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Amazon and Google are on a collision course

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Re: Amazon and Google are on a collision course

#61

Post by jaynos »

GabrielF00 wrote: post #46
blhack wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is so true. The last thing I've recently bought at a retailer other than amazon felt like a hassle. I decided to buy some glasses from "39 dollar glasses".com -- they offered overnight shipping, which is something I've gotten used to thanks to Amazon. I've been sitting in my office all day waiting for them to get here, and they haven't, so I got on their website and talked to a person via chat. I found out that…

Glasses are a poor example because they have to be customized for each customer. Did you really think that they had your prescription with your choice of lens coating in stock that they could just ship out to you next day?

This isn't just a glasses phenomenon. I see it (or used to before I started buying only from Amazon) from all sorts of sellers. If I choose 1 or 2 day shipping, it should be going out the next day at the latest (if UPS already showed up today). The no questions asked return policy from Amazon is why I know buy shoes and clothing from them also.

Re: Amazon and Google are on a collision course

#62

Post by jaynos »

freefrancisco wrote: post #56

Amazon supported the Internet tax. It would be poetic justice if Google provided a free to use tax and shipment calculation to all merchants if/when that becomes law. Then Google would be able to help users find what they want and sort it by final price, including shipping and taxes. That might be the missing piece that gets all merchants giving Google the information it needs to allow users to do that.

I think Amazon will still be able to compete in this scenario. They can (and will have to) calculate sales tax. Plus, the tax will be based on the state that I reside in, not the state that the merchant resides in, so there won't be any "gaming the system" to find the lowest price.

Re: Amazon and Google are on a collision course

#63

Post by SatvikBeri »

MrDOS wrote: post #34
fimoreth wrote: post #2

> "Shopping on Amazon is a superior user experience and it runs the table on the magical retailer formula of selection, price and convenience" Clearly has never used Amazon Canada. But in all seriousness, a great article. It's interesting to see how the different web markets overlap so easily.

> Clearly has never used Amazon Canada. Funny, I came here to say something more serious to this extent. The degree of American-centricity in this thread is astonishing (or perhaps I'm just used to Reddit). Outside of the US – to my understanding, anywhere outside of the US, not just Canada – Amazon is next to useless. The product selection is abysmal and shipping options are terrible. Maybe the article has some poin…

Amazon Japan works well and is quite popular there, at least in Tokyo.

Re: Amazon and Google are on a collision course

#64

Post by qohen »

SatvikBeri wrote: post #55
jeffasinger wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yea, in store pickup, and local delivery by a store are two things I doubt Amazon is prepared to handle well.

Amazon does something similar to in store pickups in Japan. They'll deliver to a convenience store near you and you can pick it up there-it's a very popular option.

They do this now in the US as well, using 7-Eleven convenience stores equipped with a set of Amazon-branded lockers that has an ATM-like device in the center -- you type in a PIN that opens the specific locker holding your package, as shown here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoJiizFlxno

Re: Amazon and Google are on a collision course

#65

Post by will_work4tears »

acheron wrote: post #39
dewitt wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OnTrac recently "lost" a 75 llb package of mine while on the truck out for delivery, and took several days to admit it was missing, and only then after about a dozen calls and emails. There's not a doubt in my mind it was either stolen (most likely) or the delivery person simply didn't want to lift the box and kicked it out the back of the truck. Amazon had to eat the cost of replacing it, and I subsequently required…

I have never heard of OnTrac and I order from Amazon Prime all the time, so I doubt OnTrac is going to "sink" it. Googling I see it's some west coast shipping thing, for those curious.

Thankfully it must not be Western Washington, because I've never heard of it, and order Amazon several times a month (several subscriptions).

Re: Amazon and Google are on a collision course

#66

Post by peteretep »

cm2012 wrote: post #47
peteretep wrote: post #3

If I can't buy it via Amazon, I probably won't buy it. I trust the reviews, and I trust them to play fair if they've sent the wrong thing, to such a degree that any other avenue feels like a big waste of my time.

As a major Amazon 3P seller of jewelry, thats great to hear. It would be better if Amazon didnt take a 20% cut, of course.

Given how small their margin allegedly is, it's because they take the 20% that they can afford to be so awesome!

Re: Amazon and Google are on a collision course

#67

Post by MrDOS »

SatvikBeri wrote: post #63
MrDOS wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Clearly has never used Amazon Canada. Funny, I came here to say something more serious to this extent. The degree of American-centricity in this thread is astonishing (or perhaps I'm just used to Reddit). Outside of the US – to my understanding, anywhere outside of the US, not just Canada – Amazon is next to useless. The product selection is abysmal and shipping options are terrible. Maybe the article has some poin…

Amazon Japan works well and is quite popular there, at least in Tokyo.

That's true. I've heard of people in North America ordering things like mechanical keyboards on Amazon.co.jp and using a forwarding service like Tenso to ship it.

Re: Amazon and Google are on a collision course

#68

Post by potatolicious »

mitchty wrote: post #38
dewitt wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OnTrac recently "lost" a 75 llb package of mine while on the truck out for delivery, and took several days to admit it was missing, and only then after about a dozen calls and emails. There's not a doubt in my mind it was either stolen (most likely) or the delivery person simply didn't want to lift the box and kicked it out the back of the truck. Amazon had to eat the cost of replacing it, and I subsequently required…

As someone from an area without OnTrac, how could this company even have gotten a contract with Amazon? They sound worse than "play football with your packages" FedEx and UPS. And I have to admit that is an impressive feat.

Money. OnTrac is substantially cheaper than UPS and FedEx in their respective service areas. This was always a sore point amongst many people when I worked at Amazon - the company internally prides itself on being absurdly pro-consumer, and the use of OnTrac (among other sketchy small-time delivery operations) was a very big slap in the face on that philosophy.

It's a pretty blatant case of acting against your customer's interests to save a buck, something Amazon has traditionally prided itself on not doing.

Re: Amazon and Google are on a collision course

#69

Post by bgilroy26 »

blhack wrote: post #59
bgilroy26 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With an extensive network of lens millers who are distributed so that each worker has a short list of lenses to grind, which are all destined for local customers.

I'm interested here, maybe I'm wrong. My impression is that when I buy glasses at lenscrafters, they're grinding lenses there, in house. Are you saying that they're couriered around my city when I order them or something?

No that's all the distribution I was talking about. It seems like there's a pets.com aspect to the whole situation. Where
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