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Peddling the ‘Secrets’ to Getting Rich on Amazon

theatlantic.com

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Re: Peddling the ‘Secrets’ to Getting Rich on Amazon

#41

Post by huac »

reaperducer wrote: post #27
maldusiecle wrote: post #16

This is the flip side of an experience that's more and more common when buying on Amazon--there are a lot of sellers peddling poorly made or counterfeit items for a quick buck. It's a crowded marketplace, and it's mostly crowded with sketchy sellers. I avoid Amazon for anything other than books, lately. For anything else, there's no telling what you'll actually get.

I avoid Amazon for anything other than books, lately. For anything else, there's no telling what you'll actually get. As noted previously on HN, they're even selling fake books on Amazon. One was a Python programming guide.

my copy of "cracking the coding interview" was fake, the pages and cover were photocopied and misaligned, etc. my friend also got a fake copy from amazon with the same characteristics.

it's pretty crappy because the author is going to make nothing off the sale, and i paid full-price for a defective item. obviously amazon doesn't care since they get their cut either way, and the fake is good enough that 99% of people wouldn't notice/complain.

Re: Peddling the ‘Secrets’ to Getting Rich on Amazon

#42

Post by soundwave106 »

omarchowdhury wrote: post #24
hourislate wrote: post #20

In this day and age it is surprising that people still fall for "Get Rich Schemes". Anyone selling Investment Advice, Business Advice, Products, etc that promise success, wealth, etc are charlatans. These two took advantage of desperate people. There is little to no money to be made on AMZN today. No one is getting rich anymore.

> There is little to no money to be made on AMZN today. No one is getting rich anymore. Really? That's like saying there's little to no money to be made in entrepreneurship today. Are you saying everyone on AMZN operates their business at 0% or less net profit margin? Because that's essentially what you are saying.

I think the gist of that statement is that there is no "easy" money anymore, if there ever was. I'm pretty sure it would be quite difficult get rich by simply importing commodity Chinese products and marking them up in FBA -- this is something that a large retail organization like Amazon can do just as well for much cheaper than any individual can.

To stand a chance at making some money as a small business (and I'm saying the more typical "some money", not the "strike the motherlode" type language many of the make.money.fast type scams promote), you have to have a good product idea, and do the full work of the low-margin retail business, with all that this entails.

In this regard I do imagine it's possible to make some money via Amazon with a traditional retail business. But even though it's the behemoth of American e-commerce, Amazon probably should not be a product's only Internet retail outlet. (You should probably have your own e-commerce site for a start... and other more focused outlets, especially if they fit a product's niche -- like, say, Newegg for a computing oriented product -- should also be pursued.)

Re: Peddling the ‘Secrets’ to Getting Rich on Amazon

#43

Post by beauzero »

Johnny555 wrote: post #18

People forget that history repeats itself -- the ones that got richest during the California Gold Rush were the ones selling tools, unless you were lucky enough to hit a motherlode. So if someone is selling you an expensive tool that will help make you rich, ask yourself why they aren't using that same tool themselves. (and if the answer is "I have all the money I need, I just want to help other people... then ask wh…

Have helped some >10M year companies sell new, remaindered and used books on Amazon/Ebay 10 out of the last 15 years. ...selling is the easier part. ...shipping quickly and profitably is harder. ...finding profitable inventory is very very difficult.

Re: Peddling the ‘Secrets’ to Getting Rich on Amazon

#44

Post by donarb »

kup0 wrote: post #4

This is the internet equivalent of those "get rich quick" TV infomercials, where the only people getting rich quick are the ones providing sham classes/books/seminars and charging outrageous amounts for them.

And there's always the "get rich by self publishing on Amazon" scheme where you buy the book that tells you how to get rich by self publishing on Amazon and copying and selling it to others.

Re: Peddling the ‘Secrets’ to Getting Rich on Amazon

#46

Post by teej »

jensv wrote: post #37
blunte wrote: post #34

I don't know why people still believe that someone with a winning (money making) system is going to share that with others. If a system works that well, nobody is going to sell instructions on how to do it. Maybe they'll share the knowledge with a few friends or family, but they sure won't sell it. To sell "how to get rich" information clearly implies that the seller is not getting rich. If they were, and even if the…

There is the concept of franchises like McDonalds which seems to go against your point.

Franchises don’t sell a way to get rich quick. They sell a job.

Re: Peddling the ‘Secrets’ to Getting Rich on Amazon

#47

Post by imh »

blunte wrote: post #34

I don't know why people still believe that someone with a winning (money making) system is going to share that with others. If a system works that well, nobody is going to sell instructions on how to do it. Maybe they'll share the knowledge with a few friends or family, but they sure won't sell it. To sell "how to get rich" information clearly implies that the seller is not getting rich. If they were, and even if the…

I'm not defending get-rich-quick scheme peddles, but charging for lessons in how to make money doesn't prove the lessons are bad. Nobody says this kind of thing about how new software textbook of the week must be wrong be wrong because sharing it hurts the author's employability and they're charging for the book so it must not be a desire to share.

There are plenty of ways to make money that aren't zero sum competitive markets. Some people want to share what they know and aren't hurt by it. But writing that stuff up costs time and energy, so charging for it makes sense.

Re: Peddling the ‘Secrets’ to Getting Rich on Amazon

#48

Post by jaggederest »

blunte wrote: post #34

I don't know why people still believe that someone with a winning (money making) system is going to share that with others. If a system works that well, nobody is going to sell instructions on how to do it. Maybe they'll share the knowledge with a few friends or family, but they sure won't sell it. To sell "how to get rich" information clearly implies that the seller is not getting rich. If they were, and even if the…

Renaissance Technologies (the hedge fund) is the classic example of someone who "has a winning system". Funnily enough, they don't share it, indeed, they guard it zealously.

Re: Peddling the ‘Secrets’ to Getting Rich on Amazon

#49

Post by sct202 »

teej wrote: post #46
jensv wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is the concept of franchises like McDonalds which seems to go against your point.

Franchises don’t sell a way to get rich quick. They sell a job.

Plus you need at least $500k min cash on hand before you can start.

Re: Peddling the ‘Secrets’ to Getting Rich on Amazon

#50

Post by nkrisc »

jensv wrote: post #37
blunte wrote: post #34

I don't know why people still believe that someone with a winning (money making) system is going to share that with others. If a system works that well, nobody is going to sell instructions on how to do it. Maybe they'll share the knowledge with a few friends or family, but they sure won't sell it. To sell "how to get rich" information clearly implies that the seller is not getting rich. If they were, and even if the…

There is the concept of franchises like McDonalds which seems to go against your point.

Running a franchise seems neither quick nor easy and usually requires a large upfront investment.
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