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Amazon Local Register

localregister.amazon.com

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Re: Amazon Local Register

#81

Post by epistasis »

antr wrote: post #46
jnardiello wrote: post #33

It's a trap. You, owner of a shop, don't do this. Amazon will first analyze all your sales data, they will than attach reviews to your shop and finally they will oblige you to play by their rules or die (banned or killed by bad reviews) and either way they will grow thanks to your hard work. I'm not joking, this is exactly what they have done (and keep doing) with "partners". Amazon is all but transparent and it has…

I get your comment and agree with it, but... It's funny how us (the HN/startup/pro disruptive audience) is very pro change (let's get rid off the middle man because we can create software that can do this cheaper and more efficient) and now we are 'rooting' for the brick and mortar business. There is a sociological take away somewhere here.

Amazon is a middleman too, just one that does lots of online shipping.

If they become the only middleman, than the situation gets much worse as there are no longer any market forces to keep Amazon's prices to be close to their costs. The only force at that point is Amazon's good will to not make a profit.

Re: Amazon Local Register

#83

Post by hyperliner »

Unfortunately, the reality is that small business and service providers will use this service because they won't realize that the long term implications of this Amazon move will work against them. For them, everything is short term (swipe fees, reporting, etc.), and when we are talking about the "future them" that is "someone else" 10 years from now.

This is really the prisoner's dilemma with thousands and thousands of prisoners.

Alternatively, it is the frog inside the boiling water. The frog never jumps out of the water. It just dies.

Re: Amazon Local Register

#84

Post by will_brown »

jnardiello wrote: post #33

It's a trap. You, owner of a shop, don't do this. Amazon will first analyze all your sales data, they will than attach reviews to your shop and finally they will oblige you to play by their rules or die (banned or killed by bad reviews) and either way they will grow thanks to your hard work. I'm not joking, this is exactly what they have done (and keep doing) with "partners". Amazon is all but transparent and it has…

In other words Amazon is no different than the existing credit card companies (Visa, MC, AmEx, ect...), the existing merchant services, and the retailers themselves who all collect that data for purposes of selling to third parties and use for in house marketing.

Brick and Mortar retailers are concerned about being able to conveniently accept payment and minimizing service charges for the convenience of accepting non-cash payment.

Ideally retailers wouldn't have to accept cards, they would only accept cash, cash = no service charge by a third party. However, that is the whole point of the financial industry to create an economy that permits middle men to take a percent of every transaction (as you say "grow thanks to your hard work"). Why have a store and sell anything when you can have someone else do the work and get a % of every transaction? But Amazon is not the first to do it.

Re: Amazon Local Register

#85

Post by jcampbell1 »

chrisan wrote: post #29

Does anyone know the true bottom to transaction fees? Are they taking a loss at 1.75% to acquire user base?

I do know the "true bottom", but it is 200 pages of documents, and will depend on the mix of debit cards, Amex, and card levels such as Business/Signature/etc, and international, and average transaction amount.

If you are interested Visa alone, then the latest fee schedule is here:

http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/Visa-Interchange-Reim...

1.45%-1.65% + $0.10 is a very common interchange for retail. The 1.75%+$0.00 pricing is going to be zero margin for them. If some merchant just uses Amazon for Amex, they will lose on that merchant. If the merchant primarily serves debit card customers, Amazon will make a small amount of money.

Re: Amazon Local Register

#86

Post by tootie »

bambax wrote: post #30

This sounds a little like a joke. Amazon is the biggest competitor brick-and-mortar shops have ever seen; why would shops want to give that kind of information to Amazon, so that it knows in real time what people are buying outside of itself??? A coffeeshop, maybe, but for any other kind of business it sounds crazy.

There's a ton of businesses that can never move online. Food service is obviously a big one. Pretty much anything that requires face-to-face interaction or needs to be delivered near real-time (caricature artist on the beach, personal trainer, babysitting service).

Re: Amazon Local Register

#87

Post by webXL »

dminor wrote: post #65
bambax wrote: post #30

This sounds a little like a joke. Amazon is the biggest competitor brick-and-mortar shops have ever seen; why would shops want to give that kind of information to Amazon, so that it knows in real time what people are buying outside of itself??? A coffeeshop, maybe, but for any other kind of business it sounds crazy.

1.75% is a huge discount.

Only if you sign up by November, and "1.75% per swipe until January 1, 2016". It's 2.5% after that. I guess you could switch back, but by that time Amazon could have already used your data against you. No such thing as a free lunch!

Re: Amazon Local Register

#88

Post by macNchz »

antr wrote: post #46
jnardiello wrote: post #33

It's a trap. You, owner of a shop, don't do this. Amazon will first analyze all your sales data, they will than attach reviews to your shop and finally they will oblige you to play by their rules or die (banned or killed by bad reviews) and either way they will grow thanks to your hard work. I'm not joking, this is exactly what they have done (and keep doing) with "partners". Amazon is all but transparent and it has…

I get your comment and agree with it, but... It's funny how us (the HN/startup/pro disruptive audience) is very pro change (let's get rid off the middle man because we can create software that can do this cheaper and more efficient) and now we are 'rooting' for the brick and mortar business. There is a sociological take away somewhere here.

While I'm for technological progress, I prefer to live in an environment where small entrepreneurs can thrive, which requires me to be skeptical when a giant, borderline-monopolistic company comes along with 'new technology' that's true purpose appears to be to subvert small business owners and take their customers.

Re: Amazon Local Register

#89

Post by happywolf »

what_ever wrote: post #40
BrentOzar wrote: post #4

Think of Amazon's role as an online merchant: they've built a 3rd party merchant system where other folks can use Amazon's retail and distribution. Then, they gathered centralized data of what sells, at what prices. They stepped in and started carrying more profitable items themselves. Now, look at their role here: if this takes off, they'll have data on what merchants are selling, for how much, and to whom. These ar…

What makes you think they are not buying this data already from credit card companies?

Also, I guess most of the merchants who sign up will be first-timers who accept cash before. Information from these people are what Amazon needs. Let's say in certain region there has been high sales of tea cups, I won't be surprised if one day Amazon starts suggesting its tea cup selections to buyers from that region, with free shipping and lower prices...

Re: Amazon Local Register

#90

Post by gummywormsyum »

beobab wrote: post #66
gummywormsyum wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People welcome change, but they're also weary of too much market power with any one player (see Comcast as an example)

Do you mean weary or wary? I can see that it might easily be both, though...

Oh I meant wary (I'd missed the distinction between those two words until now), thanks!
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