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| Author | Topic: Amazon.com (AMZN) |
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MaxPower |
posted 01-06-2000 09:27 AM
 
Amazon.com and ShopNow.com both announced strikingly similar products earlier this week. Though I think the idea behind both products is very ingenious, it's still odd just how close they are. Here are the details of the Amazon "strain": "zBubbles is a software application created by Amazon subsidiary Alexa Internet. The software allows you to conduct price comparisons for a product without leaving the website that you're visiting, and it also allows you to buy the product directly from Amazon with 1-Click at anytime, even if you're on the website of, say, Buy.com. Of course, competitors are raising issue with the software, but rather than address that now, let's first address what else zBubbles does. After you download zBubbles, whenever you visit a commerce site that the software is programmed to compare against, a small icon in the corner of your Web browser changes color. Then, next to the product that you're viewing, small Z icons appear. When you click an icon, a "bubble" pops up to cover one-fifth of your screen. The bubble shows you where else you can buy the product, or related products, and it links to websites that may offer a cheaper price or even a better product. The bubble also tells you if Amazon sells the product and, if it does, you can buy the product from Amazon without leaving the site you're visiting. (It also links to customer product reviews housed on Amazon.) zBubbles will largely rely on an interactive userbase to build out the service. As a user, you can make suggestions on where to find a product at the best cost. You can also suggest related products that may be better; in the process of making these suggestions, you can write a full product review into zBubbles which is then consolidated into a collection of reviews on the product that is shared with all users. Competitors may complain, but Amazon has the bases covered. The software is run from the user's computer, so Amazon isn't tampering with other websites. Also, the zBubble service is not built to work on the sites of Amazon's direct e-commerce competitors. Not yet, anyway. The only sites programmed to work with zBubbles are sites offering product reviews and product manufacturers' sites, or sites that sell products that they actually manufacture (like 3Com or Iomega). That's it. It is up to consumers, the zBubble users, to build the database that compares online retailers to Amazon and to one another, including Wal-Mart, Buy.com, CDnow, eToys, and so forth. So, if anything, zBubbles may result in further dominance and trust of the Amazon brand (and the Amazon community), because zBubbles is not pushing consumers to Amazon. It is helping consumers find the best products on the Internet at the best price. In the process, it will blur the boundaries of competition. To download the beta version of zBubbles and give it a spin yourself, visit this link: http://www.zbubbles.amazon.com/getz. The official launch of zBubbles is scheduled for early this year." |
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pokeboy |
posted 01-05-2000 12:20 PM
Tough call. Amazon reported that quarterly sales of $650 million, ahead of expectations and more than the total for 1998, but larger-than-expected charges for writing down inventory will keep losses high. The stock will probably move along with the rest of the etailers for the next month, and then we'll see how big the losses really are when they report on Feb. 2. |
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daffy |
posted 01-05-2000 10:17 AM
Amazon's down 13% this morning. Anyone see this as a buying opportunity, or is it still too expensive? |
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gatsby |
posted 01-04-2000 02:46 PM
I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Amazon pull the trigger this year and buy an offline store to get that offline presence, previously seen as a hindrance, but recently seen more as essential to future growth. As an example to how it can help Amazon, look at the Gap - their return policy says that any Gap products purchased online can be returned to any of their offline stores. This totally takes the hassle of repacking gifts and waiting for confirmation of receipt away, and most importantly gets the person back in the store where they can shop some more. And this is only one reason to get an offline presence. So don't be surprised if Amazon makes a move - I've heard the possibilities could include Sears and Costco. What do you all think? |
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newsman |
posted 12-27-1999 06:21 PM
AMZN dropped 10% today. Anyone getting in (or out)? |
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pokeboy |
posted 12-23-1999 05:16 PM
Don't give up yet, sue. There was a reason this time: "According to reports" (i.e. Amazon isn't confirming it but they're not denying it either), Amazon's CFO spoke to the Morgan Stanley salesforce and frightened them about the size of losses expected in the coming quarters. |
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sue donim |
posted 12-23-1999 03:45 PM
Internet stock investors are so fickle, I've given up trying to interpret the short term movements. A company releases some meaningless PR and the stock jumps 30%. Another gets a negative comment from a 'guru' and it drops 30%. I wouldn't read too much into today's AMZN. In the big picture, the stock is near an all-time high, even if it's off by 8 points today. |
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smario |
posted 12-23-1999 02:36 PM
So far, Amazon is down 8 points on an otherwise strong day. Could this be due to the two high-profile articles in today's Washington Post and USAToday on how many online ecommerce companies have been having lots of troubles delivering packages on time? Amazon wasn't really singled out, but they are the highest profile of all of them, so you would expect some kind of action regarding their stock. Or is it other news? |
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slurm |
posted 12-20-1999 02:27 PM
Time's line of reasoning was probably not "Who has had the biggest effect on the world in the last year? Jeff Bezos", but "What new development occurred in the last year that will prove to be the most important? The internet, especially e-commerce. And who most signifies this trend? Jeff Bezos." |
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smario |
posted 12-20-1999 02:02 PM
I also just used Amazon for books, and what I found interesting was that the boxes came with gift certificates for not more books, but for their Toy Store. If they are doing this lateral type of promotion across the board (ie whatever you bought, you get a certificate for a different type of Amazon product), then this is a really great move to not only provide incentive, but to move the customers around to their different businesses. Although if they are only doing this for their toy store, then to me it says the toy store is lagging behind. Infooverload, I think as far as the business world is concerned, you could make a great case for Bezos or Gates as Man of the Year. But I agree - I like my 'person' of the year to represent an achievement that has worldwide and lasting ramifications, and the business world is so fickle and ever-changing, that one year's worth of business is rarely going to be considered timeless. |
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infooverload |
posted 12-20-1999 12:32 PM
Jeff Bezos was named Time's Man of the Year. Normally this award goes to world leaders or scientists, and rarely to businessman (i'm sure Gates got it once) since it is so hard to have a huge worldwide impact during only one year of business work. I think you could make a case for Bezos' effect in United States business, but for the rest of the world? I don't know...i think I will stick with world leaders. What does everyone think? |
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JHirsch |
posted 12-19-1999 07:13 PM
I like that feature of the auctions that you were talking about humanity. Everybody wins. The seller gets a higher price (and sooner). Amazon get a bigger piece of revenue and the buyer gets what they want for sure. As far as sending different parts of the order at different times, as long as that didn't cost you more in shipping it doesn't seem like it would be a problem. If its just a gimmick to get more shipping $ out of you they really shouldn't be doing it. Jake p.s. I used buy.com this christmas and was totally pleased with the experience. I paid about 15% less than i would have at amazon plus i used a $10 gift certificate. If you are only searching on price they seem to be better in my experience |
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Mayor of Investorville Administrator |
posted 12-13-1999 07:58 PM
The most recent post in the Amazon board was made today by humanity. "Sure i may have been negative about this company in the past, but I used them over the weekend, and have nothing but praise. Especially for their ease of buying, their search tool, the site integration, and the auction process. Sure they said they sent me half my order (even though i asked them to wait until all was ready), but as long as it gets to me before Christmas, that's fine. |
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Mayor of Investorville Administrator |
posted 12-13-1999 07:52 PM
Amazon.com, Inc. is the leading online retailer of books and music and offers a catalog of approximately three million titles, easy-to-use search and browse features, email services, personalized shopping services, secure web-based credit card payment and direct shipping to customers. (source: annual report) Earlier discussion about Amazon.com can be found in the Archives at http://www.investorville.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/000085.html |
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