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Newegg Launches $50 Amazon Prime Competitor

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Re: Newegg Launches $50 Amazon Prime Competitor

#81

Post by ericd »

blah32497 wrote: post #53
ericd wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or those prime packages simply get bumped up in the queue to be before other orders that were already placed because they need to be to get out as fast as they do. And how is Prime anticompetitive?

Membership plans are anticompetitive b/c they effectively lock you in to one retailer thereby decrease competition. You're effectively paying for the shipping ahead of time with the membership, so going to NewEgg or TigerDirect means you "throw money away". The other issue is that since there is no fixed cost associated with shipping you things throughout the year, do to the the economics of it, the plan must be to y…

I understand how it encourages lock-in, I would just take issue with the use of the word anticompetitive because it has a lot of implications that don't really fit here (Amazon isn't a monopoly, they're not colluding, etc).

Also, Amazon loses a hell of a lot on Prime directly, though I'm sure they just view it as subsidizing growth. I'm sure they've lost money on my shipping, at least.

Finally, your zero sum view of the program doesn't really make sense - by increasing the frequency of orders via Amazon, it gives them more power to negotiate better shipping rates, negotiate better bulk rates on products, and expand their distribution network, all of which can benefit both Amazon and me in the form of lower prices than if the program didn't exist, and better service.

Re: Newegg Launches $50 Amazon Prime Competitor

#82

Post by jmccree »

blah32497 wrote: post #53
ericd wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or those prime packages simply get bumped up in the queue to be before other orders that were already placed because they need to be to get out as fast as they do. And how is Prime anticompetitive?

Membership plans are anticompetitive b/c they effectively lock you in to one retailer thereby decrease competition. You're effectively paying for the shipping ahead of time with the membership, so going to NewEgg or TigerDirect means you "throw money away". The other issue is that since there is no fixed cost associated with shipping you things throughout the year, do to the the economics of it, the plan must be to y…

Last I heard amazon was losing an average of $11/yr on prime subscribers. They are relatively famous for caring little about making a profit in the short term. I'm not sure how often you order from Amazon, but just a few overnight $4/orders and you can save the $80 easily. I've bought multiple pieces of furniture off amazon with free 2 day shipping. I don't want to know how much that would have cost me.

Re: Newegg Launches $50 Amazon Prime Competitor

#83

Post by jmccree »

IbJacked wrote: post #55

I've been a Prime subscriber for years now, and have recently been reconsidering my membership. The free 2-day shipping now frequently means 2-day free to the local post office. Once there, it's usually another couple of days before it gets to me (and my office is literally next door to local post office). Not cool, Amazon.

Have you mentioned this to amazon? I had a book a few days late and amazon overnighted me another one and told me to keep the other one when/if it arrived. Their customer service is rather decent in my experience.

Re: Newegg Launches $50 Amazon Prime Competitor

#84

Post by blah32497 »

ericd wrote: post #81
blah32497 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Membership plans are anticompetitive b/c they effectively lock you in to one retailer thereby decrease competition. You're effectively paying for the shipping ahead of time with the membership, so going to NewEgg or TigerDirect means you "throw money away". The other issue is that since there is no fixed cost associated with shipping you things throughout the year, do to the the economics of it, the plan must be to y…

I understand how it encourages lock-in, I would just take issue with the use of the word anticompetitive because it has a lot of implications that don't really fit here (Amazon isn't a monopoly, they're not colluding, etc). Also, Amazon loses a hell of a lot on Prime directly, though I'm sure they just view it as subsidizing growth. I'm sure they've lost money on my shipping, at least. Finally, your zero sum view of…

"by increasing the frequency of orders via Amazon, it gives them more power to negotiate better shipping rates, negotiate better bulk rates on products, and expand their distribution network"

I'm skeptical that that is happening (Prime doesn't represent a giant change in volume for them). But let's assume it is, then the benefits should affect all their customers? So non Prime users end up being overcharged?

"Also, Amazon loses a hell of a lot on Prime directly, though I'm sure they just view it as subsidizing growth. I'm sure they've lost money on my shipping, at least."

Maybe you have managed to "beat-the-system", just like people that cycle credit cards end up making off with more money than they give the CC companies - but on average people are being ripped off.

There is no growth to subsidize b/c that only makes sense if they had a mechanism to cash in. If they drop the free shipping then people will stop paying for Prime and will switch to other retailers. Slowly raising the prices to a point where you stop loosing money and then hoping people keep shopping at your website b.c of habit is also a short term strategy.

On a side note, leveraging their size to get preferable shipping rates is also anticompetitive. They aren't a monopoly per se, but they've dominated the market to such an extent that UPS probably can't say no to whatever rates Amazon demands.

Re: Newegg Launches $50 Amazon Prime Competitor

#85

Post by blah32497 »

jmccree wrote: post #82
blah32497 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Membership plans are anticompetitive b/c they effectively lock you in to one retailer thereby decrease competition. You're effectively paying for the shipping ahead of time with the membership, so going to NewEgg or TigerDirect means you "throw money away". The other issue is that since there is no fixed cost associated with shipping you things throughout the year, do to the the economics of it, the plan must be to y…

Last I heard amazon was losing an average of $11/yr on prime subscribers. They are relatively famous for caring little about making a profit in the short term. I'm not sure how often you order from Amazon, but just a few overnight $4/orders and you can save the $80 easily. I've bought multiple pieces of furniture off amazon with free 2 day shipping. I don't want to know how much that would have cost me.

You're being tricked. The saving are artificial.

They clearly normally overcharge for two day shipping. Just because it says it costs 15 bucks to send the widget, doesn't mean they pay $15 when you ship it with Prime.

Most people that opt for faster shipping and are willing to fork over money are people that need something urgently and are willing to pay extra. Amazon obviously exploits that.

While it's true that they don't seem to care too much about profits, it's naiive to think they have a program where they just throw money away for the sake of an increase in volume. There is no long term way to "cash out" and turn that volume into money. Once you drop the incentives or raise the prices your customers simply leave to the next cheap online retailer.

Re: Newegg Launches $50 Amazon Prime Competitor

#86

Post by gdulli »

Finster wrote: post #62
gdulli wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon throttled their free shipping at a certain point after launching prime. Newegg will do it, too. There was a point when I reliably got Amazon packages fast with free shipping, and now I reliably don't. The funny thing is, the shipping is all done through the same channels and I guess there's not really a way to slow it down selectively, so the way they do it is sit on free-shipping orders for a few days before…

Huh? I've ordered from Amazon several times over the past several months and they either ship same day or next day and it has always arrived 2nd day after that, as advertised. Are you sure you're ordering from Amazon, and not some two-bit vendor that isn't Prime eligible? You're either totally making this up, or it's due to differences in how your nearest Amazon warehouse is handling things. I just checked every sing…

> Are you sure you're ordering from Amazon, and not some two-bit vendor that isn't Prime eligible?

As I mentioned, I was talking about the free shipping, not the Prime shipping, which is $79/year.

Re: Newegg Launches $50 Amazon Prime Competitor

#87

Post by janesvilleseo »

chm wrote: post #36

That's good news, but I'm still forming my opinion about Newegg. I've only ordered three times from them, but allow me this comparison: I never received a product from Amazon that didn't match its description. That doesn't mean these don't exist. I recently received an item from Newegg that didn't match the description. The page has since been removed and it was changed in Google Cache too. It was a 1000W PSU which w…

Let me preface this and say I buy from both Amazon and Newegg. I have even purchased from newegg when they were just a brick and mortar store. I have never had an issue from either outside of 1 item being wrong from newegg. I ordered 10' male to male display-port cable. When it arrived it was male to female. I called their customer support and informed them of the issue. It was a quick no hassle response from the CSR who sent me a new one. Except when I got the new one (for free) it was again the wrong one. Here's the kicker, I informed the CSR that it was probably labeled wrong in the warehouse before they issued a replacement. And I guess I was right. I even checked my order and it indicated male to male.

If anybody from newegg is reading this, I would suggest you work on using your CSR's more effectively. Maybe even reward them for fixing issues in your supply chain.

Re: Newegg Launches $50 Amazon Prime Competitor

#88

Post by cynwoody »

chm wrote: post #36

That's good news, but I'm still forming my opinion about Newegg. I've only ordered three times from them, but allow me this comparison: I never received a product from Amazon that didn't match its description. That doesn't mean these don't exist. I recently received an item from Newegg that didn't match the description. The page has since been removed and it was changed in Google Cache too. It was a 1000W PSU which w…

>The delivery took 9 days. This never happens on Amazon.

I ordered something on Amazon Prime on 24 Jan. It shipped† on the 26th, but still hasn't arrived. 12 days and counting.

†http://wwwapps.ups.com/WebTracking/processInputRequest?sort_...

Re: Newegg Launches $50 Amazon Prime Competitor

#89

Post by chm »

invisible wrote: post #79
chm wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I have. I checked and rechecked the order multiple times, with another person. We were building a computer together.

This may be inaccurate info but I recall the actual invoice having the data hard coded in it rather than linked to the product in a direct manor.

The invoice has an item number, but their "specifications" page is not accessible anymore for the article in question.

Re: Newegg Launches $50 Amazon Prime Competitor

#90

Post by jmccree »

blah32497 wrote: post #85
jmccree wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Last I heard amazon was losing an average of $11/yr on prime subscribers. They are relatively famous for caring little about making a profit in the short term. I'm not sure how often you order from Amazon, but just a few overnight $4/orders and you can save the $80 easily. I've bought multiple pieces of furniture off amazon with free 2 day shipping. I don't want to know how much that would have cost me.

You're being tricked. The saving are artificial. They clearly normally overcharge for two day shipping. Just because it says it costs 15 bucks to send the widget, doesn't mean they pay $15 when you ship it with Prime. Most people that opt for faster shipping and are willing to fork over money are people that need something urgently and are willing to pay extra. Amazon obviously exploits that. While it's true that the…

They posted over 3 billion dollars in shipping losses in 2012 and are currently saying they will likely increase the cost of prime soon. Perhaps if you haven't used prime you may not realize how much many prime subscribers use it, I'm not being tricked. Looking over the past few years of my amazon orders, I average 50-100 orders per year. I know they have good shipping rates, but I doubt it's less than $2/package for at min 2day.
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