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E-commerce will evolve next month as Amazon loses the 1-Click patent

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Re: E-commerce will evolve next month as Amazon loses the 1-Click patent

#221

Post by djhworld »

dingaling wrote: post #140
mseebach wrote: post #133

The space (from my online shopping experience) seems to be divided between Amazon (with one click checkout, fast delivery etc) and everyone else (42 click checkout and one week delivery, if you're lucky). If the one-click patent was a major inhibitor of competition, I'd basically expect to see a lot of two-click check out options. Instead I find myself creating a million redundant user accounts, telling people that m…

> and everyone else (42 click checkout and one week delivery, if you're lucky) Certianly in the UK the friction of buying from "non-Amazon" websites exists ( create an account, enter payment etc ) but Amazon just uses the same delivery networks as everyone else. In fact a small company often dispatches faster in my experience than Amazon; for non-Prime at least they've been stretching the 'Dispatching Soon' timelines…

> Amazon just uses the same delivery networks as everyone else.

Maybe at different points along the chain, but in terms of the last mile, my Amazon purchases seem to be mostly delivered by "Amazon Logistics"

Re: E-commerce will evolve next month as Amazon loses the 1-Click patent

#222

Post by djhworld »

mseebach wrote: post #133

The space (from my online shopping experience) seems to be divided between Amazon (with one click checkout, fast delivery etc) and everyone else (42 click checkout and one week delivery, if you're lucky). If the one-click patent was a major inhibitor of competition, I'd basically expect to see a lot of two-click check out options. Instead I find myself creating a million redundant user accounts, telling people that m…

One thing that astounds me about Amazon is just how quick it is.

Last week I ordered something at 10:45pm, it arrived the next morning at 9am.

I'd imagine that's very difficult for other companies to compete with.

Re: E-commerce will evolve next month as Amazon loses the 1-Click patent

#223

Post by djhworld »

beejiu wrote: post #189
fps wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've used it a few times but only because I know amazon's costs and shipping policies are consistent, and they give you enough information up front on the item page to make a fully informed purchase decision. Other ecommerce sites frequently have so many additional/hidden charges that I would never want to click "buy" right from the item page. I abandon so many carts when I get to the checkout page because there's $2…

Maybe it is different in the US, but in the UK the charges being inconsistent is the reason I do not use One Click. (Amazon UK not being as good seems to be a theme in these comments.)

I don't think that's the case for Amazon Prime (UK customer)

In my experience the price shown and delivery time estimate is always accurate, and as a Prime customer the delivery fee is included in your subscription

Re: E-commerce will evolve next month as Amazon loses the 1-Click patent

#224

Post by djhworld »

dboreham wrote: post #15

I have been buying from Amazon for 20 years and have not once used 1-Click.

I only use it for Kindle books.

I've never used it for other things though, even as a Prime customer.

My main issue with it is I use different delivery addresses, sometimes to work, sometimes to an Amazon Locker, rarely to home as I'm never in.

Re: E-commerce will evolve next month as Amazon loses the 1-Click patent

#225

Post by dmurray »

derefr wrote: post #107
nsxwolf wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you just quibbling about the semantics used in the article? Or are you saying nobody else can implement "1 click" even after the patent expires... because of copyright? Edit: Was an honest question, I've upvoted all the answers as I found them interesting, not understanding the barrage of downvotes shrug

They're saying that, unlike usual patents, the content of the one-click patent filing does not serve as a useful basis for anyone else's implementation of a one-click shopping cart. This is the whole point of patents: to publicize a trade-secret process in exchange for protection. If your patent can't be used by your competitors to (make it easier to) start doing the thing you're doing, then you didn't really file a…

> At that point, the patent has given you no advantage in implementation over the simple knowledge that a process for doing X exists at all.

This depends on whether you consider X to be "converting ecommerce sales" or "ordering items with a single click". Just because the implementation is easy to reverse engineer from a one line description of the novelty doesn't diminish the resources spent by Amazon in coming up with this insight and testing how it improved their business.

I'm not strongly in favour of software patents in general, but the argument that this patent is "too easy to copy" misses the point a bit.

Re: E-commerce will evolve next month as Amazon loses the 1-Click patent

#226

Post by icelancer »

dingaling wrote: post #140
mseebach wrote: post #133

The space (from my online shopping experience) seems to be divided between Amazon (with one click checkout, fast delivery etc) and everyone else (42 click checkout and one week delivery, if you're lucky). If the one-click patent was a major inhibitor of competition, I'd basically expect to see a lot of two-click check out options. Instead I find myself creating a million redundant user accounts, telling people that m…

> and everyone else (42 click checkout and one week delivery, if you're lucky) Certianly in the UK the friction of buying from "non-Amazon" websites exists ( create an account, enter payment etc ) but Amazon just uses the same delivery networks as everyone else. In fact a small company often dispatches faster in my experience than Amazon; for non-Prime at least they've been stretching the 'Dispatching Soon' timelines…

>but Amazon just uses the same delivery networks as everyone else.

Definitely not true in the US. They've coerced USPS to deliver on Sundays and have their own courier service. Internally their ability to get items to the couriers is much faster than almost every single business out there.

Re: E-commerce will evolve next month as Amazon loses the 1-Click patent

#227

Post by icelancer »

gizmodo59 wrote: post #95
BatFastard wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed, years of research and brilliant ideas should be protected. However one click shopping is a bit obvious.

Not to sound condescending but the following phrase "years of research and brilliant ideas should be protected" can never adequately define what must be patented and what must not be. An brilliant idea need not take years of research. Even the interpretation of the word brilliant is debatable. PS: I'm not taking any stance with respect to patents. Just saying that it's not black and white.

Agreed. Many things sound obvious in plain English but when you ask someone to write an actual law that everyone will abide by (and will survive committees and constitutionality challenges), it becomes quite a bit more difficult.

Re: E-commerce will evolve next month as Amazon loses the 1-Click patent

#228

Post by slvrspoon »

criley2 wrote: post #27
clan wrote: post #10

I have always hated the thought that retailers stored my credit card information. Seems to be very common with US based shops. If this gets any traction I will need to fight even harder to opt out. I yearn for the day I can have one off transaction codes.

You mean like a temporary credit card number valid for a small period of time or valid for a specific vendor? We have those (at least in America), and have for many years. Services like "ShopSafe". They also create many hassles and headaches. Can make returns difficult, validation difficult (please show the card used, what, it's a virtual card?), and the rigor may not be great (reoccurring charges on "invalidated" nu…

online virtual credit card #'s with specific values have pro's and con's for sure. we processes $millions of these for e-commerce: https://www.abine.com/maskme/features/cards/ #disclaimer i work at abine.

Re: E-commerce will evolve next month as Amazon loses the 1-Click patent

#230

Post by abpavel »

Animats wrote: post #212
nocman wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because if an "invention" is obvious it isn't patentable ( http://www.bitlaw.com/source/35usc/103.html ), and many many people see this as being far too obvious to be patentable.

"Obvious" for patentability purposes means obvious in advance, not obvious in hindsight. Before Amazon, nobody had one-click purchasing. They wanted people to sign up, to fill out forms with irrelevant info, and "engage with the customer". After Amazon, many people wanted one-click. That means it wasn't "obvious to one skilled in the art" in advance. For patentability purposes, the best way to demonstrate non-obvious…

  > obvious in advance, not obvious in hindsight
Thanks! That's what I was looking for. Many things we take for granted, which are so simple and obvious, are not obvious at all when they don't exist... I remember exactly those experiences everywhere - you have to register to add an item to a shopping card... And yes, you MUST give us your mother's maiden name...
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