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Can Anyone Beat Jeff Bezos?

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Re: Can Anyone Beat Jeff Bezos?

#21

Post by ams6110 »

Osmium wrote: post #8
WisNorCan wrote: post #6

Apple iPhone seems to be doing quite well relative to Amazon’s Fire Phone. Also, Azure is doing surprisingly well relative to AWS despite a late start. Wouldn’t surprise me if Azure exceeded AWS in the near future. Amazon’s weaknesses are in the first case high-end design And in the second enterprise.

> Amazon’s weaknesses are in the first case high-end design Just design generally, including their website ... anecdotally, so many people I know don't really know that Amazon Prime Video exists, or if it does exist how to find it. Likewise for Music. Apple has this discoverability problem too (Apple Music doesn't have a web UI, it might as well not exist if you can't install iTunes, and then Apple wonders why its so…

> so many people I know don't really know that Amazon Prime Video exists, or if it does exist how to find it. Likewise for Music.

I know these things exist, but I don't use them much even as an Amazon Prime member. Why? Because Prime Video UX is poor compared to Netflix (and Netflix is no great shakes either, but it's better than Amazon), and Music has a pretty poor catalog and again a pretty poor UX.

Re: Can Anyone Beat Jeff Bezos?

#22

Post by throwawayjava »

kbos87 wrote: post #10

I don’t think that the world can quite fathom how dangerous Amazon actually is to virtually every industry. When it comes to purveyors of physical goods, Amazon has the power to reshape the fabric of our streets and neighborhoods in ways few people can fathom. Say goodbye to grocery stores and ground floor retail if they get their way. They are just smart enough to do it slowly enough where they don’t have any jarrin…

> It pains me that my generation, a generation of people who dream of being makers and business owners...

Not just business owners, but startup founders. Also, emphasis on the "owner" not the "maker". There's no real fetish for hackers disconnected from business ownership in the zeitgeist.

Why would a temporarily embarrassed monopolist support monopoly busting?

Re: Can Anyone Beat Jeff Bezos?

#23

Post by HillaryBriss »

> Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, and Facebook have remade the economy in their image. So what happens if they turn on each other?

um ... aren't they supposed to turn on each other? isn't that, like, capitalism, and competition and stuff?

Re: Can Anyone Beat Jeff Bezos?

#24

Post by kbos87 »

ams6110 wrote: post #17
kbos87 wrote: post #10

I don’t think that the world can quite fathom how dangerous Amazon actually is to virtually every industry. When it comes to purveyors of physical goods, Amazon has the power to reshape the fabric of our streets and neighborhoods in ways few people can fathom. Say goodbye to grocery stores and ground floor retail if they get their way. They are just smart enough to do it slowly enough where they don’t have any jarrin…

For me, Amazon is a long way off from threatening my local supermarket and other local retailers. Would I buy clothes from Amazon? No, I like to try them on first. Returning stuff by mail is a pain. Would I buy expensive home furnishings from Amazon? No, I like to see, touch, try these things before I spend a lot of money. Would I buy perishable groceries from Amazon? No, because deliveries happen when I'm at work an…

Then your Amazon buying habits roughly match what mine once were - but that’s far from how a lot of people I live amongst use Amazon. I come home to my apartment every day to find Amazon vans prowling the neighborhood delivering groceries (a year ago, I had never seen one, now they are literally everywhere) and piles upon piles of Amazon boxes in my apartment lobby. I know plenty of people who buy almost everything on Amazon, short of clothing, gas, and meals they eat away from home.

Re: Can Anyone Beat Jeff Bezos?

#25

Post by AndrewKemendo »

ams6110 wrote: post #17
kbos87 wrote: post #10

I don’t think that the world can quite fathom how dangerous Amazon actually is to virtually every industry. When it comes to purveyors of physical goods, Amazon has the power to reshape the fabric of our streets and neighborhoods in ways few people can fathom. Say goodbye to grocery stores and ground floor retail if they get their way. They are just smart enough to do it slowly enough where they don’t have any jarrin…

For me, Amazon is a long way off from threatening my local supermarket and other local retailers. Would I buy clothes from Amazon? No, I like to try them on first. Returning stuff by mail is a pain. Would I buy expensive home furnishings from Amazon? No, I like to see, touch, try these things before I spend a lot of money. Would I buy perishable groceries from Amazon? No, because deliveries happen when I'm at work an…

You're a dying breed though. Every trend is moving away from your status quo.

Also, depending on where you are many people's "local super market" is Whole Foods - so yes Amazon literally "threatens" a large percentage of the US' local supermarket.

Re: Can Anyone Beat Jeff Bezos?

#26

Post by deevolution »

rtpg wrote: post #13
kbos87 wrote: post #10

I don’t think that the world can quite fathom how dangerous Amazon actually is to virtually every industry. When it comes to purveyors of physical goods, Amazon has the power to reshape the fabric of our streets and neighborhoods in ways few people can fathom. Say goodbye to grocery stores and ground floor retail if they get their way. They are just smart enough to do it slowly enough where they don’t have any jarrin…

I understand the dangers of monopoly, but I wish there was a stronger argument here. We've seen this sort of thing happen before, with Walmart. And none of these arguments worked! Walmart is big and dominant. It killed off smaller places, but people don't care because it has mostly everything and is cheap. "This convenient good thing is actually bad!" isn't super convincing I guess.... EDIT: the ultimate irony being…

We similarly give up our privacy in exchange for convenience. Even tho we know its bad, Its just too damn convenient and easy for the majority of the population.

Re: Can Anyone Beat Jeff Bezos?

#27

Post by mzzter »

ams6110 wrote: post #17
kbos87 wrote: post #10

I don’t think that the world can quite fathom how dangerous Amazon actually is to virtually every industry. When it comes to purveyors of physical goods, Amazon has the power to reshape the fabric of our streets and neighborhoods in ways few people can fathom. Say goodbye to grocery stores and ground floor retail if they get their way. They are just smart enough to do it slowly enough where they don’t have any jarrin…

For me, Amazon is a long way off from threatening my local supermarket and other local retailers. Would I buy clothes from Amazon? No, I like to try them on first. Returning stuff by mail is a pain. Would I buy expensive home furnishings from Amazon? No, I like to see, touch, try these things before I spend a lot of money. Would I buy perishable groceries from Amazon? No, because deliveries happen when I'm at work an…

But come on, toilet paper, socks, clothes hangers, pancake mix—which are all small pieces of those other industries—are inexpensive, low risk, and low margin goods.

Re: Can Anyone Beat Jeff Bezos?

#28

Post by harryh »

AndrewKemendo wrote: post #25
ams6110 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me, Amazon is a long way off from threatening my local supermarket and other local retailers. Would I buy clothes from Amazon? No, I like to try them on first. Returning stuff by mail is a pain. Would I buy expensive home furnishings from Amazon? No, I like to see, touch, try these things before I spend a lot of money. Would I buy perishable groceries from Amazon? No, because deliveries happen when I'm at work an…

You're a dying breed though. Every trend is moving away from your status quo. Also, depending on where you are many people's "local super market" is Whole Foods - so yes Amazon literally "threatens" a large percentage of the US' local supermarket.

Whole foods has 1.2% market share.

Re: Can Anyone Beat Jeff Bezos?

#29

Post by AndrewKemendo »

harryh wrote: post #28
AndrewKemendo wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're a dying breed though. Every trend is moving away from your status quo. Also, depending on where you are many people's "local super market" is Whole Foods - so yes Amazon literally "threatens" a large percentage of the US' local supermarket.

Whole foods has 1.2% market share.

Doesn't matter, they are in every major market. Which means Amazon Fulfillment Centers (What Whole Foods really is now) "threaten" everything around them.

[1] http://fortune.com/2017/06/16/amazon-whole-foods-stores-loca...

Re: Can Anyone Beat Jeff Bezos?

#30

Post by deevolution »

ams6110 wrote: post #17
kbos87 wrote: post #10

I don’t think that the world can quite fathom how dangerous Amazon actually is to virtually every industry. When it comes to purveyors of physical goods, Amazon has the power to reshape the fabric of our streets and neighborhoods in ways few people can fathom. Say goodbye to grocery stores and ground floor retail if they get their way. They are just smart enough to do it slowly enough where they don’t have any jarrin…

For me, Amazon is a long way off from threatening my local supermarket and other local retailers. Would I buy clothes from Amazon? No, I like to try them on first. Returning stuff by mail is a pain. Would I buy expensive home furnishings from Amazon? No, I like to see, touch, try these things before I spend a lot of money. Would I buy perishable groceries from Amazon? No, because deliveries happen when I'm at work an…

"Would I buy expensive home furnishings from Amazon? No, I like to see, touch, try these things before I spend a lot of money."

I imagine AR might convince people otherwise.

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