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Jeff Bezos Is Playing Chess

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Re: Jeff Bezos Is Playing Chess

#41

Post by foobarqux »

venomsnake wrote: post #40

Or we can KISS (keep it simple stupid): 1. Next time a law surfaces Amazon tax they will have much bigger mallet with which to hit the gong. WaPo has amazing team and journalists. 2. Right now content is king - Amazon lacks much original content. Newspapers are dying, but the market for quality journalism will always be there. And he learned a lesson from Apple books. 3. He could just be Citizen Kane - just for the f…

> Next time a law surfaces Amazon tax they will have much bigger mallet with which to hit the gong. WaPo has amazing team and journalists.

No need to wait until next time, Amazon labor conditions have been making headlines recently and even Obama is making gestures to do something.

Since Amazon is such a low margin business raising wages could be crippling so there is an immediate and critical need for Amazon to start doing public relations and lobbying.

An important media analysis would be to compare WaPo coverage of Amazon, especially the labor conditions issue, before and after the acquisition. It would also be interesting to know how much Amazon has increased lobbying funding and political contributions recently.

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-07-24/politics/40860...

Re: Jeff Bezos Is Playing Chess

#42

Post by malandrew »

Jeff Bezos could turn it into a micropayment based newspaper. He could easily have Amazon Prime be a gateway to WaPo articles.

Alternatively, he could send out a Kindle to every WaPo subscriber and kill the print version tomorrow.

Re: Jeff Bezos Is Playing Chess

#43

Post by pcj »

badman_ting wrote: post #12

> Occasionally, you’ll have to show those cards and win a hand to prove that you can. But the rest of the time you call and fold, as you await the monster to take the entire pot. Wait, just which game are we talking about here? I thought it was chess and checkers but now we're on to cards. I'm only sort of kidding -- Bezos certainly does seem like a genius to me, no argument there. But this is just the author going "…

"The goal is actually to not make a huge profit too early, and Bezos manages it perfectly. You want to avoid showing your cards too early as you continue to lay the groundwork for an ever-larger business"

That just doesn't sound right. 10 years in market is not too early. And because it is working for Bezos and Amazon, it doesn't mean that this strategy will work for others.

Re: Jeff Bezos Is Playing Chess

#44

Post by czr80 »

ojbyrne wrote: post #38
riggins wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't agree that a negative cash cycle is outdated. However I would disagree with the author's inference that a low profit business with negative working capital is as good a high profit business. As evidence, I'd point to a great negative working capital businesses. Dell. No one's arguing that Dell is a super business thanks to the cash it generates because of its negative working capital cycle. Bezos is obviou…

I just meant that the comparison to bricks and mortars companies who have to pay for their inventory up front, then collect cash 15, 30, 45 days down the road is outdated. Amazon isn't competing against mall bookstores anymore, it's competing against other online companies - eBay, Apple, B&N (online), etc.

Large brick and mortar retailers also usually have negative working capital, it's nothing to do with being an online company, rather it's about bargaining power vs suppliers.

Re: Jeff Bezos Is Playing Chess

#45

Post by hmsimha »

pachydermic wrote: post #19
badman_ting wrote: post #12

> Occasionally, you’ll have to show those cards and win a hand to prove that you can. But the rest of the time you call and fold, as you await the monster to take the entire pot. Wait, just which game are we talking about here? I thought it was chess and checkers but now we're on to cards. I'm only sort of kidding -- Bezos certainly does seem like a genius to me, no argument there. But this is just the author going "…

No, man . You just don't get it! He's a master of the game . He's thinking 12 cards ahead and is going to uno your bishop with his Washington Post before you can even bingo your king of spades! It's so crazy it might just work! I don't like the article. Full of sensationalist filler with little real content. What's his point? That stock price reflects the perceived expected value of the company now and in the future?…

If we hit that bullseye, the rest of the dominoes should fall like a house of cards. Checkmate.

Re: Jeff Bezos Is Playing Chess

#46

Post by Zimahl »

rhizome wrote: post #27
badman_ting wrote: post #12

> Occasionally, you’ll have to show those cards and win a hand to prove that you can. But the rest of the time you call and fold, as you await the monster to take the entire pot. Wait, just which game are we talking about here? I thought it was chess and checkers but now we're on to cards. I'm only sort of kidding -- Bezos certainly does seem like a genius to me, no argument there. But this is just the author going "…

But this is just the author going "No, you don't get it, he's so smart!" I'm a little curious what TC thinks the purpose of insulting their readers in the title of their piece is. The hopelessly mixed metaphor is just icing on the cake, but you do have to break a few eggs to throw the baby out before it's hatched.

but you do have to break a few eggs to throw the baby out before it's hatched.

"If we hit that bullseye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate!"

- Zapp Brannigan

Re: Jeff Bezos Is Playing Chess

#47

Post by mturmon »

abruzzi wrote: post #26
pachydermic wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, man . You just don't get it! He's a master of the game . He's thinking 12 cards ahead and is going to uno your bishop with his Washington Post before you can even bingo your king of spades! It's so crazy it might just work! I don't like the article. Full of sensationalist filler with little real content. What's his point? That stock price reflects the perceived expected value of the company now and in the future?…

Theres a lot in the article about playing the long game with Amazon, but when it comes to WP, is just like, "trust me, he's doing the same with the Post" without any attempt to evaluate what the long game is with regards to a news entity.

Exactly. The Amazon backstory is interesting, but it does nothing to support his claim that WP is part of a strategy, or even say what the strategy might be.

Re: Jeff Bezos Is Playing Chess

#50

Post by rhizome »

foobarqux wrote: post #41
venomsnake wrote: post #40

Or we can KISS (keep it simple stupid): 1. Next time a law surfaces Amazon tax they will have much bigger mallet with which to hit the gong. WaPo has amazing team and journalists. 2. Right now content is king - Amazon lacks much original content. Newspapers are dying, but the market for quality journalism will always be there. And he learned a lesson from Apple books. 3. He could just be Citizen Kane - just for the f…

> Next time a law surfaces Amazon tax they will have much bigger mallet with which to hit the gong. WaPo has amazing team and journalists. No need to wait until next time, Amazon labor conditions have been making headlines recently and even Obama is making gestures to do something. Since Amazon is such a low margin business raising wages could be crippling so there is an immediate and critical need for Amazon to star…

Since Amazon is such a low margin business

Even as a public company, I wouldn't be surprised if they're playing some accounting tricks in order to maintain this as a facade.

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