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Amazon Local Register

localregister.amazon.com

211–220 of 225 posts

Re: Amazon Local Register

#211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's temporary - they're making it seem like it's lower than it is. They're going to lock people in and then jack up the rate - it's classic CC processing trick and it's BULLSHIT. Even if the real price is written somewhere, it's still horseshit.

You are locked in at the rate if you get in before Jan 2016. I don't see anything wrong with that. It's promotional marketing to catch up to other players.

That's a legitimate opinion - but it's how the game has been played for in the CC world for a while. There's huge lock in to these providers and they know they'll get'm for years at a higher rate, and the merchants won't really be able to do much about it. It sucks.

Re: Amazon Local Register

#212
post #142
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.

"Amazon is the biggest competitor brick-and-mortar shops have ever seen" Is it? The sorts of brick and mortar shop Amazon is a competitor to are things like Walmart or Best Buy, or other shops that compete on price or range of stock. But these big stores already have payment systems in place, and obviously aren't the target for this. If your shop hasn't already been put out of business by Walmart, I don't see why it…

It's still a long way out, but Amazon wants to do drone deliveries that come within hours of your order. One of the main ways that local stores compete for my dollar with Amazon is the immediate gratification I get from being able to get a product that same day.

Re: Amazon Local Register

#214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You know how ridiculous it would have sounded if I told you 15 years ago that you could specify any address and get a local 360° street view of it... Even in rural austrailia or inside a business. And that comes from a search engine company... That mainly makes money off advertising. Who knows where amazon will go.

I don't know but Wal-Mart and Home Depot have tried muscling in on small shops multiple times and failed..meaning, opening mom-and-pop size stores. That doesn't mean Amazon will fail, just mentioning that very few people are aware that this is something the retail giants have been trying to do for some time. The thing about Amazon is that every company who should be their competitor (Barnes & Noble, Borders, Wal-Mart…

Comcast is dumb, wealthy, established and has a huge reputation for being actively hostile to customers because of geographical monopolies.(possible that they do it because they are dumb but I put my money on the monopoly)

amazon competing would be a win for consumers most likely since they are pretty actively customer focused. It would likely be a loss to the people selling through them though. I like amazon as a consumer for the most part but apparently their tactics and policies toward retailers is less than shining.

Re: Amazon Local Register

#215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know but Wal-Mart and Home Depot have tried muscling in on small shops multiple times and failed..meaning, opening mom-and-pop size stores. That doesn't mean Amazon will fail, just mentioning that very few people are aware that this is something the retail giants have been trying to do for some time. The thing about Amazon is that every company who should be their competitor (Barnes & Noble, Borders, Wal-Mart…

Comcast is dumb, wealthy, established and has a huge reputation for being actively hostile to customers because of geographical monopolies.(possible that they do it because they are dumb but I put my money on the monopoly) amazon competing would be a win for consumers most likely since they are pretty actively customer focused. It would likely be a loss to the people selling through them though. I like amazon as a co…

Having reviews next to your shop would only be worse for your shop if you aren't a good shop to begin with. I think this is better for the consumer in the end (which is a motto Amazon also preaches), unless they turn evil and use their advantage to squeeze consumers, which isn't all that unlikely since they are a public compnay. But so far they've done a great job of lowering prices for many commodity goods, which most goods are becoming.

Re: Amazon Local Register

#216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"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 someo…

Who do you bank with? I bank with both Natwest and Barclays and neither of those will let you set up a new payee on their mobile apps. Sure you can send money, but only to payees you have set up online using 2FA.

First Direct. The iPhone app itself acts as the 2nd factor.

Re: Amazon Local Register

#217
post #9

Would be cool if they supported chip and pin and paypass.

I wonder if these kind of initiatives slow the adoption of chip and pin credit cards in the US. If Amazon is willing to lower the fees for swipes, pin entered transactions could be even lower.

I think that one of the problems for chip and pin adoption in the US is that there isn't a compelling reason for US consumers to desire it.

Credit card fraud might be a pain-point for merchants, but it simply is not for consumers. On the rare occasion that somebody makes a fraudulent purchase on my credit card, my credit card company flags the transaction. In the exceptionally rare case that this fails, I just call my credit card company and tell them that the transaction was fraudulent. Takes no more than 5 minutes, and I can count the number of times I've had to do it in the past 10 years on one hand.

Why then would I want the hassle of punching in a PIN? I'm a consumer, not a merchant. I don't care about what benefits the merchant gets out of it.

Re: Amazon Local Register

#218

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…

[deleted]

Re: Amazon Local Register

#219
This is not (only) about putting local retailers out of business; it's about conquering consumer's wallet. In fact it'd be better for them if (most) of Amazon Local users do not go out of business.

Having access to consumer spend outside their platform would give Amazon an incredible leverage. They'd be able to understand where else you're spending your money, which would allow all sorts of revenue streams: up-selling, cross-selling, Amazon Deals, advertising revenue, selling the raw data to data management platforms (e.g., BluaKai).

They already do something similar with Amazon Payments, but it's mostly for online merchants. This can go much further, even to industries that they have no interest in entering. If you're paying a plumber or a painter, you may be interested in decoration. If you're buying a bicycle, you may need a helmet. Buy some baby clothes, and you may be expecting, and the perfect target for Amazon Mom (I hate this name; why not Amazon Baby, or Amazon Parents?).

And let's not forget about the revenue coming from selling your data and your cookies, which they already do with advertising partners. While banks and card issuers have been doing this for decades, they are typically clueless about how to reach to consumers other than via direct mail, or co-branded email catalogs. And matching PII and databases is something that the FTC doesn't like much.

It's brilliant move for them.

Re: Amazon Local Register

#220

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…

This is a tragedy of the commons argument. It's a nice sentiment, but Amazon doesn't need all that many merchants to sign up to get their data, so they will get the data on your shop, whether you sign up or not.

If you sign up, it's a 1.25% pay rise for 18 months ... Yes eventually technology will eat your lunch, but that's coming independant of your signing up or no.

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