Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Amazon Local Register

localregister.amazon.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 225 posts

Re: Amazon Local Register

#91

Post by rahimnathwani »

adamt wrote: post #61
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 think the compelling case for this is less about shops - most of which (at least in the UK) already have some form card processing - but more about things like tradespeople (plumbers, decorators, electricians etc) or other physical services (e.g. music teachers) Within a few years cheques will be phased out in the UK. This means the only way to pay a carpenter, or a plumber is in cash or a money transfer. Money tra…

"Money transfers to new suppliers always take a bit of faff to setup"

How so? If I want to send money to a UK bank account to which I've not send money before, I:

1. Open my bank's app on my phone

2. Tap 'send money'

3. Type in the amount, the 6-digit sort code, the 8-digit account number, the person's name

4. Hit 'Send'.

It's a little slower than swiping a card, but it also feels safer, as I don't have to give someone physical access to my card.

Re: Amazon Local Register

#92

Post by will_brown »

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.

1.75% may be competitive and better than rates of some merchants receive; however, I had a negotiated rate of .4% for one of my businesses.

One of the problems with the entire industry is misinformation, unlevel playing field (inability for your average merchant to negotiate the best rates), and the unscrupulous nature of the sales tactics of the merchant services themselves.

Re: Amazon Local Register

#93

Post by runevault »

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…

One business type I can see this making sense for is food trucks, as I don't see amazon going into that business anytime soon if ever. Beyond that I tend to agree with you that giving amazon even more data seems like a horrible idea.

Re: Amazon Local Register

#94

Post by colmvp »

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…

Compare 1.75% Per Swipe (till 2016) vs. Square's 2.75%. For most small businesses, that's a huge difference.

Re: Amazon Local Register

#95

Post by dmachop »

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…

Do you mean to say that Square is different in this approach? Everyone wants your data and it's the price you pay to obtain this technology.

Re: Amazon Local Register

#96

Post by gergles »

aembleton wrote: post #3

Looks like this is just for the US. Do any of you have cashback credit cards that offer >1.75% ?

There is a Fidelity-branded Amex card that gives 2% on everything, with no annual fee. There are several other cards that give 2% on everything (Capital One Venture, Barclay Arrival+) but that bear annual fees.

Re: Amazon Local Register

#98

Post by icebraining »

judk wrote: post #82
icebraining wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In what market does Amazon Prime compete?

Shipping.

More like the "shipping of amazon products" market, since I can't exactly ship my stuff with Prime. And I'm pretty sure Amazon was always the only provider in that particular market, so they didn't really do (1).

Re: Amazon Local Register

#99

Post by tomasien »

1.75% limited of time offer makes me want to vomit. The one thing I like about Square is at least they're not like other CC processors that make the careers HIDING fees from their merchants. Now Amazon is coming out the gate doing this. Many of us are fighting these fees online - even the CC processors like Stripe are at least straightforward with their fees even if they're forced to make them higher than they'd like - but it looks like for in person swipes we're stuck with the status quo.
Post reply on HN