new facility will create up to 300 full-time positions this year, with an additional 1,000 - 1,300 temporary jobs during the 2007 holiday season."
,
Amazon works like any other retailer. They buy inventory based on forecast demand, and then sell/ship it to meet demand.
Best thing for Amazon to do is stop shipping Jerry Lewis movies to France in retaliation - ha! that'll show 'em!
It's "Touché" actually....
Bulk baby, bulk. Higher volume == greater discounts. That's why the mega-chains eat the lunch of the smaller outfits (on price at least) they can negotiate volume discounts.
Why even bother selling the Wii's on ebay (and paying ebay fees)? These things are in such great demand why not price them based on what the market will stand. They've proven that a market is there for Wii's at $399 - why not sell them for that in the store? Oh, and the reason that retailers only make $4 margin of each Wii is that they make it back in other ways (same way car dealers make money even when they sell cars for way under sticker price and will happily show you paperwork that they only make $100 over dealer invoice - facory incentives that are accounted for in many other ways). How - the margin on games is much deeper. Sell the console for cost and then make out like bandits on games (razor and razor blades; printers and cartridges etc)
I received my Kindle two days after launch and have been using it steadily since then. What do I like best? Bottom line it's the "always connected" capability. I use this for downloading books (natch), newspapers, blogs (/. was the first...) and web browsing (lost count of the number of times that a quick check of Wikipedia has settled a breakfast/lunchtime/dinner argument). I've also taken to downloading the first chapters (free) of books in which I may be interested. I'm glad I did in many case - the hype behind books does not always match reality (natch again). I downloaded chapter 1 of Steve Colbert's "I am America" - god knows how that's at the top of the NY Times best seller list, it's *awful*. Glad I could read chapter 1 and realize this was not a book for me. (and no, it wasn't the politics that turned me off - it's just poorly written prose. Mr. Colbert should focus on what's he's good at: TV)
As for the cost: It's fine given that it has bundled always-on wireless access. If I had to pay $25 a month for wireless for the device and if the device was, say, $100 - I'd be out of pocket in 12 months. TCO is good. Look past the $400 price tag and realize what you are getting for the money. A version 1 ebook (it's pretty good - will get better with V2, V3.....) and 24x7x365 wireless access to a huge library. Good value in my book!
Amazon has been doing this for ages - very well I might add. What does Google bring to the party. Advertising? Big whoop. I like the privacy of my data. I don't want Google scanning my data as it scans my email. That's taking things just too far. What next? Google coming around to my house to check my desk draws.....?
| One of the reps told me on the phone that if you choose free shipping, your order goes through a delivery tar pit (Delivery is deliberately delayed). *utter bullshit* - You'll notice when you place an order on Amazon you are given a delivery promise. If you don't like the promise, you don't have to complete placing your order. Why would delivery be deliberately delayed? Amazon only charges your credit card when the order ships - it's in Amazon's best interest to ship as fast as possible so it can charge your credit card. "one of the reps told me......" yeah, yeah. Who? When? Let me guess "you forget".....
Have your read the patent? There is *nothing* about slowing orders if you don't order much. Scheese - if you're going to go negative please do so based on actually *reading* what you are complaining about.
To explore this, CIO.com has a big package of articles examining "Black Friday" and its implications. I see no big package of articles - I find almost content free fluff. There is nothing of substance here. The only failure I see this year is CIO.com turning out worthless copy.